Thursday 28 June 7pm, Amnesty International, 25 New Inn Yard, London EC2A 3EA Free entry, donations will be collected
Under the premise of “modernization” Israel is trying to push Palestinian Bedouins off their land, away from their agricultural way of life, and into crowded crime-stricken townships which offer no employment. Recently, following years of struggle, the people of Umm Al-Hiran were bullied into sacrificing their rights by signing contracts to leave their homes. They must be gone by September to make way for the Jewish-only town of Hiran that will be built on their land while they are displaced to Hura where they will face an unclear future. Their request to remain in a separate neighbourhood next to the new town was rejected with scorn. Which village is next in line to be pushed off its land?
Khalil Alamour is the Director of the Alhuquq Centre for Empowerment and Human Rights. He is an activist and an advocate for the social and political rights of Bedouins in the Negev. He is a teacher who a few years ago qualified as a lawyer to represent his community in the Israeli courts. Despite a few impressive victories, the determination of the current Israeli government to push the Bedouins out of the Negev seems stronger than ever.
From his home village of Alsira in the Negev, Khalil can see the abundant water and constant electricity supplied to the Jewish inhabitants of the Negev including to lone Jewish farmers, but which are denied to Bedouin communities. Meanwhile, other Bedouin communities under Israel’s control, such as Khan al-Ahmar in the West Bank, face imminent threat of displacement and demolition. The Israeli government incites the Jewish population against the Bedouins in both the state of Israel and within the West Bank and presents them as a “lawless” and “violent” people to justify their persecution.
Khalil Alamour will speak of the current predicament of the Bedouins in the Negev, their struggle to maintain their rights, and the importance of support and solidarity from activists around the world. Come and find out what you can do to help stop further demolitions and displacement.
ICAHD UK’s Director, Daphna Baram, will introduce Khalil and moderate the Q&A.