Craig Murray: Get Your Banned News Here

November 15th, 2011 • Awareness, News • No comments

Craig Murray, Former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan, Diplomat and Human Rights Activist, has published an article on the plot to attack Iran. He pre-announced the publication on his blog after the mainstream media refused to publish.

Matthew Gould and the Plot to Attack Iran

This is Matthew Gould, second from right, British Ambassador to Israel, who was pictured speaking at a meeting of the Leeds Zionist Federation that was also the opening of the Leeds Hasbarah Centre. The Leeds Zionist Federation is part of the Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland, motto “Speaking Up for Israel.” A collection was made at the meeting to send packages to members of the Israeli Defence Force.

On 29 May 2011 The Jerusalem Post reported: “British Ambassador Matthew Gould declared his commitment to Israel and the principles of Zionism on Thursday”.

Remember this background, it is unusual behaviour for a diplomat, and it is important.

The six meetings between British Ambassador to Israel Matthew Gould and Minister of Defence Liam Fox and Adam Werritty together – only two of which were revealed by Cabinet Secretary Gus O’Donnell in his “investigation” into Werritty’s unauthorised role in the Ministry of Defence – raise vital concerns about a secret agenda for war at the core of government, comparable to Blair’s determination to drive through a war on Iraq..

This is a detective story. It begins a few weeks ago, when the Fox-Werritty scandal was first breaking in the media. I had a contact from an old friend from my Foreign Office days. This friend had access to the Gus O’Donnell investigation. He had given a message for me to a trusted third party.

Whistleblowing in the surveillance state is a difficult activity. I left through a neighbour’s garden, not carrying a mobile phone, puffed and panted by bicycle to an unmonitored but busy stretch of road, hitched a lift much of the way, then ordered a minicab on a payphone from a country pub to my final destination, a farm far from CCTV. There the intermediary gave me the message: what really was worrying senior civil servants in the Cabinet Office was that the Fox-Werritty link related to plans involving Mossad and the British Ambassador to Israel, Matthew Gould.

Read the full article on Craig Murray’s website…

BBC Three: Mixed up in the Middle East

November 14th, 2011 • Awareness, Film & Documentary, News • 1 comment

Watch on iPlayer (UK) or Youtube (above)

Reya’s half Arab, half Jewish. Her parents fell in love across the Middle East divide, but she’s grown up in Britain. So what happens when she goes to Israel and the Palestinian territories for the first time?

Read Reya’s blog: Reya El-Salahi: Mixed Up in the Middle East

9pm Monday 14 November 2011 BBC Three Repeated 1.05am Tue / 4am Wed

BBC Press Office:

This is a journey of understanding for the BBC Three audience as Reya gets to meet people from both sides of the divide – whose shattered lives are the fallout from the conflict. Spending time with her own cousins, she’ll reveal how everyday life for them has been made shockingly different – often very dangerous – by the long-running hostilities they were born into. It’s a world away from the life she knows but one all too familiar for her ancestors. She’ll explore what the two sides have in common, as well as what divides them; and explore the prospects for peace as the Arab world undergoes its most radical change for generations.

TV: Going for Gold in Gaza

November 10th, 2011 • News • No comments

Don’t miss this eye opening documentary on Channel 4 tomorrow night!

Unreported World meets members of the Palestinian Paralympic team hoping to qualify for London 2012. They find athletes struggling to train in the conflict zone. In a territory where those who die fighting the Israelis are considered the true heroes, the Paralympic team goes completely unrecognised by its own people – read more…

Palestinian atheletes have one 3 medals at previous paralympics:

Bronze – Husam Azzam – 2000 Sydney – Shot put
Silver – Husam Azzam – 2004 Athens – Shot put
Bronze – Mohammed Fannouna – 2004 Athens – Long jump

FILM: Salt of this Sea at our November Meeting

November 10th, 2011 • Events, Film & Documentary, News • No comments

As part of our November branch meeting we’ll be showing the award-winning film “Salt of this Sea” – a 2008 Official Selection at Cannes and Palestine’s OSCAR entry for Best Foreign Language Film.

When? 8pm Thursday 17th November 2011

Where? Room 3, RISC, London Street, Reading , RG1 4PS (above the Global Cafe)

Soraya, born in Brooklyn in a working class community of Palestinian refugees, discovers that her grandfather’s savings were frozen in a bank account in Jaffa when he was exiled in 1948. Stubborn, passionate and determined to reclaim what is hers, she fulfills her life-long dream of “returning” to Palestine. Once there, slowly she is taken apart by the reality around her and is forced to confront her own anger. She meets Emad, a young Palestinian whose ambition, contrary to hers, is to leave forever. Tired of the constraints that dictate their lives, they know in order to be free, they must take things into their own hands, even if it’s illegal.

Find out more at the Official Website…

RIF2011 Event: PALESTINE: A People in Resistance.

October 20th, 2011 • Events, News • No comments

Click to download the flyer

Monday 24th October 2011 @ 7.30pm

PALESTINE: A People in Resistance.

Don’t miss this powerful and moving presentation of a story of non violent resistance and the amazing resilience of a people who live daily under Israeli occupation by Theresa Wolfwood. Theresa is Director of the Barnard-Boecker Foundation Centre in Canada and a longstanding human rights activist. She has over the years built up deep contacts in all areas of Palestinian society, in the villages and cities of the West Bank to the refugee camps of Lebanon and Jordan. Often at the cutting edge of that resistance, she has been tear gassed and threatened by Israeli soldiers.

7.30pm Monday 24th October 2011 – Room 3, RISC (Above Global Cafe), 35- 39 London Street, RG1 4PS.

Free Entrance. A Joint RISC/Reading Palestine Solidarity Campaign Event.

Join us for the Reading International Festival 2011!

September 29th, 2011 • Events, News • No comments

We’re happy to announce two FREE events as part of the Reading International Festival 2011!

Click to download the flyer

Wednesday 19 October 2011 @ 7.45pm

THE MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT: A Christian Perspective

A free talk by the Reverend Dr Stephen Sizer, author and frequent visitor to the Middle East discussing the negative roll of the USA on the Israeli/Palestine peace process. He will discuss the negative and perverse way these beliefs distort the American political understanding of the Israeli/Palestine conflict. The Reverend Stephen Sizer is a leading expert on Christian Zionism especially in the USA.

7.45pm Wednesday 19th October 2011 – Large Hall, RISC (Above Global Cafe), 35 – 39 London Street, Reading, RG1 4PS

Refreshments, Palestinian Fairtrade Goods And Handicrafts Will Be Available.

&

Click to download the flyer

Monday 24th October 2011 @ 7.30pm

PALESTINE: A People in Resistance.

7.30pm Monday 24th October 2011 – Room 3, RISC (Above Global Cafe), 35- 39 London Street, RG1 4PS.

Free Entrance. A Joint RISC/Reading Palestine Solidarity Campaign Event.

FILM: Budrus at our September Meeting

September 9th, 2011 • Events, Film & Documentary, News • No comments

“It takes a village to unite the
most divided people on earth.”

We’ll be showing the award-winning film Budrus, an inspiring film chronicling the peaceful protests of Palestinians in the West Bank, at our September meeting. Trailer:

When? 8pm Thursday 15th Sept 2011

Where? Room 3, RISC, London Street, Reading , RG1 4PS(above the Global Cafe)

Budrus is an award-winning feature documentary film about a Palestinian community organizer, Ayed Morrar, who unites local Fatah and Hamas members along with Israeli supporters in an unarmed movement to save his village of Budrus from destruction by Israel’s Separation Barrier. Success eludes them until his 15-year-old daughter, Iltezam, launches a women’s contingent that quickly moves to the front lines. Struggling side by side, father and daughter unleash an inspiring, yet little-known, movement in the Occupied Palestinian Territories that is still gaining ground today. In an action-filled documentary chronicling this movement from its infancy, Budrus shines a light on people who choose nonviolence to confront a threat.

Find out more at the Official Website…
Watch AJE’s Fabulous Picture Show on the Budrus

UK: 48 hours to Recognise Palestine

September 1st, 2011 • Action, News • No comments

via Avaaz.org

Call the Foreign and Commonwealth Office switchboard and ask for William Hague’s office.

020 7008 1500

Also try Hague’s Parliamentary office: 020 7219 4611

In less than 48 hours, the UK will decide if it recognises Palestine at a critical EU Foreign Ministers meeting. Our global petition has nearly 900,000 signers, 79,000 from the UK, but the Foreign Minister is still undecided. We can ramp up the pressure now to ensure the UK gets behind a Palestinian state.

Foreign Office officials have said the Minister could be swayed to make the right call, and his support for Palestine could provide the EU leadership needed to push the bid through at the UN. But to counter intense US and Israeli lobbying, he needs to hear from all of us now.

Let’s flood the Minister’s office with phone calls today and give him a public mandate to call for an independent state of Palestine, which could break the deadlock in talks and bring peace a little closer. The next few hours are critical — make an urgent call now.

Here is the number to call: Foreign and Commonwealth Office switchboard: 020 7008 1500 — ask for William Hague’s office. You can also try Hague’s Parliamentary office: 020 7219 4611

The talking points below will help guide you in what to say:

79,000 UK citizens and nearly 900,000 people across the globe have signed the petition for the UN to recognise Palestine.
This is a moment for the UK to stand on the right side of history — this is a legitimate, non violent, diplomatic proposal to open a new path towards peace.
This is a fragile time. If we support this proposal we could open up hope for the majority of Palestinians who want a peaceful resolution to the conflict. If we don’t support it, this could spiral into violence and will play right into the hands of extremists.
The far-right Netanyahu government is making a return to peace talks harder by approving more settlement building in the West Bank, but most Israeli citizens want a two state solution. This is a opportunity to show that the world is serious about finding a solution where two peoples can live in peace side by side.
The Arab Spring has opened the door to a new, exciting era of UK relations with the Middle East. We are supporting people across the region struggling for self-determination and freedom. This is the Palestinians’ call, and our response should be consistent. If the UK does not support the Palestinian bid at the UN, we could lose that momentum and be pushed back into the dangerous divisions of the last decade.
This bid is consistent with European policy which has invested heavily in building the capacity of the Palestinian state. It would be contradictory to now oppose the founding of that state at the UN.

Remember to be polite — we’ll be far more convincing if we are reasonable and courteous. If you don’t get through, it probably means we’re jamming their lines — a good sign! Keep calling! If you do get through but they cannot transfer you, make sure your call is officially registered by the switchboard and follow up with an email to: ainagcorrespondence@fco.gov.uk and haguew@parliament.uk and private.office@fco.gsi.gov.uk

Most government offices work from 9am – 5pm — if you miss office hours please try again tomorrow.

FILM: Death in Gaza – Free Screening

July 1st, 2011 • Events, Film & Documentary, News • No comments

Our friends at Basingstoke Activist Film Group will be showing the “Death in Gaza” this Saturday. A harrowing, Emmy award-winning, documentary that portrays the horror of conflict.

The film opens in the West Bank, moving to Gaza and eventually Rafah. It concentrates on 3 children (Ahmed, Mohammed and Najla), concluding with the tragic death of its director, James Miller.

Admission is FREE + free cake & homemade lemonade! To be followed by Q&A and discussion with BAFG and PSC.

Saturday 2nd July @ 10.30am – 1.30pm

Queen Mary’s College, Cliddesden Road, Basingstoke, RG21 3HF

(look out for BAFG members at the QMC Reception)

*The film is rated 15, so may not be suitable for a young audience.

World Refugee Day: 1 in 3 Refugees is Palestinian

June 20th, 2011 • Awareness, Events, News • No comments

On World Refugee Day, let us reaffirm the importance of solidarity and burden-sharing by the international community. Refugees have been deprived of their homes, but they must not be deprived of their futures – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

A Palestinian refugee is a person whose normal place of residence was Palestine during the period between 1 June 1946 and 15 May 1948 and those who both lost their homes and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict (as defined by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, UNRWA).

One in every three refugees in the world is Palestinian.

There are approximately 7 million Palestinian refugees in the world and they can be categorised as:

The original ‘Nakhba refugees’ and their descendants (4.5 million)
The 1967 Six Day War refugees and descendants (1 million)
‘Low intensity population transfer’ refugees and other refugees

All refugees have the right to return to their homes and/ or receive compensation for the loss or damage of their properties. Israel has been deliberately denying the right to return of the Palestinian refugees which is a clear violation of international law.

‘We should do whatever it takes to prevent the Palestinians from coming back to their homes. The old will die and the young will eventually forget’ – words of Israel’s first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion.

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