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Hastings and District Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Newsletter 14 February 2025
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In this newsletter:
This Saturday 15 February 12noon - London demonstration for Palestine
This Saturday 15 February 12noon - 2pm - information stall
This Saturday 15 February 6pm - Meeting: Jewish not Zionist
Sunday 16 February 10am - Zoom Call with Al-Mawasi
Saturday 22 February 3pm - Meeting: Anti Palestinian Racism
Tuesday 25 February 7.00am - General Dynamics; Stop Arming Israel
Fundraiser - Give It Up For Gaza
Report - Case Against The #Houmous1 Dropped By The CPS
NATIONAL DEMONSTRATION FOR PALESTINE: SATURDAY 15 FEBRUARY
National Demonstration - Freedom for Palestine. Whitehall to the US Embassy. There are more reasons than ever to get huge numbers out on the streets - to oppose the plans of the White House to ethnically cleanse Gaza; to oppose the UK state's clampdown on the right to protest; and to support the call to Stop Arming Israel. Catch the 10.31 Hastings train to London. If you would like to go but need help towards the cost of a ticket, contact us directly. We match donors with marchers.
SATURDAY'S INFORMATION STALL
Saturday 15 February 12.00 noon until 2pm Town Centre. For those who can't get to Saturday's London demonstration, please visit our information stall. All the usual information, petitions, plus keffiyehs, books, badges, boycott stickers and Palestine Cola.
JEWISH NOT ZIONIST - DISCUSSION WITH AUTHOR MARILYN GARSON
Saturday 15 February 6pm. The White Rock Hotel, Hastings TN34 1JU
We're really pleased to be hosting this talk and discussion with author Marilyn Garson. She will be joining the event via livestream to speak directly to us here in Hastings. This will be a chance for people to ask the questions they may have, and may even have been apprehensive to ask. Marilyn welcomes warmly those who seek to understand more about these issues.
There's an article giving the background to Marilyn's work in Gaza and the subsequent reaction from the small Jewish community in her homeland Aotearoa New Zealand in the Hastings Online Times.
Marilyn's book will be on sale at the meeting. We are jointly hosting this meeting with Hastings Jews for Justice.
More information: Facebook, Instagram.
Sunday 16 February at 10am
We will have a chance to hear about the efforts of the Al-Mawasi community to rebuild and recover since the ceasefire, and their plans to create a temporary school in the community centre. Anyone who wants to know what's happening on the ground in Gaza right now is welcome to come along and ask questions. Register now to join our next public zoom through Eventbrite.
ANTI PALESTINIAN RACISM TODAY
Silenced, excluded, defamed and erased: Anti Palestinian Racism today with Dr Zahira Jaser. Saturday 22 February 3pm. White Rock Hotel.
The Palestinian identity is a stigmatized identity, one constantly reinforced by racist assumptions, and all Palestinians live with a constant threat of being silenced, excluded, defamed and erased. It is what Dr Zahira Jaser calls 'the manifestation of the Nakba in this country,' which is why it is necessary for those in the solidarity movement to recognize anti Palestinian racism (APR) in all its many forms and call it out.
She says it is more important than ever to recognize and speak out against this rising tide of discrimination, one that seeks to erase Palestinians, wherever they are.
Why is the Palestinian identity stigmatized? What forms do discrimination take? What are the consequences of APR for Palestinians and for the rest of society? And what can we do to fight it? Join us to find out.... More information: Facebook, Instagram.
Tuesday 25 February 7.00am. General Dynamics, Sidney Little Road, Hastings TN38 9PU. More information to follow.
This Spring we're asking everyone to Give It Up For Gaza....give up something you can afford to do without, in order to give kids in Gaza access to education again.
The local school in Al-Mawasi, like most of the other civil infrastructure of Gaza, such as electricity, water, hospitals and healthcare has been destroyed. The people in the local community plan to convert their community centre - called the 'safe space' - into a makeshift school. They want to pay teachers to provide lessons for the youngest children who find online learning difficult. This will give these children some chance of normality and stability after nearly a year and a half of displacement and bombings.
So whether it's a pint of beer, or a bar of chocolate, or even your BBC TV licence - if you can Give it up for Gaza then donate the money saved to Al-Mawasi today, and be part of the Palestinian struggle to resist and rebuild!' Give It Up For Gaza. More information about Al-Mawasi.
CASE AGAINST THE #HOUMOUS1 DROPPED BY THE CPS
We're really pleased that the case against Chris has been dropped. This was an outrageous attempt to intimidate and harass a local nurse, a case that has been exposed for the nonsense that it always was.
This was after three plain clothes detectives barged into his house at eight in the morning, violated his home, going 'mob-handed' through his property. After nearly a year, the CPS has dropped the charges because there isn't enough evidence.
But why did the police and CPS choose to pursue Chris, when they didn't have the evidence to back up the charge? This case evaporated on first contact with reality, just like the trumped up charges against the #Hastings3.
There are questions to answer here about why on both occasions Sussex police chose to pursue people of conscience at considerable expense to the taxpayer for nothing more than peaceful protest.... which is not a crime!
Read the full story in the Canary and Skwawkbox.
ONLINE WELLBEING SESSIONS
Clinical hypnotherapist Chris Dindar is running 30 min relaxation sessions to help decompress, process our emotions, and find a moment of peace and deep relaxation amidst the chaos. Chris is offering his services for free, as a token of his solidarity, to help nurture the well-being of our local group and maintain our collective resolve.
Please email Chris directly if interested in taking part. The sessions are the 1st and 3rd Friday of the month at 12 noon.
BOOKS AVAILABLE AT OUR STALLS AND MEETINGS
 
 
 
Now available at our stall, a number of great books to deepen our knowledge of the history of Palestine and Israel. We're grateful to Lee at Printed Matter in Hastings, for generously discounting the price for us in support of the work of PSC. Thanks to Kay Green for providing us with Marilyn Garson's Jewish not Zionist.
PALESTINE - ISRAEL: FROM A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE
Much of the 'information' in the corporate media is misleading. Here are some useful sources:
Middle East Eye. Electronic Intifada. Al Jazeera. Middle East Monitor.
Mondoweiss. Palestine Chronicle. Al Mayadeen. Mintpress. The Grayzone.
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor. Jonathan Cook.
The Cradle. MediaLens. Declassified UK.
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Hastings and District PSC online membership and donations
Becoming a member of Hastings and District 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. If you would rather not use Paypal, you can pay directly to our bank: please contact us for the details. Or alternatively pay at one of our events.
The work of Hastings and District PSC could not continue without the 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 and District PSC.
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Recent Hastings and District PSC newsletters:
10 February 2025
7 February 2025
31 January 2025
Keep up to date with our website and social media:
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