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| 1. Under the Gun in Palestine Thursday 18 January at 20:00 2. Day of Action for Palestine Saturday 20 January 3. UKPALMHN Action Half-Hour Fri 26 Jan at 13:00 4. Cafe Palestine 37 on Sat 27 Jan 16:00-18:00 5. Don’t Go to the Recalculating Conference 6. Gaza Genocide unmasked by Irish lawyer’s historic speech at the ICJ 7. War on Gaza: Complaint filed alleging UK ministers’ complicity in Israeli war crimes 8. We have a tool to stop Israel’s war crimes: BDS 9. Pro-Palestine voices blast lack of Western media coverage of ICJ Gaza case 10. Birthdays under bombardment 11. Solidarity is key to surviving in Gaza 12. Lama Khouri speaking at a rally in New York plus Stars reading South Africa’s submission to the ICJ 1. Under the Gun in Palestine: Genocide, Ethnic Cleansing, and Resistance Thursday 18 January at 20:00 (UK time) Presented by Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh from the Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability at Bethlehem University. Further information and registration (scroll down to find the event): https://wirn.worldbeyondwar.org/webinars/ 2. Day of Action for Palestine Saturday 20 January organised by Palestine Solidarity Campaign There will be local actions at more than 35 locations across the UK this weekend. https://palestinecampaign.org/events/day-of-action-for-palestine-20-january/ 3. UKPALMHN Action Half-Hour The next Action Half-Hour will be on Friday 26 January at 13:00 There is an up to date list of actions, that anyone can take up at any time on this web page: https://ukpalmhn.com/gaza-crisis/ Please do check out the page this week independently for new actions responding to the ICJ case and further petitions to sign. We look forward to meeting again as a group on the 26th. 4. Cafe Palestine37 – Honouring the work of our colleagues in Gaza Saturday 27 January 16:00 – 18:00 (Please note the second Cafe Palestine, previously scheduled for 3 February, has been postponed. A new date will be announced shortly) This event will feature the work of some of the mental health teams working in Gaza, their professionalism, dedication and creativity and their ongoing activities, despite the catastrophic conditions inflicted upon them. Since most colleagues in Gaza are cut off from electronic communication and have to focus on their own and their families’ survival, we need to represent and honour them in whatever ways we can, mainly through our voices from outside. Dr Samah Jabr, Head of the Mental Health Unit, Palestine Ministry of Health will speak about the mental health implications of the ongoing assault on the people of Gaza, their homes and their vital infrastructure. David Harrold and Mohamed Altawil will speak about the work of the Palestine Trauma Centre in Gaza www.palestinetraumacentre.uk Nick Bilborough from the Hands Up Project will speak about their educational, creative writing and drama work with young people in Gaza www.handsupproject.org Mohammed Kamal will talk about the work of the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme In this Cafe we particularly welcome attendance from colleagues engaged in different mental health projects in Gaza and will aim to include them in future presentations. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87273844374?pwd=THpQSFBVWVNFYitmT3hDS29xUWR4QT09 5 Don’t Go to the Recalculating Conference The UK, USA, Global, French and Irish -Palestine Mental Health Networks issued an open letter condemning the professional conference Recalculating: Authority, Identity, & Belonging in Times of Tectonic Upheaval to be held in Israel on February 10-23, 2024 https://ofekgrouprelations.org/en/intgrc2024/ The networks encourage all mental health workers to refuse to attend, publicize, or participate in the conference either in person or virtually. The conference is organised in association with the London-based Tavistock Institute for Human Relations (www.tavinstitute.org/). UKPALMHN has been in correspondence with TIHR urging that they should disassociate themselves from the conference. The original letter and full correspondence is available on this Don’t Go page: https://ukpalmhn.com/resources/dont-go-to-the-recalculating-conference/ UKPALMHN encourages individuals who have connections with the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations to write individual letters to TIHR protesting that they are associated with organising this conference. Full details about the issue can be found on the Don’t Go page and emails can be sent to this address: e.aram@tavinstitute.org (Please note that the Tavistock Institute for Human Relations is a separate organisation from the Tavistock Clinic). 6. Gaza Genocide unmasked by Irish lawyer’s historic speech at the ICJ from the Owen Jones YouTube channel A moving speech explaining why action is needed now – and the devastating consequences of inaction.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZS6IYp0BErg The presentation includes this whiteboard in a hospital in northern Gaza written by an MSF doctor. The doctor and two colleagues were killed in an Israeli strike on the hospital.  7. War on Gaza: Complaint filed alleging UK ministers’ complicity in Israeli war crimes Evidence handed to Metropolitan Police war crimes unit also includes details about British nationals fighting in the Israeli army https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/war-gaza-uk-war-crimes-israel-complaint 8. We have a tool to stop Israel’s war crimes: BDS One of the Aims 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)”. In this powerful, long-read, Naomi Klein explains why she supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/jan/10/only-outside-pressure-can-stop-israels-war-crimes 9. Pro-Palestine voices blast lack of Western media coverage of ICJ Gaza genocide case against Israel On 11 January, the BBC live-streamed the Post Office Enquiry but did not live-stream the South African submission to the ICJ about alleged Israeli war crimes in Gaza. On 12 January, the BBC live-streamed the Israeli response to the submission in full, despite the fact that the Post Office Enquiry was still ongoing. https://www.newarab.com/news/poor-western-media-coverage-icj-gaza-case-blasted-online https://twitter.com/Jonathan_K_Cook/status/1745874540155044332 There is further information about this on the UKPALMHN website: https://ukpalmhn.com/gaza-crisis/ There is a Change.org petition asking who made the decision to show only the Israeli defence of the allegations and not the allegations themselves, what informed the decision, what considerations were taken into account when making the decision and what, if any, political direction or advice was received by the BBC which may have influenced the decision. There is also information about how to make a complaint with the BBC. 10. Birthdays under bombardment “Instead of singing ‘Happy Birthday,’ the party was disrupted by intense bombings,” Muhammad said. “We waited for minutes, hoping the bombings would end. The sound only became louder. It was nerve-racking.” Yet despite this, the children were intent on having fun. Over the sound of the missile strikes, they just sang louder, Muhammad said. https://electronicintifada.net/content/birthdays-under-bombardment/43946 11. Solidarity is key to surviving in Gaza Podcast with recent information about the lives of families in Gaza. “People are getting together in a sense of community,” Ahmed says. If someone finds a sack of flour, “they bake bread for the whole street.” Or if someone finds some canned goods, they “cook a big stew and distribute it.” https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/solidarity-key-surviving-gaza 12. Lama Khouri speaking at a rally in New York Lama is a cross-cultural psychoanalyst. She is co-founder of the Palestine-Global Mental Health Network and a member of its steering committee. https://ukpalmhn.com/resources/lama-khouri-speaking-at-rally-in-new-york/ Plus Stars reading South Africa’s submission to the ICJ Kudos to the Palestine Festival of Literature for arranging a list of actors reading sections from the South African submission to the ICJ alleging Israeli genocide in Gaza. These include actors from the Game of Thrones and several other well-known names. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcwdep4oM5M The New Arab provides a mini who’s who: https://www.newarab.com/news/got-star-lena-headey-backs-sa-genocide-charges-israel#:~:text=Game%20of%20Thrones%20star%20Lena%20Headey%20was%20among%20dozens%20of,Justice%20(ICJ)%20last%20week |
Author: ukpalmhnadmin
Israel genocide case at ICJ plus ICC submissions
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| 1. UKPALMHN Action Half-Hour on Friday 12 January at 13:00 (UK time) The Action Half-Hours are intended to provide a space for mutual support and action. The meeting will last for 30 minutes but participants are welcome to stay after the end of the formal meeting to talk further, if desired. Please contact ukpalmhn@gmail.com if you would like a link to the meeting. The actions for this meeting and all previous meetings are open to anyone to act on at any time. They are all available at this link: https://ukpalmhn.com/gaza-crisis/ 2. National March for Palestine – Ceasefire NOW Saturday 13 January at 12:00 at Bank Junction, EC3V 3LA https://palestinecampaign.org/events/national-march-for-palestine-ceasefire-now-january-13/ The UK-Palestine Mental Health Network banner will be at the march. We will be assembling at 12:00 under the Samaritans Blue Plaque on the wall of St Stephen’s Walbrook Church (Northside), 31 St Stephen’s Row (off Walbrook) EC4N 4YA. This is where the Social Workers’ group will also be assembling.  The next two items refer to the ICJ and ICC respectively. Here is a refresher about these two bodies, if needed. Understanding how the ICJ and ICC work 3. International Court of Justice resource page The organisation World Beyond War has created a resource page about the South African submission to the International Court of Justice alleging violations by Israel of its obligations under the “Genocide Convention” in relation to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. https://worldbeyondwar.org/gaza-genocide/ Call from Palestine to States Parties of the Genocide Convention: Support South Africa’s ICJ Suit Against Israel over its Gaza Genocide List of organisations calling on signatories of the Genocide Convention to support the case (currently over 1,000 organisations) The USA and UK Mental Health Networks have signed this open letter. The initial submission to the ICJ takes place on Thursday 11 and Friday 12 January. The proceedings run from 9:00 -11:00 (UK time) on both days. Thursday is devoted to SA’s exposition of the case for claiming genocide, Friday to Israel’s defence. It is possible to watch the proceedings here: http://webtv.un.org/en Norman Finkelstein (renowned American political scientist and activist) and Mouin Rabbani (Dutch – Palestinian Middle East analyst) will provide commentary on the case. Connections Episode 85: South Africa Charges Israel with Genocide at the ICJ with Norman Finkelstein (a 4-Part Series) https://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/45698 TAKE ACTION There is also a strategic campaign encouraging countries that have been critical of Israel’s conduct in Gaza to take the next step and file a Declaration of Intervention in support of the South African case. The website provides simple form through which it is possible email the United Nations Consulates of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Jordan, Turkey, Ireland, Honduras, Bolivia, Belize, Algeria, and Pakistan. The action appears at the top right of this page: https://worldbeyondwar.org/gaza-genocide/ The full text of the action is available here: https://worldbeyondwar.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Genocide1PageE.pdf 4. Submissions to the International Criminal Court Justice For All has created a tool kit for victims and survivors to submit claims of Israeli aggression to the International Criminal Court (ICC). The International Criminal Court is now accepting online reports of war crimes, including injury, loss of life, and property destruction. Submission of crimes since June 13, 2014 will be considered. https://www.justiceforall.org/icc-submissions/#submiticc 5. Resist the dehumanization of Palestinians and Israelis! Amnesty International Israel has launched an open letter fighting the dehumanization of Gazans, Palestinians, and Muslims, and the dehumanization of Israelis and Jews in general. Why do we fight the dehumanization of Palestinians and Israelis Open Letter and signatories 6. Making a Palestinian symbol At a time of crisis, the work of the Hirbawi brothers in Hebron has rarely been more vital. “After the outbreak of Israel’s current war on Gaza, global demand for keffiyehs increased dramatically as people marched and demonstrated in solidarity with Palestinians. But the Hirbawis cannot increase exports as Israel has cut off the cities of the occupied West Bank from each other and there are no Palestinian airports or ports.” https://www.aljazeera.com/features/longform/2024/1/6/the-only-palestinian-factory-making-keffiyehs-is-going-strong 7. Gaza: Messages & Images Exhibition and Events at P21 Gallery, 21-23 Chalton Street London NW1 In collaboration with Az Theatre and associated artists, P21 Gallery is presenting an exhibition and programme of events, centred around an installation of the Messages From Gaza Now #3 Film. This will be an open space of inspiration, reflection and cultural activism. https://aztheatre.org.uk/ Events: Wed 17 Jan 2024: 7pm Art, Action, Culture, Events! Fri 19 Jan 2024: 7pm Films: Voices From Gaza (1988) and Gaza Breathing Space Film (2011) Tue 23 Jan 2024: 7pm Genocide and Mental Health Thu 25 Jan 2024: 7pm Children, Genocide and the Struggle for Freedom and Justice CORRECTION: In our mailing on 3 January we publicised Ambassadors for HUMANITY – Letters in Solidarity- Disconnected by miles connected through hearts which is a moving collection of letters to Medics and Paramedics in Gaza. We incorrectly stated that the collection was produced by the USA-Palestine Mental Health Network. The USA Network has asked us to clarify that the collection was created by Dr. Sabine Rizk and Nusrat Khan (askrahat101@gmail.com) and the Network is simply distributing it. We apologise to those concerned. Both the UK and the USA Network continue to recommend the collection as a tribute to medics and paramedics in Gaza https://usapalmhn.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Final-Letters-to-Gaza-PDF.pdf |
Cafe Palestine is back on Sat 27 Jan and Sat 3 Feb, plus The War Through a Child’s Eyes
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| 1. UKPALMHN Action Half-Hour on Friday 5 January at 13:00 2. National March for Palestine on Saturday 13 January at 12:0 3. Cafe Palestine is back on Sat 27 January and Sat 3 February 4. Ambassadors for Humanity – Letters in Solidarity 5. Letter to Tavistock Institute of Human Relations calling for end to association with Recalculating conference 6. A child of Gaza: The war through a child’s eyes 7. A sniper’s bullets shattered last vestiges of sanctuary in Gaza’s only Catholic church 8. The role of the International Committee of the Red Cross 9. Journalist Wael Al-Dahdouh’s message for 2024 Plus The Darkling Thrush By Thomas Hardy 1. UKPALMHN Action Half-Hour on Friday 5 January at 13:00 The Action Half-Hours are intended to provide a space for mutual support and action. Upon reviewing feedback from participants, we plan to keep the Zoom call open at the end of the half hour to provide a space for a broader discussion within the group. This will be a less focused time after the actions have been completed where participants can choose to stay on the call to share feelings and feedback about anything that might have come up for them during the meeting. We hope this will help encourage a feeling of shared solidarity and strengthen our ability to act during this difficult time. Please contact ukpalmhn@gmail.com if you wish to attend the Action Half-Hour 2. National March for Palestine – Ceasefire NOW – Saturday 13 January at 12:00 noon in Central London The assembly point and route have not been announced at the time of writing. We will circulate an assembly point for the UKPALMHN banner and supporters when the route is announced. https://palestinecampaign.org/events/national-march-for-palestine-ceasefire-now-january-13/ 3. Cafe Palestine is back! Keep the dates! We plan to hold two Cafe Palestine events on consecutive weeks: Saturday 27 January at 16:00 – 18:00 and Saturday 3 February at 16:00 – 18:00 They will focus on Mental Health in Gaza with the aim of honouring the work of our colleagues there, their professionalism, creativity and dedication. Samah Jabr describes Mental Health professionals as being ‘a cornerstone in building hope and healing at every level of society.’ With this aim in mind we think it is important to remind ourselves of what our colleagues in Gaza have achieved in promoting mental health. Since they are cut off from electronic communication and forced to focus on their own and their families’ physical survival, their experience and expertise may need to be temporarily represented by colleagues from outside. The two Cafe’s will consist of presentations by different teams who have collaborated with colleagues in Gaza. The Cafe on January 27th will begin with a presentation by Dr Samah Jabr. Further details and Zoom link to follow in the next mailing. 4. Ambassadors for HUMANITY – Letters in Solidarity Disconnected by miles connected through hearts A moving collection of letters to Medics and Paramedics in Gaza, Palestine produced by the USA-Palestine Mental Health Network https://usapalmhn.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Final-Letters-to-Gaza-PDF.pdf 5. UKPALMHN letter to Tavistock Institute of Human Relations calling for end to association with Recalculating conference The 36th OFEK International Group Relations Conference called ‘RECALCULATING: Authority, Identity & Belonging in Times of Tectonic Upheaval’ is being organised in Israel in February 2024. https://ofekgrouprelations.org/en/intgrc2024/. Disturbingly, the conference is being organised in association with the London-based Tavistock Institute of Human Relations. https://www.tavinstitute.org/ (The Tavistock Institute of Human Relations is a different organisation to the Tavistock and Portman NHS trust). The USA-Palestine Mental Health Network, along with the UK, French and Irish networks are urging people not to attend either in-person or virtually stating: “The “Recalculating” event clearly supports Israeli policy. Its bold invitation, ironically issued now in the midst of Israel’s heinous genocide in Gaza, promises to ponder subtle issues of cultural and national identity in a neutral, self-searching, and transparent manner. Alas, however, the list of conference planners excludes Palestinian voices—those human beings currently being uprooted through genocide and violent upheaval. What’s more, the invitation states with proud defiance that the ‘conference will be conducted according to the guidelines of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Home Front Command to ensure the continued safety of residents’. With this framework, how can the perspectives of Palestinians or their international supporters conceivably be heard?” The UK-Palestine Mental Health Network has written to the CEO of the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations calling on the Institute to end association with the conference. There has been no reply to this letter. A copy of the UKPALMHN letter and a link to the open letter urging people not to attend can be found on this page: https://ukpalmhn.com/resources/dont-go-to-the-recalculating-conference/ Further information about this action will be added to this page as it becomes available. 6. A child of Gaza: The war through a child’s eyes Under Israeli bombardment, nine-year-old Elaf and her family struggle to find safety in the Gaza Strip. A recommended 25-minute film released on Christmas Day https://www.aljazeera.com/program/witness/2023/12/25/a-child-of-gaza-the-war-through-a-childs-eyes 7. A sniper’s bullets shattered last vestiges of sanctuary in Gaza’s only Catholic church On 20 December two elderly women were shot dead by a sniper whilst going to the outside toilet in Gaza’s only Catholic church. Independent: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-gaza-church-palestinians-christians-b2466049.html Al Jazeera: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Otw-1JQsP2g&authuser=0 8. The role of the International Committee of the Red Cross Mazin Qumsiyeh, the Director of the Palestine Institute of Biodiversity and Sustainability at Bethlehem University has questioned the impartiality of the ICRC. The ICRC is taking a strong stance in support of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. On the other hand, thousands of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank have been seized without due process and are held without charge (under so-called “Administrative Detention”) and often subject to torture and abuse. The ICRC is not treating these Palestinian prisoners in the same way that it deals with the Israeli hostages. Amnesty International https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/11/israel-opt-horrifying-cases-of-torture-and-degrading-treatment-of-palestinian-detainees-amid-spike-in-arbitrary-arrests Human Rights Watch https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/11/29/why-does-israel-have-so-many-palestinians-detention-and-available-swap 972 (an independent, online, non-profit magazine run by a group of Palestinian and Israeli journalists) https://www.972mag.com/palestinians-abused-israeli-prisons-torture/ Mazin urges people to write to the ICRC about this: https://www.icrc.org/en/contact 9. Journalist Wael Al-Dahdouh’s message for 2024 https://twitter.com/SamiXSavage/status/1741628394435940398 As we enter 2024, a poem that perhaps befits the times … The Darkling Thrush By Thomas Hardy I leant upon a coppice gate When Frost was spectre-grey, And Winter’s dregs made desolate The weakening eye of day. The tangled bine-stems scored the sky Like strings of broken lyres, And all mankind that haunted nigh Had sought their household fires. The land’s sharp features seemed to be The Century’s corpse outleant, His crypt the cloudy canopy, The wind his death-lament. The ancient pulse of germ and birth Was shrunken hard and dry, And every spirit upon earth Seemed fervourless as I. At once a voice arose among The bleak twigs overhead In a full-hearted evensong Of joy illimited; An aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small, In blast-beruffled plume, Had chosen thus to fling his soul Upon the growing gloom. So little cause for carolings Of such ecstatic sound Was written on terrestrial things Afar or nigh around, That I could think there trembled through His happy good-night air Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew And I was unaware. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44325/the-darkling-thrush |
Don’t Go to the Recalculating Conference!
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| 1. UKPALMHN Action Half-Hour on Friday 5 January at 13:00 2. National March for Palestine – Saturday 13 January 3. Don’t Go to the Recalculating Conference! 4. As genocide rages, doctors must choose: Care or collaboration 5. Doctors Against Genocide 6. International committee “must investigate Israel’s holding of dead bodies in Gaza” 7. Meta censors pro-Palestinian views on a global scale, report claims 8. Visualisation of the progressive destruction of medical infrastructure in Gaza 9. No Human Being Can Exist 10. I am not Palestinian. But if you are not grieving, something is wrong 11. Act now against companies profiting from the genocide of the Palestinian people plus I will not look away by Caitlin Johnstone (extract) and Organisations providing mental health services that are seeking financial support in 2024 1. UKPALMHN Action Half-Hour on Friday 5 January at 13:00 The Action Half-Hours are intended to provide a space for mutual support and action. Please contact ukpalmhn@gmail.com if you would like a link to the meeting. 2. National March for Palestine – Ceasefire NOW – Saturday 13 January at 12:00 noon in Central London The assembly point and route have not been announced at the time of writing. https://palestinecampaign.org/events/national-march-for-palestine-ceasefire-now-january-13/ 3. Don’t Go to the Recalculating Conference! The 36th OFEK International Group Relations Conference called RECALCULATING: Authority, Identity & Belonging in Times of Tectonic Upheaval is being organised in Israel in February 2024. https://ofekgrouprelations.org/en/intgrc2024/. Disturbingly, the conference is being organised in association with the London-based Tavistock Institute https://www.tavinstitute.org/ The conference brochure gushes that: “The questions of the day, while in many ways collective, are also deeply personal. We experience them in our own bodies, in the eyes of our children, in spontaneous encounters with strangers in town squares and in sudden bursts of emotion that overcome us as we drive alone in the car.” The US-Palestine Mental Health Network, along with the UK, French and Irish networks are urging people not to attend either in-person or virtually stating: “The “Recalculating” event clearly supports Israeli policy. Its bold invitation, ironically issued now in the midst of Israel’s heinous genocide in Gaza, promises to ponder subtle issues of cultural and national identity in a neutral, self-searching, and transparent manner. Alas, however, the list of conference planners excludes Palestinian voices—those human beings currently being uprooted through genocide and violent upheaval. What’s more, the invitation states with proud defiance that the ‘conference will be conducted according to the guidelines of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Home Front Command to ensure the continued safety of residents’. With this framework, how can the perspectives of Palestinians or their international supporters conceivably be heard?” A link to the open letter can be found on this page: https://ukpalmhn.com/resources/dont-go-to-the-recalculating-conference/ Further information about this action will be added to this page as it becomes available. 4. As genocide rages, doctors must choose: Care or collaboration Healthcare workers in Gaza are refusing to abandon their patients and communities. American doctors should be doing all we can to protect them. Why aren’t we? https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/11/25/as-genocide-rages-doctors-must-choose-care-or-collaborationism 5. Doctors Against Genocide We are a global coalition of healthcare workers dedicated to succeeding where global governments have failed in confronting and preventing genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Our mission includes identifying, opposing, preventing, and eradicating genocide by uniting Healthcare Professionals in action. https://doctorsagainstgenocide.org/ 6. International committee “must investigate Israel’s holding of dead bodies in Gaza” Euro-Med report states that the Israeli army has been holding the bodies of dozens of Palestinians killed during its genocide in the Gaza Strip beginning on 7 October, and Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has called for the creation of an independent international investigation committee into organ theft suspicions. https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/5982/Int%E2%80%99l-committee-must-investigate-Israel%E2%80%99s-holding-of-dead-bodies-in-Gaza%E2%80%8B 7. Meta censors pro-Palestinian views on a global scale, report claims Meta has engaged in a “systemic and global” censorship of pro-Palestinian content since the outbreak of the Israel-Gaza war on 7 October, according to a new report from Human Rights Watch (HRW). https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/dec/21/meta-facebook-instagram-pro-palestine-censorship-human-rights-watch-report You can fight back against this. In the course of producing these newsletters we have seen ample, circumstantial evidence that Palestinian voices on social media – particularly on Meta (Facebook and Instagram) – are being demoted. For example, powerful, direct-to-camera testimonies from Dr Abu Jamei of the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme that, mysteriously, gained only a handful of views. When you see an interesting link, do not assume that your friends and contacts will most likely see it too. Forward interesting links directly to your friends and contacts. You can find a record of links to campaigns and actions that UKPALMHN has been promoting on this page: https://ukpalmhn.com/gaza-crisis/ 8. Visualisation of the progressive destruction of medical infrastructure in Gaza. Forensic Architecture (https://forensic-architecture.org/) have produced an informative visualisation by cross-referencing hundreds of reports from Al-Jazeera, Alaraby and Shehab News that describe attacks on, or near to, hospitals and medical infrastructure in the north of the Gaza strip. https://gaza-hospitals.forensic-architecture.org/ 9. No Human being can exist How can a person make up for seven decades of misrepresentation and willful distortion in the time allotted to a sound bite? https://www.nplusonemag.com/online-only/online-only/no-human-being-can-exist/ 10. I am not Palestinian. But if you are not grieving, something is wrong The global powers divide lives into those who can be mourned and those who cannot; those whose mourning justifies the killing machine and those whose mourning undermines it. https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/israel-palestine-gaza-war-reject-censorship-grief-must 11. Act now against companies profiting from the genocide of the Palestinian people One of the founding Aims 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)”. This link from the Palestinian-led BDS campaign provides a detailed guide to targeted consumer boycotts, divestment and pressure campaigns https://bdsmovement.net/Act-Now-Against-These-Companies-Profiting-From-Genocide I will not look away by Caitlin Johnstone (extract) No matter how horrific it gets, I will not look away. No matter how many children I see killed and injured in the most gruesome ways imaginable, I will not look away. No matter how much human suffering I see by keeping my gaze on Gaza, I will not look away. No matter how many nightmares I have, I will not look away. No matter how many tears I shed, I will not look away. No matter how many reasons the propagandists and manipulators come up with for me to turn my gaze elsewhere, I will not look away. No matter how many insults and accusations I am tarred with for refusing to look away, I will not look away. No matter how much easier it would be to look away, I will not look away. I will not avert my gaze. I will not become distracted. I will not lose myself to the sedated stupor of escapism. I will not do my best to pretend that everything is normal and that life is basically fine. https://consortiumnews.com/2023/12/11/caitlin-johnstone-i-will-not-look-away/ ORGANISATIONS PROVIDING MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES THAT ARE SEEKING FINANCIAL SUPPORT IN 2024 Palestine Trauma Centre (UK) https://www.palestinetraumacentre.uk/ Medical Aid for Palestinians https://www.map.org.uk/ Palestine Red Crescent Society https://www.palestinercs.org/en Palestinian Counseling Center https://pcc-jer.org/en Gaza Community Mental Health Programme https://www.gazamentalhealth.org/support/ Hope and Play https://hopeandplay.org/ |
Actions in support of Aida Youth Center in Bethlehem and the Freedom Theatre in Jenin, plus Palestinian Christians’ letter at Christmas
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| 1. UKPALMHN Action Half-Hour 2. Arrest of Munther Amira, Chairman of the Board of the Aida Youth Center 3. Updates from The Freedom Theatre in Jenin 4. At Christmas – an open letter from 12 Palestinian Christian groups 5. How Israel uses an AI genocide program to obliterate Gaza 6. What does it mean to erase a people – a nation, culture, identity? 7. Israel Killed Thousands of Children in Gaza. How Can So Many Israelis Remain Indifferent? 8. Press conference with Dr Ben Thompson from North America Medical Doctors 9. What would Freud have made of it? Notes on a ‘normal pathological organisation’ within psychoanalysis 10. Brian Cox reading If I Must Die 11. Infographic of the work of Dr Samah Jabr 1. UKPALMHN Action Half-Hour Friday 22 December at 13:00 (UK time) A reflective space to support one another, discuss and take actions together Please mail ukpalmhn@gmail.com for the Zoom link. 2. Arrest of Munther Amira, Chairman of the Board of the Aida Youth Center In the early hours of 18 December Munther Amira was violently arrested in his home in Aida camp near Bethlehem in the West Bank. Further details of the violent arrest are here https://mondoweiss.net/2023/12/palestinian-activist-munther-amira-tied-up-beaten-and-arrested-by-israeli-forces-in-aida-refugee-camp/ This follows the arrest of Anas Abu Srour, the Executive Director of the Youth Center on 29 November. Full details are available on the Aida Youth Center Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/aidacenter.org The Aida Youth Center has organised two petitions calling for their release: #FreeAnasAbuSrour: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc4jrwzVo08FdikvEEtdn1Rhh0qAQnFQoESj2K6T01lP_syJw/viewform #FreeMuntherAmira: https://www.change.org/p/free-munther-amira?recruiter=1324159610&recruited_by_id=2b2c8eb0-9d7c-11ee-98e6-e58dbbf17381 3. Updates from The Freedom Theatre in Jenin On 13 December, Israeli soldiers attacked The Freedom Theatre in Jenin, shooting at the building, destroying offices and assaulting its staff. Artistic Director Ahmed Tobasi, Producer Mustafa Sheta, and theatre graduate Jamal Abu Joas were taken from their homes and detained. Jamal was severely beaten. Ahmed Tobasi has since been released, also beaten. His colleagues, along with approximately 100 other Palestinians taken hostage from Jenin, remain detained. This follows the murder of three members of The Freedom Theatre in the last few weeks. Ongoing updates are available on the Freedom Theatre Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/thefreedomtheatre There is an open letter calling for the release of the culture workers who have been arrested: https://forms.gle/7S3mgPe79wr8X5bZ8 The Freedom Theatre are particularly interested to hear from those working within the theatre industry. 4. At Christmas – an open letter from 12 Palestinian Christian groups to western church leaders and theologians Finally, and we say it with a broken heart, we hold western church leaders and theologians who rally behind Israel’s wars accountable for their theological and political complicity in the Israeli crimes against the Palestinians, which have been committed over the last 75 years. We call upon them to reexamine their positions and to change their direction, remembering that God “will judge the world in justice” (Acts 17:31). https://www.defenddemocracy.press/an-open-letter-from-palestinian-christians-to-western-church-leaders-and-theologians/ 5. How Israel uses an AI genocide program to obliterate Gaza In a recent newsletter we linked to a detailed Israeli report called ‘A mass assassination factory’: Inside Israel’s calculated bombing of Gaza.The report cites the concerns of Israeli whistleblowers that Israel’s AI system is generating targets so fast, based on inputs so broad, that everyone in Gaza is in the crosshairs. The report has gained worldwide attention. https://www.972mag.com/mass-assassination-factory-israel-calculated-bombing-gaza/ Below is a link to a blog post that provides a shorter summary of the report: https://jonathancook.substack.com/p/how-israel-uses-an-ai-genocide-program 6. What does it mean to erase a people – a nation, culture, identity? In Gaza, we are beginning to find out Artists killed, journalists silenced, libraries and mosques destroyed. What will be left to bind the survivors together? https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/dec/18/gaza-israel-destroying-culture-and-identity 7. Israel Killed Thousands of Children in Gaza. How Can So Many Israelis Remain Indifferent? By Amira Hass an Israeli journalist and author, mostly known for her columns in the daily newspaper Haaretz covering Palestinian affairs in Gaza and the West Bank, where she has lived for almost thirty years. For decades we’ve been brought up believing that only military force can ensure the state’s survival, while denying rights to the Palestinians. That’s just one of many sad answers to the question https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2023-12-18/ty-article-opinion/.premium/israel-killed-thousands-of-children-in-gaza-how-can-so-many-israelis-remain-indifferent 8. Press conference with Dr Ben Thompson from North America Medical Doctors We are reaching the point of no return where blatant disregard for International Humanitarian Law scars our collective consciousness https://www.tiktok.com/@bass_la/video/7310440822414085419 9. What would Freud have made of it? Notes on a ‘normal pathological organisation’ within psychoanalysis by UK-Palestine Mental Health Network members Martin Kemp and Eliana Pinto Psychoanalytic discourse in relation to the situation in historic Palestine is subject to both ideologically-based and anxiety-driven inhibitions and restrictions that conflict with the discipline’s claim to be able to “stay with” difficult issues, to “think the unthinkable”. This situation is understood as a social pathology, and its impacts are explored through a literature review. Final chance to read this on free access, at this link: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/aps.1825 10. Palestine Festival of Literature recording of Brian Cox reading If I Must Die by beloved Palestinian poet, teacher and martyr Refaat Alareer. Refaat was killed on December 7th by an Israeli airstrike. His body is unburied under the rubble https://www.instagram.com/reel/C0xRMCuIKcj/ 11. Infographic of the work of Dr Samah Jabr Mental health under occupation: resistance, trauma and colonisation in Palestine https://www.linkedin.com/posts/samah-jabr-25509883_thanks-to-keri-caring-for-activists-for-activity-7141090607480946690-Nt7y/  |
Saving Our Humanity From The Rubble of Gaza PLUS Managing Your Mind While Witnessing A Genocide
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| In this mailing: 1. Events/Actions 2. Saving our humanity from the rubble of Gaza 3. Managing your mind while witnessing a genocide 4. We won’t stop speaking out about Gaza’s suffering – there is no climate justice without human rights 5. Israel arrests, abuses dozens of Palestinian civilians at UNRWA-run schools in northern Gaza 6. Norman Finkelstein on Israel’s illegal War 7. UKPALMHN: Sustaining a counter-narrative 8. Social workers’ network PLUS: Listen to the students at Ramallah Friends School singing a Christmas greeting to the children of Gaza and the world and Palestine Trauma Centre (UK) worker delivering food parcels in Gaza 1. Events/Actions Silent walk of health workers from St Thomas’s Hospital to Downing Street Saturday 16 December at 14:00 With white flags and hands held up like the doctors who had to leave Al Shifa. Will probably take 1 hour to Downing Street, and finish at around 16:00 <Circulated on social media – no further information available> UKPALMHN Action Half-Hours Christmas timetable An opportunity to talk, discuss and take action in a supportive environment Friday 15 December: no Action-Half Hour Friday 22 December at 13:00 Please contact ukpalmhn@gmail.com for Zoom link Friday 29 December: no Action Half-Hour Friday 5 January at 13:00 Please contact ukpalmhn@gmail.com for Zoom link 2. Saving our humanity from the rubble of Gaza Dr. Samah Jabr, Chair of the Mental Health Unit at the Palestinian Ministry of Health A powerful, 7-minute address to save our humanity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNhngZ3VfyQ 3. Managing your mind while witnessing a genocide (recording of webinar) Dr. Lara Sheehi, Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology Dr. Sheehi focuses on community-specific mental health concerns in response to the ongoing genocide, targeted violence across Palestine, and political repression in the United States. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8zv248CE5I&t=10s 4. We won’t stop speaking out about Gaza’s suffering – there is no climate justice without human rights By Greta Thunberg and Fridays for Future Sweden Demanding an end to this inexcusable violence is a question of basic humanity, and we call on everyone who can to do so. Silence is complicity. You cannot be neutral in an unfolding genocide. www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/dec/05/gaza-climate-justice-human-rights-greta-thunberg 5. Israel arrests, abuses dozens of Palestinian civilians at UNRWA-run schools in northern Gaza The Israeli army detained and severely abused dozens of Palestinian civilians in the northern Gaza Strip, said Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, surrounding two shelter centres in the town of Beit Lahia for days before beating the individuals and stripping them of their clothes. https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6012/Israel-arrests,-abuses-dozens-of-Palestinian-civilians-at-UNRWA-run-schools-in-northern-Gaza 6. Norman Finkelstein on Israel’s illegal war Novara Media talks to American political scientist and activist Norman Finkelstein about events since October 7th, Israel’s assault on Gaza and the events that have led up to this latest round of aggression. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CxUYHezniY 7. UKPALMHN: Sustaining a counter-narrative The mainstream media does not, in our view, offer balanced reporting on the situation in Palestine. At this critical time, it is helpful to have access to news items, video footage, speakers and opinions that are routinely excluded from the BBC, Guardian, Channel 4 etc. We have produced a short list of alternative outlets that both produce more in-depth coverage and analysis, and often critique the shortcomings of the more popular and well-known media groups shaping public opinion. In each case, we have included a link to an example of their coverage to illustrate their work. We are not endorsing the views expressed in every one of these items, but we do think they are worth listening to or watching. ukpalmhn.com/resources/sustaining-a-counter-narrative/ 8. Social workers’ network – next meeting on Sunday 7 January at 19:00 Social workers connected to the network held a well-attended Zoom meeting on Sunday evening. We are meeting again on Sunday 7th January at 7pm. Before that we will be embarking on a letter writing campaign on behalf of Anas Abu Srour, the Executive Director of Aida Youth Centre, who the Israelis are holding in administrative detention, among other actions. If any other social workers or social care workers want to become involved in developing actions together, please email sw4palestine@gmail.com Contacts have provided updates about beloved colleagues and colleagues, social workers from the Relief Agency (UNRWA) who are martyrs – Iman Ahmed from Jabalia camp – Faisal Al-Naami from Deir Al-Balah camp, who was martyred along with a number of his family members on 10/23/2023. – Somaya Al-Hout from Rafah Camp, who was martyred along with her husband, six children, and three members of her family on 11/24/2023 PLUS: Listen to the students at Ramallah Friends School singing a Christmas greeting to the children of Gaza and the world https://youtu.be/ZsEbIVJy0Gg Palestine Trauma Centre (UK) worker delivering food parcels in Gaza     |
REMINDER: Cafe Palestine on Sat 6th May at 4pm UK time
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| Cafe Palestine 36 Saturday May 6th 2023 at 16:00-17:30 (UK time) Get To Know Us! Our lives with mental illness in the Palestinian community Presenters: Suzan Mitwalli and Dr Yoke Rabaia from Birzeit University and Professor Hanna Kienzler from Kings College, London https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85488505462?pwd=RjlrVGIvYUhIK0txa1FneDQraHZMdz09 What does it mean to live and participate in the community with severe mental illness? The presenters have researched this question in the context of Palestine with persons with severe mental illness and practitioners from the Palestinian Counseling Centre. Their findings have led to the publication of an illustrated storybook “Get to know us! Our lives with mental illness in the Palestinian community” which explores the difficulties and limited opportunities for people with mental illness to live and participate in their communities. Chapters focus on the notions of community, life with mental illness, equity, spare time, and the rights to medication and work. In their talk, they will share their insights into community inclusion and participation of people with severe mental illness in Palestine. They will describe the process of co-producing the book and highlight how the book can be used as part of teaching, training and awareness raising initiatives.The project, which has the idea of social justice at its heart will be of interest, not only to those involved with Palestine but also to anyone using or wishing to explore similar collaborations with those living with a mental illness diagnosis. Feel free to read and engage with the book beforehand. A PDF copy of the book (Arabic and English) as well as audio recordings (Arabic) of all the chapters are freely available to you on this website: https://www.get-to-know-us.com Speakers Suzan Mitwalli is an academic researcher at the Institute of Community and Public Health- Birzeit University and assistant coordinator of the Master’s program in Community and Public Health (MPH). Suzan’s main research interest is mental health, and she has worked for many years on intervention research with the Community-Based Rehabilitation organization (CBR). She has also been involved in several research projects at the Institute including women’s health, population health, child health, and occupational health using quantitative and qualitative research methods. Her current research interest is participatory research with people with mental health issues. Yoke Rabaia is an academic researcher at the Institute of Community and Public Health – Birzeit University. Her main field is psychosocial health of populations in contexts of military occupation and human insecurity, with a specific interest in community-based interventions. Besides her work in Palestine, Yoke also conducted qualitative field research with local researchers in Benghazi, Libya, and Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. She strongly believes that participatory action research is crucial in order to understand and work towards better social conditions for people who are stigmatized or looked down upon by others in society. Hanna Kienzler is a Professor in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at King’s College London. As an anthropologist, with a long-standing interest in the field of global health, Hanna investigates how systemic violence, ethnic conflict and complex emergencies intersect with health and mental health outcomes. She conducts ethnographic research on the impact of war and trauma on women in Kosovo; participatory action research on what it means for persons with mental health problems to live and participate in their respective communities in Palestine; refugee mental health and place in the UK; and on humanitarian and mental health interventions in fragile states. Praise for the book Rajiah Abu Sway (Director of the Mental Health Project at the Office of the World Health Organization in Palestine): This is the first book I have read that gives space and voice to a marginalised sector that is not spoken about in our Palestinian community – people with mental illness. These are people we tend to forget about even though they live among us, who we not only pretend not to see or acknowledge, but who we also belittle and address in stigmatising terms, even describing them as crazy. In fact what they need from us is empathy, love, under- standing, and support. What is the situation of these people in our Palestinian community? The book answers this question through their voices, as they tell us about their problems, their dreams, and their aspirations, including their unrelenting determination to live and work, to love and be loved, and to form families like everyone else, and all this in a language that captures the heart. Doctor Fathi Fleifel (Director of the Mental Health Center of the Palestinian Red Crescent: This book embodies the real collaboration between the researcher and the researched, between the narrator and the listener without filter or intervening adjustments. This book gives us the opportunity to think about how patients with mental illness see themselves and their surroundings. They spoke in their own way, in simplicity and depth, without affectation or pretence, about the concepts of safety, dignity and rights, all of which are considered the pillars of humanity. Even though I supposedly know a lot about the subject, the book, with its similes and meanings, increased my knowledge and widened my perceptions of the void that still exists. It reminds me that we always can and must do what we can as individuals to contribute to an improvement of the situation, either in the cultural, legal or infrastructural dimension. Doctor Samah Jabr (Director of Mental Health at the Palestinian Ministry of Health): This participatory research is a vitally important contribution to our knowledge about the experiences of people who suffer from mental illness, and their relations with their families and the community, in a context of limited income, and exposure to political violence. And this provides evidence to policy makers, mental health professionals, and community leaders, so they can realise that treatment is not limited to medication and does not end between the walls of the hospital. The advocacy for the rights of people with mental illness and a guarantee that they can be integrated into the community are the main elements for individual and community wellbeing. OTHER MEETINGS AND EVENTS (in date order) The Trinity of Fundamentals: with Wisam Rafeedie Saturday 6th May 5pm UK / 7pm Palestine. An event taking place in New York.This is the book launch of Rafeedie’s fictionalized account of his nine years of hiding from the Occupation in Palestine, which ended in his capture by the Israeli occupation army in 1991. Rafeedie wrote The Trinity of Fundamentals during his imprisonment at Naqab Prison in 1993. https://peoplesforum.org/events/the-trinity-of-fundamentals-a-conversation-with-wisam-rafeedie/ Makan: ‘Home Is Where Our Hearts Are: Realising The Right of Return’ Tuesday 9th May 5pm UK/ 7pm Palestine Luke Williams will facilitate a discussion with Lubnah Shomali, from BADIL Resource Centre for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights in Palestine, and Olivier Bancoult, leader of the Chagos Refugee Group, exploring the interconnection between the Palestinian and Chagossian struggle for justice in the face of crimes against humanity.’ https://www.crowdcast.io/e/realisingrightofreturn/register Palestinian Collective Memory: 75 Years of Nakba and Resistance Friday 12th May at 6pm UK / 8pm Palestine Online event organised by the Palestine Global Mental Health Network.The impressive line-up includes Jeanine Hourani, Asrar Kayal, Lama Khouri, Rozeen Marjieh and Rawan Nemer, with discussants Lara and Stephen Sheehi. https://www.pgmhn.org/calendar-1/the-palestine-global-mental-health-network NAKBA 75 – National March: Free Palestine – End Apartheid Saturday 13 May 2023 at 12pm UK Location: The BBC, Portland Place W1A, London Organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Palestine Forum in Britain, Friends of Al Aqsa, Muslim Association of Great Britain and CND. https://www.palestinecampaign.org/events/nakba-75-national-protest/ Meeting place for mental health workers to walk together, alongside supporters of ICAHD-UK: Outside Café Nero at 273 Regent Street W1B 2EZ and at the corner of Great Castle Street; the nearest tube station is Oxford Circus. Please look out for UK Mental Health Palestine Banner. |
Cafe Palestine is back! Sat 6th May at 15.45-17.30 (UK time). Plus: Dr Yasser Abu Jamei is coming to London
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| Cafe Palestine 36 Saturday May 6th 2023 15.45-17.30 (UK time) Get To Know Us! Our lives with mental illness in the Palestinian community Presenters: Suzan Mitwalli and Dr Yoke Rabaia from Birzeit University and Professor Hanna Kienzler from Kings College, London https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85488505462?pwd=RjlrVGIvYUhIK0txa1FneDQraHZMdz09 What does it mean to live and participate in the community with severe mental illness? The presenters have researched this question in the context of Palestine with persons with severe mental illness and practitioners from the Palestinian Counseling Centre. Their findings have led to the publication of an illustrated storybook “Get to know us! Our lives with mental illness in the Palestinian community” which explores the difficulties and limited opportunities for people with mental illness to live and participate in their communities. Chapters focus on the notions of community, life with mental illness, equity, spare time, and the rights to medication and work. In their talk, they will share their insights into community inclusion and participation of people with severe mental illness in Palestine. They will describe the process of co-producing the book and highlight how the book can be used as part of teaching, training and awareness raising initiatives. The project, which has the idea of social justice at its heart will be of interest, not only to those involved with Palestine but also to anyone using or wishing to explore similar collaborations with those living with a mental illness diagnosis. 2. Dr Yasser Abu Jamei from the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme Dr Abu Jamei, Director of the GCMHP and founding member of the Palestine Global Mental Health Network is visiting London in May.The UKPMHN, together with the Friends of Bir Ziet University, and Birkbeck University, are arranging two public meetings to which everyone is cordially invited. a) Thursday 25th May at 5pm, Birkbeck University. Professor Jacqueline Rose will chair this event. b) Friday 26th May at 6:00pm-7:30pm hosted by Friends of Bir Zeit University. The venue is not yet confirmed but will be in central London. Further details of both meetings will be circulated soon. |
NPSA congress in Tel Aviv; removal of Palestinian children’s art; plus other campaigns, papers and news
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| 1. No more ‘business as usual’: a call to the NPSA The International Neuropsychoanalytic Association (NPSA) has responded to requests not to hold its annual congress in Tel Aviv, defending their decision with an apologia for apartheid (‘Israel is a complex and multifaceted society’). The Mental Health Networks’ collective response states that: ‘To counterpose a day or two of talking together as an alternative to sustained solidarity work is arrogant and insulting, as well as directly undermining the only effective strategy of resistance available to Palestinians.’ The full reply, published in Mondoweiss, is available here Meanwhile, Ahmad Manasra – jailed since he was 13 and now suffering from acute psychological difficulties, is sentenced to a further six months in solitary confinement by an Israeli court.To understand why we oppose the normalisation of apartheid Israel, watch this video. 2. Chelsea and Westminster Hospital removes children’s art at behest of Israel lobby group Further evidence that support for apartheid Israel avoids cognitive dissonance by refusing to acknowledge Palestinian realities has been provided by an NHS hospital administration. UK Lawyers for Israel are claiming ‘credit’ for protecting Jewish patients from being ‘offended’ by having to see an exhibition of children’s artwork from Gaza. The hospital apparently agrees. Two articles explore the implications of this betrayal: Gwyn Daniel’s ‘Even with Palestinian children’s art, Israel must make itself the victim’, and Ramzy Baroud’s ‘Palestinian children’s art exposes Israel’s cultural genocide’ There is a petition ‘Rehang Children’s Artwork from Gaza at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital’ here 3. Samidoun: Launching ‘a campaign to liberate the remains of Palestinian martyrs’ The UKPMHN supports this campaign to confront one of the most repellent practices of the occupation, the withholding of the bodies of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces. This issue, and its impact on the families concerned, was the subject of Café Palestine 9 with Hussam Kana’na. Read this material, write to your MP, write to Samidoun…. 4. Fighting the lobby’s racism, with Lara Sheehi Watch this podcast where Lara is joined by her lawyer Abed Ayoub, executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, to talk about how she is resisting the smear campaign and collusion by her university 5. Journal of the American Psychological Association:Call for papers: Practicing decolonial and liberation psychologies Further details at the link above. Letter of intent deadline: March 30, 2023 6. Essential Reading from Samah Jabr and Elizabeth Berger Samah and Elizabeth’s new paper has just appeared in the International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies: Community mental health, psychoanalysis, and freedom: The case of Palestine (unfortunately this is not on open access: students and others should be able to read it through their libraries etc. If not, ask your library to subscribe!) 7. History: On Britain’s role in suppressing the first Palestinian Revolt 1936-39 A Balfour Project webinar with Matthew Hughes… |
UK-Palestine Mental Health Network message of solidarity with Dr Lara Sheehi
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| UK-Palestine Mental Health Network message of solidarity with Dr Lara Sheehi Those who attended Café Palestine events during lockdown, or who enjoyed the other webinars that featured the authors of the ground-breaking and prize-winning ‘Psychoanalysis Under Occupation: Practising Resistance in Palestine’, will be shocked to learn that Professor Lara Sheehi has become the latest academic target of the Zionist lobby in the United States. Lara has done more than almost anyone, certainly in our field, in sharing her platform with Palestinian colleagues, and in bringing their work to the notice of a worldwide audience. This, no doubt, is the reason that she is being targeted. Working from a decolonial, feminist and liberatory perspective, she is also among the most incisive critics of the adaptive tendencies within the discipline of psychotherapy. The UK-Palestine Mental Health Network sends its warmest greetings and offers its full support to Lara, in facing the intimidation and threats, the smearing and misrepresentations that she is currently experiencing. We urge George Washington University, which is being pressured to discipline or sack her, to resist the pressure to cave in to groups that we know are established to protect apartheid Israel and its supremacist ideology. Below are the links to some of the many tributes and declarations of support for Lara… Lara is to be defended by the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee. Palestine Global Mental Health Network: Statement in Defense of Dr. Lara Sheehi at George Washington University (signed by the USA, UK, Ireland, France Networks, and published in Mondoweiss) Jewish Voice for Peace Health Advisory Council Supports Dr. Lara Sheehi Letter of Support for Dr. Lara Sheehi by Jewish Colleagues U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (USACBI): Letter in support of Dr. Lara Sheehi Please sign. George Washington Uni Student/Alumni Letter of Support for Dr. Sheehi The editors of Parapraxis Magazine: A Call to Solidarity: Standing with Lara Sheehi whose message incorporates a statement of support for Lara from The Board of Directors, The Society for Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Psychology, APA Division 39 The BIPOCanalysis Collective Statement of Support for Dr. Lara Sheehi (‘a group comprised of hundreds of Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color within the international psychoanalytic community’). The following is an article written by Lara herself in which she describes in detail the context for the complaints against her and powerfully rebuts the false account promoted by the pro-Zionist lobby group, StandWithUs. She exposes the racism and misogyny behind these attacks on her and other Palestinian academics who challenge colonising processes https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/02/03/on-targeting-an-arab-woman |
الشبكة البريطانية الفلسطينية للصحة النفسية 