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 LIFE UNDER APARTHEID
A talk by Hana Al Bidaq
Saturday 7 January 4pm
The Nest, Hastings Old Town TN34 3EW
Hana, who lives in Ramallah, will speak about how living under an apartheid regime affects every single area of life, focussing on agriculture, water, education and travel.
Hana was due to be our translator for the 'Palestine on the Pier' event last September but was prevented from travelling to the UK because her visa - not required of Israeli visitors to this country - wasn't granted in time. It did eventually arrive, so we're pleased that Hana can make the journey at last.
Here's a background to the meeting in the Hastings Online Times: "Life Under Apartheid:" a talk by Hana Al Bidaq. Please share our Facebook event page.
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PSC Planning Meeting Monday 9 January 6pm
White Rock Hotel (opposite the pier) Hastings TN34 1JU
Taking part in our planning meetings is a good way to get involved in all the different aspects of Palestine solidarity work that we're engaged in.
Hastings Friends of Al-Mawasi Planning Meeting Monday 9 January 7.30pm
White Rock Hotel (opposite the pier) Hastings
Please come along to discuss our plans for the new year, including our English language lessons with people in Al-Mawasi and future fundraising events.
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A Fond Farewell from our Chair
"As 2022 draws to a close I would like to wish you all a Happy New Year and say a fond farewell as I am stepping down as Chair of Hastings & Rye Palestine Solidarity Campaign after four years at the helm. It has been an incredible and important time in my life, during which I have learned so much about the history and current situation in Palestine, met so many warm, wonderful and impressive people and learned a great deal about solidarity, resistance and friendship. I am grateful this is a journey I've been able to share with members of my family. And I'm constantly humbled by the amazing strength and steadfastness of the Palestinians I have met along the way.
 "Hanging out with the best people in town." |
In our small corner of Sussex we achieve a great deal with very humble resources and I'm proud to be a member of this hugely ambitious group. But it needs more help. If you have any time this year and are resolved to becoming a more active advocate for Palestine please consider getting involved in 2023, perhaps by coming along to a planning meeting, offering your skills from home or an hour on the Saturday stall. Trust me, it will be time well spent in the best company you can imagine. My own commitment to Palestine is unwavering and my journey continues, but now in other ways.
One day Palestine will be free, Gaza will be free and there will be justice, equality and freedom for Palestinians everywhere. Until then, we can all do something, however small, to hasten that day forward.
Best wishes to you all. Solidarity, Katy."
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Information stalls
The next information stall will be on Saturday 7 January. There will be NO stall on 31 January. Our stalls are every Saturday 12.00 noon until 2 pm (weather permitting) in the town centre near Millets. Please pay us a visit. We're always happy to have members and supporters come to visit or stay and help. We have keffiyehs from Hirbawi in Hebron, a range of T-shirts and Palestinian flag umbrellas.
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UN: 2022 has been the deadliest year for Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank for 17 years
The UN has stated that 2022 has been the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank for 17 years since its records began. In 2022, according to the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) Israel killed at least 218 Palestinians including 55 children and injured over 9,000. Israel destroyed over 800 Palestinian homes and property, leaving more than 900 Palestinians without a home.
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UN adopts landmark resolution marking Palestinian 'Nakba Day'
Nakba Day - 15 May 2023 - will be officially commemorated by the United Nations General Assembly. The Nakba (Arabic for Catastrophe) commemorates the events when the armed gangs that became the Israel Defense Force/IDF carried out the ethnic cleansing of over 530 Palestinian towns and villages, and the expulsion of over 750,000 Palestinians, whose descendants are now numbered in millions of refugees.The UK voted against the resolution.
Dr. Ramzy Baroud writes: How the UN is correcting a historical wrong.
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"Everyone needs to see 'Farha'"
While the Israel lobby has tried to censor the film 'Farha,' it has become more widely shown now that it is available on Netflix and has been celebrated the world over for portraying al-Nakba (the Catastrophe) so vividly, and has been selected as Jordan's 2023 Oscars entry.
Leila Giries, an 82-year-old Palestinian refugee who survived the Nakba: "Everyone needs to see 'Farha,' because it is not a fictional story of this girl, it is my story, it is the Palestinian story." Palestinians relive the raw and painful history of al-Nakba in Netflix's new film 'Farha.'
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Mahmoud al-Kurd died of cancer after Israel denied his entry to Jerusalem for lifesaving medical treatment - five times
About 2.5 years ago, Mahmoud al-Kurd found out he had cancer. Five times, he applied for a permit to leave Gaza and travel to a hospital in East Jerusalem for scheduled radiation treatment, which is unavailable in the Gaza Strip. Five times, Israel denied his request or kept it "under review." Only after two human rights groups intervened did he finally get there, two weeks ago. But it was too late: al-Kurd passed away the day after he got to the East Jerusalem hospital, at the age of 45, leaving a wife and five children behind. Article here.
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University of Toronto refuses to adopt IHRA definition of antisemitism
The University will not adopt the controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. The university countered the rationale behind the IHRA definition by stating that it had to protect freedoms which are "essential to our university's mandate and mission of discovery, research and education, which can only thrive in an environment of free expression and critical inquiry." These freedoms of expression have been shown to be violated whenever the IHRA definition is imposed. Article here.
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Israel bombs Damascus Airport - again
Last week Israel bombed Damascus International Airport, killing two Syrians. This is the latest in Israel's ongoing raids on civilian Syrian airports in Damascus and Aleppo, both of which were bombed last September. Joseph Massad lists Israel's continuous bombing of Arab (including Palestinian) civilian airports - since 1948. Article here.
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Israel blocks Gaza's Christians from celebrating Christmas in Bethlehem
Israel has refused to grant 200 Christians from Gaza permits to enter the West Bank and celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Approximately 1,500 Christians live in Gaza, most of whom are Greek Orthodox, and there are about 20 Baptists, while the rest follow the Latin Patriarchate. Article here.
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 Pro-Israel media, UK university again smear Palestinian lecturer
The campaign by both the Sheffield Hallam University and the Israel lobby against Palestinian lecturer Shahd Abusalama has carried on after the apparent resolution to the case and her reinstatement earlier this year. Article here.
This is the crowdfunder for Shahd's legal case against Sheffield Hallam University: Crowdfunder.
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 More news:
Palestinian prisoner diagnosed with cancer dies in Israel custody: Article here.
Palestinian brothers killed in 'deliberate' settler attack: Article here.
Palestinians mourn 'future of football' shot by an Israeli sniper: Article here.
Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions condemns Israel for opening water dams east of Gaza Strip: Article here.
Norway's sovereign wealth fund considers divesting from Israel: Article here.
Ben & Jerry's settles lawsuit, freezes out Israel: Article here.
Beginning of the end? Israeli arms firm Elbit's finances crumbling: Article here.
Chris Williamson: Corbyn surrendered to Israel's smears: Article here.
Israeli police try to cancel Palestinian rapper Tamer Nafar concert mid-show... and fail: Article here.
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 Hastings and Rye PSC online membership and donations
Becoming a member of Hastings and Rye PSC is an important way of supporting our work.The annual subscription is £10 waged, £5 unwaged. We now have an online membership payment form. It can also be used to renew membership. The work of Hastings & Rye Palestine Solidarity could not continue without the generous donations from members of the public. If you would like to support our work without becoming a member please visit our shop page here and see the right hand column: Donate to Hastings & Rye PSC.
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Recent Hastings and Rye PSC newsletters:
13 December 2022
2 December 2022
25 November 2022
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