Cafe Palestine 39: Introduction to a new music therapy programme for music teachers in Gaza
Saturday 18 April from 4-6pm (UK)
This Café Palestine session will focus on a new online music therapy support programme for music teachers in Gaza, addressing the urgent need for practical ways to support children experiencing severe trauma.
See the Featured Events section in this mailing for full details.
Zoom link to follow in the next mailing

UKPALMHN Solidarity Spaces
Every Monday during February and March at 1pm (UK time)
This is an open space where people exchange their emotional responses with a view to remaining resilient amidst a constant stream of distressing news.
Please write to ukpalmhn@gmail.com if you would like a link to this meeting

POSTPONED
The UKPALMHN Mental Health Study Tour has been postponed until the Autumn
Due to the US and Israel’s ongoing, illegal military attack on Iran, we have decided to postpone the Spring Study tour until the autumn. The tour will now be from:
Monday 26 October to Wednesday 4 November
We know that our tours to meet and learn from our Palestinian colleagues are appreciated by them and this strengthens our commitment to continue with the tour at a later date.
Please contact us now at ukpalmhn@gmail.com for an application form to be completed prior to an online meeting.

“The situation is deteriorating rapidly, and yet it unfolds in near silence. The world is occupied with other urgencies. Gaza no longer interrupts the global conscience. It no longer qualifies as breaking news. And so it becomes easier to look away.
Yesterday, the Israeli army announced an extension of the closure of Gaza’s border crossings until March 13. No goods. No supplies. No aid. For at least thirteen more days. For nowThese phrases, bureaucratic and bloodless, conceal what they mean.
Even when the crossings are open, what enters is not generosity but calculation. The quantities are tightly controlled, measured according to daily caloric limits defined by the very authority that enforces the closure. Survival here has been reduced to arithmetic. Not dignity, not life as it is meant to be lived, but the minimum required to postpone death.
And now the crossings are sealed again.
It will take only days before organizations such as the World Food Programme are forced to suspend their operations for lack of supplies. Bakeries will close. Shelves will empty. Families who have already been living on the narrowest margin will find that even the margin has disappeared.
Gaza is being pushed toward hunger while the world directs its gaze elsewhere, and history has shown us what happens when suffering is permitted to proceed quietly. Starvation does not require spectacle. It does not need the noise of bombs. It advances in increments, in administrative language, in closed gates.
One gate. Then another.
Until hunger becomes policy, and policy becomes ordinary.“
Dr Izzideen on X
https://x.com/ezzingaza/status/2028496226480537979

Between 27 February and 5 March 2026, it is estimated that only about 25–30 truck‑loads of UN‑coordinated aid per day actually entered Gaza through Kerem Shalom, compared to the 500 or more trucks a day that UN agencies say are needed to meet basic needs.

Indifferenz
Source: Parapraxis Magazine
Date: 6 March
Lama Khouri is co-founder of the Palestine-Global Mental Health Network.
This essay by Palestinian psychoanalyst Lama Khouri is addressed to the organisers of the European Psychoanalytic Federation’s 2026 conference titled “Neutrality”. It criticises psychoanalytic institutions for invoking “neutrality” while remaining silent about the mass violence in Gaza. The author revisits Freud’s concept of Indifferenz, noting that while it was historically translated as “neutrality”, Freud used the term to describe a technical stance within the analytic consulting room rather than a broader institutional or political position. Khouri argues that psychoanalytic organisations have gradually extended and reshaped this clinical concept into an organisational doctrine that enables institutional self-preservation through political silence. Framed as a protest to the conference organisers, the article endorses calls for psychotherapists to leave the umbrella organisation called the International Psychoanalytic Association (IPA). It argues that continued membership legitimises the misuse of neutrality in the face of Palestinian suffering.
https://www.parapraxismagazine.com/articles/indifferenz

Sport counselling training in Gaza
Source: Palestine Trauma Centre UK
Date: 1 March
A recent, 3-minute video showcasing current work of PTC (UK) in Gaza.
https://ukpalmhn.com/resources/ptc-uk-sport-counselling-in-gaza-march-2026/
PTC (UK) website:
https://www.palestinetraumacentre.uk/

Exercise and freedom: Inside a children’s mental health centre in Gaza
Source: The Guardian
Date: 5 March
A Palestine Red Crescent Society mental health centre provides one of the few places left where children in Gaza can play and feel safe
A collection of 10 photos and commentary from the children’s centre.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2026/mar/05/childrens-mental-health-centre-gaza

Mental health and primary care in Gaza: The ceasefire opportunity and imperative
Source: The Lancet Psychiatry (Correspondence)
Date: 9 February (Epub) / March issue
This commentary argues that the destruction of Gaza’s healthcare system has created an urgent need to integrate mental health services into primary care as part of reconstruction and humanitarian response. It emphasises that the scale of psychological trauma across the population requires rapid expansion of community-based mental health and psychosocial support.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(26)00022-2/fulltext

Gaza remains a crisis of children’s mental health
Source: Los Angeles Times
Date: 15 February
In this recent op‑ed, psychologist Nisreen Qawas of the Palestine Red Crescent Society – the real operations‑room responder whose experience inspired The Voice of Hind Rajab – describes being in the PRCS control room in Ramallah, speaking with Hind and her family as colleagues desperately tried to reach them by ambulance. Qawas writes that Gaza’s children are not only surviving bombardment and displacement but enduring an overwhelming, cumulative psychological trauma that is destroying any sense of safety or future, amounting to a full‑scale mental health crisis for an entire generation.
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2026-02-15/gaza-remains-crisis-of-childrens-mental-health

Mental health of children in Gaza: A call for global action
Source: ScienceDirect
Date: 29 January
This article examines the severe psychological impact of the war in Gaza on children, focusing on the effects of continuous traumatic stress, mass bereavement and large-scale displacement. It argues that the destruction of homes, schools and healthcare infrastructure has compounded the mental health crisis by removing many of the social supports that normally help children cope with trauma. The authors call for urgent international action to expand mental health and psychosocial services for children in Gaza and to prioritise long-term recovery and protection.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S3050713826000069

Trauma and mental health burden of Gaza’s displaced children during war: A cross-sectional study
Source: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health
Date: 27 January
This research study reports extremely high levels of trauma exposure and psychosocial difficulties among displaced children in Gaza. The authors conclude that the war is likely to produce long-term and intergenerational mental health consequences and call for large-scale psychosocial interventions.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13034-026-01024-5

The Gaza we want: Children’s voices on life, recovery and the future of the Gaza Strip
Source: UNICEF / UNISPAL
Date: 24 February
This report presents testimonies and surveys from children in Gaza describing the psychological effects of war, displacement and loss on their daily lives. It highlights widespread anxiety, grief and uncertainty among children while calling for sustained mental health and psychosocial support as part of recovery planning.
https://www.un.org/unispal/document/unicef-report-the-gaza-we-want-childrens-voices-on-life-recovery-and-the-future-of-the-gaza-strip-24feb26/

Francesca Albanese on being sanctioned by the United States
“… its a judgement without appeal that skips the trial”
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/E0JCNSTUN8c

FEATURED EVENTS

Decolonial Mental Health Practice
Clinical and ethical Insights from Palestine
A four-part webinar with Dr. Samah Jabr (two modules remaining)
Source: Science and Nonduality
How do we offer genuine healing when trauma isn’t in the past, but an ongoing reality?
In times of ongoing structural violence and protracted conflict, how do standard mental health frameworks hold up? Often, traditional models of “neutrality” and “post-traumatic” care fail to capture the reality of distress that is a daily, lived experience.
SAND are honoured to announce a crucial interactive workshop developed by Dr. Samah Jabr, based on her extensive frontline psychiatric practice in Palestine. This four-part training challenges us to move beyond mainstream psychology and explore decolonial frameworks, Liberation Psychology in action, and the vital human rights dimensions of clinical practice. This is essential learning for anyone seeking ethical pathways to healing in highly politicised environments.
Sunday 15 March, 4:00pm–6:00pm (UK)
Module IV: Mental Health, Human Rights, and Professional Responsibility
Sunday 22 March, 4:00pm–6:00pm (UK)
https://scienceandnonduality.com/event/decolonial-mental-health-practice/

Scottish Palestinian Health Partnership Conference
Speaking up against injustice: Addressing Intimidation of UK Health Workers Supporting Palestine
Date: Saturday 21 March from 1 pm to 4:30 pm
Location: University of Glasgow, James McCune Smith Learning Hub, University Avenue, Room 641, Glasgow G12 8QW
In parts of the UK, health care workers speaking up for the basic human rights of Palestinians have been subjected to threats, intimidation and formal disciplinary action. Join us as we hear from prominent clinicians and a legal expert on the right to express Palestinian solidarity.
Invited Speakers:
Dr Ghassan Abu Sitta, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon
Dr Ang Swee Chai, Orthopaedic Surgeon and Co-founder MAP
Dr Tamara Ali, Glasgow Trainee GP
Mr Franck Magennis, UK Barrister
Dr James Smith, ER medic and Lecturer in Humanitarian Studies
The conference is free to attend but booking is required.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/speaking-up-against-injustice-tickets-1982770430733

Health under siege
Date: 22 March at 5pm (UK)
Source: USA-Palestine Mental Health Network and Jewish Voice for Peace Health Advisory Council
This webinar organised by the Jewish Voice for Peace Health Advisory Council will examine the impact of the war in Gaza on health systems and civilian wellbeing, focusing on the destruction of healthcare infrastructure and the wider public health consequences of the siege. The speaker, Dr Zeena Salman, is a Palestinian-American psychologist and mental health advocate whose work focuses on trauma, community mental health and the psychological effects of war and displacement in Palestinian communities.
https://mailchi.mp/130505c71b7a/jvp-hac-webinar-health-under-siege-march-22-2026?e=f6d53898b3

Cafe Palestine 39: Introduction to a new music therapy programme for music teachers in Gaza
Saturday 18 April from 4-6pm (UK)
This Café Palestine session will focus on a new online music therapy support programme for music teachers in Gaza, addressing the urgent need for practical ways to support children experiencing severe trauma. The programme recognises that many musicians in Gaza are already working closely with traumatised children and seeks to provide them with simple, ethically grounded tools to strengthen this work.
The initiative has been developed by the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music, a leading Palestinian cultural institution, in collaboration with international partners.
Dr Lukas Pairon, Chair of the Centre for Social Action and Music-Making at the University of Ghent, will introduce the programme alongside music therapist Hala Hamdan, who is facilitating the weekly online sessions. The approach is deliberately modest and pragmatic, offering shared reflection and practical techniques for observation and stabilisation rather than formal therapist training or trauma treatment.
Zoom link to follow in the next mailing

NOTE THE NEW DATE
Besiege Your Siege with Madness:
Collective liberation and the psychoanalysis of world-making
Source: USA-Palestine Mental Health Network, BADIL, Eyewitness Palestine
Date: SUNDAY 19 APRIL from 4:30 – 6 pm (UK)
A special presentation and dialogue with Dr. Reem Abu Hweij who is a clinical psychologist and academic based in Jerusalem.
Amid genocide and protracted colonial trauma, what psychic processes enable a people not only to survive but to imagine anew? Drawing from her essay “Besiege Your Siege with Madness” (forthcoming in Psychoanalysis, Culture & Society), Dr. Reem Abu Hweij deftly examines the Palestinian collective psyche as a site of world-making and spiritual revolt. She introduces the concept of liberation madness—a psycho-spiritual rupture through which the oppressed transcend the coloniser’s “Dominant Reason” and reclaim meaning, love, and collective purpose.
https://mailchi.mp/41bfc486574d/besiege-your-siege-with-madness-mar-6-52392?e=f02f8a3048

POSTPONED
The UKPALMHN Mental Health Study Tour has been postponed until the Autumn
Due to the US and Israel’s ongoing, illegal military attack on Iran, we have decided to postpone the Spring Study tour until the autumn. The tour will now be from:
Monday 26 October to Wednesday 4 November
We know that our tours to meet and learn from our Palestinian colleagues are appreciated by them and this strengthens our commitment to continue with the tour at a later date.
Please contact us now at ukpalmhn@gmail.com for an application form to be completed prior to an online meeting.

FEATURED ACTIONS

Israeli Apartheid Week
Source: Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement
Date: Saturday 21 March – Saturday 28 March (and beyond)
Web: https://bdsmovement.net/iaw
Share your events and actions online! #IsraeliApartheidWeek
Please share your activism with the wider movement. Take photos and videos, write short reports, and share them all using the hashtags #IsraeliApartheidWeek, #DismantleApartheid, #GazaGenocide and #UnitedAgainstRacism. We’ll be sharing on social media on the accounts:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IsraeliApartheidWeek.IAW
Twitter: https://twitter.com/apartheidweek
Instagram: https://instagram.com/israeli_apartheid_week

Framing Israeli Apartheid: Uses and Limitations for Palestine Advocacy – for Israeli Apartheid Week
Source: Makan
Date: Tuesday 24 March 2026, 6.30pm to 8.30pm (workshop)
Deadline for applications: Wednesday 18 March by 6pm
Activist training: speaking about Palestine in hostile environments
This online training session, organised during Israeli Apartheid Week, is aimed at activists who want to feel more confident speaking about Palestine in challenging or hostile settings. The session focuses on equipping participants with practical tools, arguments and strategies for responding to common narratives and objections. It is designed to help activists communicate more effectively and feel better prepared when engaging in public discussions, campaigning or advocacy work on Palestine.
https://www.makan.org.uk/event/framing-israeli-apartheid-uses-and-limitations-for-palestine-advocacy-online/

Report UK Lawyers for Israel Charitable Trust to the Charity Commission
Source: Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Date: March 2026
In our last mailing it was reported that UK Lawyers for Israel had challenged both the British Museum and the Open University over use of the term “Palestine”. Furthermore, it was reported that both institutions had partially conceded to these demands. Palestine Solidarity Campaign has now launched a letter writing campaign to the Charity Commission voicing concerns that UK Lawyers for Israel Limited (UKFLI) is using its charitable trust as a cover for activities by its non-charitable wing to promote discriminatory and racist positions towards Palestinians. It is understood that the Charity Commission has already opened a compliance case looking into this relationship and the letter urges the Charity Commission to include evidence from the recent incidents at the British Museum and the Open University in the investigation.
https://palestinecampaign.eaction.org.uk/uklfi-charity-commission
Other news:
UK charity regulator found ‘mismanagement’ by Campaign Against Antisemitism
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/exclusive-uk-charity-regulator-found-mismanagement-campaign-against-antisemitism

Psychoanalysis of Conscience: A call to resign
Source: The Collective of Palestine Mental Health Networks
Date: February 2026
The Palestine Mental Health Networks (PMHN) is a collective of mental health professionals, including many psychoanalysts from twenty-three nations, brought together by a commitment to psychoanalytic principles and to the fundamental dignity of all human beings.
PMHN are calling on psychoanalysts to resign from the International Psychoanalytic Association (IPA) in response to its complicity with the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. The full text of the statement is in the link below.
It is not necessary to be an IPA member to sign this letter. This call is open to all psychoanalysts and mental health professionals, whether holding an IPA membership, having already resigned, belonging to other psychoanalytic societies, or working outside institutional psychoanalysis entirely.
https://www.pmhn-international.org/psychoanalysis-of-conscience-a-call-to-resign

BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT AND SANCTIONS (BDS)

A founding aim of the UK-Palestine Mental Health Network is to “encourage our colleagues individually and collectively to consider their response to the Palestinian call for boycott, sanctions and divestment (BDS).”

“Complicity has consequences”
A brief introductory video about the new Vote Palestine 2026 initiative.
https://www.instagram.com/reels/DVGpiVOCCYI/

Recording of the Vote Palestine 2026 launch event on 24 February
https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/share/m932en-UJ63dlJWGq-g3naHn_hEktwk7wtiUTCthN2-16HR4t–SUiBsp2OUsnOt.bqcXzbqWYsA3SRlx?startTime=1771963034000
Please write to ukpalmhn@gmail.com if you would like the password for this restricted access video.

“So, what exactly does Palestine even have to do with Lambeth? Quite a lot actually …”
Source: Lambeth Votes Palestine
Date: 6 March
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DViY9SsCLFE/

New tools aim to stop tourism industry’s complicity with genocide
Source: The Canary
Date: 27 February
Two new digital tools have been launched to support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement’s “No Room for Genocide” campaign, which seeks to challenge the tourism industry’s links to Israeli settlements and alleged war crimes. The initiative includes a website inviting hospitality businesses to pledge that their venues will not host individuals implicated in war crimes and an online petition urging tourists to avoid platforms such as Booking.com and Airbnb that list properties in illegal settlements. The campaign calls on civil society and businesses to pressure governments and travel companies to end forms of complicity with Israel’s actions against Palestinians.
https://www.thecanary.co/trending/2026/02/27/israel-tourism-partners-no-room-for-genocide/

UKPALMHN Solidarity Spaces
Every Monday during February and March at 1pm (UK time)
This is an open space where people exchange their emotional responses with a view to remaining resilient amidst a constant stream of distressing news.
Please write to ukpalmhn@gmail.com if you would like to attend this meeting.

Universal Ethical Framework for Mental Health Practitioners
Source: Psychoanalytic Voice for Palestine (PVP)
Date: 24 February
This document proposes a shared ethical framework addressing silencing, structural determinants of mental health, and the responsibilities of mental health practitioners in a changing world. It aims to support ethical clarity, protected dialogue, and global professional solidarity across differing perspectives and contexts.
It is offered as a living document and we warmly invite thoughtful comments and reflections. Follow the link below and scroll to the bottom of the page to post a comment. Contributions will be monitored, and responses provided to support constructive discussion.

Universal Ethical Framework for Mental Health Practitioners

Letter to the Prime Minister regarding Israel’s death penalty legislation
The UK-Palestine Mental Health Network, along with 12 other UK healthcare organisations, sent a letter to the Prime Minister on 12 February urging action.
“We are writing to you urgently to raise our concerns about Israel’s Penal Law (Amendment No. 159—Death Penalty for Terrorists) 2025, which is currently being fast-tracked by the Netanyahu government. As healthcare professionals dedicated to the preservation of life and medical ethics, we oppose the death penalty in all circumstances. We are particularly alarmed that this legislation is designed as a discriminatory tool to further the systemic targeting of Palestinians, which could include our colleagues in the healthcare field. […]”
https://docs.google.com/document/d/18CxorJkRn85Zs5gL2oBNUtVT0RmrIMJwcU3huVKnyQU/edit?tab=t.0
The Palestine-Global Mental Health Network has also issued an Urgent International Statement and Call to Action to “Stop the state-sponsored execution of Palestinian prisoners” with actions mainly directed towards U.S. political institutions.

https://www.pgmhn.org/statements

Palestinian scholarships at Goldsmiths University
2 Undergraduate and 3 Postgraduate
Applications for scholarships close on Tuesday 31 March 2026
Please note: You must first apply for a place at Goldsmiths and receive an offer of study by Tuesday 31 March 2026 to be considered for a Scholarship.
Successful applicants will receive a full tuition fee waiver and a living allowance of £20,500 per year during their studies. We will also cover the cost of the student visa and the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), and a return trip to and from the UK.
https://www.gold.ac.uk/fees-funding/scholarships/palestinian-scholarship/

Result of International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) Special General Meeting
Source: Social Workers for a Free Palestine
Date: 24 February
On 18 February, the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) held a Special General Meeting to vote on motions to suspend or expel the Israel Union of Social Workers (IUSW), with a 75% majority required for either measure to pass. Although a majority of voting member associations supported suspension, the required threshold was not reached and the IUSW remains a full member of the IFSW.
If you’re a social worker or social care worker and would like to become actively involved, or be added to our contacts list, email sw4palestineuk@ukpalmhnadminLink to the full statement from Social Workers for a Free Palestine:

Social Workers for a Free Palestine

It’s Bisan from Gaza, and we triggered TikTok by telling the truth
“We’re not free. We’re just acting based on their community standards and rules.”
After being temporarily banned on TikTok following the app’s transition to majority U.S. ownership, Bisan Owda reflects in a rare sit-down interview on skewed algorithms, the silencing of Palestinian content, and the future of social media.
THIS INTERVIEW WAS AVAILABLE A FEW DAYS AGO ON YOUTUBE BUT HAS NOW DISAPPEARED WITHOUT EXPLANATION
https://youtu.be/EYgz8zCCDDg

FEATURED EVENTS

Decolonial Mental Health Practice
Clinical and ethical Insights from Palestine
A four-part webinar with Dr. Samah Jabr
Source: Science and Nonduality
How do we offer genuine healing when trauma isn’t in the past, but an ongoing reality?
In times of ongoing structural violence and protracted conflict, how do standard mental health frameworks hold up? Often, traditional models of “neutrality” and “post-traumatic” care fail to capture the reality of distress that is a daily, lived experience.
SAND are honoured to announce a crucial interactive workshop developed by Dr. Samah Jabr, based on her extensive frontline psychiatric practice in Palestine. This four-part training challenges us to move beyond mainstream psychology and explore decolonial frameworks, Liberation Psychology in action, and the vital human rights dimensions of clinical practice. This is essential learning for anyone seeking ethical pathways to healing in highly politicized environments.

Module I : Rethinking Mainstream Psychology
Sunday 1 March, 5:00pm–7:00pm (UK)

Module II: Liberation Psychology in Practice
Sunday 8 March, 4:00pm–6:00pm (UK) (US daylight saving time change)

Module III: Trauma-informed Care in Contexts of Ongoing Political Violence
Sunday 15 March, 4:00pm–6:00pm (UK)

Module IV: Mental Health, Human Rights, and Professional Responsibility
Sunday 22 March, 4:00pm–6:00pm (UK)

https://scienceandnonduality.com/event/decolonial-mental-health-practice/

Besiege Your Siege with Madness
Collective liberation and the psychoanalysis of world-making
Source: USA-Palestine Mental Health Network, BADIL, Eyewitness Palestine
Date: Sunday 15 March from 4:30 – 6 pm (UK)
A special presentation and dialogue with Dr. Reem Abu Hweij, a clinical psychologist and academic based in Jerusalem.
Amid genocide and protracted colonial trauma, what psychic processes enable a people not only to survive but to imagine anew? Drawing from her essay “Besiege Your Siege with Madness” (forthcoming in Psychoanalysis, Culture & Society), Dr. Reem Abu Hweij deftly examines the Palestinian collective psyche as a site of world-making and spiritual revolt. She introduces the concept of liberation madness—a psycho-spiritual rupture through which the oppressed transcend the coloniser’s “Dominant Reason” and reclaim meaning, love, and collective purpose.
https://mailchi.mp/aa973cc5af03/besiege-your-siege-with-madness-jan-20-2026

Scottish Palestinian Health Partnership Conference
Speaking up against injustice: Addressing Intimidation of UK Health Workers Supporting Palestine
Date: Saturday 21 March from 1 pm to 4:30 pm
Location: University of Glasgow, James McCune Smith Learning Hub, University Avenue, Room 641, Glasgow G12 8QW
In parts of the UK, health care workers speaking up for the basic human rights of Palestinians have been subjected to threats, intimidation and formal disciplinary action. Join us as we hear from prominent clinicians and a legal expert on the right to express Palestinian solidarity.
Invited Speakers:
Dr Ghassan Abu Sitta, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon
Dr Ang Swee Chai, Orthopaedic Surgeon and Co-founder MAP
Dr Tamara Ali, Glasgow Trainee GP
Mr Franck Magennis, UK Barrister
Dr James Smith, ER medic and Lecturer in Humanitarian Studies
The conference is free to attend but booking is required.

UK-Palestine Mental Health Network study tour to Palestine/Israel
Tuesday 28 April – Thursday 7 May 2026This spring we are offering a 10-day study tour for practitioners from the fields of mental health and social work who are keen to explore the complex interface between politics and psychological well-being in the particular circumstances of Palestine/Israel.
The tour provides excellent access to clinicians, academics, community groups and political analysts with 25 encounters plus additional cultural opportunities scheduled. It will be facilitated by a small UK company established in 1999 that has provided alternative tours to the area.
[…]
Send your request for an application form to: ukpalmhn@gmail.com. Include your name, address, contact information, and professional qualifications.
Full details:

Spring Tour 2026

FEATURED ACTIONS

Erasing “Palestine”: pressure on cultural and academic institutions
A number of commentators and campaigners have raised concerns that UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) has written to cultural and academic institutions challenging their use of the term “Palestine,” particularly in historical contexts. In recent weeks, both the British Museum and The Open University (OU) have been cited as institutions that have altered or qualified their use of the term following correspondence from UKLFI. Critics have described this pattern as part of a broader attempt to “erase Palestine” from public history and academic discourse, while the institutions concerned have framed their actions in different terms.
The British Museum
In February, reports emerged that the British Museum had removed the word “Palestine” from several displays in its Ancient Middle East galleries, reportedly after correspondence from UK Lawyers for Israel. A Change.org petition titled Erasing a Word Erases a People: Reinstate Palestine in the British Museum argues that describing the term as “anachronistic” is not supported by historical scholarship and contributes to the erasure of Palestinian presence from public memory. The petition calls for the reinstatement of the term and has prompted wider public debate and media commentary.
Online action:

https://www.change.org/p/erasing-a-word-erases-a-people-reinstate-palestine-in-the-british-museum

The Open University
Separate concerns have been raised regarding The Open University’s reported commitments to UK Lawyers for Israel in relation to the use of the term “ancient Palestine” in learning materials. According to a 20 December 2025 statement published by UKLFI, the OU agreed not to use the term in future materials and to contextualise existing references as “contested,” a move critics argue amounts to a politically motivated restriction on academic language. An open letter to the Vice-Chancellor, supported by members of staff and others, calls for clarification and retraction of these commitments and frames the issue as one of academic freedom and resistance to the erasure of Palestine from historical study.
Open letter to OP Vice Chancellor:
https://docs.google.com/document/u/1/d/e/2PACX-1vQkTPnYNKc-kpm9lLTzdw-TAcRm75o57VGziPimNEeNmGOoxH_mwixhcGvDwwMQbUmuzbfoEpnszGmT/pub

Background reporting and commentary:
British Museum’s move to erase Palestine from exhibit labels is shameful by Victoria Brittain
https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/british-museums-erasure-palestine-shameful

British Museum removes the word ‘Palestine’ from displays following pressure by pro-Israel lawyers

Israel is trying to rewrite history – and British institutions risk helping them do it

Psychoanalysis of Conscience: A call to resign
Source: The Collective of Palestine Mental Health Networks
Date: February 2026
The Palestine Mental Health Networks (PMHN) is a collective of mental health professionals, including many psychoanalysts from twenty-three nations, brought together by a commitment to psychoanalytic principles and to the fundamental dignity of all human beings.
PMHN are calling on psychoanalysts to resign from the International Psychoanalytic Association (IPA) in response to its complicity with the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. The full text of the statement is in the link below.
It is not necessary to be an IPA member to sign this letter. This call is open to all psychoanalysts and mental health professionals, whether holding an IPA membership, having already resigned, belonging to other psychoanalytic societies, or working outside institutional psychoanalysis entirely.
https://www.pmhn-international.org/psychoanalysis-of-conscience-a-call-to-resign

Write to the Foreign Secretary: Oppose Israel’s annexation of West Bank
Source: Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Date: February 2026
Over the weekend, the Israeli government approved a proposal submitted by far-right ministers to reinstate the deeply problematic land registration process in the illegally occupied West Bank. This latest measure by the Israeli government will be used to further dispossess Palestinians of their land, enable the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements, and entrench Israel’s illegal occupation. Large swathes of Palestinian land will be at risk of being registered as Israeli state property if Palestinians cannot prove ownership, which is extremely difficult to do. This is a dangerous step further cementing Israel’s de-facto annexation of land across the West Bank.
https://palestinecampaign.eaction.org.uk/WestBanklandregistration

BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT AND SANCTIONS (BDS)

A founding aim of the UK-Palestine Mental Health Network is to “encourage our colleagues individually and collectively to consider their response to the Palestinian call for boycott, sanctions and divestment (BDS).”

Vote Palestine 2026
Together let’s make Palestine non-negotiable this local election
Source: Vote Palestine 2026
Date: run up to UK local elections on Thursday 7 May
Vote Palestine 2026 is a national grassroots campaign centring Palestine and rejecting genocide in the 2026 local elections.
It is campaigning for local councillor candidates to sign the Candidate Pledge for Palestine and to stand against genocide and ethnic cleansing. This is supported by the People’s Pledge for Palestine through which voters commit to only consider candidates who have taken the Candidate Pledge. This shows candidates – clearly and publicly – that voters are paying attention and will not support those who enable or excuse the genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
Local groups are launching in 12 London boroughs and also in Greater Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham and Sheffield.The Vote Palestine 2026 contains extensive information for activists who wish to launch a group in their own local authority.
https://www.votepalestine.co.uk/

Lambeth leads the way in launching the Vote Palestine pledge

Lambeth leads the way in launching the Vote Palestine pledge

Help to secure big divestment milestone in London
Source: Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Date: February 2026
Please note, this e-action is for people in London. If you enter a postcode from outside London, you will instead be able to sign an e-action asking your local councillors to sign PSC’s pledge for Palestine.
This is a vital moment for divestment campaigning in London. London CIV, the body which manages councils’ pension fund investments, is setting up a new responsible investment system. This could be a big step forward. However, its current proposals fall short.
Write to your councillors to ask them to sign an open letter calling on London CIV to provide councils with an investment option that excludes all companies identified by human rights orgs as complicit in Israel’s grave violations of international law, and to take steps to divest from such companies across its whole portfolio.
https://palestinecampaign.eaction.org.uk/londondivestment

UKPALMHN Solidarity Spaces Every Monday during February at 1pm (UK time) This is an open space where people exchange their emotional responses with a view to remaining resilient amidst a constant stream of distressing news. Please contact ukpalmhn@gmail.com if you would like to a link to this meeting. Israel’s genocide wiped out over 2,700 families in GazaSource:  Al Jazeera Date: 26 January https://www.aljazeera.com/video/newsfeed/2026/1/26/israels-genocide-wiped-out-over-2700-families-in-gaza  Child Psychotherapists’ Group – Update February 2026 We continue to meet online every month. Members are still involved in working with a clinical team in the West Bank and with a group offering support and consultation to the Mothers of Hind school in Gaza. https://mothersofhind.org/ Three of us submitted proposals for papers to be presented at the conference of the Association of Child Psychotherapists (ACP) in June on children without a home or those who have no surviving parents from the genocide. One has been rejected, one is being considered. We have not heard about the third. We plan to leaflet the conference. We are planning a campaign to coincide with Palestinian Children’s Day on 5 April. We will have a planning meeting in the next couple of weeks. Teresa will submit something about child abductees in Israeli prisons to the ACP online magazine. Child Psychotherapists for Palestine contact details: Email: write to: ukpalmhn@gmail.com and we will forward your message to the group Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/palestineukchildpsychotherapy/ Web: https://ukpalmhn.com/child-psychotherapists-for-palestine/  The world spoke for South Africa’s children – it must do the same for Gaza’s Source: Middle East Eye Date: 6 February This opinion piece argues that the international community once mobilised moral, legal and political pressure to protect black children under apartheid in South Africa, and that a comparable response is urgently required for Palestinian children in Gaza. It emphasises that Gaza’s children are facing systematic killing, injury, starvation and trauma, and contends that global silence and inaction amount to complicity in the destruction of an entire generation. https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/world-spoke-south-africas-children-it-must-do-same-gazas  The Violence of Liberal Racism: What Palestine reveals about British mental health care Source: Healing Justice LDN Date: 9 February The report examines what the genocide in Palestine has revealed about the racial politics of British mental healthcare by exploring the experiences of 30 mental health practitioners and students who have been managed, silenced, or disciplined for Palestine solidarity. The report situates this repression within broader processes of racialisation shaped by Zionism and Islamophobia, as well as the global War on Terror. It further argues that spaces are not safe or anti-racist simply by claim or intent. Rather, racial formations must be critically theorised and confronted. For healing spaces to become genuinely anti-racist—particularly in relation to Palestine—they must meaningfully confront counter-terrorism and Zionism. The full report can be accessed here: https://healingjusticeldn.org/methodology/the-violence-of-liberal-racism-what-palestine-reveals-about-british-mental-health-care/ A short video overview of the report is available here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DUiVJMXCjdU/  Interview with Dr Samah Jabr on mental health under occupation Source: TRT World Now Date: 11 January In this interview, Palestinian psychiatrist Dr Sama Jabr describes how Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem continue to provide care and sustain a sense of responsibility and agency despite mass trauma, deprivation and ongoing bombardment. She argues that the Palestinian experience cannot be understood through conventional PTSD models, but instead reflects a continuous, deliberate and intergenerational “colonial trauma” in which people resist imposed helplessness even as children suffer profound developmental and psychological harm. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2Qle6Kk_i8  Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital director reports alleged Israeli abuses against Gaza victims’ bodies Source: Middle East Monitor Date: 6 February The director of al-Shifa Medical Complex, Dr Mohammed Abu Salmiya, says that bodies returned to Gaza by Israel show signs of deliberate tampering, including amputated limbs, surgical incisions and missing organs. He told Al Araby Television Network that some remains were returned as unidentified body parts or bones without documentation, raising serious concerns about possible organ theft. https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20260206-gazas-al-shifa-hospital-director-reports-alleged-israeli-abuses-against-gaza-victims-bodies/  MPs condemn Government failure to apply Genocide Convention to Israel Source: Palestine Solidarity Campaign (3 minute video) Date: 5 February (date of the debate) On Thursday 5 February 2026 MPs from all parties condemned the government’s refusal to adhere to the Genocide Convention in relation to Palestine, in a debate led by Brendan O’Hara M.P.  The video shows key clips of pro-Palestinian MPs speaking during the debate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UFBMesiYt4  Stand By The Mother inaugural lecture – video now available Finding the Creatura, a lecture by Dr John Beebe is the inaugural lecture in the Stand By The Mother series took place on 1 February. If you didn’t get to see the lecture then there is now a chance to watch the recording. Fill in the form, make a donation to one of the Gaza Gofundme sites, and a link for the recording will be sent to you. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfXVKE60HuX9KuEs0phck-_ejiGeA2_PVhYHfKfucKbZJBHqw/viewform  A world famous football manager speaks up about the “genocide in Palestine” – in a pre-match press conference! Source: Middle East Eye (2 minute video clip of the interview) Date: 4 February Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, speaking at a pre‑match press conference before the Carabao Cup semi‑final second leg against Newcastle United on 4 February 2026, describes what is happening in Gaza as “genocide” and links it to wider global injustices in Sudan and Ukraine. In this clip he urges that “when there is injustice, you have to talk”, stressing that images of “thousands and thousands of innocent people being killed mean it is a responsibility for all human beings, not just politicians or footballers”. https://youtu.be/ML12NxAsqGY?si=6ltWRGmmhTIJ9C7Q  FEATURED EVENTS Bearing Witness in the Academy: Silence, Emotional Labour, and the Cost of Neutrality Source: Psychoanalytic Voices for Palestine (PVP) Date:  Saturday 14 February from 10.30am – 12.30pm The speaker, Aneeza Pervez, is a Research Fellow at Clare Hall, University of Cambridge. Her recent research examines how institutions respond to political violence and genocide, and how silence and emotional labour shape the moral life of universities.Link to the meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84435183882?pwd=kGtSYUgraPclnniDrhQXbv5CEnC18o.1 Aneeza also spoke at the recent PVP conference “Living Through the Unimaginable” leading to an interesting and engaged plenary discussion. A summary of her talk, slides and a recent open access paper she has written are available in the afternoon session of the full conference report: https://ukpalmhn.com/pvp/pvp-conference-living-through-the-unimaginable/ (scroll down to find the report and then scroll down the report to find the relevant section) Faith in a Time of Genocide: A moment of truth for the worldwide church Source: United Methodist Kairos Response and Methodist Federation for Social Action Date: Wednesday 18 February at 6pm (UK time) This online webinar centres on the launch and implications of Kairos Palestine II: A Moment of Truth – Faith in a Time of Genocide, a major new manifesto by Palestinian Christians calling for “costly solidarity” in the face of genocide, apartheid and settler colonialism. Speakers include Rifat Kassis, General Coordinator of Kairos Palestine, and Rev. Munther Isaac — the well-known Palestinian pastor, theologian and Academic Dean at Bethlehem Bible College — alongside United Methodist leaders from several continents reflecting on the document’s challenge to churches worldwide. https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/7ryqs-OFS7OGs7wDdtaG3w#/registration From the Clinic to the Streets: Psychoanalysis for revolutionary futures Source: The Relational School Date: Saturday 11 April from 4pm – 5:30pm This online event centres on a discussion of the book From the Clinic to the Streets by Lara Sheehi, examining how psychoanalytic thinking can be extended beyond clinical settings into political and collective struggles. The session features responses from clinicians and theorists including Foluke Taylor, Avgi Saketopoulou and Robert Downes, focusing on the implications of the book for therapeutic practice and social transformation. https://www.tickettailor.com/events/therelationalschool/2003398 UK-Palestine Mental Health Network study tour to Palestine/Israel Tuesday 28 April – Thursday 7 May 2026 This spring we are offering a 10-day study tour for practitioners from the fields of mental health and social work who are keen to explore the complex interface between politics and psychological well-being in the particular circumstances of Palestine/Israel. The tour provides excellent access to clinicians, academics, community groups and political analysts with 25 encounters plus additional cultural opportunities scheduled. It will be facilitated by a small UK company established in 1999 that has provided alternative tours to the area.[…] Send your request for an application form to: ukpalmhn@gmail.com. Include your name, address, contact information, and professional qualifications. Full details: https://ukpalmhn.com/resources/spring-tour-2026/  FEATURED ACTIONS UK Doctors call for the resignation of the Chair and Chief Executive of the General Medical Council (GMC) (A petition for signature by medical doctors) Source: Healthworkers4Palestine Date: 7 February Dr Ghassan Abu Sittah explains that the General Medical Council is continuing to pursue him through the courts. https://www.instagram.com/p/DUYicypjKqI/?igsh=MW5ub3JtaWg3b28wbg%3D%3D Health Workers 4 Palestine announce a petition for medical doctors calling for the resignation of the Chair and Chief Executive of the GMC: https://www.instagram.com/p/DUbu6cniEaV/?img_index=1 Link to the petition: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdtT1MIfTowdnvu699apeULreIBFyD1aEsxsY-XfKg67Mj2jg/viewform Statement on Normalisation, Erasure, and Our Professional Obligations During Genocide Source: The Palestine-Global Mental Health Network and The International Collective of Palestine Mental Health Networks Date: February 2026 Mental Health professionals can endorse the Statement through the web link below We issue this joint statement concerning the American Psychoanalytic Association’s Henri Parens Symposium, scheduled for 7 March 2026. Our networks comprise mental health professionals, social workers, psychoanalysts, psychologists, researchers, and advocates committed to Palestinian liberation and the decolonization of mental health practice.We write to name what our institutions are doing, and failing to do, during the genocide on Gaza—a genocide that has not ended. What we document here is a pattern: active silence in the face of atrocity, and the staging of events that render Palestinian suffering invisible while claiming professional neutrality. The Henri Parens Symposium exemplifies this pattern. We name it as participation in erasure. Full statement: https://docs.google.com/document/d/11m0NBUgM1WQwpS7lIYwMVCAEguA211eRkDDFQzXenqg/edit?tab=t.0 Gaza Sumud Flotilla plans largest relief operation in history Source: The New Arab Date: 6 February The Sumud (steadfastness) Flotilla is planning what organisers describe as the largest maritime relief effort ever attempted for Gaza, bringing together international civilian vessels to challenge Israel’s blockade. It is Palestinian-led and framed not only as a humanitarian mission but as a political and symbolic act aimed at breaking the siege and confronting global inaction over conditions in Gaza.The initiative will officially launch on 29 March 2026, with a naval fleet and a land-based humanitarian convoy operating simultaneously. https://www.newarab.com/news/gaza-sumud-flotilla-plans-largest-relief-operation-history The Sumud Flotilla website outlines a number of ways in which you can support the initiative: https://globalsumudflotilla.org/  BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT AND SANCTIONS (BDS) A founding aim of the UK-Palestine Mental Health Network is to “encourage our colleagues individually and collectively to consider their response to the Palestinian call for boycott, sanctions and divestment (BDS).” Councillor Pledge for Palestine In the run up to local elections in May 2026, Palestine Solidarity Campaign has launched an important new initiative asking local councillors to sign a Pledge for Palestine committing to:- Uphold the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people- Stand up to Israel for its crimes of genocide and apartheid- Ensure their council isn’t complicit, including through divesting pension funds from complicit companies.On the action page, enter your postcode and you will see the names of your local councillors and a template letter (that you can alter if you wish) that will be sent to them automatically. Asking sitting councillors to sign the Pledge for Palestine will help to identify target seats in which councillors who do not support divestment could be replaced with those who do. Further information and the action page are available here: https://mailchi.mp/palestinecampaign/nov2025lobby-4931105?e=27bd721334

https://palestinecampaign.org/events/national-demonstration-for-palestine-31st-january/ The UK-Palestine Mental Health Network banner will be at the march. All are welcome to join us. We will meet at 12:00 noon at: Bloomsbury Square Gardens, London WC1A 2PJThis is the same location where we have assembled for previous marches from Russell Square. UKPALMHN Solidarity Spaces Every Monday during February at 1pm (UK time) This is an open space where people exchange their emotional responses with a view to remaining resilient amidst a constant stream of distressing news. L’enfer des prisons israéliennes/The hell of Israeli prisons Arte, a French/German state-funded public broadcast service, has produced an astonishing and horrific 30-minute documentary. The documentary is in French but you can watch it on YouTube with English sub-titles in this way: Click on the icon to enable captions/sub-titles (these will by default be in French) Click on the Settings icon (a cog wheel), click on Auto-translate and then choose English https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHizfeozVws  Living Hell: The Israeli prison system as a network of torture camps Source: B’Tselem Date: January 2026 The Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem’s Living Hell report documents how Israeli prisons and detention facilities have been transformed into a systemic network of torture camps where thousands of Palestinians endure institutionalised abuse, including physical violence, starvation, sexual violence, and denial of medical care. The report highlights testimonies from released detainees, notes hundreds of deaths in custody, and frames the abuses as deliberate policies embedded in the prison system’s operation. https://www.btselem.org/publications/202601_living_hell  To move through Gaza is to perceive extremely high levels of suffering, both individual and collective Source: Altreconomia Date: 22 January The article is in Italian but most browsers provide a translate facility so that it can be read in EnglishIn this eyewitness reportage from Gaza, clinical psychologist Guido Veronese describes pervasive destruction and extreme individual and collective suffering observed during field work with emergency medical teams coordinated by the World Health Organization, where constant bombardment and environmental degradation make daily life resemble an “infernal circle.” The piece emphasises the intense psychological and physical strain on both local residents and humanitarian workers as they navigate devastated urban landscapes and chronic insecurity. https://altreconomia.it/girare-per-gaza-significa-percepire-dei-livelli-altissimi-di-sofferenza-individuale-e-collettiva/  Psychiatrist reveals devastating trauma of Gaza’s children amid Israeli genocide Source: Palestine Will Be Free Date: 22 January Dr Nawal Asqoul, a psychiatrist working with children in Gaza, reports that the trauma observed among young survivors of the ongoing Israeli offensive surpasses anything seen in her professional experience, manifesting in severe psychological and physical symptoms including suicidal ideation and regression. She details the profound effects of relentless bombardment, massive loss of family members, and ongoing deprivation, emphasising that the siege and brutality sustain the children’s trauma with no relief in sight. https://palestinewillbefree.substack.com/p/psychiatrist-reveals-devastating-trauma-gazas-children-israeli-genocide  Statement by mental health practitioners on the hunger strike undertaken by members of Palestine Action January 2026 We write as Mental Health Practitioners to protest the callous, punitive and unlawful treatment by the UK government of the Palestine Action hunger strikers, many of whom face being remanded in custody for over eighteen months before being brought to trial. We also challenge the politically motivated media silence regarding their action […]Full text and list of signatory organisations: https://ukpalmhn.com/resources/ukpalmhn-statement-on-hunger-strikers-jan-2026/ Since we issued the statement, the hunger strikers have ended this action and have commenced the arduous and dangerous process of re-feeding. They all continue, however, to be remanded in custody. We have sought advice from their support group about whether a further statement from our coalition would be helpful at this time.  Settlers chase a vehicle transporting children from their school in a Bedouin community near Jericho Source: Eye on Palestine Date: 25 January https://www.instagram.com/reel/DT8oOpMDSp4/ A second Instagram posting provides further details about the same chase: “Settlers attacked a school bus full of children on their way home. The bus driver reported:‘On our way home from school, three settlers suddenly blocked our path and told me to wait, that they wanted to talk. I reversed the truck as they advanced, and when I turned the car around, they violently struck me through the window, hitting my nose and smashing the rear window. They then chased me for two kilometers. After we escaped into the Arab areas, I regained consciousness and was taken to the hospital.’” https://www.instagram.com/reels/DT8GEsJjHCi/  FEATURED EVENTS Settler colonialism and the long shadow of genocide in Palestine Date: Saturday 31 January at 18:00 – 21:00 (after the National March for Palestine) Location: Institute of Education, 20 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AL This is an in-person event.This panel discussion features Dr Emile Badarin, Samer Jaber and Dr Nehad Khanfar. Dr Emile Badarin will speak on the long shadow of settler colonialism in Palestine. He will discuss his book, “Recognition Politics in Settler Colonial States: Normalizing disposession and elimination in Palestine”, and explain the role settler colonialism and recognition politics have played in the genocide of the Palestinian people. We will further the discussion with Palestinian researcher Samer Jaber and Dr Nehad Khanfar, Chairman of APCUK. https://www.tickettailor.com/events/decolonialpraxis/2043240 Finding the Creatura – a lecture by Dr John Beebe Source: Stand By The Mother series Date: Sunday 1 February This online fundraising lecture is part of the Stand By The Mother series, which brings depth-psychological perspectives to questions of care, suffering and human dignity in the context of Palestine. Led by Dr John Beebe, the talk draws on Jungian psychology to explore the concept of the Creatura and what it may offer practitioners and participants seeking meaning, ethical orientation and psychological grounding in times of collective trauma. Hosted by Heba Zaphiriou-Zarifi, the event is intended for clinicians, therapists and others interested in depth psychology, while also raising funds in support of Palestinian mothers. Register here: https://forms.gle/ovt14gUKU6Uwbrxw6 A Zoom link will be sent three days before the talk For further information, write to: standbymother@gmail.com If I Must Die”: How the story of liberating Palestine continues through us Source: Science and Nonduality (SAND) Date: Tuesday 10 February at 5pm – 6:30pm (UK time) This online community gathering features a conversation between Palestinian psychiatrist Dr Samah Jabr and Dr Mays Imad exploring healing, justice and the impact of prolonged political violence on lived experience, with an emphasis on reframing trauma beyond conventional Western psychiatric models. The event situates collective endurance and memory as central to both personal and political liberation, inviting participants to engage deeply with the ethical dimensions of remaining human amid sustained structural harm. https://scienceandnonduality.com/event/if-i-must-die/ Bearing Witness in the Academy: Silence, emotional labour, and the cost of neutrality Source: Psychoanalytic Voices for Palestine (PVP) Date:  Saturday 14 February from 10.30am – 12.30pm The speaker, Aneeza Pervez, is a Research Fellow at Clare Hall, University of Cambridge. Her recent research examines how institutions respond to political violence and genocide, and how silence and emotional labour shape the moral life of universities.Link to the meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84435183882?pwd=kGtSYUgraPclnniDrhQXbv5CEnC18o.1 Aneeza also spoke at the recent PVP conference “Living Through the Unimaginable” leading to an interesting and engaged plenary discussion. A summary of her talk, slides and a recent open access paper she has written are available in the afternoon session of the full conference report: https://ukpalmhn.com/pvp/pvp-conference-living-through-the-unimaginable/ (scroll down to find the report and then scroll down the report to find the relevant section) UK-Palestine Mental Health Network study tour to Palestine/Israel Tuesday 28 April – Thursday 7 May 2026 This spring we are offering a 10-day study tour for practitioners from the fields of mental health and social work who are keen to explore the complex interface between politics and psychological well-being in the particular circumstances of Palestine/Israel.The tour provides excellent access to clinicians, academics, community groups and political analysts with 25 encounters plus additional cultural opportunities scheduled. It will be facilitated by a small UK company established in 1999 that has provided alternative tours to the area.[…] Send your request for an application form to: ukpalmhn@gmail.com. Include your name, address, contact information, and professional qualifications. Full details: https://ukpalmhn.com/resources/spring-tour-2026/ ICAHD extended study tours Source: ICAHD (formerly the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions) Date: 11 May – 21 May 2026 ICAHD is advertising an “Extended Study Tour” to Palestine/Israel offering an opportunity to learn about conditions on the ground through an organised visit that is:- Grounded in ICAHD analysis- Visit both the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel- A total of around 30 encounters- Daily debriefing sessions- Hotel accommodation in Bethlehem and NazarethThe page invites applications and directs readers to further details about the tour and how to join. https://icahd.org/extended-study-tours/  FEATURED ACTIONS Write to your MP ahead of Gaza debate on 5 February Source: Palestine Solidarity Campaign Date: January 2026 On Thursday 5 February, Parliament will debate Britain’s obligation to assess the risk of genocide in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Our allies in Parliament have worked hard to secure this rare debate, giving an opportunity for us to pressure MPs to demand the Government recognises the reality of genocide in the Gaza Strip. We need your support calling on MPs to attend this debate, speak out against Israel’s ongoing crimes, and finally bring an end to Britain’s complicity in genocide. https://palestinecampaign.eaction.org.uk/genocidedebate Demand the British government takes action on Israel’s torture of Palestinian prisoners Source: Palestine Solidarity Campaign Date: January 2026 Write to the Foreign Secretary to demand the British government uses every possible lever, including by imposing immediate sanctions, to stop Israel’s systematic torture of Palestinian prisoners. More than 9,000 Palestinian political prisoners remain in Israeli detention, including 350 children. They face systematic torture, sexual violence and ill-treatment. On top of this, Palestinian human rights groups who have been advocating for the rights of those imprisoned are being attacked by Israel and the US, especially over submissions of evidence to the ICC.  https://palestinecampaign.eaction.org.uk/prisonersaction Stand against Israel’s ban on aid organisations Source: Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) Date: January 2026 Medical Aid for Palestinians is campaigning against Israel’s decision to revoke the registration of 37 international humanitarian aid organisations operating in the occupied Palestinian territory, warning that such a ban will obstruct essential life-saving assistance to Palestinians enduring a severe humanitarian crisis. The campaign invites supporters to contact their UK Members of Parliament to urge government pressure on Israel to immediately reverse the ban, reinforcing that unrestricted humanitarian access is both a legal obligation under international law and a moral imperative. https://www.map.org.uk/how-to-help/campaigns/stand-against-israels-ban-on-aid-orgs/ Defend Free Speech: legal challenge against IHRA application in the NHS Source: CrowdJustice Date: January 2026 This CrowdJustice crowdfunding appeal supports a judicial review initiated by Right to Protest Ltd challenging the application of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism within NHS England, on the basis that it is being used to suppress legitimate political speech and professional critique. The action highlights concerns that the policy blurs the boundary between lawful criticism of state conduct — including discourse on Israel and Palestine — and prohibited conduct, potentially chilling free expression and undermining ethical medical practice. https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/defend-free-speech/ Related news: Zohran Mamdani, the new Mayor of New York, revokes the previous administration’s adoption of the controversial IHRA definition of antisemitism. https://theintercept.com/2026/01/02/israel-zohran-mamdani-antisemitic-antisemitism/ Judicial review launched against NHS adoption of IHRA antisemitism definition https://www.thecanary.co/skwawkbox/2026/01/06/ihra-nhs-court/ Professor Avi Shlaim, a world renowned Israeli historian at Oxford University, talking about anti-Zionism and anti-semitism https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCnKZg-bFz8  BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT AND SANCTIONS (BDS) A founding aim of the UK-Palestine Mental Health Network is to “encourage our colleagues individually and collectively to consider their response to the Palestinian call for boycott, sanctions and divestment (BDS).” Green councillors confront Lambeth Council as Labour ‘guts’ Gaza divestment motion backed by 5,000 signatures Source: Brixton Buzz Date: 22 January“ Lambeth Council’s Full Council meeting descended into chaos last night following a protest outside the Town Hall, disruption from a packed public gallery, and a walk-out by Green councillors over Labour’s handling of a Gaza divestment motion backed by 5,000 petition signatures.” The Labour group allegedly used a number of procedural irregularities and wrecking amendments to avoid a full debate about the divestment motion. Green Party councillors eventually walked out of the meeting and will now write to the auditors raising concerns about governance at Lambeth Council. https://www.brixtonbuzz.com/2026/01/streathams-martin-abrams-confronts-council-as-labour-guts-gaza-divestment-motion-backed-by-5000-signatures/ Related news: Who runs Lambeth? The council reject hearing petition of 5,000 local residents and workers calling for divestment from Israel https://www.brixtonbuzz.com/2026/01/who-runs-lambeth-the-council-reject-hearing-petition-of-5000-local-residents-and-workers-calling-for-divestment-from-israel/ “Chaos” – Lambeth Greens issue statement about their dramatic council meeting walk out https://www.brixtonbuzz.com/2026/01/chaos-lambeth-greens-issue-statement-about-their-dramatic-council-meeting-walk-out/ Councillor Pledge for Palestine In the run up to local elections in May 2026, Palestine Solidarity Campaign has launched an important new initiative asking local councillors to sign a Pledge for Palestine committing to:- Uphold the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people- Stand up to Israel for its crimes of genocide and apartheid- Ensure their council isn’t complicit, including through divesting pension funds from complicit companies. On the action page, enter your postcode and you will see the names of your local councillors and a template letter (that you can alter if you wish) that will be sent to them automatically. Asking sitting councillors to sign the Pledge for Palestine will help to identify target seats in which councillors who do not support divestment could be replaced with those who do.Further information and the action page are available here: https://mailchi.mp/palestinecampaign/nov2025lobby-4931105?e=27bd721334

Palestinians in Gaza are literally left ALONE, FREEZING and STARVING in the winter storm. I keep asking how we became such monsters, incapable of stopping this nightmare. For them, for us, for whatever remains of the people in whose name this genocide is being committed. Francesca Albanese https://x.com/FranceskAlbs/status/1998830824184066515 UKPALMHN Solidarity Spaces Every Monday during January at 1pm (UK time) This is an open space where people exchange their emotional responses with a view to remaining resilient amidst a constant stream of distressing news. The full report of the PVP conference Living Through the Unimaginable: Witnessing and Responding to the Genocide in Gaza now available This one-day conference on 8 November 2025 brought together mental health professionals and Palestinian colleagues to examine the realities of ongoing genocide, the collapse of services in Gaza, and the ethical challenges facing practitioners. The report summarises key themes from each section of the event, including the impact of colonisation on mental health, the limits of therapeutic work under conditions of mass violence, the silencing occurring within UK institutions, and the collective responsibilities of our professions.Full report (plus section by section overview of the conference): https://ukpalmhn.com/pvp/pvp-conference-living-through-the-unimaginable/  Call for Palestinian voices at the Association of Child Psychotherapists Conference (ACP) Source: Palestine-UK Child Psychotherapists Date: December 2025 The ACP Conference in June 2026 is around looked after, fostered, adopted children. Palestine-UK Child Psychotherapists would like to have our Palestinian friends and colleagues involved in a presentation about what is happening to orphaned children in Palestine, because their parents have been murdered in the genocide or so badly injured and disabled that they are unable to care for their children. This leaves thousands of children without parents and possibly with no surviving family members.We would like to ask our Palestinian colleagues if they might have the time and be willing to write something that could be recorded and presented at the conference or read aloud by one of us on any aspect of the community’s involvement with the orphans or children abandoned through the loss of parents in the chaos of forced displacement. We would like to make the most of this opportunity to bring the voices of the children and clinicians of Palestine into this conference. Teresa Bailey, Consultant Child Psychotherapist and UKPMHN Steering Group member Please write to Teresa via ukpalmhn@gmail.com if you can help with this initiative.  Urgent call to social workers – ask your social work association to vote for expulsion of the Israeli Union of Social Workers from the IFSW Following the Social Workers for a Free Palestine (SW4FP) campaign for an IFSW Special General Meeting to consider the expulsion of the Israeli Union of Social Workers from the IFSW, it has now been agreed that this will take place on 18th February. SW4FP are now calling on social workers to ask their national associations to vote for expulsion of the Israeli Union given their continuing involvement in the genocide. Follow the link below for a model letter which you can email to your national association, and instructions on how to find their email address on the IFSW website https://forms.gle/FVzfy4uMtxQf1aTg9  Special issue: Psychotherapy and Politics International on PalestineSource: Psychotherapy and Politics International Date: December 2025 This special issue of Psychotherapy and Politics International brings together a substantial collection of peer-reviewed articles examining the psychological, political and ethical dimensions of Israel’s colonisation of Palestine. Contributors draw on decolonial theory, psychoanalysis and political psychology to explore how occupation, apartheid and ongoing violence shape subjectivity, gendered experience and mental health, while also questioning the role and responsibilities of psychology as a discipline under conditions of structural injustice. A central contribution is Samah Jabr and Maria Helbich’s article “Colonisation and Resistance,” which revisits Frantz Fanon to illuminate the psychological dimensions of occupation and resistance, setting the critical tone for the issue. Other articles reflect on the reaffirmation of humanity under extreme violence, the limits of conventional therapeutic frameworks, and what psychology might learn from Palestinian experiences of collective struggle, with several authors drawing comparative insights from Latin America and Brazil. Taken together, the issue challenges individualised and depoliticised approaches to mental health and calls for a more explicitly political, decolonial engagement with Palestine .https://ojs.aut.ac.nz/psychotherapy-politics-international/issue/view/70  Palestine, health and the limits of humanitarianism (1.5 hour webinar) Source: MedAct Date: The webinar took place on 11 November and the recording became available on 16 DecemberThe discussion frames health work in Gaza as inseparable from settler-colonial violence, arguing that clinical care becomes a form of resistance when care is deliberately denied and the health system is systematically targeted. A central theme is that mainstream humanitarianism and “neutral”, depoliticised professional norms can function as instruments of imperial power: they can normalise or “humanitarianise” mass violence, increase dependency, and erode Palestinian health sovereignty, including through donor-driven attempts to reshape or effectively “buy” ruined institutions. Speakers repeatedly emphasise that health outcomes depend on structural conditions (food, water, land, safety) and that Gaza exposes interconnected systems of warfare, surveillance, extractive capitalism and repression, including links to the UK context (austerity, policing, borders, and corporate incursions such as Palantir). The panel distinguishes mobilisation from organising, urging health workers to move beyond symbolic solidarity towards building collective power that can obstruct harmful policies, defend colleagues facing institutional reprisals, and pursue strategies grounded in unity of struggle rather than pity-driven “perfect victim” narratives. Finally, the discussion points to historical and contemporary models of politicised, community-rooted “liberation medicine” and internationalist practice (including Cuba and earlier Palestinian health organising), while warning about NGO-isation and academic “humanitarian” programmes that can depoliticise, professionalise, or hollow out resistance and clinical capacity. Full video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUJOrp8fJus Palestine, Health and the Limits of Humanitarianism – Speakers’ resource page https://www.medact.org/2025/blogs/palestine-health-and-the-limits-of-humanitarianism-resources/  Thousands of Palestinian political prisoners suffer severe crimes and extermination behind bars Source: Commission of Detainees’ Affairs & Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (briefing) Date: 25 December 2025 A new report by the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs (a Commission of the Palestine Authority) and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (a Palestinian civil society organisation) documents systematic and severe violations against Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli custody, describing widespread abuse, ill-treatment and policies amounting to physical and psychological extermination. The briefing highlights the extensive use of administrative detention without charge, brutal prison conditions and deliberate denial of medical care that have led to grave harm, while emphasising the authorities’ failure to provide transparency or accountability. The report calls for international recognition of these practices as part of broader patterns of violence and urges urgent measures to protect the rights and lives of Palestinian detainees. https://cda.gov.ps/index.php/en/51-slider-en/21602-palestinian-prisoners-report-dec-2025  Garbage is poisoning Gaza Source: Dropsite News Date: 16 December This report describes a growing environmental and public health crisis in Gaza as an estimated 900,000 tons of solid waste have accumulated across the enclave, largely because access to Gaza’s major landfill sites has been cut off and municipal waste-management infrastructure has been largely destroyed. Residents, including displaced families living near vast piles of rotting trash, are exposed to toxic fumes, infestations, contaminated water and increased risk of disease, while sanitation services struggle to function amid continuing barriers to equipment, fuel and access. (dropsitenews.com) https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/garbage-poisoning-gaza-landfills-inaccessible-waste-disease  Rebranding genocide Source: GroundXero Date: 15 December In this commentary, Chris Hedges argues that the ongoing destruction in Gaza is effectively a genocide that has been obscured or softened in public discourse through euphemistic language such as “ceasefire” or “peace plans.” The article contends that, despite temporary pauses in overt hostilities and stipulations in recent agreements, violations of international law continue and the fundamental conditions of suffering, displacement and structural violence in Gaza persist. https://www.groundxero.in/2025/12/15/rebranding-genocide/  On the monotony of the checkpoint Source: The Call Date: 15 December The piece describes how daily encounters with Israeli checkpoints in the West Bank slowly turn from acute fear into a numbing, routinised experience, showing how constant control over movement reshapes perception of time, safety and normality. It highlights the psychological effects of “social atomisation” and chronic uncertainty—people’s social worlds shrink, plans are cancelled, and even acts of minor resistance are squeezed into narrow windows defined by soldiers’ moods and shift changes, making occupation feel both banal and inescapable. https://thecall.ps/p/on-the-monotony-of-the-checkpoint  “Freedom” desalination plant in Gaza Source: Bisan Owda (wizard_bisan1 on Instagram) Date: 18 December What’s Ours Is Yours, a youth volunteer charity campaign, is launching the “Freedom” desalination plant, which will serve the northern areas of Gaza City and its camps. This achievement, accomplished during the genocide and without resources in such a short time, is truly “like digging into a rock”. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DSaMORhCttc/  FEATURED EVENTS Finding the Creatura – a lecture by Dr John Beebe Source: Stand By The Mother series Date: Sunday 1 February This online fundraising lecture is part of the Stand By The Mother series, which brings depth-psychological perspectives to questions of care, suffering and human dignity in the context of Palestine. Led by Dr John Beebe, the talk draws on Jungian psychology to explore the concept of the Creatura and what it may offer practitioners and participants seeking meaning, ethical orientation and psychological grounding in times of collective trauma. Hosted by Heba Zaphiriou-Zarifi, the event is intended for clinicians, therapists and others interested in depth psychology, while also raising funds in support of Palestinian mothers.A link for the meeting will be provided in our next mailing. For further information, please write to: standbymother@gmail.com Bearing Witness in the Academy: Silence, Emotional Labour, and the Cost of Neutrality Source: Psychoanalytic Voices for Palestine (PVP) Date:  Saturday 14 February from 10.30am – 12.30pm The speaker, Aneeza Pervez, is a Research Fellow at Clare Hall, University of Cambridge. Her recent research examines how institutions respond to political violence and genocide, and how silence and emotional labour shape the moral life of universities. Link to the meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84435183882?pwd=kGtSYUgraPclnniDrhQXbv5CEnC18o.1 Aneeza also spoke at the recent PVP conference “Living Through the Unimaginable” leading to an interesting and engaged plenary discussion. A summary of her talk, slides and a recent open access paper she has written are available in the afternoon session of the full conference report: https://ukpalmhn.com/pvp/pvp-conference-living-through-the-unimaginable/ (scroll down to find the report and then scroll down the report to find the relevant section)  FEATURED ACTIONS Councillor Pledge for Palestine In the run up to local elections in May 2026, Palestine Solidarity Campaign has launched an important new initiative asking local councillors to sign a Pledge for Palestine committing to:- Uphold the inalienable rights of the Palestine people- Stand up to Israel for its crimes of genocide and apartheid- Ensure their council isn’t complicit, including through divesting pension funds from complicit companies.On the action page, enter your postcode and you will see the names of your local councillors and a template letter (that you can alter if you wish) that will be sent to them automatically. Asking sitting councillors to sign the Pledge for Palestine will help to identify target seats in which councillors who do not support divestment could be replaced with those who do. Further information and the action page are available here: https://mailchi.mp/palestinecampaign/nov2025lobby-4931105?e=27bd721334 Stop FANUC: Together let’s end the Japanese company’s complicity in Israel’s genocide, apartheid and military occupation Source: Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement Date: December 2025 The BDS Movement has launched a new campaign against FANUC. FANUC has an office in the UK.FANUC is a Japanese-owned company which manufacturers robots used by Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer, Elbit Systems. FANUC robots are crucial in the manufacturing of 155mm shells, the ammunition most commonly used by Israel in its genocide against 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza and its systematic destruction of Gaza. These weapons are also used by Israel in its aggression and massacres elsewhere. 155mm shells are one of the world’s most indiscriminate lethal weapons, exploding into two thousand pieces of shrapnel upon impact, able to kill or injure people in a 600 meter diameter. Israel has fired hundreds of thousands of these unguided shells into Gaza.Full information: https://bdsmovement.net/stop-fanuc Change.org petition: https://www.change.org/p/fanuc-stop-selling-robots-to-make-israeli-weapons-stopfanucnow  BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT AND SANCTIONS (BDS) A founding aim of the UK-Palestine Mental Health Network is to “encourage our colleagues individually and collectively to consider their response to the Palestinian call for boycott, sanctions and divestment (BDS).” Write to your MP: Support Divestment from Israeli Apartheid Write to your MP to demand they support Amendment 2 to the Pensions Scheme Bill which would direct pension funds to end investments that contribute to grave violations of international law. PSC’s research has found that Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) funds, administered by local councils, invest £12.2billion+ in companies with proven involvement in Israel’s crimes against Palestinians. Local divestment campaigns are active across Britain, and are achieving significant gains, with 23 local councils having passed a motion or issued a statement to support divestment. https://palestinecampaign.eaction.org.uk/support-divestment Our mailing address is: Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe

UKPALMHN Solidarity Spaces Monday 15 December and Monday 22 December at 1pm (UK time) This is an open space where people exchange their emotional responses with a view to remaining resilient amidst a constant stream of distressing news. Please contact ukpalmhn@gmail.com if you would like a link to this meeting. “After two long years during which use of the word ‘ceasefire’ was enough to put you at risk of losing your livelihood or political career, after resolutions calling for a ceasefire were blocked repeatedly by the US at the UN Security Council, ‘ceasefire’ has become something we are expected to be grateful for, now that ‘ceasefire’ means continued genocide.” Selma Dabbagh, Rebranding Genocide Israel’s genocide in the occupied Gaza Strip continues unabated despite ceasefire Source: Amnesty International Date: 27 November Amnesty International states unequivocally that Israel continues to commit genocide in Gaza after the ceasefire, deliberately imposing conditions of life aimed at the physical destruction of the Palestinian population. The report highlights Israel’s ongoing obstruction of food, medical supplies, fuel, reconstruction materials, infrastructure repair and humanitarian access, which together sustain life-threatening deprivation across Gaza. It further notes that forced displacement, expansion of the “yellow line,” restrictions on return, and denial of access to investigators entrench a system designed to maintain these destructive conditions. Press release: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/11/israels-genocide-against-palestinians-in-gaza-continues-unabated-despite-ceasefire/ Official public statement: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde15/0527/2025/en/ Rebranding Genocide Source: London Review of Books (blog) Date: 28 November 2025 “For Palestinians, the rebranding of genocide is not an abstract debate about terminology but a lived experience of loss, displacement and deliberate destruction.” In this personal essay, British-Palestinian writer and lawyer Selma Dabbagh argues that the term “genocide” has been cynically rebranded as “conflict” — masking ongoing atrocities and allowing the international community to normalise the destruction in Gaza. She describes repeated ceasefire violations, widespread destruction, enforced displacement, and the creeping expansion of control over Gaza as evidence that what continues is not a ceasefire but a methodical campaign of dispossession and erasure. https://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/november/rebranding-genocide Israel is quietly expanding its occupation of Gaza under cover of “ceasefire” Source: Truthout Date: 4 December Palestinian journalist Dalia Abu Ramadan describes how Israeli forces have been steadily shifting the so-called Yellow Line deeper into Gaza, quietly expanding the area under military control even while claiming to observe a ceasefire. She reports that residents returning to their neighbourhoods are confronted with new military fences and barricades, and that the army has bulldozed large strips of land to create additional buffer zones. These incremental incursions occur without public announcement, allowing the effective occupation line to move, while international observers focus on the ceasefire itself. Abu Ramadan, who hopes to graduate from the Islamic University in Gaza, argues that these tactics reveal a systematic effort to tighten control under the guise of reduced hostilities. https://truthout.org/articles/israel-is-quietly-expanding-its-occupation-of-gaza-under-cover-of-ceasefire/ How Israel’s genocide in Gaza extends to digital annihilation Source: Middle East Eye Date: 2 December In this opinion piece, Palestinian journalist Sujoud Awais argues that the ongoing genocide in Gaza is being extended into digital spaces through systematic erasure of archives, censorship, and information blackouts that wipe out Palestinian presence online. She describes how what is lost is not only lives and land, but also history, memory and collective identity — emphasising that digital annihilation is part of the broader campaign of dispossession. Awais, who has previously contributed to peer-reviewed publications, warns that the erasure of Palestinian digital heritage is a deliberate strategy to silence future generations as well as those living today. https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/how-israel-genocide-gaza-extends-digital-annihilation Pregnant women in Gaza face catastrophic scenarios Source: The Electronic Intifada Date: 29 November 2025 By Farah Samer Zaina, a writer, translator and English lecturer from northern Gaza. The article describes how pregnant women in Gaza are experiencing sharply increased rates of miscarriages, neonatal deaths, premature births and congenital deformities — often after perilous journeys through conflict zones just to reach medical care. It documents how severe shortages of nutritious food, vitamins and prenatal care — alongside displacement, malnutrition and toxic exposure — are deeply endangering maternal and fetal health. The piece underscores that the crisis is structural: the ongoing war, destruction of infrastructure, lack of medical access, and dire living conditions mean pregnancy in Gaza now carries far greater risk than before. https://electronicintifada.net/content/pregnant-women-gaza-face-catastrophic-scenarios/51072 Child amputees in Gaza use makeshift prosthetics as Israeli restrictions block medical supplies Source: Drop Site News Date: 25 November 2025 The article describes how children in Gaza who have lost limbs — including 10-year-old Rateb Abu Qleiq — are forced to fashion makeshift prosthetic limbs because proper prosthetics are unavailable. Rateb lost his right leg below the knee after an Israeli airstrike that also killed his mother and brother; desperate to walk again, he and his cousin used scavenged plastic sewage pipe and string to build a crude prosthetic. The piece reports that Gaza now has the world’s highest per-capita number of child amputees, with thousands in need of rehabilitation, while medical supply blockades and destruction of prosthetic-care facilities — including Hamad Hospital for Rehabilitation and Prosthetics — make recovery nearly impossible for many. https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/gaza-child-amputees-makeshift-prosthetics-limbs-israeli-restrictions-hamad-hospital Meet Sana, 7 months old, her father, journalist Yehya Subaih was murdered 5 hours after she was born, 7 May 2025 Source: Bisan Owda (a brief video with @wizard_bisan1 on Insta) Date: 24 November https://www.instagram.com/p/DRceUAfiovi/ Israel is threatening to demolish a popular West Bank youth football pitch Source: Middle East Eye Date: 5 December No psychological relief for Palestinian children … The article reports that an artificial-grass football pitch in the Aida refugee camp, built in 2021, has become a central space for local children — both boys and girls — to play. It notes that several girls from the camp have gone on to represent Palestine national youth football team at youth-level competitions. The threatened demolition of the pitch by Israeli authorities therefore risks undermining a vital community resource and a rare pathway for young Palestinians to engage in sport and represent their country. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-threatening-demolish-popular-west-bank-youth-football-pitch  FEATURED EVENTS The Logic of Extermination/The Logic of Denial: An Online Symposium Date: Sunday14 December at 6pm (UK time) Source: The Psychosocial Foundation × Parapraxis This full-day online symposium explores how the “logic of extermination” and the “logic of denial” operate in the context of the genocide in Gaza and other long-standing racialised violences, bringing together international scholars across three panels. It serves as a fundraiser for the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme, emphasising how psychological, political and historical frameworks are interwoven in mass violence. https://www.thepsychosocialfoundation.org/store/p/logics-of-extermination-and-denial USA-Palestine Mental Health Network: Reading Circles Programme 2026 The USA-Palestine Mental Health Network is offering a series of facilitated reading circles in 2026, each centred on key texts exploring Palestinian experience, mental health, resistance, and structural violence. These groups provide structured collective reading and discussion spaces, with each circle running for six sessions and operating on a donation basis. Reading circles (all groups are in English) UK-friendly times: Cycle 25 – Psychoanalysis Under Occupation: Practicing Resistance in Palestine by Professors Lara & Stephen Sheehi. Thursdays from 15 January–19 February 2026. Cycle 26 – Psychoanalysis Under Occupation: Practicing Resistance in Palestine. Saturdays from 7 February–14 March 2026. Cycle 1 – Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions: The Global Struggle for Palestinian Rights by Omar Barghouti. Sundays from 11 January–15 February 2026. Not UK-friendly times: Group VII – Incarcerated Childhood and the Politics of Unchilding by Professor Nadera Shalhoub-Kervorkian. Bi-weekly on Mondays from 23 February–4 May 2026. Cycle 24 – Psychoanalysis Under Occupation: Practicing Resistance in Palestine. Wednesdays from 14 January–18 February 2026. https://mailchi.mp/c1b6e5dfc738/new-reading-circles-for-2026-48677?e=f02f8a3048  FEATURED ACTIONS Councillor Pledge for Palestine In the run up to local elections in May 2026, Palestine Solidarity Campaign has launched an important new initiative asking local councillors to sign a Pledge for Palestine committing to:- Uphold the inalienable rights of the Palestine people.- Stand up to Israel for its crimes of genocide and apartheid.- Ensure their council isn’t complicit – including through divesting pension funds from complicit companies. On the action page, enter your postcode and you will see the names of your local councillors and a template letter (that you can alter if you wish) that will be sent to them automatically. Asking sitting councillors to sign the Pledge for Palestine will help to identify target seats in which councillors who do not support divestment could be replaced with those who do.Further information and the action page is available here: https://mailchi.mp/palestinecampaign/nov2025lobby-4931105?e=27bd721334 Eurovision – No stage for war crimes At the time of writing, the petition has 587,000 signatures After two years of genocide in Gaza  and near-daily attacks since the ceasefire, last week Israel was confirmed for Eurovision 2026. Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands and Slovenia have already pulled out in protest. But for organisers to change course, more key countries must follow their lead. We need to pressure national broadcasters to withdraw right now, while this decision is fresh. We can’t let Israel whitewash its crimes with songs and sparkle while the brutal apartheid and suffering for Palestinians continues. https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/eurovision_no_for_war_crimes_loc/ Write to your MP: Sign the Early Day Motion (EDM) on cluster munitions and demand an end to contracts with Elbit Systems Israel has used banned cluster munitions in its recent bombings of Lebanon, but our government continues to give contracts to the manufacturer of these banned bombs and allows them to operate factories in Britain. Imran Hussain MP has tabled Early Day Motion (EDM) 2376 highlighting this and demanding the government takes action. Please take two minutes to email your MP to ask them to sign EDM 2376 demanding an end to contracts with Elbit Systems and the closure of their British factories. https://palestinecampaign.eaction.org.uk/clustermunitions  BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT AND SANCTIONS (BDS) A founding aim of the UK-Palestine Mental Health Network is to “encourage our colleagues individually and collectively to consider their response to the Palestinian call for boycott, sanctions and divestment (BDS).” Write to your MP: Support Divestment from Israeli Apartheid Write to your MP to demand they support Amendment 2 to the Pensions Scheme Bill which would direct pension funds to end investments that contribute to grave violations of international law. PSC’s research has found that Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) funds, administered by local councils, invest £12.2billion+ in companies with proven involvement in Israel’s crimes against Palestinians. Local divestment campaigns are active across Britain, and are achieving significant gains, with 23 local councils having passed a motion or issued a statement to support divestment. Write to your MP to ask they support divestment from companies enabling Israeli apartheid. https://palestinecampaign.eaction.org.uk/support-divestment

National Demonstration for Palestine Source: Palestine Solidarity Campaign Date: Saturday 29 November from 12:00 noon to 4:30pm Location: From Hyde Park Corner to Whitehall End the Occupation – Stop Arming Israel – End Apartheid On the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, we will be marching again in London to demand an end to Israel’s genocide, military occupation and apartheid against Palestinians. https://palestinecampaign.org/events/national-demonstration-for-palestine-29-november/ UKPALMHN Solidarity Space Monday 1 December and Monday 8 December at 1pm (UK time) This is an open space where people exchange their emotional responses with a view to remaining resilient amidst a constant stream of distressing news. Please contact ukpalmhn@gmail.com if you would like a link to these meetings Resolution 2803: How the UN Security Council legitimised Palestinian children’s death-worlds Source: Lama Khouri writing in CounterPunch Date: 24 November 2025 Lama Khouri is a member of the Palestine-Global Mental Health Network. This article contends that United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803 did not merely fail to protect Palestinian children — it officially sanctioned their systematic destruction by endorsing a plan that entrusts Donald Trump and allied states with control over Gaza’s governance and reconstruction. It argues that through colonial, racialised frameworks the international system continues to produce a hierarchy of children’s lives, whereby Palestinian children are rendered killable while others are protected. Drawing on theorists such as Achille Mbembe and Frantz Fanon, the piece describes how the resolution transforms genocide into governance and normalises the elimination of a population. https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/11/24/resolution-2803-how-the-un-security-council-legitimized-palestinian-childrens-death-worlds/ Palestinian civil society condemns UNSC Resolution 2803 establishing joint US–Israel illegal occupation of Gaza (Position paper) Source: Al-Haq Date: 20 November 2025 This position paper, authored by a coalition of Palestinian civil society organisations, presents a collective voice rejecting UNSC Resolution 2803, which they argue institutionalises foreign military and administrative control over Gaza without Palestinian consent. It contends the resolution serves as a de facto form of occupation, sidelining Palestinian self-determination and incorporating aid and reconstruction into frameworks of coercion and dispossession. The paper emphasises that Palestinian perspectives and agency are essential to any meaningful resolution, and calls on states to reject the resolution, uphold rights of return, and pursue accountability for settler-colonial violence. https://www.alhaq.org/advocacy/26842.html All my dreams have been erased: Israel’s forced displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank Source: Human Rights Watch Date: 20 November 2025 This 105-page Human Rights Watch report analyses “Operation Iron Wall”, during which Israeli forces forcibly displaced around 32,000 Palestinians from the Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps, demolished hundreds of structures and have since barred residents from returning. It concludes that these actions constitute the war crime of forcible transfer and form part of crimes against humanity, calling on states to impose targeted sanctions, suspend arms sales and take measures to ensure accountability. https://www.hrw.org/report/2025/11/20/all-my-dreams-have-been-erased/israels-forced-displacement-of-palestinians-in-the Killing fields at the food line: Israel’s siege on Gaza’s supply chainSource: Good Shepherd CollectiveDate: 20 NovemberPrices of goods in Gaza remain astronomically high, despite the illusion of a ceasefire.[…]What emerges is a precision-engineered famine. Israel controls every calorie that enters Gaza, restricts the fishing zones that might provide protein, bombs the agricultural lands that could grow vegetables, and destroys the water infrastructure necessary for food production and preparation. The result is predictable: a captive population forced to pay prices that would be considered extortionate in the world’s wealthiest nations, while living in rubble with no income, no infrastructure, and no escape .https://thecall.ps/p/killing-fields-at-the-food-line-israels Dr. Samah Jabr discussing Israel’s impunity when it comes to torturing and raping Palestinians Source: Dr Samah Jabr on LinkedIn Date: 21 November[You may need to close a pop-up window in order to see this item] This is a short clip with Dr Jabr but the post also includes a link to the full interview (requires sign-up). https://www.linkedin.com/posts/samah-jabr-25509883_torture-rape-activity-7397603402307768320-UYIP/ Germany is offering asylum to donkeys from Gaza. Gaza’s children? Not allowed. Source: Opinion piece in Mondoweiss Date: 23 November A text book example of de-humanisation. Germany is now taking in animals from Gaza while refusing entry to injured and sick Palestinians. The message is clear: in Germany’s hierarchy of “valuable” life, Palestinians are valued less than animals. https://mondoweiss.net/2025/11/germany-is-offering-asylum-to-donkeys-from-gaza-gazas-children-not-allowed It is reasonable to ask Israeli academics to condemn genocide? Source: Circulated by theSouth Africa-Palestine Mental Health Network Date: 11 November This document argues that Israeli academics have an ethical responsibility to publicly oppose the genocide in Gaza, noting that academic institutions often legitimise or obscure state violence through silence and selective scholarship. It challenges the idea of academic neutrality and urges scholars to adopt positions rooted in accountability, solidarity and opposition to structural harm. It highlights the limits of liberal academic discourse and calls for more direct forms of engagement aligned with justice for Palestinians. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xcyEN4CmOyyFt042ibH9epU1DZA5ewpB/view Diary of a Young Doctor: Notes from the genocide in Gaza Source: Goodreads Date: 8 November 2025 We included a moving and insightful piece by Dr Ezzideen in our 29 October mailing. Five days before 7 October 2023 a young Palestinian doctor returns to Gaza, having completed his medical studies abroad. His family gathers to celebrate his achievements and welcome him home. On 11 October seventy-five members of his extended family are killed in an airstrike, and thus begins his incredible story of survival and service to his people. […] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/242996578-diary-of-a-young-doctor  FEATURED EVENTSThere are 15 informative and inspring events listed in the run up to Christmas: https://ukpalmhn.com/events/ War trauma in children: Voices from Gaza and global perspectives (webinar) Date: Friday28 November at 12:30 (UK time) Source: Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Islam Indonesia and Palestine-Global Mental Health Network IndonesiaThis webinar examines the psychological impact of ongoing conflict on children, featuring contributions from mental health professionals working in Gaza and international experts in trauma and childhood studies. It focuses on the current mental-health crisis, evidence-based interventions in conflict zones and the role of global solidarity in supporting affected children. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdy4yIH2YLcGlot_KMxjbhy7CDOp67AqayDDZoOAsZMP5gYvA/viewform Break the Silence: Trauma therapists talk about Gaza Date: Saturday 29 November at 8pm Source: EMDR Therapists for Palestine This is an online event and it will be recorded. Have you felt powerless, frustrated, gaslit and shut down when trying to talk about the Palestinian genocide in therapeutic spaces? Confused as to why trauma therapists want to talk about healing trauma, both collectively and intergenerationally, yet avoid mentioning Gaza? Join Gabor Maté and Palestinian friends including experienced therapists Nada Khader and Heba Zaphiriou-Zarifi to explore the implications of what Maté calls “the unspeakable collective trauma that has been for decades inflicted on the people of Palestine,.. A trauma witnessed and grieved by millions around the world”. Please buy a ticket, your donations will support the recovery of children from Gaza. https://events.humanitix.com/breaking-the-silence-trauma-therapists-talk-about-gaza The Logic of Extermination/The Logic of Denial: An Online Symposium Date: Sunday14 December at 6pm (UK time) Source: The Psychosocial Foundation × Parapraxis This full-day online symposium explores how the “logic of extermination” and the “logic of denial” operate in the context of the genocide in Gaza and other long-standing racialised violences, bringing together international scholars across three panels. It serves as a fundraiser for the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme, emphasising how psychological, political and historical frameworks are interwoven in mass violence. https://www.thepsychosocialfoundation.org/store/p/logics-of-extermination-and-denial  FEATURED ACTION For all actions see: https://ukpalmhn.com/gaza-crisis/ A call to action: Please sign the Open Letter to Thomas Hübl and The Collective Trauma Summit calling on the wellness world to end the silence on genocide in Palestine This call to action urges people to sign an Open Letter addressed to Thomas Hübl and the organisers of the Collective Trauma Summit, challenging the wellness and therapeutic sectors to end their ongoing silence on the genocide in Palestine. Although the Summit ended in October 2025 and the original submission window has formally closed, signatures are still being collected, including from contributors and others within wellness institutions, to maintain public pressure and accountability. The letter has already been signed by more than 500 individuals, including prominent figures such as Dr Gabor Maté, and is continuing to circulate widely (it has been viewed over 16,500 times), generating behind-the-scenes conversations within wellness networks. Organisers emphasise that all are welcome to sign and share the letter, particularly those in mental health and wellness professions, to amplify its impact and keep the issue visible.Full details about this action can be found here: https://ukpalmhn.com/resources/open-letter-to-thomas-hubl-and-the-collective-trauma-summit-november-2025/ The Open Letter can be found here: https://www.change.org/p/open-letter-to-thomas-h%C3%BCbl-and-the-collective-trauma-summit-2025-03441627-5434-449a-9f6d-36c08dcd40fb

UKPALMHN Solidarity Space Monday 24 November at 1pm (UK time) This is an open space where people exchange their emotional responses with a view to remaining resilient amidst a constant stream of distressing news. Please contact ukpalmhn@gmail.com if you would like a link to this meeting. National Demonstration for PalestineSource:  Palestine Solidarity Campaign Date: Saturday 29 November from 12:00 noon to 4:30pm Location: From Park Lane to Whitehall End the Occupation – Stop Arming Israel – End Apartheid On the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, we will be marching again in London to demand an end to Israel’s genocide, military occupation and apartheid against Palestinians .https://palestinecampaign.org/events/national-demonstration-for-palestine-29-november/  Fatina was 11 when the bomb ripped through her shelter … Source: Adam Goren, a psychoanalytically trained child and adolescent psychotherapist Date: 17 November In this short essay, child psychotherapist Adam Goren suggests Palestine exposes a dark and troubling irony; that broken greed-driven societies create the very distress they then deploy therapy to alleviate. The experience of Palestinian healer Ashira Darwish is drawn on to show how brown and black bodies are isolated and targeted for remediation as part of a gargantuan (largely unconscious) gaslighting project. In centring personal pain, western psychotherapies and other such interventions inadvertently distract from root causes of distress in a whole people’s, often deliberate, brutalisation and dehumanisation. Such broken societies, bent on capital accumulation, create psychological-industrial-complexes that monetise their own misery. Nevertheless, as 11-year-old Fatina and her mental health worker from Gaza illuminate, Palestinians are finding their own solutions to the unimaginable horror inflicted upon them. https://ukpalmhn.com/resources/fatina/ On professional silence during genocide: The 2025 Sigourney Award Source: Palestine-Global Mental Health Network writing in CounterPunch Date: 18 November This article exposes how the Sigourney Award—celebrating trauma-expertise—has never honoured a Palestinian professional in 35 years, even while genocide is occurring in Gaza and Palestinian mental-health workers are active on the ground. It highlights the complicity of institutions in erasing Palestinian suffering and mentions that the International Collective of Palestine Mental Health Networks will continue centring Palestinian voices and resisting frameworks that treat them only as subjects of study, not as agents of healing. https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/11/18/on-professional-silence-during-genocide-the-2025-sigourney-award/ Torture and health worker complicity in Israeli detention sites Source: The British Medical Journal Date: 11 November This article reports that Palestinian detainees continue to face systematic torture and degrading treatment in Israeli custody, including in facilities such as Sde Teiman, and raises concerns about the role of Israeli health workers who document or witness abuse without intervening. It calls for robust international scrutiny and emphasises the ethical obligation of medical professionals to prevent harm, uphold human rights standards and resist institutional complicity. https://www.bmj.com/content/391/bmj.r2347 Freed Palestinian child prisoners recount torture in Israeli custody Source: Middle East Eye Date: 15 November In interviews conducted by the NGO Defense for Children Palestine (DCIP), three children describe how they were abducted by Israeli forces near aid distribution points and transferred to the notorious Sde Teiman detention camp in southern Israel. They said they endured torture, beatings and starvation in Israeli custody. The trauma has left them unable to sleep, and they are plagued by night terrors and bed wetting. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/prison-inside-me-freed-palestinian-child-prisoners-recount-torture-israeli-custody Israel punishes a rape whistleblower but embraces the alleged rapist soldiers Source: Zeteo Date: 18 November The article reports that Yifat Tomer‑Yerushalmi, the former military advocate who leaked footage of alleged rape by Israeli soldiers at Sde Teiman prison camp, is now facing retaliation while the accused soldiers are being publicly celebrated. It argues that the mainstream media remains largely silent as state-backed officials reframe whistle-blowing as defamation and the victims’ truth is suppressed. https://zeteo.com/p/israel-punishes-rape-whistleblower-embraces-soldiers “I’m happy and sad to see you”: the paradox of surviving the Gaza genocide Source: Mondoweiss Date: 26 October This opinion piece by Dr Hassan El-Nabih reflects on a moment in the enclave of Gaza where a former student told him, “I’m happy to see you … and also sad to see you,” capturing the dual emotions of survival amidst devastation. He explains how Gaza’s academic life, languishing under siege and bombardment, has become a testament to resilience—not only of bodies, but of education, memory and resistance. https://mondoweiss.net/2025/10/im-happy-and-sad-to-see-you-the-paradox-of-surviving-the-gaza-genocide/ Tents in Gaza collapse from rain as Palestinians struggle with massive flooding Source: Drop-Site News Date: 14 November The article documents how displaced Palestinians in Gaza — many living in tents following the war — are now facing heavy winter rains and flooding, underscoring that trauma and precarious living conditions persist long after the ceasefire. It highlights how shelters are flooding, children’s belongings are ruined, and aid continues to be restricted, emphasising that the suffering in Gaza has not ended. https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/gaza-rain-flooding-tents-winter-storms-displaced-shelter Reading the crisis: “For Edward Said” with Brenna Bhandar and Hashem Abushama Source: Stuart Hall Foundation Date: 9 November This online teach-in revisits Edward Said through Stuart Hall’s 2004 open letter “For Edward Said”, exploring its relevance for current debates on the Israel–Palestine system and academic discourse. The session examines how Said’s critiques of Orientalism and intellectual responsibility intersect with Hall’s conjunctural analysis to offer tools for rethinking colonial power, representation and resistance today. https://www.stuarthallfoundation.org/resource/reading-the-crisis-for-edward-said-with-brenna-bhandar-and-hashem-abushama/ What happened to the Palestinian popular struggle? Source: +972 podcast Date: 6 November In the occupied West Bank today, life looks completely different than it did just two years ago — with unprecedented levels of state-backed settler violence, arbitrary arrests, new road closures, and mounting economic pressure. But resistance, too, is changing. Veteran activist Munther Amira connects this moment to earlier chapters of the Palestinian struggle and reflects on what it means to keep resisting when survival itself has become the fight. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpo-8Jacu6s Recording of UKPMHN Cafe Palestine 38 The UKPMHN Cafe Palestine 38 – The normalisation of Genocide and Ecocide – took place on Saturday 15 November 2025. The meeting reflected on a world that sponsors genocide, and indulges a cynical disregard for the ecological disasters that have been unleashed on Gaza and which threaten further mass death, particularly in the global South. The speakers were: Prof Mazin Qumsiyeh, a Palestinian scientist and author, founder and director of the Palestine Museum of Natural History and the Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability at Bethlehem University; Prof Paul Hoggett, a psychoanalytic psychotherapist and Emeritus Professor of Social Policy at the University of the West of England (UWE), Bristol. He co-founded the Climate Psychology Alliance and served as its first chair in 2012. https://youtu.be/bY16uQiRFXs This and all previous UKPMHN Cafe Palestines can be found at: https://ukpalmhn.com/cafe-palestine/cafe-palestine-index/  FEATURED EVENTS There are 15 informative and inspring events listed in the run up to Christmas: https://ukpalmhn.com/events/ Gaza: Reprocide and the weaponisation of starvation (webinar) Date: Sunday 23 November at 6pm (UK time) Source: JVP Health Advisory Council and Harvard FXB Center (in conjunction with the USA-Palestine Mental Health Network) This webinar examines how starvation is deployed as a tool of war in Gaza, featuring Lt. Col. Anthony Aguilar and physician-advocate Dr Alice Rothchild. It situates their testimony within broader discussions on reproductive violence, military policy and humanitarian ethics. Lt. Col. Anthony Aguilar is a West Point graduate and 25 year special forces veteran. Col. Aguilar joined the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation but quit after witnessing war crimes including the shooting of unarmed Gazans at food distribution centers. He has devoted his time since as a whistleblower. https://www.jvphealth.org/events/sunday-november-23-2025-jvp-hac-webinar-reprocide-and-the-weaponization-of-starvation War trauma in children: Voices from Gaza and global perspectives (webinar) Date: Friday28 November at 12:30 (UK time) Source: Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Islam Indonesia and Palestine-Global Mental Health Network Indonesia This webinar examines the psychological impact of ongoing conflict on children, featuring contributions from mental health professionals working in Gaza and international experts in trauma and childhood studies. It focuses on the current mental-health crisis, evidence-based interventions in conflict zones and the role of global solidarity in supporting affected children. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdy4yIH2YLcGlot_KMxjbhy7CDOp67AqayDDZoOAsZMP5gYvA/viewform Break the Silence: Trauma therapists talk about Gaza Date: Saturday 29 November at 8pm Source: EMDR Therapists for Palestine This is an online event and it will be recorded. Have you felt powerless, frustrated, gaslit and shut down when trying to talk about the Palestinian genocide in therapeutic spaces? Confused as to why trauma therapists want to talk about healing trauma, both collectively and intergenerationally, yet avoid mentioning Gaza? Join Gabor Maté and Palestinian friends including experienced therapists Nada Khader and Heba Zaphiriou-Zarifi to explore the implications of what Maté calls “the unspeakable collective trauma that has been for decades inflicted on the people of Palestine,.. A trauma witnessed and grieved by millions around the world”. Please buy a ticket, your donations will support the recovery of children from Gaza. https://events.humanitix.com/breaking-the-silence-trauma-therapists-talk-about-gaza The Logic of Extermination/The Logic of Denial: An Online Symposium Date: Sunday14 December at 6pm (UK time) Source: The Psychosocial Foundation × Parapraxis This full-day online symposium explores how the “logic of extermination” and the “logic of denial” operate in the context of the genocide in Gaza and other long-standing racialised violences, bringing together international scholars across three panels. It serves as a fundraiser for the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme, emphasising how psychological, political and historical frameworks are interwoven in mass violence. https://www.thepsychosocialfoundation.org/store/p/logics-of-extermination-and-denial  FEATURED ACTION For all actions see: https://ukpalmhn.com/gaza-crisis/ Tell your Councillors: Divest from Companies Enabling Israel’s Genocide Source: Palestine Solidarity Campaign Date: November 2025 E-mail your councillors today to demand that the council ends its financial ties to companies complicit in Israel’s crimes against Palestinians. PSC has sent a legal notice to every council in England & Wales administering a Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) fund, outlining that they are under a legal obligation to take steps to divest from companies enabling and profiting from Israel’s genocide, military occupation and apartheid against Palestinians. https://palestinecampaign.eaction.org.uk/divestmentduty  BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT AND SANCTIONS (BDS) A founding aim of the UK-Palestine Mental Health Network is to “encourage our colleagues individually and collectively to consider their response to the Palestinian call for boycott, sanctions and divestment (BDS).” People’s Embargo for Palestine webinar launch Date: Saturday22 November at 6pm (UK time) Source: Palestinian Youth Movement This webinar launches the People’s Embargo for Palestine and provides updates on the #MaskOffMaersk campaign and coordinated international efforts to halt the flow of arms and energy to Israel. Speakers from unions and organisations across several countries will discuss strategies for building pressure on governments, corporations and institutions to end complicity in the assault on Palestinians. https://www.instagram.com/p/DQ7U_JykS7z/

Cafe Palestine: The normalisation of genocide and ecocide Saturday 15 November from 4pm – 6pm (UK) / 6pm – 8pm (Palestine) At this Cafe Palestine we reflect on a world that sponsors genocide, and indulges a cynical disregard for the ecological disasters that have been unleashed on Gaza and which threaten further mass death, particularly in the global South. Speakers:Prof Mazin Qumsiyeh is a Palestinian scientist and author, founder and director of the Palestine Museum of Natural History and the Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability at Bethlehem University where he teaches. Over the course of his career he has published well over 150 scientific papers on topics ranging from cultural heritage to biodiversity in addition to several books. Prof Paul Hoggett is a psychoanalytic psychotherapist and Emeritus Professor of Social Policy at the University of the West of England, Bristol. His research spans social policy, community life, and the emotional dynamics of politics, with notable expertise in the intersection of psychoanalysis, group relations, and social systems. He co-founded the Climate Psychology Alliance and served as its first chair in 2012. Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86208116892?pwd=Pz6ne1TazWleakZUVcBPfJaC1DQl3f.1 UKPALMHN Solidarity Space Monday 17 November at 1pm (UK time) This is an open space where people exchange their emotional responses with a view to remaining resilient amidst a constant stream of distressing news. Please write to ukpalmhn@gmail.com if you would like a link to this meeting. National Demonstration for Palestine Source: Palestine Solidarity Campaign Date: Saturday 29 November from 12:00 noon to 4:30pm Location: From Park Lane to Whitehall End the Occupation – Stop Arming Israel – End Apartheid On the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, we will be marching again in London to demand an end to Israel’s genocide, military occupation and apartheid against Palestinians. https://palestinecampaign.org/events/national-demonstration-for-palestine-29-november/  Nasser Abu Srour: Life, literature, and the struggle of Palestinian prisoners Source: Palestine Will Be Free Date: 9 November Nasser Abu Srour, a poet and novelist from Bethlehem, was released and exiled to Egypt last month after thirty-three years in Israeli prisons. His account of endurance, education, and creativity under severe confinement highlights the systematic brutality faced by Palestinian detainees and the resilience of their cultural life. https://palestinewillbefree.substack.com/p/nasser-abu-srour-life-literature-struggle-palestinian-prisoners Palestine Mental Health Networks Statement about Sudan Source: The International Collective of the Palestine Mental Health Networks(which includes the UK Network) Date: 12 November The international collective of the Palestine Mental Health Networks, including UK-Palestine-Mental Health Network, write from a place of rage and grief. For nearly two years, Sudan has endured systematic violence while the international community has chosen deliberate abandonment. Over twenty-one million people face famine. October marked the deadliest month for civilians since the war began. More than half of the internally displaced are children. This is not neglect. It is active, calculated choice. […] https://ukpalmhn.com/resources/sudan-statement-november-2025/ Purging Palestinian Solidarity from the NHS The UK-Palestine Mental Health Network has signed the following open letter. (The letter is open to signature by organisations rather than individuals.) Government press release indicates anti-Palestinian racism to become official policy, while worsening antisemitism in health care. The 16 October 2025 press release, “Government takes urgent action to tackle antisemitism and other forms of racism in the NHS” issued by the Department of Health and Social Care, Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, is deeply concerning: it is a threat to equality, human rights and the mental well-being of the 1.5 million workers in the NHS.  Not content with its ongoing political, diplomatic and military support for Israel, and its widespread repression of pro-Palestine protest, the government now seeks to entirely outlaw expression of support for Palestine within the NHS, with a series of divisive and authoritarian measures.[…] https://docs.google.com/document/u/1/d/1OXrblm6kFDZS7CVb_7gy07JM2TQmFRxB/mobilebasic Updated Statements from Dajani and Rozmarin Speaking of Home: An Intimate Exchange on Israel-Palestine is a filmed hour-long conversation between psychoanalysts Eyal Rozmarin (Israeli) and Karim Dajani (Palestinian), moderated by an organisation called ROOM.  The two psychoanalysts (both resident in the USA) engage in a powerful and tender conversation showing how unconscious process underlies political-cultural realities and individual misunderstandings. It was recorded on 14 July 2024 https://analytic-room.com/speakingofhome/ In September 2025, the British Psychotherapy Foundation arranged an online discussion of the film for their members. Dajani and Rozmarin were asked if they might wish to contribute their current thoughts since the original conversation was filmed in July 2024. Both provided statements that were much appreciated in the discussion, and have kindly agreed to make these freely available. Eyal’s Statement: Karim and I taped this conversation last summer. It made sense for us to engage in it, because we could each place ourselves in relation to each other and at the same time to a sense of belonging – even if, in my case, a deeply ambivalent belonging – with some collectivity: for him Palestinian, for me Jewish-Israeli, and speak from there. The situation was already beyond horrifying. It has gotten exponentially worse since then. We would not have the same conversation today. Because if it has been debatable before, it is no longer – Israel is perpetrating a premeditated, organized genocide on the Palestinian people, and the so called civilized world is either supporting it, or standing by. They did not bomb the railroads to Auschwitz, and they are not bombing the runways from which the American made, Israeli manned extermination machines have been taking off for two years. My identity as an Israeli-Jew has become lethal. Whatever sense of belonging I have had, is being destroyed together with Gaza. The Israeli part is a black hole, the Jewish part wonders if it could be rescued from the Israeli, or whether it has already been destroyed by it. What I have, is a clear knowledge of the absolute evil being perpetrated in my name. Karim and I talk regularly, but now it is mostly about keeping each other sane vis-a-vis the insane violence and lies and indifference. We are also trying to understand how something like this can happen, again. There has been a great deal of thinking after the Nazis, but now we have industrial mass-murder being declared and executed live. We can see what Hannah Arendt called “the banality of evil” played out on TV and on social media. We can see in real time a collective going mad. I am now attached to the worst kind of crime in the dictionary of human civilization, forever. I don’t know yet what to say from that place. Except this: we must stop the extermination by any means, we must rescue as many people and as much Palestinian heritage as possible, and we must work towards different kinds of belonging and political organisation in Palestine. Karim’s Statement: Thank you for writing to me and offering an opportunity to address the audience.  I would like to make three brief and condensed points for consideration.The first is that the film is an attempt at a dialogue between two individuals.  We do speak about our collectives but we are speaking as individuals.  We cannot dialogue as representatives of our respective collectives for many reasons. The most important is that the Israeli collective is in control of everything and the Palestinian collective is being oppressed and erased by all available means. The asymmetry in the positions between the two large groups makes dialogue impossible.  Furthermore, in a dialogue between individuals, if it is sincere, the positions articulated change because learning something new requires loosening existing conceptual frames.   Nothing new has really emerged between the two large groups. We are in a new phase now. The genocide is on-going, and the suppression of any efforts to stop it by western governments has reached a level that can best be described as evil.  All people of conscience should demand humane and sane actions from their governments and institutions.  How many more children must starve? As psychoanalysts, there are two pressing issues that I suggest we try to address within our groups and as a social phenomena of great analytic interest.   The first is how do we understand the lack of empathy in the Israeli collective towards the murder of children, and the displacement of millions of people.  How is it that 82% of the Israeli collective supports the Genocide in Gaza. How do we understand that? The second, is the way our institutions, particularly the IPA, has suppressed any mention of the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and any effort to speak about it honestly. How do we understand that? If we fail as a group to even mention the reality of the genocide and suppress all avenues of inquiry into its psycho-social determinants then we must ask ourselves the questions: who are we serving and what are we working towards?  FEATURED EVENT For all events see: https://ukpalmhn.com/events/ Effective Mental Health Interventions in Humanitarian Settings Source: Colombia Global Date: Monday 17 November at 3:00 pm Mental health is a critical yet often under-resourced priority in humanitarian settings. As crises and displacement intensify, the psychological toll on affected communities grows deeper and more complex, eroding the foundations of individual well-being and human dignity. […] https://globalcenters.columbia.edu/events/effective-mental-health-interventions-humanitarian-settings Break the Silence: Trauma therapists talk about Gaza Source: EMDR Therapists for Palestine Date: Saturday 29 November at 8pm This is an online event and it will be recorded. Have you felt powerless, frustrated, gaslit and shut down when trying to talk about the Palestinian genocide in therapeutic spaces? Confused as to why trauma therapists want to talk about healing trauma, both collectively and intergenerationally, yet avoid mentioning Gaza? Join Gabor Maté and Palestinian friends including experienced therapists Nada Khader and Heba Zaphiriou-Zarifi to explore the implications of what Maté calls “the unspeakable collective trauma that has been for decades inflicted on the people of Palestine,.. A trauma witnessed and grieved by millions around the world”. Please buy a ticket, your donations will support the recovery of children from Gaza. https://events.humanitix.com/breaking-the-silence-trauma-therapists-talk-about-gaza  FEATURED ACTION For all actions see: https://ukpalmhn.com/gaza-crisis/ Tell your Councillors: Divest from Companies Enabling Israel’s Genocide Source: Palestine Solidarity Campaign Date: November 2025E-mail your councillors today to demand that the council ends its financial ties to companies complicit in Israel’s crimes against Palestinians.PSC has sent a legal notice to every council in England & Wales administering a Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) fund, outlining that they are under a legal obligation to take steps to divest from companies enabling and profiting from Israel’s genocide, military occupation and apartheid against Palestinians. https://palestinecampaign.eaction.org.uk/divestmentduty  BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT AND SANCTIONS (BDS) A founding aim of the UK-Palestine Mental Health Network is to “encourage our colleagues individually and collectively to consider their response to the Palestinian call for boycott, sanctions and divestment (BDS).” Netherlands pushes ahead to ban imports from illegal Israeli Jewish settlements Source: Palestine Chronicle Date: 10 November The Netherlands is advancing legislation to prohibit imports from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, citing escalating settler violence and threats to a two-state solution. Foreign Minister David van Weel said the move follows the International Court of Justice’s ruling that Israel’s occupation is illegal and aligns with actions already taken by several EU states. The measure, though limited by EU trade law, reflects growing European pressure for accountability over Israel’s human rights violations in the West Bank and Gaza. https://www.palestinechronicle.com/netherlands-pushes-ahead-to-ban-imports-from-illegal-israeli-jewish-settlements-report/

UKPALMHN Solidarity Space Monday 10 November at 1pm (UK time) This is an open space where people exchange their emotional responses with a view to remaining resilient amidst a constant stream of distressing news. Please write to ukpalmhn@gmail.com if you would like a link to this meeting, Mental Health Conference for Palestine: Living through the Unimaginable Source: Psychoanalytic Voices for Palestine Date: Saturday 8 November from  9:30am – 4:30pm Location: Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX Speakers: Dr Yasser Abu Jamei, Dr Yoa’d Ghanadry-Hakim, Martin Kemp This is a hybrid (in-person/online) event but seating is limited, so advanced booking is recommended. Join us for a day dedicated to updating on the present situation, bringing together professionals working in Palestine and allied Mental Health groups in the UK organising around Palestine. The conference is aimed at all mental health professionals who want to make an ethical response to the destruction of ordinary human life in Palestine and spearhead a collective mental health response. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mental-health-conference-for-palestine-living-through-the-unimaginable-tickets-1744401304259 Cafe Palestine: The normalisation of genocide and ecocideSaturday 15 November from 4pm – 6pm (UK time) At this Cafe Palestine we reflect on a world that sponsors genocide, and indulges a cynical disregard for the ecological disasters that have been unleashed on Gaza and which threaten further mass death, particularly in the global South. Speakers: Prof Mazin Qumsiyeh is a Palestinian scientist and author, founder and director of the Palestine Museum of Natural History and the Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability at Bethlehem University where he teaches. Over the course of his career he has published well over 150 scientific papers on topics ranging from cultural heritage to biodiversity in addition to several books. Prof Paul Hoggett is a psychoanalytic psychotherapist and Emeritus Professor of Social Policy at the University of the West of England, Bristol. His research spans social policy, community life, and the emotional dynamics of politics, with notable expertise in the intersection of psychoanalysis, group relations, and social systems. He co-founded the Climate Psychology Alliance and served as its first chair in 2012. Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86208116892?pwd=Pz6ne1TazWleakZUVcBPfJaC1DQl3f.1  Torture Journal: Special issue on Israel and Occupied Palestine Source: Torture Journal (open access) Publisher: International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims Date: 15 October This double issue presents one of the most extensive academic and field-based examinations of genocide and torture in Israel and Occupied Palestine, exposing how systematic violence and dehumanisation have become integral to Israeli state policy. The articles document genocidal torture and exterminatory violence in Gaza, including first-hand testimonies, analyses of starvation and sexualised abuse as tools of domination, and the targeting of children and medical personnel. Legal and psychological studies trace the colonial and apartheid structures that institutionalise arbitrary detention and collective punishment, framing these as mechanisms of genocide and social control. Collectively, the issue demonstrates how Israel’s prolonged occupation and warfare constitute a coordinated system of torture and annihilation sustained through law, ideology, and international complicity. https://tidsskrift.dk/torture-journal/issue/view/12453 Silenced there, silenced here: How NHS medics are being punished for speaking the truth about Gaza Source: Substack (Omar Abdel-Mannan) Date: 28 October Omar Abdel-Mannan describes how UK doctors who speak publicly about Israel’s assault on Gaza face complaints, investigations, and even arrests, reflecting a growing campaign to intimidate medical professionals into silence. He contrasts the physical silencing of Gaza’s health workers under bombardment with the bureaucratic and political suppression of their British colleagues, arguing that both aim to erase testimony about atrocities. The piece warns that this climate of fear is corroding medical ethics itself, replacing compassion and truth-telling with complicity and self-censorship. https://substack.com/inbox/post/177413418 Civic needs assessment of Palestinians in the UK Source: British Palestinian Committee (38 page report) Date: 30 October The report identifies mental health as one of the most urgent needs of Palestinians in the UK, with nearly 80 percent reporting high levels of anxiety and distress since October 2023. It finds that British mental health services are often culturally and politically ill-equipped—patients encounter hostility, long waits, and therapists who misunderstand or pathologise their collective trauma, which is inseparable from ongoing violence and displacement in Palestine. The study calls for Arabic-speaking, trauma-informed professionals familiar with the political context of Palestinian suffering, and for community-based, peer and online support networks to provide safe, empathetic spaces for healing. https://britpalcommittee.co.uk/civicneedsassessment Therapy for Palestine UK Source: EMDR Therapists for Palestine Date: November 2025 (EMDR = Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) Therapy for Palestine UK is a growing network of clinicians offering pro bono, trauma-informed therapy for Palestinians in the UK. We provide safe, affirming, and culturally grounded support, recognising that Palestinian trauma stems from war, genocide, displacement, and decades of oppression and denial of statehood. Our service is open to all Palestinians living in the UK, and we extend our welcome to all the students recently arrived from Gaza. […] Follow the link below for: • Further information about Therapy for Palestine UK • Invitation to Palestinians in the UK seeking mental health support (in English and Arabic) https://ukpalmhn.com/emdr-therapists-for-palestine/therapy-for-palestine-uk/ “Antisemitism in medicine: As Wes Streeting vows sweeping changes, how did we get here?” Source: British Medical Journal – Rapid Response letter Date: 15 October A “Rapid Response” letter written by Fareed Bashir, a member of UK-Palestine Mental Health Network Steering Group, to the BMJ concerning the article called Antisemitism in medicine: As Wes Streeting vows sweeping changes, how did we get here?The letter condemns UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting for weaponising antisemitism to silence doctors speaking about Israel’s genocidal crimes in Palestine, arguing that such tactics align him with Netanyahu’s regime and contribute to the ongoing extermination of Palestinians. https://www.bmj.com/content/391/bmj.r2140/rr-4 Palestinians in Gaza struggle to retrieve their dead with little more than hammers Source: Drop Site Date: 21 October Abdel Qader Sabbah reports from Gaza on families desperately digging through rubble by hand to recover the bodies of thousands of loved ones killed and left unretrieved due to Israel’s blockade on rescue equipment. Through testimonies from grieving mothers and survivors, the article exposes how Israel’s destruction, mass killings, and torture of detainees—combined with international indifference—have created a landscape where the dead are desecrated and the living endure unrelenting psychological torment. https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/palestinians-gaza-bodies-buried-rubble-missing-ghf-israeli-captives-prison Over 3 million life-years lost in Gaza Source: The Lancet Correspondence (from Sammy Zahrana and Ghassan Abu-Sittah) Date: 31 October A statistical analysis of Gaza’s Health Ministry data estimates that as of July 31, 2025, Israel’s assault has caused over 3 million life-years lost among 60,199 recorded deaths—an average of 51 years per person—showing that the overwhelming loss falls on civilians, including more than one million life-years lost among children under 15. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)02112-9/fulltext A torturous sanitation disaster is unfolding in Gaza’s displacement camps Source: Truthout Date: 25 October Sara Awad describes the unbearable living conditions in Gaza’s displacement camps, where open sewage, scarce water, and the absence of toilets have created a deadly sanitation crisis for families surviving in tents after Israel’s destruction of Gaza’s infrastructure. Speaking from within the camps, she portrays this as a form of ongoing, silent torture—an assault on dignity and health that continues even after the bombs have stopped. https://truthout.org/articles/a-torturous-sanitation-disaster-is-unfolding-in-gazas-displacement-camps/ There is no peace in Gaza Source: The New Yorker (elements of a recent essay are reproduced on the Dutch Palestine Solidarity website) Date: 24 October Palestinian poet and essayist Mosab Abu Toha won the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for essays published in The New Yorker chronicling life in Gaza.Poet Mosab Abu Toha recounts his family’s repeated displacement, the killing of his relatives, and the torture endured by those detained in Israeli prisons, describing how personal grief and hope coexist amid Gaza’s devastation. His narrative follows the release of relatives from Israeli detention, their brutal treatment, and the hollow relief of reunion in tents surrounded by ruin. Even from exile in the United States, Abu Toha portrays the anguish of watching loved ones live and die under bombardment, revealing how the so-called ceasefire has brought neither safety nor peace to those he loves. https://palestina-komitee.nl/there-is-no-peace-in-gaza/  FEATURED EVENT For all events see: https://ukpalmhn.com/events/ Break the Silence: Trauma therapists talk about Gaza Source: EMDR Therapists for Palestine Date: Saturday 29 November at 8pm This is an online event and it will be recorded. Have you felt powerless, frustrated, gaslit and shut down when trying to talk about the Palestinian genocide in therapeutic spaces? Confused as to why trauma therapists want to talk about healing trauma, both collectively and intergenerationally, yet avoid mentioning Gaza? Join Gabor Maté and Palestinian friends including experienced therapists Nada Khader and Heba Zaphiriou-Zarifi to explore the implications of what Maté calls “the unspeakable collective trauma that has been for decades inflicted on the people of Palestine,.. A trauma witnessed and grieved by millions around the world”. Please buy a ticket, your donations will support the recovery of children from Gaza. https://events.humanitix.com/breaking-the-silence-trauma-therapists-talk-about-gaza  FEATURED ACTION For all actions see: https://ukpalmhn.com/gaza-crisis/ Gaza: Keep the conversation going (a Pledge to have a conversation about Gaza) Source: Oxfam UK Date: November 2025 If we act together, we can keep the world’s focus on Gaza – and increase the pressure on the UK government to take meaningful action. A simple and powerful thing each of us can do right now is talk to the people closest to us about what’s going on. Will you pledge to talk to someone you know about Gaza, to keep the situation in people’s hearts and minds? https://survey.alchemer.eu/s3/90920406/Gaza-Conversation-Pledge