June 2020 ICAHD UK Newsletter

This month we encourage you to demonstrate solidarity with the Sumarin family while they are in court on 30^th June. Hear analysis about Israel’s settler colonialism and annexation, whatever form it takes, during our webinar on 8^th July. View the May Demolition and Displacement Report and think of those who live in daily fear of Israeli bulldozers arriving to demolish their beloved home. Meet Jonathan Kuttab who believes that one state can be a win/win solution for all. See the link to Jeff Halper’s new article on how Israel exports the occupation. We end with important dates for your diary and more events for participation. Stop the Jewish National Fund from Evicting This Family

Photo: David Shulman - Amal Sumarin with son Ala and three grandchildren

STOP the eviction of the Sumarin family. For the last few weeks, ICAHD UK has been part of the very diverse political group that make up the Sumarin Coalition that is pressurizing the Jewish National Fund (JNF) to stop its determination to evict the Sumarin family from their home in Silwan, East Jerusalem, located directly below the Old City.

On June 30th, 2020, the Israeli courts are scheduled to hear the final appeal of a case in which the Keren Kayemeth Leisrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF), through its subsidiary organization, Himanuta, will seek to evict the Palestinian Sumarin family consisting of 18 members from their home.

The eviction of the family is yet another example of Israeli attempts to move Palestinians out of East Jerusalem. As the Israeli government plans to illegally annex vast swathes of the occupied West Bank starting in July stand up against Palestinian dispossession.

ICAHD’s Jeff Halper was quoted in a Canary article about the family. “Using in this case the Jewish National Fund, a quasi-governmental corporation with charitable status in the UK, Israel is expending time, resources and political capital on removing one family on doubtful legal and moral grounds. If this is allowed to happen, if the UK government continues to grant the JNF charitable status, if the Jewish community and other ‘pro-Israel’ voices continue to support policies of Judaization and displacement, then they are all complicit. We of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) call on the British government to protect the Sumarin family and revoke the political JNF’s charitable status.” . Read the full article here.

Further information is available on our website here .

On 30th June, demonstrate your solidarity during the court case

Avi Shlaim in Conversation with Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian and Jeff Halper as they discuss settler colonialism and decolonisation The world awaits Netanyahu’s annexation announcement on 1^st July and at present, it is still unclear exactly what will be included or whether formal annexation will actually happen.

This webinar will address the current reality on the ground and how Palestinians, Israelis and the international community are reacting to annexation continuing whether de facto or de jure. In addition, the bigger picture of settler colonialism versus occupation will be unpacked and there will be discussion about the move towards decolonisation.

Avi Shlaim – 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. Avi Shlaim is an ICAHD UK Patron.

Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian - Lawrence D. Biele Chair in Law at the Faculty of Law-Institute of Criminology and the School of Social Work and Public Welfare at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a Global Chair in Law at Queen Mary University of London. As a resident of the Old City of Jerusalem, Nadera is a prominent local activist.

Jeff Halper – Israeli anthropologist, Director of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD). Jeff is an activist and strategist, and his next book is about settler colonialism. He is part of the steering group for the One Democratic State Campaign. Advanced registration is required by clicking here . May Demolition and Displacement Report Photo: ICAHD During May, Israeli authorities demolished at least 54 Palestinian structures in the Occupied Palestine Territory and 4 structures in Israel. Twenty-eight people were displaced (16 adults and 12 children), and another 237 people effected (119 adults and 118 children). This was an precedented number of demolitions during Ramadan compared to previous years. Five of the demolitions were “self-demolitions”, done by the Palestinian owners to avoid paying fines imposed by Israeli authorities. See full table here

Notice: Due to the surge of demolitions since 1^st June, the June Demolition and Displacement Report will be included in our July Actions Bulletin, released in mid- July along with a new sample lobby letter. ICAHD UK Interview with Jonathan Kuttab who Calls for One State - Win / Win for All Jonathan, you’ve established yourself as a leading human rights lawyer in Palestine and Israel, what is your background? My earliest years were in Bethlehem but then I went to Jerusalem for much of my schooling. At the time, the place was small and movement between them was easy. I went to the US shortly after the June War of 1967, to attend college and law school because I felt that it offered better education. After my studies, I worked at a Wall Street firm in New York to pay off my student debt and then two years later, I returned to Jerusalem which had always been my intention.

What led to you becoming a human rights lawyer? I thought that law and human rights are perfect tools to fight for justice as well as peace and reconciliation. You see, I’m a pacifist, who has a bias for peace, and conflict resolution, I realized early on the futility of war and violence, and the need for radical compromises. My father was a Church of God minister, so I grew up in a family that was not involved in politics, but which had a great ethic of service to the community and self-sacrifice. Under the British Mandate several small Protestant denominations were established and local people were drawn to them because the major Greek Orthodox denomination was led by Greek priests who didn’t care for “their flock” in ways local people wanted. It is interesting, though, to note that all Christian denominations in Palestine tend to be pacifist. Both they, and their Moslem neighbours understood Christ to be a great believer in peace and one who rejected violence and war. I’m staggered that even within evangelical Christian churches in

4^th July - Day of Action against Annexation. Protest Israel’s culmination of years of land theft, home demolitions, displacement of Palestinians, and illegal settlement of occupied Palestinian land all in violation of international law. Call for sanctions. Link to https://www.palestinecampaign.org/events/national-day-of-action-against-annexation/

4th July – Stop the JNF UK webinar, 4.00pm (UK) - Jonathan Cook (author and journalist), Ahmad Amara (lawyer/activist) and Sheikh al Touri, (Al Araqib Action Committee, the community that has been demolished around 170 times) explore the role of the JNF in constructing and sustaining Israel’s settler-colonial apartheid regime. Register here

4^th & 5^th July – Palestine Expo – the biggest Palestine event online with panel discussions, reports from Palestine, entertainment and more. Participants include ICAHD UK patron Ilan Pappe and Awad Abdulfattah, representing the One Democratic State Campaign. https://www.palestineexpo.com/

8th July – ICAHD UK webinar with patron Avi Shlaim in conversation with Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian from Jerusalem’s Old City and Jeff Halper, 5 – 6.15pm (UK). The discussion will focus on settler-colonialism and de-colonisation at a time when there will be more clarity about Israel’s annexation plan. Register here .

11^th July – UK Palestine Mental Health Network Cafe Palestine webinar. Details to be confirmed. Please seetheir websiteand/or join their mailing list for updates.

22 July ICAHD UK webinar on demolitions in the West Bank with Jeff Halper, Awdah Al-Hathaleen and more. 5 – 6.15 pm (UK). Register here. Many thanks for your ongoing support. If you're not already a member of ICAHD UK, please consider joining us to enable our campaign to spread at this critical time in history. From 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