ICAHD UK November 2019 Newsletter ICAHD UK Fundraising Campaign 2019/2020 Images from past building camps... The work of ICAHD UK, and your support, has never been more urgent. Unfounded accusations of anti-semitism are rife and the need to lobby MPs and other leaders and key decision makers to reiterate the oppression of the Palestinian people, particularly in relation to illegal house demolition and the displacement of Palestinian families is crucial. * £500 would allow us to bring a Palestinian speaker to the UK for the Conference followed by a UK speaking tour * £1,000 would allow us to update our website Due to these various unavoidable costs, ICAHD UK is launching a Christmas fundraising campaign with the aim of raising £5,000 towards the costs of our work. Please consider donating to this campaign if you possibly can - any amount, however small or large, is vital to our work and our support of Palestinian families. The most disheartening but long-understood message here is the absolute irrelevancy and unenforceability of international law in foreign affairs. One does not have to be an international law expert to know that the American position is nonsense. Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention that protects populations under occupation and prohibits the Occupying Power from making its control permanent, clearly states: "The Occupying Power shall not... transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies." (Little does this matter. Israel violates with impunity the other 51 articles of the Fourth dealing with restrictions on what an Occupying Power can do). Read more » What a great and inspiring group I was privileged to be part of, full of goodness and strength and intelligence and perseverance. I can’t tell you how much the experience of our marvellous eleven days together meant to me: heartfelt and challenging. When I tell people where I’ve been, they have been knocked out with amazement weirdly calling me brave. I’ve had to completely disenchant them on that score, pointing out who the brave ones really are.” Kathleen wrote, “I thought that I was reasonably well informed before I came but I knew little about the sheer scale and cruelty of the brutal military occupation in which Palestinians are imprisoned.” See her letter in full here . These reports may be commented on by interested NGOs and other bodies registered with the UN, these responses being considered, along with the orginal state report, by the Committee who make recommendations on the basis of a discussion of the state report and submitted responses. The Israeli state submission will be reviewed at a meeting of CERD on 4/5 December and may be viewed here. The full ICAHD response may be viewed and/or downloaded here . Gavin Webster, Isma Almas, Seymour Mace, Gary Sansome and MC Daphna Baram at Laughing for Palestine at the Leeds Palestinian Film Festival A hugely successful 'Laughing for Palestine' event was held at the Leeds Palestinian Film Festival on Sunday 17 November. With an wonderful audience of approximately 100, the event raised over £1,000 for ICAHD UK. ICAHD UK would like to express our huge thanks to Gavin Webster, Isma Almas, Seymour Mace and Gary Sansome for all their support at this event and previous 'Laughing for Palestine' shows, and to Tricia Griffiths and all at the Leeds Palestinian Film Festival for all their hard work 'on the ground' in promoting the show and in securing such a perfect comedy venue. Our new ICAHD UK pens are also £2.50 (or 5 for £10.00) and ICAHD UK keyrings just £2.00 each. All these items may be ordered, along with all our new ICAHD UK-branded merchandise, via this link . The ICAHD UK Annual Conference 2020 The effects of the Israeli government's policy of demolition and displacement on Palestinian families is planned to be a focus of our 2020 Conference The 2020 ICAHD UK Conference will take place at the Amnesty International Human Rights Action Centre, 25 New Inn Yard, Shoreditch, London EC2A 3EA from 11.30am to 5.00pm on Saturday 30 May. The Conference will be preceded by our annual Members' Dinner which will be held during the evening of Friday 29 May at the Wesley Hotel and Conference Centre, 81-103 Euston Street, London NW1 2EZ. Further details about both events will be announced in due course but for now please mark your diary to reserve these dates. Dates For Your Diary For full details of our forthcoming events, please visit the'Dates For Your Diary' section of our website . With thanks for your continued support, from Daphna, Malcolm and all at ICAHD UK. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Israeli-Committee-Against-House-Demolitions-UK/366423593418140 Facebook https://www.twitter.com/ICAHDUK/ Twitter http://icahduk.org Website mailto:info@icahduk.org Email Effective lobbying needs money: * £100 would pay for a targeted mailout to key politicians * £200 would help us to prepare and design new resources focussing on our campaigh against the demolition of Palestinian homes and other structures required for living Please donate here The Trump Administration's Unilateral Declaration on the Legality of Israeli Settlements Jeff Halper Houses under construction in the Israeli settlement of Jabal Abu Ghneim near Jerusalem The Trump Administration’s recent reversal of policy, now declaring unilaterally that Israeli settlements are not "inconsistent with international law" demonstrates nothing more dramatic than the bankruptcy of American foreign policy -- though in fact that previous American governments took virtually the same position. They may have recognized the settlements' illegality under international law but de facto ignored it and allowed Israel to confiscate Palestinian lands, build its massive settlement-cities with impunity, while demolishing tens of thousands of Palestinian homes. Still a Few Places Left For March Study Tours: Read Participant's Feedback Feedback is arriving from participants who joined the recent eleven-day Study Tour to Palestine/Israel. Here follows a quote from Norma Cohen and then find the link to the letter written by Kathleen Zimak to family and friends as she describes her tour experience. Tours are offered each spring and autumn and the dates for 2020 are 16 – 26 March and 2 – 12 November.Find more information on the website (https://icahd.org/extended-study-tours/) . Don’t miss the opportunities that we provide to immerse yourself into gaining understanding of the central human rights tragedy of our era. Immediately after returning from the November 2019 study tour, Norma wrote: “I’m still reeling from that momentous time we all spent together. Deep thanks for making it all happen and setting us off on new journeys to make meaningful change. Kathleen at the entrance to the Aida Refugee Camp, Bethlehem ICAHD Submits Response to Israeli Report to CERD The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is a UN body composed of independent experts that monitors the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CERD.aspx) by all UN member states, with all states obliged to submit regular reports, every two years, to the Committee on how the rights are being implemented. October 2019 Demolition and Displacement Report During the month of October 2019, at least 49 structures were demolished in the occupied Palestinian Territories (including East Jerusalem) by Israeli forces, displacing at least 80 people- including 41 children- and affecting a further 218 people (according to OCHA oPT). All the demolitions and confiscations were carried out on grounds of lacking an Israeli-issued building permit, other then a punitive demolition carried out on 24 October in the Al Am’ari refugee camp. Most of the demolished structures supported agricultural, herding and commercial livelihoods. Read more » Laughing for Palestine in Leeds: Eliciting Chuckles, Raising Funds Get Your Christmas Cards Here These wonderful limited edition greetings cards, designed exclusively for ICAHD UK by our supporter Sameena Zehra, are now available via our online shop for just £2.50 each (or a full set of 5 cards for £10.00). They would make wonderful Christmas cards for family and friends. * Thursday 5 December - 'Demolition and Displacement in the State of Israel - What Can the International Community Do?'. A presentation by Daphna Baram to Shropshire Friends of Palestine at the Quaker Meeting House, Corporation Lane, Coton Hill, Shrewsbury SY1 2PB at 7.30pm. Details here. * 16-26 March 2020 - ICAHD-Recommended Extended Study Tour - see above or here (https://icahd.org/extended-study-tours/) for details * Friday 29 May 2020 - ICAHD UK Members' Dinner at the Wesley Hotel and Conference Centre, 81-103 Euston Street, London NW1 2EZ * Saturday 30 May 2020 - ICAHD UK Annual Conference at the Amnesty International Human Rights Action Centre, 25 New Inn Yard, Shoreditch, London EC2A 3EA. — ICAHD (icahd.org) /newsletter/icahd-uk-november-2019-newsletter