Israel’s war on Gaza captured the world’s attention. It revealed how complicit Western nations are in allowing Israel’s genocide to continue without regard for international law. It also brought millions of people of all ages and backgrounds out onto the streets, and university students out of classes and into campus encampments. At last Palestine has become a global issue connecting many other struggles.
However, Palestinians and Palestine remain under threat. Even as we are focused on Gaza, we cannot lose sight of the bigger political picture: collusion among Israel, the US and Saudi Arabia to “normalize” Israel’s apartheid regime over all of historic Palestine in their larger geopolitical interests of ensuring Western hegemony over the Middle East in face of Iranian threats and Chinese inroads.
The ICAHD UK conferences will evaluate the tragic and dramatic developments in Palestine/Israel over the past year. With the focus on the Big Picture, we ask what is our push-back? How are the Palestinians and their allies ratcheting up their struggle for Palestinian rights and, most important, what political programs for the future are Palestinians formulating?
The conferences will include some speakers who are not well-known to the wider public but whom are playing key leadership roles and who must be heard.
Two Conferences
London - Saturday, 19th October – Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church, 235 Shaftesbury Avenue, WC2H 8EP. 10 am – 4 pm
Register here
Edinburgh - Saturday, 26th October – Quaker Meeting House, 1st Floor, 7 Victoria Terrace, Victoria Street, Edinburgh EH1 2JL. 10.30 am – 3.30 pm
Register here
First Round of Speakers Announced
Dr Jeff Halper is the Co-Founder and Director of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD). He is an anthropologist, an author, activist and one of the founders of the One Democratic State Campaign (ODSC).
Jeff will speak at both conferences.
Naema Wajeeh Aldaqsha is a Postgraduate Teaching Associate and PhD researcher at the European Centre for Palestine Studies at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom. Her research focuses on the politics of representation, diplomacy, and political leadership in Palestine. Naema completed her MA in International Relations and Politics at Richmond, the American International University in London and holds a BA in English Linguistics and Literature from Al-Aqsa University in Gaza, Palestine.
With a robust background in both academia and practical experience, Naema has been working to contribute to the field of Palestinian studies. Her most recent works include an article on pro-Palestinian university encampments and a novella exploring historic Palestine. She has also accumulated valuable experience as an activist and translator in Gaza, further enriching her understanding of the socio-political dynamics in the State of Palestine.
Naema will open the London conference.
Dr Livnat Konopny Decleve is a political anthropologist. She is currently affiliated with the University of Edinburgh as a British Academy International Fellow. Her PhD dissertations, accorded by Tel Aviv University, looked into perceptions of political action and sovereignty amongst Israeli Jewish left-wing activists who left Israel for political reasons and either moved abroad or to Palestinian localities in the West Bank. Her current research delves into alternative political imaginations of Jewish left-wing activists working in Israel/Palestine and abroad.
Livnat will speak both in London and in Edinburgh.
Daoud Ghoul is from Silwan, Jerusalem. He is a Human Geography PhD student at Newcastle University. He worked in different positions including the previous director of Shafaq - the Jerusalem Arts Network and as an alternative tour guide.
Daoud will open the Edinburgh conference.