Palestinian Liberation:
Where are we in the struggle & what is the
role of the international solidarity community
The 2023 ICAHD UK Conference was held at Amnesty International's UK Headquarters in Shoreditch, London on Saturday 30 September 2023 and despite a national rail strike and illness, there was a good audience, both in-person and online, for this important event which included opportunities to::
- Hear Palestinian assessment about the situation on the ground and where they are in the struggle for liberation.
- Engage with Palestinians and critical Israeli Jews on what forms of international solidarity is most strategic for their needs.
- Unpack the vital process of decolonisation and the need to build One Democratic State as the only means of achieving real democracy, equality, and sustainability for both peoples.
- Equip campaigners for campaigning and lobbying.
The Conference consisted of three sessions:
- Session 1: Palestinian Liberation: where are we in the struggle?
- Session 2. Palestinian Liberation: what is the role of the international solidarity community?
- Session 3: Response from the international solidarity community
You can watch recordings of the four main speakers: Awad Abdulfattah, the leader of the One Democratic State Campaign; Yoa'd Ghanadry Hakim, Clinical psychologist with the Palestine Counselling Centre; Eitan Bronstein Aparicio, Co-Director of De-Colonizer; and Jeff Halper. Director of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, during the first two sessions via the links below:
Israeli historian Avi Shlaim, Emeritus Professor of International Relations at Oxford University, also gave some reflections based on his new book 'Three Worlds: Memoirs of an Arab Jew. A recording of his presentation is available here.
Jeff Halper and Awad Abdulfattah
Jeff Halper is the co-founder and director of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD). With his doctorate in anthropology, Jeff taught at Haifa and Ben Gurion Universities in Israel, and was the head of Friends World College, an international university program. Jeff is the recipient of several peace awards and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize along with Palestinian Ghassan Andoni in 2006. Jeff has published many articles and his books include Obstacles to Peace, An Israeli in Palestine, War Against the People: Israel, the Palestinians and Global Pacification and Decolonizing Israel, Liberating Palestine: Zionism, Settler Colonialism and The Case for One Democratic State. Jeff is on the steering committee of the One Democratic State Campaign.
Awad Abdelfattah is a political writer and the former general secretary of the Balad political party which aims to transform the state of Israel into a democracy for all its citizens, irrespective of national or ethnic identity. Awad Abdelfattah lives in the Galilee and is the leader of the One Democratic State Campaign, based in Haifa and launched in 2017.
Yoa's Ghanadry-Hakim
Yoa’d Ghanadry-Hakim is a clinical psychologist and certified supervisor. She is the head therapist at the Palestine Counselling Centre in Jerusalem and head of the Arab Union of Psychologists. Yoa’d is a founding member of the Palestinian Global Mental Health network where she is on the board. At present Yoa’d is pursuing her PhD on the effects of home demolitions upon Palestinians.
Eitan Bronstein Aparicio
Eitan Bronstein Aparicio founded Zochrot dedicated not only to Nakba commemoration, but to educating the Israeli public over what Israel has tried to hide all these years. Currently, with his wife and partner Eléonore Marza, he co-directs De-Colonizer, conceived as a junction between research, creativity, archiving/documentation and public discussion. Eitan and Eléonore are the authors of Nakba: The Struggle to Decolonize Israel.
Avi Shlaim
Avi Shlaim is an Israeli historian, Emeritus Professor of International Relations at the University of Oxford, and fellow of the British Academy. He is one of Israel's New Historians, a group of Israeli scholars who put forward critical interpretations of the history of Zionism and Israel. His books include The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World, Israel and Palestine: Reappraisals, Revisions, Refutations and his latest book, Three Worlds: Memoirs of an Arab Jew.