Report on the 2025 ICAHD UK Conference Saturday, 1st November 2025 Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church, London Conference Overview The conference assesed where we are in the struggle for Palestinian rights & freedom and what steps we need to take to address the urgent political moment in which we find ourselves. We heard from people who had incredible experience and influence, recognised globally for their work on Palestine. The conference offered the opportunity to step back from our activism on the streets to gather information that will make us wiser in insuring that we are doing our best to usher in sustainable justice for the Palestinians. The Conerence explored: Israel’s settler colonial agenda & its end game Trump’s vision for peace The Abraham Accords – normalizing 2-state apartheid Mobilization within different fields of interest ICAHD’s resistance to ethnic cleansing on the ground Equipping UK campaigners A conference like no other Conference attendee Steve Jack summarised our 2025 Conference as follows: As a first-time attendee at the ICAHD UK Conference in London last Saturday, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. For one thing, I’d never attended a conference in a church. But the location for this one – Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church on Shaftesbury Avenue – was not only a place of great beauty, but also a venue steeped in history, being the location of Martin Luther King's speech on his first visit to London during the civil rights movement, that seemed to befit such a gathering. We were there, after all, to contemplate the desperately difficult way ahead for Palestinian justice, freedom and sovereignty. And to address, as the day’s theme demanded, “the urgency of the political moment”, given the fragile ‘ceasefire’ in Gaza, after more than two years of genocide and ethnic cleansing. The darkness – and undeniable horror – of the subject matter was, however, illuminated by contributions from an array of brilliant speakers, who each shed light on different aspects of our combined struggle; and also by a palpable sense of warmth and generosity of spirit, as we each strove to make this a day of greater understanding and shared purpose. I came away under no illusions about the enormity of the task we face. But having visited Palestine for the first time on an ICAHD Study Tour this spring, and after absorbing the messages and the atmosphere of this unique event, I feel renewed enthusiasm and determination about the challenges that lie ahead. The Speakers Watch recordings of the principal speakers via the links below: Dr Jeff Halper 'Judaization, Apartheid, Normalization – Liberation! Where are we in the struggle over Palestine? The Day After' Jeff Halper is ICAHD’s Director. He lives in Jerusalem and came to the London conference following his participation in the final session of the Gaza Tribunal in Istanbul. Jeff is an anthropologist, author, and activist. He’s the author of several books, two of which are Decolonizing Israel, Liberating Palestine: Zionism, Settler Colonialism and the Case for One Democratic State and War Against the People: Israel, the Palestinians and Global Pacification. In 2017, Jeff co-founded the One Democratic State Campaign (ODSC), a Palestinian-led initiative to formulate a one-state political programme designed to replace a settler colonial Israel and its occupation with a single democracy of equal rights for everyone living between the River and the Sea, including returning Palestinian refugees. Jeff, along with Palestinian Issa Amro were jointly nominated for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, Jeff’s second nomination. Watch presentation here Jeremy Corbyn MP has represented Islington North in Parliament since 1983.  A former leader of the Labour Party, he is involved in forming “Your Party”. Jeremy has had a distinguished career and been the recipient of numerous awards including the Gandhi International Peace Award for his "consistent efforts to uphold the Gandhian values of social justice and non‐violence.” Jeremy has been advocating for the Palestinians as they seek justice and liberation longer than anyone else in the House of Commons. In September this year, Jeremy’s Peace and Justice Project hosted the Gaza Tribunal UK. Watch Jeremy's message to the Conference here Prof Avi Shlaim 'Britain’s gift to Zionism' Avi is a British Israeli historian - Emeritus Fellow of St Antony’s College and a former Professor of International Relations at the University of Oxford. He was elected Fellow of the British Academy in 2006. Of his many books, his most recently published book is Three Worlds: Memoirs of an Arab-Jew (2023) which won the 2024 PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize for the best non-fiction on any historical subject. Avi Shlaim is involved with the newly launched Britain Owes Palestine campaign. This message was recorded as the Gaza Tribunal in Istanbul a few days before the Conference Watch Avi's message here Peter Frankental 'The question of normalisation through an economic lens and the need for mobilisation' Peter is the Economic Affairs Programme Director of Amnesty International UK. He previously worked in the private sector, the NHS and the not-for-profit-sector. He has undertaken postgraduate studies at the London School of Economics, the Institute of Latin American Studies, and the Institute of Commonwealth Studies. Peter has been an advisor to the International Commission of Jurists panel on corporate complicity in international crimes and was on the Steering Group of a three-year research project to develop a methodology for human rights impact assessments and apply it to five case studies of affected communities.  He has served on the Boards of several NGOs including the Corporate Responsibility Coalition (CORE), the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre and London Mining Network. Peter is co-founder of an organisation ‘Hear Me Out’ that takes music-making into UK immigrations detention centres to release the words, music and life stories of people held inside. Watch presentation here Rev Dr Simon Woodman 'Grassroots activism within religious communities when establishment leaders are silent on genocide' Simon is the Minister of Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church and the Baptist Chaplain of King’s College London. Previously he lectured at Cardiff University and was a tutor and acting principal at South Wales Baptist College. Simon is not afraid to mix politics with theology and to push boundaries. He champions radical values and inclusivity while collaborating and engaging widely to bring about transformation. Watch presentation here Images of the Conference Click on any of these images to view the full-size photo — ICAHD (icahd.org) /news/report-on-the-2025-conference