Dear Palestine Supporter
Two items in this e-mail.
(1) Urge your MSPs to support Gaza
We now have persuaded 40 MSPs to sign the motion to the Scottish Parliament lodged by Alison Johnstone, Lothian, Scottish Green Party. The motion condemns the Israeli attacks, seeks to raise awareness of the rights of the Palestinian people, and calls for an end to arms sales by the UK to Israel.
If we could push this to the 60 mark, we'd have shown that a majority of MSPs who are allowed to sign motions (those not in the Government) support Gaza which would be a great show of support for the people of Gaza. We each have 8 MSPs, one constituency MSP and 7 regional MSPs. There's bound to be at least one of yours that needs a nudge.
Go to www.coordin8.org.uk and follow the links.
(2) Invitation to participate in 2013 Plant-a-Tree in Palestine delegation: Lessons of Dispossession; Acts of Resistance.
From January 5th – January 14th 2013, the Stop the JNF Campaign is running a 10-day visit to Palestine, providing the opportunity to:
- Gain an overview of the issues affecting Palestinian land rights(and the role in illegal appropriation of Palestinian land by para-statal organisations);
- Visit destroyed Palestinian villages to find out more about the role of the JNF in land dispossession;
- Take part in tree-planting actions alongside Palestinian communities to reclaim stolen or threatened land in the Jordan Valley, Susiya and Wadi Qana.
Participants will learn about the dispossession and destruction that Israeli forces and settlers have imposed on Palestinian communities. Importantly there will also be a chance to work and stay with communities in these areas gaining an insight into day-to-day to life.
We will visit to depopulated and destroyed Palestinian villages (e.g. from 1948 and 1967) to see first-hand the ways that the JNF appropriates Palestinian land, both historically and today. We will travel to the Naqab (Negev) area where thousands of indigenous Bedouins are resisting the Israeli government’s attempts at ethnic cleansing and planting JNF forests over their land and homes. We will also receive briefings from academics, legal experts and inspiring community organisations that are working to end the ongoing dispossession of Palestinians.
Plant-a-Tree in Palestine is a new project established in 2011 with the aim of raising awareness of the tree planting and other activities of the Jewish National Fund, and providing an effective means of solidarity with Palestinians resisting the demolition of their homes and theft of their land. It is a joint project of the Middle East Children’s Alliance, the Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign (Stop the Wall), the Palestinian Farmers Union, and the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network.
We invite participation from individuals from a wide range of backgrounds, including activists, representatives of civil society, environmental, and anti-racist organisations, trade unions and others. An important element of the visit will be discussions between the Stop the JNF Campaign and participants on how we can develop solidarity work in our localities to challenge Israel’s ongoing dispossession of the Palestinians.
If you have any queries about the visit or would like to register your interest please email delegation@stopthejnf.org. Please wait for confirmation before booking your flights.
In solidarity,
Dave Black
Stop the JNF Campaign UK
07962223123
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