1. Café Palestine 4 on Saturday 23 May 11am (London time) 1pm (Palestine time)

We are delighted to announce that our next speaker will be Yoa’d Ghanadry-Hakim, who will share with us her reflections on trauma, the usefulness of PTSD as a clinical concept, and the complexities of working with imported, Western, terminology in the Palestinian context. Yoa’d Ghanadry-Hakim, a clinical psychologist and certified supervisor, is the head therapist at the Palestine Counseling Centre in Beit Hanina and head of the Arab Union of Psychologists. She is also a psychosocial and human rights activist.

A reminder, with the Zoom link, will be sent in a further mailing on Thursday 21 May. We hope that the next Café Palestine will be accompanied with live music from Palestine.

2. Recording of Café Palestine 3 from Birzeit on 9 May

Photo: Danai Nardi

If case you missed our last event, here is a link to a recording of Dr Weeam Hammoudeh, Assistant Professor at the Institute of Community and Public Health, Birzeit University, speaking on “Acute and Chronic Uncertainties in the Palestinian Context: Implications for Mental Health and Wellbeing”. Many thanks to Weeam for her presentation:

https://ukpalmhn.com/resources/cafe-palestine/

Read other papers by Weeam here:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Weeam_Hammoudeh

3. COVID-19

a) CONTRIBUTE DIRECTLY TO THE PRODUCTION OF RESPIRATORS IN PALESTINE

We have received this request from IMET2000, long involved in medical education in Palestine:

“The Palestinian Minister of Health (MoH) has requested our help to expand provision of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure or CPAP respirators; WHO standard personal protective equipment (PPE); COVID-19 specific testing kits; provision of essential toiletries and sanitary products; and training of many additional healthcare workers in basic life support and critical care nursing specifically for COVID-19-infected patients using our mannequins and our dedicated IMET2000 training staff.

“We are making progress. IMET2000 have been donated 6 excellent CPAP respirators designed in University College London called the UCL-Ventura Respirator. UCL have granted IMET2000 a two-year licence for production in Palestine and we already have the design blueprints (copyright restricted) to allow us to make our own inside Gaza and the West Bank. We are working closely with the PA MoH , the British Consul General, the British Council and with MAP on this COVID-18 project.

“We have posted a COVID-19 appeal on our website Home page (www.imet2000.org) and on Facebook (with link: https://imet2000.org/donate/ and would be so grateful if you or friends could help us by spreading the word. As we work pro bono the project is run entirely free of administrative overheads. Our minimalist target is £80,000 but we hope to hit at least £100,000.”
b) Why this is important:

– Letter in BMJ:
https://www.bmj.com/content/349/bmj.g6644/rapid-responses

– BDS pamphlet focusing on the heightened exposure of those living under apartheid to the risk of illness:
https://bdsmovement.net/sites/default/files/corona_fs%20final%204.20.2020.pdf

– Article by Alice Rothchild “Who matters? Pandemic in a time of structural violence” at:
https://mondoweiss.net/2020/05/who-matters-pandemic-in-a-time-of-structural-violence/

– Western banks do direct harm to Palestinian communities when they give in to pressure not to do business with Palestinian NGOs. The targeting of Interpal has been facilitated by the shameful cooperation of HSBC, as Peter Oborne and Jan-Peter Westad describe in their article “HSBC accused of ‘appalling moral cowardice’ over blocked Palestinian aid payments” at
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/hsbc-accused-moral-cowardice-over-blocked-palestinian-aid-payments

4. THE THREAT OF ANNEXATION

It is sometimes suggested that the annexation of West Bank lands will simply formalise a reality that already exists. Ziv Stahl explains why this isn’t the case, in “What will happen to Palestinian land the day after annexation?
https://www.972mag.com/palestinian-land-west-bank-annexation/

British MPs demand sanctions if annexations take place:
https://www.caabu.org/news/news/127-british-politicians-demand-uk-impose-sanctions-israel-event-annexation-occupied-palest But in Parliament on the 11 May, the Foreign Office Minister resisted the opportunity to confirm that the Government’s disapproval of the plunder of Palestinian lands would have practical consequences. Once again, it will fall to civil society to resist the progress of Israel’s settler colonial project.

5. EVENTS

BDS-JVP-PSC Virtual Rally for Palestine, online Friday 15 May 7pm (London time)
https://mailchi.mp/palestinecampaign/supremecourtvictory-454333?e=ca56f8b52e

6. OTHER RESOURCES

MAKAN

MAKAN is providing excellent educational resources and training in the UK. Check out their website and sign up to their newsletter. Makan is now organizing weekly zoom conferences…
https://www.makan.org.uk/the-hub/

FILM

The Palestine Film Institute is screening a movie each week, here:
https://www.palestinefilminstitute.org/en/pfp

VISUALISE PALESTINE

An interactive map of Palestine since the Naqba of 1948. Click on any place-name …
https://today.visualizingpalestine.org/