LATEST NEWS ...

As you may be aware from the Richmond & Twickenham Times (letters 4 May & 11 May), we have been banned from the Richmond May Fair following  a complaint by three unnamed people at last year's (2011) fair.  Despite repeated approaches to the May Fair committee they have refused to reconsider their decision.  In the light of this we put up at street stall across from the fair which was warmly received.  Below is our chairman, Ben's report for the day.

May Fair Report
We had an extremely successful day.  Jenny Tonge did an hour and a half stint with us from 11 am and we had a Richmond and Twickenham Times photographer taking pictures.  These should be in this week's addition (18 May).  We ended up running the stall until 5 pm.  We had a fantastic pitch on the big patch of pavement outside The Cricketers and The Prince's Head  which caught the flow of traffic to and from the Fair and was in a big enough area that no one could accuse us of blocking the highway.  No hassle from any official all day.  Most importantly, we received a fantastic response from the public and about 150 people signed our petition to the May Fair committee asking them to rescind the ban.  

Several clear themes emerged through the day:
· Lots of people who had read about it in the press and were outraged.  At least one has written to council leader demanding action; others who said they would write to papers – lots of people saying they were hoping we would be there so they could register support.
· A sizeable number who stopped by assumed we were running our normal stall and asking where's the oil and why are you here and not in normal spot.  All were universally outraged when we told them about the ban.
· Quite a few who said they had made a point of coming over because they had been informed by people at the fair what was happening or had overheard others discussing it! 

Lots of engagement on the wider campaign issues.  The Disappearing Palestine banner, as usual, was a really good draw.  We left with the strong impression that the banning has drawn people's attention to some of the wider issues – ie why is this cause being banned...

All in all, a very successful event.
Ben

No report would be complete without a few good pictures ...

Fair goers signing petitions and taking leaflets

Another signature, Jenny and Ben look on

Two more get the message. That banner tells it all.

PREVIOUS EVENTS

The world's news media is always searching for the newest, latest, events. In doing so, they often overlook the continuing injustices taking place on a daily basis. Well, it's not NEWS, is it? One such injustice is the ongoing process of ethnic cleansing taking place in the Jordan Valley. Here, using the standard Israeli recipe of sham legality, threatened and actual violence, settled Palestinian communities are being driven off their legally held land day in and day out. However, some courageous individuals and communities are coming together to resist these injustices with non-violent tactics. One organisation at the forefront of this action is Jordan Valley Solidarity. Come along to our next public meeting on Wednesday 22 February 2012 at the Irish Cultural Centre at Hammersmith Broadway where you will hear two speakers from Jordan Valley Solidarity talk about what is happening, what they are doing and how you can help.

This promises to be one of our most interesting meetings.



Hope to see you there.

Webmaster Joe

 

You can find out more about Jordan Valley Solidarity at: www.jordanvalleysolidarity.org but here is a quick resume.

Jordan Valley Solidarity campaign is a network of Palestinian grassroots community groups from all over the Jordan Valley and international supporters. Our aims are to protect Palestinian existence and the unique environment of the Jordan Valley by building international support and supporting communities on the ground.
This includes monitoring, recording and aiming to prevent the abuse of Palestinian human rights by the Israeli occupation and settlers.

The situation in the Jordan Valley is very serious. The Israeli military occupation since 1967 has been attempting to gradually annex the area (which is 28% of the occupied West Bank). Comments made by Netanyahu in March 2010, and previously by Olemert, have left us in no doubt about their intentions. On the ground they are seeking to control more and more of the Jordan Valley by expanding their illegal Israeli colonies and trying to drive Palestinians from their land through house demolitions, movement restrictions, curfews, arbitrary arrest and detention, land confiscations, denial of access to water, electricity, health and education.

In 2003, several community members in the Jordan Valley came together to try to build a community-based campaign to defend the indigenous community's presence. Today, the campaign continues to grow, and has spread to all of the Palestinian communities in the Valley. As a grassroots campaign we rely enitrely on community members volunteering their time and energy, and support from individuals and organisations that support our aims and activities. We have no budget to speak of, or any sources of funding, except in the rare cases that a person or an institution comes forward willing to fund a project that the campaign has undertaken. Since its inception, the campaign has been open to working with any individual or organization that shares its political analysis of the problem facing the Palestinians of the Jordan Valley and shares the commitment to maintain and strengthen Palestinian presence in the Valley.

About our campaign

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign exists to build a mass solidarity movement on Palestine. It is founded on principles of justice, human rights, and opposition to all forms of racism. Any expression of racism or intolerance, or attempts to deny or minimise the Holocaust have no place in our movement. Such sentiments are abhorrent in their own right and can only detract from the building of a strong movement in support of the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people. We welcome all those who share our aims to join PSC.
Our campaign is a positive one, working to ensure the freedoms enjoyed by people throughout the world are not denied to the people of Palestine. We seek to build a movement where all those who are in support of our core demands can take part. Join us, and let us create a world free of occupation, free of racism and where the human rights of all are protected.

Updated 17/5/12