Event Details Day: 11/07/2009 to 11/07/2009
Justice for the Palestinians – The Moral Issue of Our Time
To view some of the speakers presentations: Victoria Brittain, Samia Al-Botmeh and Haim Bresheeth, please CLICK HERE
To view the briefings prepared for the conference on Settlements, Gaza, House Demolitions and Binyamin Netanyahu CLICK HERE
REPORT
PSC National Conference in Birmingham 11 July 2009
Organised and hosted by: West Midlands PSC
Supported by: UNISON West Midlands Region (International Forum)
Delegates packed into PSC’s national conference in Birmingham on 11 July to find out more about the situation in Palestine and what action they can take.
The event gave those attending a chance to find out about a wide range of issues, from the ethnic cleansing of 1948 to the practicalities of taking boycott action to help end the occupation.
The conference was opened by Professor Haim Bresheeth, an Israeli-born filmmaker and photographer, whose documentary on the first Palestinian intifada, State of Danger, was originally shown on BBC2.
Prestigious speakers, such as Palestine’s ambassador to the UK, Professor Manuel Hassassian, and a member of the Palestinian delegation to peace talks in Washington, Dr Karma Nabulsi, shared their specialist knowledge with the audience.
Dr Rita Giacaman, a professor at Birzeit University in the West Bank, travelled from Palestine to speak about the impact on health in occupied territories, while Dr Samia Al-Botmeh reported on the destruction of the Palestinian economy.
Seasoned anti-apartheid campaigner, Victoria Brittain, a former associate foreign editor of the Guardian, spoke about transferring the lessons of the Anti-Apartheid Movement from South Africa to Israel, while the legalities of bringing war crimes charges against Israeli officers were explained by human rights lawyer Daniel Machover.
Roy Hickey, a delegate from Cheltenham PSC, said: ‘The conference was excellent. The first-class speakers were really inspiring.’
Richard Burden MP, chair of the Britain-Palestine All Party Parliamentary Group, was unable to open the conference, as he was on his way back from Lebanon, but he sent this message of support:
‘I would like to thank the Palestine Solidarity Campaign for organising the conference in Birmingham.
‘Along with other colleagues from the Britain-Palestine All Party Group in Parliament, I last visited Gaza and the West Bank in February. We were the first UK parliamentary delegation to visit Gaza following the Israeli attacks earlier this year. No-one could have seen the devastation we saw without realising that this is a huge moral issue of our time. There has to be accountability for what has happened.’
PSC campaigns for that accountability and for justice for the Palestinians. To make sure you receive news of our forthcoming conferences, events and campaigns, sign up to our mailing list by emailing info@palestinecampaign.org
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Palestine Solidarity Campaign
PSC National Day Conference
Justice for the Palestinians - the Moral Issue of our Time
Birmingham 11 July 2009
10.00am – 4.30pm
Carrs Lane Church Centre, Birmingham B4 7SX
Speakers include:
Richard Burden MP
Prof Haim Bresheeth, University of East London and Dr Karma Nabulsi, Oxford University on 1948 and After - ethnic cleansing and the refugee question.
The Reality of Occupation: Politics, Health and the Economy with:
Dr Rita Giacaman, founding director of the Institute of Community and Public Health at Birzeit University;
Prof. Manuel Hassassian Palestinian Ambassador to the UK;
Samia Botmeh, SOAS and Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute MAS.
Victoria Brittain on Lessons from the Anti Apartheid Movement
Daniel Machover, Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights on Israeli War Crimes.
Panel on campaigning on Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions in the UK:
Hugh Lanning, Deputy General Secretary PCS Union,
Cllr Salma Yaqoob Birmingham City Councilor,
Betty Hunter General Secretary PSC.
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Tel: 02077006192
Email: psc.admin@palestinecampaign.org
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