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Billie Waymouth: raised £132.50 to Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) through her great contribution in Norwich Peace Cycle.
Well done Billie!
A letter for MAP:
Dear billie waymouth,
Thank you for your kind donation of £132.50 to Medical Aid for Palestinians
(MAP). Because you gave Gift Aid consent, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) can
reclaim an additional £37.37 to add to your donation. If you are a higher rate
tax payer you can also reclaim £33.13. Please keep a copy of this confirmation for your tax records.
We have sent you an email confirming receipt of your donation. Please quote
these numbers if you have any questions about your donation.
Please note that in addition UNISON have agreed in their July executive meeting a
£50 donation too, Billie will send Unison the address.
Dear Friends, I think it will be a good idea for Norwich PSC to have a stall at the Burston Strike School Day on Sunday 6 September from
11:00am to about 3:00pm. We will have to provide the table and it will cost around £10. As I will be attending in my
capacity as Branch Secretary of Norwich GMB and marching with the Branch Banner at the start of proceedings, we will
need a couple of volunteers to share responsibilities on the stall until I am free to help. Are there any volunteers? I will be
driving there as I will have a lot of stuff to take, but, if you are trade unionists, Norwich & District TUC will be running a
free bus. Let me know ASAP if you can help or would like to make use of the bus.
Keith Rowley (NPSC Chair)
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Israeli Haaretz.com :
TAU professors denounce Dershowitz for speech against left
Academics hit back after U.S. commentator slams university staff for backing boycotts against Israel.
By Or Kashti
Senior faculty members at Tel Aviv University have come out against remarks by Harvard Law School professor Alan
Dershowitz on Saturday in which he condemned Israeli university faculty who criticize Israel and have even supported an
academic boycott of the country. Read the full article.
Israeli Haaretz newspaper:
High school bans Israeli-Palestinian dialogue group due to parents' pressure
Students report that the principal has said the school aims to raise the rate of students who serve in the Israel Defense
Forces and that inviting the Israeli-Palestinian organization could damage this. Read the full article.
 Too little heard on Middle East policy
, a letter by Stuart Littlewood (published on EDP), view the letter (image).
Another Ethnic Cleansing! Israeli Haaretz: IDF order will enable mass deportation from West
Bank By Amira Hass
A new military order aimed at preventing infiltration will come into force this week, enabling the deportation of tens of
thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank, or their indictment on charges carrying prison
terms of up to seven years. Click here to read the full article.
 Labour Briefing (April/May 2010). Please click her to read Bob Marshall-Andrews on his fact-finding visit
to Gaza in the latest issue of Labour Briefing.
Palestinian film festival announcement 12 April 2010
Medical Aid for Palestinians is pleased to announce the UK premiere of Fatenah, at the
London Palestine Film Festival. Click here to read more.
The BBC admits its reporting error, BRICUP Newsletter 27 April 2010.
Read the News Release.
The Decline of Israel and the Prospects for Peace

In a wide ranging interview journalist Jonathan Cook describes the increasingly repressive nature of Israeli
society and the prospects for a solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
What did you make of Ehud Barak’s recent comparison of Israel to South Africa? Read more...
EU: West Bank goods aren't Israeli
By The Associated Press (posted by Israeli Newspaper Haaretz)
In a ruling touching on the status of the West Bank, the European Union high court said Thursday the
disputed area is not part of Israel and Israeli goods made there are subject to EU import duties. More....
BBC, EU: Goods made at Jewish settlements are not Israeli 
The European Court of Justice has ruled that Israeli goods made in Jewish settlements in the occupied West
Bank cannot be considered Israeli. More...
Lord Patten becomes new MAP President
Lord Patten of Barnes will be taking over from Baroness Helena Kennedy as MAP's President in March.
Lord Patten is a well-known and respected figure, whose experience, particularly working with the EU,
will be invaluable. More...
Palestinian farmers denied visas by the UK government for fairtrade fortnight. Please sign this petition to tell the FCO allow these farmers to attend fairtrade fortnight.
These farmers, whose olive oil is the only one in the world to carry the Fairtrade mark, have been invited by a UK social
enterprise, Zaytoun, and were to be accompanied by a leading British NGO.
The shocking refusal to allow those producers from newly certified Fairtrade Cooperatives into the UK to attend events
across England, Wales and Scotland, comes exactly one year after this:
Gordon Brown said he was "delighted" by the launch, marking the start of Fairtrade Fortnight, the annual campaign urging
people to buy goods with the internationally recognised mark designed to ensure producers from poorer countries get a
fair price and long-term security.
Brown said: "Olive oil production provides an essential part of the West Bank economy. In buying this oil, British shoppers
will be helping the farmers of Palestine to make a living."

Gaza: Blockade 'Suffocating' daily life
- Amnesty new report Posted: 18 January 2010. Call for lifting of blockade one
year on from end of Operation ‘Cast Lead’
One year on from the end of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza Amnesty has called on Israel to lift its suffocating
blockade of Gaza, as the organisation released a new briefing on the plight of Palestinians living under the
blockade. Please click here to read it and click here to download Suffocating The Gaza Strip under Israeli blockade
file. The website has also a link to a “Take Action” page.
 From Norwich: eyewitness Gaza
By Rupert Read, posted on 30 January 2010. The Israeli siege of Gaza began in
2005 when Israel withdrew its illegal settlers, and tightened in 2006 when Hamas won 74 of the 132 seats in
the Palestinian Assembly, leading to collective punishment of the people of Gaza by Israel. The siege severely
restricts the entry of food, fuel, medical supplies and other necessities through all the legitimate border
-crossing-points into Gaza. Reed the article.
Legal Action to enforce Human Rights Conditions in EU-Israel Association Agreement.
Clare Short MP and the
European Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza have launched a legal action to require the European Union to uphold the
human rights conditions entrenched in the EU-Israel Association Agreement. Read more
Once again: Veolia is forming a strategic partnership with the Israeli Dan
bus company, Veolia still intertwined with Israel's occupation. Read more
Israeli couple loses court battle to rent house to Arab friends
Three years ago an Israeli Jewish couple, Natalie and Weisman Zakai, offered to rent their home to their Israeli Bedouin
friends Ahmed and Khalas Tarabin. The Tarabins could not afford to buy a new house. They were living with relatives
because their house had burnt down in early 2007, killing one of their children.
Ever since the rental offer became known to their neighbours, the Zakais’ lives have become a living hell. Three of their six
dogs have been mysteriously poisoned. Their car has been spray painted with the words "Arab lover" and the windows
smashed. Their three children are regularly taunted and bullied by other pupils at school. A collection of vintage cars in the
family’s yard has been set on fire. The Zakais have spent three years and thousands of dollars battling through the courts
in their community of Nevatim (Negev desert) to get the right to rent their house to the Tarabins. It has all been in vain.
Jews and Arabs have few chances to live together in Israel, except in a handful of cities. It is nearly impossible to do so in
Israel’s rural communities, which are strictly segregated, according to Alaa Mahajneh, a lawyer representing the Zakais.
In 2008 a district court judge in Beersheva overruled a decision by the community of Nevatim to prevent the rental to the
Tarabins. However, on March 10, 2010 judges on Israel’s Supreme Court upheld Nevatim’s right to discriminate.
Mr Tarabin, 54, said: "I want my wife Khalas to rest and heal and this place would have been perfect for her. The house
has large grounds and we could have kept to ourselves. No one in Nevatim needs to have anything to do with us if they
don’t want."
Having come to the end of her fight for justice, Mrs Zakai stated, "Although I have always loved Israel, to see the depth of
the racism of our neighbours has made me question why we live in this country."
Adapted from the article "Israel's ‘No Renting to Arabs’ Policy", written by Jonathan Cook and published on line by "Counterpunch."
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Defence for Children International - Palestine Section
Defence for Children International-Palestine Section (DCI-Palestine) is a national section of the international non
-governmental child rights organisation and movement, Defence for Children International (DCI), established in 1979.
Please visit their website to read their new Detention Bulletin which we will be released each month. The bulletin is
intended to provide a comprehensive picture of the detention issues facing Palestinian children in Israeli facilities for the
previous month. The bulletin for January is divided into the following categories:
Avindav Begin, who is also the son of the current Likud Knesset member Benny Begin, refuses to stand during the Israeli
national anthem "Hatikva" and participates in protests against the Apartheid Wall. He does not see himself as a Jew or a
Zionist and believes that his grandfather did not make real peace with Egypt. He also is not worried about being the
target of rotten eggs after his inflammatory interview with Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot.
The newspaper said in a lengthy report: "(Avindav) Begin examines the psychological roots of the
Jewish-Arab conflict in his new book 'End the Conflict,' which was published recently in both Hebrew
and Arabic. He suggests a radical solution to spare all religious, national and ideological sectors,
encouraging everyone to live together as human beings. Despite being brought up in a very
nationalistic family, and perhaps for this reason, he did not agree with the theories of his father and
grandfather.
The newspaper asked him:
Do you raise Israel's flag on its independence day?
I do not raise any flag, either the flag of Israel or the flag of Palestine. Do you stand when they sing "Hatikva"?
No, because it makes no sense in my view. Why do you live in Israel, then?
My family, sisters and brothers and friends are here. How do you feel about the 700 people who were killed in the 1982 war that was initiated by Israel and led by your
grandfather?
There were actually 30,000 Lebanese and Palestinians killed, mostly unarmed people who cannot be compared with
Israeli soldiers because the people did not fight at all. I think that there is no need for any war, including the War of Nov.
6, 1973. Do you think that the conflict will continue?
I protest in Bil'in (in the West Bank) because I reside here, not in Kosovo, it is one hour from my house. I want to remove
the wall and bring Arnit back to farm his field. (After reading an advertisement on the Internet, Begin joined a protest four
years ago near the Apartheid Wall in Bil'in and established a close relationship with Wajeyh Arnit, a father of 10 children
and a contractor who worked in Israel. His son Rani was paralyzed by a bullet fired by Israeli troops.)
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Join the annual Palestinian olive harvest! Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign
The Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign and its popular committees are coordinating collective efforts to safeguard the annual
olive harvest and are calling on volunteers to stand in solidarity with Palestinian communities and join in the harvest,
which will begin 15 October 2009. Find out more.
Mobilize for the seventh Week Against the Apartheid Wall.
The Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, its popular committees and member organizations call on
activists to launch a week of global mobilization against the walls of apartheid in the West Bank and Gaza from November
9 to 16 2009. Find out more.
Click here
to download the Report of the United Nations Fact-finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict (in PDF format).
The report was released by United Nations, General Assembly, Human Rights in Palestine and AND Other Occupied Arab
Territories. It was published by HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL (25 September 2009)-Twelfth session Agenda item 7.
Palestinians protest land seizure, watch the video on Aljazeera or YouTube
Hundreds of Palestinian villagers have made a short but symbolic march to the separation wall that Israel has built on
their land, a non-violent protests that they regularly undertake.
Aljazeera: Film festival courts controversy
By Ahmed Habib
Moviegoers who were hoping for world class cinema at this week's Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) may find
themselves at the centre of a growing controversy steeped in international politics.
Read the full article on Aljazeera.
John Mearsheimer (University of Chicago) and Steve Walt (Harvard) published the controversial
article 'The Israel Lobby and US foreign policy'. In it they state that it is not, or no longer, expedient for the US to support
and protect present-day Israel. The documentary sheds light on both parties involved in the discussion: those who wish
to maintain the strong tie between the US and Israel, and those who were critical of it and not infrequently became
'victims' of the lobby. More.
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Free Mohammad Othman Now!
On September 22, Mohammad Othman was arrested by soldiers on the Allenby Bridge Crossing, the border from Jordan to Palestine. He is now being held in Huwara prison as a prisoner of conscience, arrested solely for his
human rights work. Mohammad, 33 years old, has dedicated the last ten years of his life to the
defense of Palestinian human rights. He has campaigned with the Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign
against the dispossession of Palestinian farmers and against the involvement of Israeli and
international business in the violations of Palestinian human rights.
We call on international solidarity and human rights organizations to act immediately to bring
attention to this case and advocate for the release of Mohammad Othman by:
Recommended Actions:
• Click here to follow the blog and facebook to free Mohammad Othman to see the latest updates and action alerts Blog.
• Encourage others to join this campaign through petitions, demonstrations and / or letter writing / phone calling. Please
provide them with contact information and details;
• Urge your representatives at consular offices in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem/ Ramallah to demand the immediate release of
Mohammad Othman. (For your consular contacts, please click here
A sample letter in English and French can be found on the blog under 'take action'
• Let the Israeli Embassy in your country know that you are campaigning for Mohammad’s release and for a just and
lasting peace based on international law
• Sign the online petition for Mohammad
• Bring the case of Mohammad to the attention of local and national media outlets;
Please visit the blog for more info and updates!
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