Hastings and Rye PSC

Activities since our last branch report:

We held a public meeting with Dr Jeff Halper, Director of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD). The title of Jeff's presentation was: "Towards Justice In Israel/Palestine: One Democratic State." He showed how Israel has effectively eliminated the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian 'conflict' and has produced instead a regime of apartheid.

We showed the film "Killing Gaza." The film, made by Max Blumenthal and Dan Cohen, documents the 2014 Israeli assault on Gaza, and chronicles its horrific aftermath, particularly the brutal Israeli ground attack.

We held a meeting with author and journalist Ben White. This is the second meeting we've had with Ben. This was part of a tour promoting his book "Cracks In The Wall: Beyond Apartheid In Palestine/Israel."

Our next meeting was with Dr. Jenny Tonge. A month before the meeting, various zionist individuals and 'Friends of Israel' groups organised a Facebook-based campaign to stop this meeting. This was intended to do harm to the venue owner's business. We found a second venue, but the campaign against the managers of the hall (an organisation of retired people) continued. We then found a third venue. The ensuing meeting was a great success, with a packed hall. Jenny gave a powerful and impassioned speech on 'Everyday life in Apartheid Israel.' We were pleased that author and musician Tom Suárez was able to join Jenny for the Question and Answer session. The lesson learnt is that we should always stand up to the zionists, never give in. We raised £257.02 for MAP and ICAHD. Background. Meeting goes ahead.

We held our first meeting in Rye. We have a growing band of members in the Rye area and were pleased at a very good turnout. One of our members, Gill Knight, gave a report back of her tour of the northern Jordan Valley with ICAHD.

We support and publicise the annual 'Fly Kites Not Drones' event on the sea front. This is organised by a local peace group protesting at the use of armed drones. We were able to show that the USA, the UK and Israel are the 3 main countries that launch armed drone attacks on communities abroad.

In March we held a meeting with Laila Hasan, the co-founder of the cooperative Women in Hebron, who gave a powerful and passionate talk about life in the occupied city of Hebron.

As part of the call for international action by Palestinian organisations, we held a vigil for Gaza - to mark the one year anniversary of the Great March of Return. We staged a Die-in to represent the 268 people killed during the Great Return demonstrations of the past year at the perimeter fence. We read out the names of the 35 children killed this past year and observed a minute's silence to pay our respects to all those who have lost their lives, just for protesting their imprisonment. Good turnout from our members and great response from passers by. Article in the Hastings Online Times.

As usual we took part in the annual May Day activities in Hastings organised by the Hastings and District Trades Council celebrating International Workers Day.

To highlight the abuse of Palestinian child prisoners, we built prison cells in both Hastings and Rye. We find that street theatre is always a good way to attract and engage with passers by. We received a very good response from the public. Also a good write-up in the local press. Mistreatment of Palestinian children in Israeli military jails.

During May we organised the first ever Hastings Palestine Film Festival to commemorate Nakba Day in conjunction with two local venues the Electric Palace and the Print Works. We showed the films Naila and the Uprising, Speed Sisters and the Wanted 18. Each film was followed by a lively Question and Answer session. Hastings' first Palestinian Film Festival.

We took part in the Give Puma the Boot International Day of Action by setting up a stall outside the Hastings Sports Direct. A very lively event with a lot of interest from the public. Give Puma the Boot.

"Remembering Al Nakba" was an event we organised with the local mosque. The speaker was Dr Khader Abu-Hayyeh, who was a little boy living in the town of Al-Lydd at the time of the Nakba, He gave a moving account of the ethnic cleansing carried out by the Israeli military forces, including the massacre in the Dahmash Mosque. He then detailed the next 20 years of life in refugee camps in the area. First hand experiences like those of Dr. Khader are so important for us to get a better understanding of the ongoing Nakba. After two short films, we had the pleasure of being served up a meal of falafel, humus, smoked aubergine, musakhan, tabbouleh and Hilbeh cake. A good turnout of 70+. Remembering Al Nakba.

We've been holding weekly information stalls in Hastings town centre for almost 5 years now (weather dependent). We also have fortnightly stalls in Rye. We keep members and contacts up to date with our Facebook page, and a monthly online newsletter. We also have a website. We hold monthly planning meetings for members to organise our activities.

June 2019.