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| UKPALMHN Solidarity Space Next meeting: Monday 3 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. Zoom link: Please write to ukpalmhn@gmail.com if you would like a link to this meeting. You may want to look at this short video before the meeting #SickFromGenocide https://www.instagram.com/reel/DEgQGsBM304/?igsh=YWI2NHN6cWR4MDFm Aida Camp Youth Centre raided and used as interrogation center Statement from UK-Palestine Mental Health Network Steering Group about the Aida Youth Centre Dear Colleagues, Many of us on the steering group have visited Aida camp in Bethlehem and have close relationships with the amazing staff who work there to enhance the lives of the young people of the camp in so many creative and inspiring ways. We are sharing this news with great distress and outrage, knowing that it is the second such assault on the Aida Youth Centre in the past two months. In their announcement of the raid on 3 December 2024, Anas and his colleagues reported that ‘Before leaving, the IOF left posters around the building that read threatening messages such as: “take care of your children, ensure they do not engage in incitement and terrorist acts, because we will take strict measures against them and their families with an iron fist.” The poster also warned that “there will be surprising news” in the near future.’ The further appalling escalation of this latest raid was in using the centre as a site of interrogation, trying to turn a beautiful centre of respite and relaxation from a safe haven to a traumatic place of interrogation and fear. As the statement below makes clear the team are determined that they will not succeed in this attempt but we are all aware of the appalling intensification of violence and abuse that is being carried out with total impunity and which impacts upon Palestinians in such terrifying ways. We hope you will wish to support the Aida Centre in whatever way you can Statement from the Aida Youth Centre The Israeli occupation forces raided Aida Youth Center again, this time not only destroying and confiscating our property but using our space to perpetrate their violence and oppression. […] Today we fixed doors and cleaned up our building so we can continue our work supporting children and youth from Aida camp, starting tomorrow morning. Thank you for standing with us and supporting our resilience. In solidarity, Anas Abu Srour, Executive Director of Aida Youth Center https://mailchi.mp/21f8daf4d1f4/summer-update-from-aida-youth-center-5854744?e=2a3779063d There is the link to support the work of the Aida Youth Center at the bottom of the page. What are you afraid of? Statement by Psychotherapists standing against Genocide A template letter drafted by the UK-Palestine Mental Health Network Steering Group that can be sent to professional associations. “We write as members of the psychotherapy profession to register our dismay that – to our knowledge – not one of our professional associations has issued a clear statement protesting the genocide in Gaza. […].” Comments are enabled on this page. We welcome a discussion about how the template letter can be improved, suggestions as to where it might be used, and other feed back related to campaigning. We feel it is particularly important that the letter should go to “umbrella bodies” such as UKCP and BACP. If there are subscribers who are members of these bodies and who would like to help take action then please leave a comment at the bottom of the page. https://ukpalmhn.com/resources/what-are-you-afraid-of/ No Other Land: Film on Israeli occupation of Palestine gets Oscar nomination A film exposing the brutality of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank has been nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary. Set in the town of Masafar Yatta, No Other Land is directed by Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham and Palestinian journalist Basel Adra. Its shortlisting for the Oscar was announced on Thursday despite the film not having any distribution deal in the US. https://www.middleeasteye.net/discover/no-other-land-documentary-about-israeli-expulsion-palestinians-gets-oscar-nomination Update from Social Workers 4 Free Palestine There are some positive developments regarding the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) and their associated trade union, the Social Workers Union. They put out a statement to mark the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on 29 November: https://basw.co.uk/articles/basw-and-swu-mark-palestineday The statement mentions genocide for the first time. It includes this: “We call on the UK government to exercise its leadership role and demand that the Israeli government comply with its international obligation to protect civilians in Gaza, the West Bank, and other occupied areas in the region – especially in the wake of the 19 July 2024 advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ). We call for the UK government to end its complicity in the genocide of Palestinians by halting arms sales to Israel, to advocate for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, and to join international efforts to ensure compliance with international law.” BASW have also created an “information hub” on Israel/Palestine on their website, which contains some good articles (see under ‘Additional Support & Resources’): https://basw.co.uk/about-basw/international-work/humanitarian-crisis-conflict-middle-east-baswswu-information-hub The International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) have once again issued a censure of the Israeli Union of Social Workers: https://www.ifsw.org/ifsw-executive-issues-censure-against-the-israeli-union-of-social-workers-for-not-acting-to-promote-peace/ This statement and the IFSW positioning continue to be problematic but all the same the censure is welcome. In the light of this, we plan to submit a motion to the next meeting of BASW’s International Policy & Ethics General Meeting. “We grow again”. A person returning to Gaza found his home demolished but his daffodils are growing back. He told us, we grow back. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15aQc4tqN4/ 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).” Tower Hamlets council has passed a motion committing to Divest its Local Government Pension Scheme from arms companies producing weapons used in Israel’s crimes against Palestinians https://x.com/PSCupdates/status/1882174170827792747 A 2-minute video about the Tower Hamlets Divestment campaign: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cNqJZ4IiJk  From the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movementhttps://bdsmovement.net/Guide-to-BDS-Boycott EVENTS The events listing has been moved to its own web page https://ukpalmhn.com/events/ The comments section of this page is open. If you are organising a relevant event that you would like to be listed here then please leave the details in a comment: Title, Date, Time (UK or other), Location (online, in-person or both), Brief Description, Link to register. Comments are moderated in accordance with our Content Moderation Policy before posting so your comment will not be immediately visible. We particularly welcome news about events taking place outside of London. FEATURED EVENT Held Without Charge (webinar) Tuesday 4 February at 6pm (UK time ) Organised by the Amos Trust Layan Nasir was arrested at gunpoint on 6 April 2024 and held until shortly before Christmas. Layan and Tala Masir, a lawyer at Addameer Palestinian Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, will discuss Layan’s experience and that of thousands of other Palestinians in the Israeli judicial system. They will discuss the appalling conditions in Israeli jails and the widespread hunger, physical, sexual and psychological abuse of Palestinian prisoners — including children, as well as Tala’s work at Addameer. https://www.amostrust.org/held-without-charge-webinar Want to take Action? Our website has a list of up to date petitions, letter writing campaigns and other ways you can express your solidarity. https://ukpalmhn.com/gaza-crisis/ The UK-Palestine Mental Health Network is one of 19 national mental health networks working under the umbrella of the Palestinian-led Palestine-Global Mental Health Network.  |
UKPALMHN mailing 22 January
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| FEATURED EVENT UKPALMHN Solidarity Space Next meeting: Monday 27 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. New Zoom link: Please contact ukpalmhn@gmail.com if you would like a link to this meeting. You may want to look at this short video before the meeting #SickFromGenocide https://www.instagram.com/reel/DEgQGsBM304/?igsh=YWI2NHN6cWR4MDFm Yasser Abu Jamei in Conversation with Gwyn Daniel: “Without Hope, We Won’t Be Here” A recording of the important, recent webinar launching the second report from the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme. It starts with a summary of the findings of the new report by Lama Khouri (Palestinian Psychoanalyst and Co-founder of the Palestine-Global Mental Health Network). There follows Reflections from Victoria Brittain (journalist and author). Then there is a conversation between Gwyn Daniel (family therapist, writer, and activist and UK-Palestine Mental Health Network Steering Group member) and Dr. Yasser Abu Jamei (Director General of Gaza Community Mental Health Programme.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sznGHXJj6ak Full details about the event: https://www.gazamentalhealth.org/ New GCMHP report: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lPphwxrMmOrBes74gKkNmQgUhHhHNk9J/view “If my hand survives, this is my name”; Gaza’s children under genocide An article by Gwyn Daniel (UK-Palestine Mental Health Network Steering Group member). The French version of this article appeared in the January 2025 edition of Palestine Solidarité, the trimestrial magazine of the AFPS (Association France Palestine Solidarité) in a special “dossier” entitled “Palestine en Souffrance”. The dossier also features articles by Dr Samah Jabr and Dr Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian. “The brutal truth behind the suffering inflicted on Gaza’s children over the past fourteen months of genocidal onslaught is that in a settler colonial state, indigenous children are not supposed to have a future.” https://ukpalmhn.com/resources/if-my-hand-survives/ Comments are enabled on this page. We welcome feedback about the issues raised in this article. It’s Bisan from Gaza, and the rubble is still home Roofs are on the verge of collapse, walls are missing, and there are health risks everywhere – this is what the people of Khan Younis face as they return to the rubble of their homes after the Israeli army withdrew from the city. Dust from debris fills the air, and every step is dangerous – yet they choose to stay and restore what’s left. As they told Bisan: “A room in my home is better than a palace elsewhere.” https://youtu.be/60mWXBhOmkc Gaza’s devastated health system needs $10bn, at least five years to rebuild: WHO The UN estimates reconstruction of the strip could cost up to $80 billion and take 15 years due to the destruction from Israeli bombing https://thecradle.co/articles/gazas-devastated-health-system-needs-10bn-at-least-five-years-to-rebuild-who Bethlehem University fundraiser in honour of nomination of Prof. Qumsiyeh for the Nobel Peace Prize Bethlehem University is honoured to announce that Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh, founder and director of the Palestine Museum of Natural History (PMNH) and the Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability (PIBS), has been nominated for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. To commemorate this milestone, Bethlehem University is launching a global fundraising campaign to support the ongoing educational and research initiatives led by PMNH and PIBS. Contributions to the campaign will enable Bethlehem University to expand its impact in Palestine and beyond, fostering peace, sustainability, and innovation. To make a donation: https://www.bethlehem.edu/ic/pmnh/ 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).” From the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement https://bdsmovement.net/Guide-to-BDS-Boycott EVENTS UKPALMHN Solidarity Space Next meeting: Monday 27 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. New Zoom link: Please write to ukpalmhn@gmail.com if you would like a link to this meeting You may want to look at this short video before the meeting #SickFromGenocide https://www.instagram.com/reel/DEgQGsBM304/?igsh=YWI2NHN6cWR4MDFm The Palestinian Struggle in the Trump Era Thursday 23 January at 5:00pm (UK time) Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions UK Webinar This webinar will focus on what we consider to be the biggest threat to the Palestinians since the Nakba: Trump’s imminent return to the process of normalisation which will legitimise Israel’s apartheid regime and carries the danger of erasing the Palestinian issue altogether. Jeff Halper, Director, ICAHD, will moderate a discussion with Prof Stephen Zunes, Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco, where he serves as coordinator of the programme in Middle Eastern Studies. https://mailchi.mp/a4255a2dd96b/trump-biggest-threat-since-the-nakba-update-webinar?e=9b3c8edd3a (scroll down the page to find this webinar) Forest of Noise: Webinar with Mosab Abu Toha Tuesday 28 January at 6pm (UK) Organised by the Amos Trust We are delighted to have Mosab Abu Toha join us on Tuesday 28th January. He will read from his latest remarkable and critically acclaimed poetry book, Forest of Noise, and discuss the ongoing situation in Gaza and what the future may hold. https://mailchi.mp/amostrust/forest-of-noise-webinar-1 From Ground Zero: Untold stories from Gaza (film screenings) Between Friday 24 January to Thursday 13 February on multiple dates and times Palestine House, WC1V 6JJ Recently shortlisted for this year’s Academy Awards in the Best International Feature category, From Ground Zero is a ground-breaking collection of 22 short films crafted by Palestinian filmmakers living through the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Each short film, spanning 3 to 6 minutes, explores the struggles and hopes of life under siege through various genres, including fiction, documentary, animation, and experimental cinema. https://www.tickettailor.com/events/palestinehouse/1528890 Held Without Charge (webinar) Tuesday 4 February at 6pm (UK time ) (please note this re-arranged date) Organised by the Amos Trust Layan Nasir was arrested at gunpoint on 6 April 2024 and held until shortly before Christmas. Layan and Tala Masir, a lawyer at Addammeer Palestinian Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, will discuss Layan’s experience and that of thousands of other Palestinians in the Israeli judicial system. They will discuss the appalling conditions in Israeli jails and the widespread hunger, physical, sexual and psychological abuse of Palestinian prisoners — including children, as well as Tala’s work at Addameer. https://www.amostrust.org/held-without-charge-webinar Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions: Extended Study Tour “Visit Palestine/Israel on an Extended Study Tour that will change your life” Monday, 31 March to Thursday, 10 April 2025 https://icahd.org/extended-study-tours/ FEATURED ACTION Write to your MP: UK Government action required by 29 January to prevent Israel’s ban on UNRWA Organised by the Balfour Project Unless Benjamin Netanyahu changes course, Israel will compel UNRWA to stop operating in Israel and Palestine (the Occupied Palestinian Territory) by 30 January. Yet more Palestinian civilians will die of hunger in Gaza, and West Bank refugees will suffer grievously. Please write to your MP now to press our Government to work urgently to prevent this destructive action by the Israeli Government. UNRWA is literally irreplaceable in Gaza, and delivers essential health and education services in the West Bank. https://balfourproject.eaction.org.uk/unrwa Want to take Action? Our website has a list of up to date petitions, letter writing campaigns and other ways you can express your solidarity. https://ukpalmhn.com/gaza-crisis/ The UK-Palestine Mental Health Network is one of 19 national mental health networks working under the umbrella of the Palestinian-led Palestine-Global Mental Health Network. |
UKPALMHN mailing 15 January
FEATURED EVENT
“Without Hope, We Wouldn’t Be Here”
Thursday 16 January from 6pm- 8pm (UK time)
Gaza Community Mental Health Programme (GCMHP),
Palestine-Global Mental Health Network,
Gaza Mental Health Foundation, and
No Child A Target Campaign
Are proud to announce a joint event launching the second report from GCMHP
| About the event This event will explore how Gaza’s mental health professionals continue to work under siege, providing care and hope amidst unimaginable challenges. It will shed light how Gaza’s people survive the ongoing genocide. It will highlight the need for global solidarity and effective support. Join us for this critical conversation. Your participation matters. Register for the meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/TnpRhaPkRRC9Acf0zEhTog#/registration Full details about the event: https://www.pgmhn.org/announcement/conversation-between-gwyn-daniel-and-yasser-and-abu-jamei New GCMHP report: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lPphwxrMmOrBes74gKkNmQgUhHhHNk9J/view National March for Palestine Saturday 18 January New Assembly point: 12 noon in Whitehall, London. https://palestinecampaign.org/we-will-march-against-israels-genocide-and-bbc-bias/ Metropolitan Police ban Palestine protest outside BBC This is about smearing those who oppose genocide as hateful extremists – while cheerleaders for depravity style themselves as mainstream moderates https://www.owenjones.news/p/metropolitan-police-ban-palestine We will have the UK-Palestine Mental Health Network banner at the march. We will assemble at 12 noon on the south-west corner of Parliament Square next to the statue of Nelson Mandela. All are welcome to join us and meet other members of the Network. (There has been some building work recently on Parliament Square. If the Square is not accessible then we will be visible close by on the other side of the road on the pavement of Little George Street).   UKPALMHN Solidarity Space Next meeting: Monday 20 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. New Zoom link: Please write to ukpalmhn@gmail.com if you would like a link to this meeting. You may want to look at this short video before the meeting #SickFromGenocide https://www.instagram.com/reel/DEgQGsBM304/?igsh=YWI2NHN6cWR4MDFm They Cannot All Be Wrong. A collection of evidence to support claims of genocide in Gaza. A member of the UK-Palestine Mental Health Network, has created a 5 page summary of the key arguments substantiating why Israel can be said to be committing genocide in Gaza. This may be a useful reference when drafting letters and in other campaigning activities. https://ukpalmhn.com/resources/they-cannot-all-be-wrong/ Gaza: 64,000 deaths due to violence between October 2023 and June 2024, new analysis suggests An independent study by researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine suggests the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza underreported the death toll due to violence by approximately 41%. The findings, published in The Lancet, indicate that approximately 3% of the population of Gaza has died due to violence with an analysis showing that 59% of these deaths were women, children, and the elderly. https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/news/2025/gaza-64000-deaths-due-violence-between-october-2023-and-june-2024-analysis Palestinian women detail Israeli sexual assaults in Kamal Adwan raid Dozens of women report being sexually assaulted during the Kamal Adwan hospital raid last month “Before anything else happened, Maryam al-Muqayad says male Israeli troops told her to take off her clothes.Then, the soldiers took the 13-year-old Palestinian girl, dragged her by her hair and made her kneel down. When they had stopped abusing her, they forced her to leave northern Gaza, her home, and make her way south.” https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/north-gaza-palestinian-women-recall-sexual-assault-israeli-forces Soft Skin (soft film made in Gaza) Children in Gaza live under the constant threat of Israeli bombardment. Soft Skin is a short film that shows the lengths mothers are forced to go to in case the worst should happen … and the psychological impact that has on their children. Soft Skin is part of “From Ground Zero”, a collection of 22 short films made in Gaza, initiated by Palestinian director Rashid Masharawi, to tell the untold stories of the current war. From Ground Zero is the official submission of Palestine in the International Feature Film category of the 97th Academy Awards. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6S6jmRHdQgc Western media can be held legally accountable for its role in the Gaza genocide An opinion piece by Craig Mokhiber Western media companies have made themselves a part of the mechanism of genocide in Palestine, and there are historical precedents for holding them accountable. https://mondoweiss.net/2024/08/western-media-can-be-held-legally-accountable-for-its-role-in-the-gaza-genocide/ EVENTS “Without Hope, We Wouldn’t Be Here” Thursday 16 January from 6pm- 8pm (UK time) Gaza Community Mental Health Programme (GCMHP), Palestine-Global Mental Health Network, Gaza Mental Health Foundation, and No Child A Target Campaign Are proud to announce a joint event launching the second report from GCMHP Please register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/TnpRhaPkRRC9Acf0zEhTog#/registration Stories of Food and Seeds of Resistance Thursday 16 January from 6.30pm to 8.30pm P21 Gallery, 21-27 Chalton St, London NW1 1JD Public conversation in the Palestine: Repair & Return programme. This session discusses Palestine’s embattled food and farming heritage, and considers food sovereignty as a popular form of Palestinian self-determination. https://p21.gallery/node/384 The Crisis of Public International Law: The Case of Palestine and Impunity for Genocide Thursday 16 January from 5pm – 7.30pm (UK time) From The People’s Academy of International Law Speakers include: Raji Sourani, Director of Palestinian Centre for Human Rights; Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories; https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_8KXoCLCfSGCYFJrkz6ScTQ#/registration National March for Palestine Saturday 18 January New Assembly point: 12 noon in Whitehall, London. https://palestinecampaign.org/we-will-march-against-israels-genocide-and-bbc-bias/ First Palestinian Women’s Conference in Britain Sunday 19 January from 4:00pm – 7:00pm Venue: DoubleTree by Hilton, 2-8 Hanger Lane, Ealing W5 3HN An open invitation to all Palestinian women in the UK and all women who support the Palestinian cause. A unique event aimed at supporting Palestinian women, highlighting their vital role and contributions to building and developing the community, and hearing their voices and needs. Registration: https://58893.aidaform.com/the-first-conference-of-the-palestinian-woman-in-the-uk-copy For questions and more information: women@apc-uk.org UKPALMHN Solidarity Space Next meeting: Monday 20 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. New Zoom link: Please write to ukpalmhn@gmail.com if you would like a link to this meeting. You may want to look at this short video before the meeting #SickFromGenocide https://www.instagram.com/reel/DEgQGsBM304/?igsh=YWI2NHN6cWR4MDFm Held Without Charge- The horrific conditions experienced by Palestinians inside Israeli jails Tuesday 21 January at 6pm A webinar organised by the Amos Trust with Layan Nasir, a recently released female prisoner, and Tala Masir, a lawyer at Addameer Palestinian Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association. They will discuss Layan’s experience and that of thousands of other Palestinians in the Israeli judicial system. They will describe the appalling conditions in Israeli jails and the widespread hunger, physical, sexual and psychological abuse of Palestinian prisoners – including children, as well as Tala’s work at Addameer. https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_rXzvMfGETFWCu409IRbIbg#/registration Censoring Palestine – World Premiere Wednesday 22 January at 6.40pm at Genesis Cinema, 93 – 95 Mile End Road, Whitechapel, London, E1 4UJ A genocide is happening in Palestine, but the newspapers and TV aren’t telling us the truth. Even social media is being censored. Those who speak out or protest face dawn raids, arrest, detention. Dissent has been criminalised. This shocking documentary feature film exposes the most outrageous attack on free speech in modern times. With Ken Loach, Roger Waters, Alexei Sayle, Jackie Walker and many more. https://www.genesiscinema.co.uk/event/93955 Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions: Extended Study Tour “Visit Palestine/Israel on an Extended Study Tour that will change your life” Monday, 31 March to Thursday, 10 April 2025 https://icahd.org/extended-study-tours/ 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).” An interview with Omar Barghouti, the co-founder of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign, a Palestinian movement inspired by the South African anti-Apartheid struggle. https://www.aljazeera.com/program/reframe/2025/1/12/do-boycotts-against-israel-work-fatima-bhutto-omar-barghouti FEATURED ACTIONWrite to your MP: UK Government action required by 29 January to prevent Israel’s ban on UNRWA Organised by the Balfour Project Unless Benjamin Netanyahu changes course, Israel will compel UNRWA to stop operating in Israel and Palestine (the Occupied Palestinian Territory) by 30 January. Yet more Palestinian civilians will die of hunger in Gaza, and West Bank refugees will suffer grievously. Please write to your MP now to press our Government to work urgently to prevent this destructive action by the Israeli Government. UNRWA is literally irreplaceable in Gaza, and delivers essential health and education services in the West Bank. https://balfourproject.eaction.org.uk/unrwa Want to take Action? Our website has a list of up to date petitions, letter writing campaigns and other ways you can express your solidarity. https://ukpalmhn.com/gaza-crisis/ The UK-Palestine Mental Health Network is one of 19 national mental health networks working under the umbrella of the Palestinian-led Palestine-Global Mental Health Network. |
UKPALMHN mailing 8 January
FEATURED EVENTS “WITHOUT HOPE, WE WOULDN’T BE HERE” Thursday 16 January from 6pm- 8pm (UK time) Gaza Community Mental Health Programme (GCMHP), Palestine-Global Mental Health Network, Gaza Mental Health Foundation, and No Child A Target Campaign are proud to announce a joint event launching the second report from GCMHP Please register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/TnpRhaPkRRC9Acf0zEhTog#/registration ABOUT THE EVENT This event will explore how Gaza’s mental health professionals continue to work under siege, providing care and hope amidst unimaginable challenges. It will shed light on how Gaza’s people survive the ongoing genocide. It will highlight the need for global solidarity and effective support. Join us for this critical conversation. Your participation matters. SPEAKERS AND PROGRAM Opening remarks and Introduction Lama Khouri- Palestinian Psychoanalyst and Co-founder of the Palestine-Global Mental Health Network. Reflections with Victoria Brittain – Journalist and Author Victoria will reflect on the ongoing genocide in Gaza, the unthinkable conditions faced by its children and families, and the refusal of key global powers to intervene. She will draw from her recent article: Miraculously, therapeutic care for Gaza’s deeply traumatised people is happening Summary of Report Findings Lama Khouri will provide an overview of the findings from the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme’s latest report: “There, People Suffer And Die”. Conversation Dr. Yasser Abu Jamei – Director General of Gaza Community Mental Health Programme (GCMHP), and Gwyn Daniel – Family therapist, writer, and activist. This conversation will delve into the heroic work of Gaza’s mental health teams, the challenges they face, and strategies for addressing the widespread trauma and fostering community resilience. Members of the GCMHP team will also join to share on-the-ground experiences. This will be followed by Questions and Reflections and Closing Remarks UKPALMHN Solidarity Space Next meeting: Monday 13 Januiary 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. Link for meeting on Monday 13 January: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81482157529?pwd=cbhcCxejZ38t3WTtybkAti9PIotL1q.1 You may want to look at this short video before the meeting #SickFromGenocide https://www.instagram.com/reel/DEgQGsBM304/?igsh=YWI2NHN6cWR4MDFm Please note: There will be a new Zoom link for Solidarity Space meetings starting from Monday 20 January: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87533983179?pwd=nQ3lHKPGmz8vzSWVaHf0HkvhZaHeLG.1 National March for Palestine Saturday 18 January Assemble at 12noon at the BBC, Portland Place, London. https://palestinecampaign.org/events/18-january-national-demonstration-for-palestine/ Genocide Sickness An insightful contribution to a recent Doctors Against Genocide webinar. “Humans are wired to be in connection with one other as a survival mechanism from birth. [… But] In this moment, we are being expected to disconnect and ‘other’ Palestinians, to cut off empathy and immerse in distracting frivolity and faux ‘self-care’. To feel helpless to protect. Accepting genocide as an inevitable condition for anyone is in opposition to our very neurobiology. Genocide Sickness is our bodies’ vehement rejection and resistance to genocide.” #SickFromGenocide https://www.instagram.com/reel/DEgQGsBM304/?igsh=YWI2NHN6cWR4MDFm Please join Amnesty International in calling for Dr. Hussam Abu Safiyeh, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital to be released From Agnes Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International The tweet provides detailed information about why Amnesty International has taken up Dr Hussam’s case. https://x.com/AgnesCallamard/status/1875181572166500514 Dr. Hussam Abu Safiyeh’s life in danger due to torture: Immediate international intervention needed for his release Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has received information that Dr. Abu Safiyeh’s health has deteriorated due to the torture he endured during his detention, particularly while being held at the Sde Teyman military base in southern Israel. Euro-Med Monitor warns of the grave risk to his life, following patterns of deliberate killings and deaths under torture previously suffered by other doctors and medical staff arrested from Gaza since October 2023. https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6587/Dr.-Hussam-Abu-Safiya%27s-life-in-danger-due-to-torture:-Immediate-international-intervention-needed-for-his-release Palestinian Healthcare Under Attack: A Call to Global Action From Dr Samah Jabr, Head of Mental Health Unit, Palestinian Ministry of Health To the global medical community: Silence is complicity. Speak out. Demand accountability. Mobilize your networks to support Palestinian health workers and challenge the weaponisation of healthcare. An attack on healthcare anywhere is an attack on humanity everywhere. It’s time to act. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/samah-jabr-25509883_palestinian-healthcare-under-attack-a-call-activity-7279403275106308096-AYbK There’s no such thing as International Law: 10-minute video of Dr Tanya Haj Hassan conveying Gaza medics message to United Nations Security Council Dr. Tanya Haj Hassan, a respected medical practitioner, addresses the UNSC, shedding light on the dire situation in Gaza. She highlights the unchecked violence and Gaza medics’ plea for justice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVtU6c4fZeo A year of shame, and many more to come By Jonathan Ofir Israeli musician and conductor The shame of Israel’s genocide in Gaza will haunt the international moral conscience and the Israeli psyche for the coming century, though Israelis, accustomed to the perpetual shaming of Germany, are unprepared for the shame they must now confront. https://mondoweiss.net/2025/01/a-year-of-shame-and-many-more-to-come Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh from Bethlehem, Palestine nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Nobel Peace Laureate, Mairead Corrigan Maguire, has recently nominated Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh for the Nobel peace prize. Maguire said “I have great pleasure in nominating Prof. Mazin Qumsiyeh for the 2025 Nobel peace prize. I have met professor Mazin and have followed his inspiring peace work for many decades. Prof. Mazin Qumsiyeh is a life scientist, teacher and activist for peace, nonviolence and the sustainability of human and natural communities over the past 50 years.” https://www.peacepeople.com/nobel-peace-prize-professor-mazin-qumsiyeh-bethlehem-palestine/ EVENTS ‘Hope is a Radical Act’: Reflections on my travels in the Occupied Territory of Palestine with Miranda Pinch Thursday 9 January at 3pm UK time https://mailchi.mp/balfourproject/enewsletter-13534605?e=69c36205de No child should be a target. Ever. Tuesday 14 January at 9pm (UK time) Join us in a Praxis and Power Hour to demand protection of Palestinian children. Organised by USA-Palestine Mental Health Networks https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEvcOqvqj4rH9I3qWBbbgoCU07cPVZ6Nkuc#/registration Stories of Food and Seeds of Resistance Thursday 16 January from 6.30pm to 8.30pm P21 Gallery, 21-27 Chalton St, London NW1 1JD Public conversation in the Palestine: Repair & Return programme. This session discusses Palestine’s embattled food and farming heritage, and considers food sovereignty as a popular form of Palestinian self-determination. https://p21.gallery/node/384 The Crisis of Public International Law: The Case of Palestine and Impunity for Genocide Thursday 16 January from 5pm – 7.30pm (UK time) From The People’s Academy of International Law Speakers include: Raji Sourani, Director of Palestinian Centre for Human Rights; Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories; https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_8KXoCLCfSGCYFJrkz6ScTQ#/registration “Without Hope, We Wouldn’t Be Here” Thursday 16 January from 6pm- 8pm (UK time) Gaza Community Mental Health Programme (GCMHP), Palestine-Global Mental Health Network, Gaza Mental Health Foundation, and No Child A Target Campaign Are proud to announce a joint event launching the second report from GCMHP Please register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/TnpRhaPkRRC9Acf0zEhTog#/registration National March for Palestine Saturday 18 January Assemble at 12 noon at the BBC, Portland Place, London. https://palestinecampaign.org/events/18-january-national-demonstration-for-palestine/ First Palestinian Women’s Conference in Britain An open invitation to all Palestinian women in the UK and all women who support the Palestinian cause. A unique event aimed at supporting Palestinian women, highlighting their vital role and contributions to building and developing the community, and hearing their voices and needs. Sunday 19 January from 4:00pm – 7:00pm Venue: DoubleTree by Hilton, 2-8 Hanger Lane, Ealing W5 3HN Registration: https://58893.aidaform.com/the-first-conference-of-the-palestinian-woman-in-the-uk-copy For questions and more information: women@apc-uk.org Censoring Palestine – World Premiere Wednesday 22 January at 6.40pm at Genesis Cinema, 93 – 95 Mile End Road, Whitechapel, London, E1 4UJ A genocide is happening in Palestine, but the newspapers and TV aren’t telling us the truth. Even social media is being censored. Those who speak out or protest face dawn raids, arrest, detention. Dissent has been criminalised. This shocking documentary feature film exposes the most outrageous attack on free speech in modern times. With Ken Loach, Roger Waters, Alexei Sayle, Jackie Walker and many more. https://www.genesiscinema.co.uk/about Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions: Extended Study Tour “Visit Palestine/Israel on an Extended Study Tour that will change your life” Monday, 31 March to Thursday, 10 April 2025 https://icahd.org/extended-study-tours/ ACTION Write to your MP: Palestinian healthcare workers under attack From Palestine Solidarity Campaign In recent days Israel has carried out multiple airstrikes across Gaza, indiscriminately killing hundreds of Palestinians. It has also intensified its attacks against hospitals, and is currently illegally detaining hundreds of healthcare workers. Please write to your MP to demand Britain ends its arms trade with Israel, and also takes action to protect healthcare workers. https://palestinecampaign.eaction.online/healthcareworkers Not Another Child Not Another Hospital “Not Another Child Not Another Hospital” campaign invites medical institutions to take a long overdue stand against genocide. Healthcare workers around the world will organize vigils and hold press conferences in solidarity with hospitals and healthcare workers who have been targeted and violated during this genocide. Alongside these vigils, we will be sending letters to our institutions, urging them to join us in advocating for the following demands […] https://doctorsagainstgenocide.org/not-another-hospital-1 Want to take Action? Our website has a list of up to date petitions, letter writing campaigns and other ways you can express your solidarity. https://ukpalmhn.com/gaza-crisis/ Think it’s all hopeless? Look at this message from the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign. ***NEW*** Together we are ending this genocide! BDS impacts in the second half of 2024 BDS is working! Thanks to your support, our ongoing struggle to end Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza is bearing fruit. https://bdsmovement.net/BDS-Impacts-Second-Half-2024 The UK-Palestine Mental Health Network is one of 19 national mental health networks working under the umbrella of the Palestinian-led Palestine-Global Mental Health Network. |
UKPALMHN mailing 1 January
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| UKPALMHN Solidarity Space Next meeting: Monday 6 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. Please write to ukpalmhn@gmail.com if you would like a link to this meeting. ‘Hope is a Radical Act’: Reflections on my travels in the Occupied Territory of Palestine with Miranda Pinch Thursday 9 January at 3pm UK time https://mailchi.mp/balfourproject/enewsletter-13534605?e=69c36205de Webinar to launch the new report from the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme Thursday 16 January 6pm- 8pm (UK time) Further details to follow. The important and comprehensive new report called “’There, People Suffer And Die’: A Qualitative Analysis Report 2024” is available here: https://www.gcmhp.org/publications/4/220 Stories of Food and Seeds of Resistance Thursday 16 January from 6.30pm to 8.30pm P21 Gallery, 21-27 Chalton St, London NW1 1JD Public conversation in the Palestine: Repair & Return programme. This session discusses Palestine’s embattled food and farming heritage, and considers food sovereignty as a popular form of Palestinian self-determination. https://p21.gallery/node/384 National March for Palestine Saturday 18 January Assemble at 12noon at the BBC, Portland Place, London. https://palestinecampaign.org/events/18-january-national-demonstration-for-palestine/ Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions: Extended Study Tour “Visit Palestine/Israel on an Extended Study Tour that will change your life” Monday, 31 March to Thursday, 10 April 2025 https://icahd.org/extended-study-tours/ Israel-Palestine: Unresolved Group Trauma is an Obstacle for Peace Saturday 29 March 202 from 9:00am – 5:30pm Institute of Group Analysis, 1 Daleham Gardens, London NW3 5BY Speakers: Earl Hopper, Gabrielle Rifkind, Dick Blackwell, Sue Einhorn This workshop explores key aspects of man-made human suffering from a psychoanalytic, group-analytic and group attachment standpoint. It argues that, when unresolved trauma remains untreated, it is a fuel for vicious cycles of hatred, terror and destruction, as in the intractable Israel-Palestine conflict. https://members.groupanalysis.org/WorkshopsandEvents/OnlineBooking/BookingForm/tabid/92/EventId/2111/Default.aspx GENOCIDE Amnesty International (5 December 2024) Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde15/8668/2024/en/ Human Rights Watch (19 December 2024) Israeli authorities have intentionally deprived Palestinian civilians in Gaza of adequate access to water […] thus committing the crime against humanity of extermination and acts of genocide. https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/12/19/israels-crime-extermination-acts-genocide-gaza Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (19 December 2024) Our first-hand observations […] are consistent with the descriptions […] concluding that genocide is taking place in Gaza. https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/life-death-trap-gaza Oxfam (12 November 2024) “… undeniable risk of genocide right now in Gaza” https://www.oxfam.org.uk/get-involved/campaign-with-oxfam/gaza-israel-crisis-sign-petition-call-for-ceasefire-now/ Up to date information direct from mental health practitioners in Gaza Transcript of ‘Talk to Gaza’ Zoom meeting held on 28th December 2024 This webinar included five mental health workers in Gaza and 20 people from the UK and France. Their testimonies are heart-breaking and must strenghten our resolve to take action in 2025 “E.: The situation in Gaza is getting worse and worse. Every day we wait for a ceasefire, but it is not happening. Our children are starving. It is hard to find eggs, fruit, meat. The children’s play is based around the onslaught. For example, my daughter of 3 years imagines soldiers coming and says to her imaginary friends, ‘Let’s run away, hide…’ or ‘There’s a parcel of food coming, let’s go to the door and collect it.’ She creates fantasies about preparing and cooking the food.” Transcript of meeting: https://ukpalmhn.com/resources/ptc-uk-talk-to-gaza-december-2024/ Israel’s Genocidal Assault on Gaza: A recent lecture with Raz Segal Raz Segal, Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Stockton University, was among the first in his field to raise the alarm, calling Israel’s response “A Textbook Case of Genocide.” https://contendingmodernities.nd.edu/field-notes/israel-assault-on-gaza/ Another expert report finds Israel is committing genocide. The West yawns An opinion piece by Jonathan Cook Amnesty, Human Rights Watch, and Medecins Sans Frontieres are all agreed. But the Gaza genocide is now just another routine news item, buried on the inside pages. https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/gaza-israel-another-expert-report-committing-genocide-west-yawns It’s Bisan from Gaza – This Is how we grow food in a genocide With Israel’s bombardment of Gaza raging on, its blockade of aid trucks has pushed the Strip to the brink of starvation. Food supplies are critically low. Fishing is nearly banned, farmland is decimated, and only 1% of poultry remains. Bisan Owda speaks with fishermen in Rafah risking their lives at sea, a resident raising chickens against the odds, and farmers reclaiming soil from rubble and planting crops in makeshift camps – determined to survive despite unimaginable hardship. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adW9vKrCn7I  Kamal Adwan Hospital and Hospital Director Dr. Hussam Abu Safiyeh Humanity Must Not Look Away: A call to protect Gaza’s healthcare system We stand with Dr. Hussam Abu Safiyeh, Director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, in pleading with the international community: Do not remain silent as Gaza’s healthcare system is systematically destroyed. By Doctors Against Genocide and Palestine Mental Health Networks (including UK-Palestine MHN) https://mondoweiss.net/2024/12/humanity-must-not-look-away-a-call-to-protect-gazas-healthcare-system/‘ Executions, sexual assault’: Eyewitnesses describe Israeli raid of Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital A new report by the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has revealed the shocking conduct of Israeli army forces, including executions and sexual assault, during their recent storming of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip’s Beit Lahia. https://thecradle.co/articles/executions-sexual-assault-eyewitnesses-describe-israeli-raid-of-gazas-kamal-adwan-hospital Dr Hussam Abu Safiyeh’s family for his release https://x.com/GhassanAbuSitt1/status/1873770899910123732 WE WON’T BE SILENT ***Family Therapists for Palestine*** The Chair and Chief Executive of the Association of Family Therapy put out a statement on the ‘anniversary of 7 October’. A number of us wrote a letterthat was published in December 2024 in Context, the magazine of the Association of Family Therapy. In the end we had over fifty signatures. We received a response which many AFT members consider to be completely inadequate and we (FT4P) have had a meeting with AFT board members to raise this. We have encouraged those who object to the response to write to the Context editor expressing their views. If you are a Family Therapist and AFT member, please consider doing this. It matters a lot to have a critical number of voices. Gwyn Daniel is happy to support letter writing if asked: danielgwyn@gmail.com The full correspondence can be seen here: https://ukpalmhn.com/resources/correspondence-with-aft-december-2024/ Psychoanalysts Opposing the Palestinian Genocide Open letter from “Psychoanalysts Talk Back” opposing the Palestinian Genocide, addressed to psychoanalytic societies, institutes, and organizations. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/psychoanalyststalkback/ Open Letter: https://docs.google.com/document/u/1/d/e/2PACX-1vRFPUh278gM2qpA2hNl_NCUiukAfXZuxvB3NsC_-rRt8PWYwKxsp5B9NDlIqgxFga9gA2th2fD_nfVw/pub Submission of Foreign Affairs Select Committee of the House of Commons On behalf of UKPMHN and Palestine Trauma Centre UK, David Harrold and Gwyn Daniel have submitted written evidence to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee of the House of Commons inquiry into what they call ‘The Israel-Palestine Conflict’. We will publish the text in a subsequent mailing “We are not freeing Palestine, Palestine is freeing us.” Nicole Jenes Want to take Action? Our website has a list of up to date petitions, letter writing campaigns and other ways you can express your solidarity. https://ukpalmhn.com/gaza-crisis/ Think it’s all hopeless? Look at this message from the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign. ***NEW*** Together we are ending this genocide! BDS impacts in the second half of 2024 BDS is working! Thanks to your support, our ongoing struggle to end Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza is bearing fruit. https://bdsmovement.net/BDS-Impacts-Second-Half-2024 The UK-Palestine Mental Health Network is one of 19 national mental health networks working under the umbrella of the Palestinian-led Palestine-Global Mental Health Network. |
UKPALMHN mailing 18 December
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| Music and Poetry for Gaza Saturday 21 December doors at 6pm, programme from 7pm The Jago, 440 Kingsland Road E8 4AA Dive into an evening of soulful music, food, and artistic merch at the Cultural Fest for Gaza! https://buymeacoffee.com/coffeeforwatermelon/e/341234 UKPALMHN Solidarity Space Next meeting: Monday 30 December at 1pm (UK time) There will not be a meeting on Monday 23 December 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 email ukpalmhn@gmail.com if you would like a link to the meeting. Webinar to launch the new report from the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme Thursday 16 January 6pm- 8pm (UK time) Further details to follow. The important and comprehensive new report called “’There, People Suffer And Die’: A Qualitative Analysis Report 2024” is available here: https://www.gcmhp.org/publications/4/220 Stories of Food and Seeds of Resistance Thursday 16 January from 6.30pm to 8.30pm P21 Gallery, 21-27 Chalton St, London NW1 1JD Public conversation in the Palestine: Repair & Return programme. This session discusses Palestine’s embattled food and farming heritage, and considers food sovereignty as a popular form of Palestinian self-determination. https://p21.gallery/node/384 “Within a single week, the family “El kahlout” lost more than fifty martyrs. Among them was my sister’s family, now completely erased from the civil registry—parents, children, grandchildren—wiped away. This is how annihilation unfolds, and this is how we bite down on our wounds and move forward with life, distributing hope as we go. Perhaps God will protect those of us who remain, and preserve what little is left to us: faith and reason.” Dr Said Al Kahlout This awful message is from Dr Said Al Kahlout, Psychiatrist, Palestine Trauma Centre in Gaza. Many subscribers will have seen Dr Said at the recent Cafe Palestine, or in the recording, reading his poem Have You Seen Hunger? https://ukpalmhn.com/resources/have-you-seen-hunger/ The UK-Palestine Mental Health Network has sent a message of condolence to Dr Said.  ‘We can’t give up on 1 million children’: the charity bringing psychological first aid to Gazans Dr Yasser Abu Jamei was one of the speakers at the recent Cafe Palestine. He is the psychiatrist in charge of running the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme. Dr Abu Jamei and the GCMHP featured in the Guardian as one of their 2024 charity appeal partners, supported through War Child. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/07/we-cant-give-up-on-1-million-children-the-charity-bringing-psychological-first-aid-to-gazans Donate here: https://guardian.ctdonate.org/ War Child shares first study of psychological impact of war on vulnerable children in Gaza. A first of its kind report – written by Gaza based Community Training Centre for Crisis Management, who are supported by War Child Alliance – lays bare the shocking psychological impact of the ongoing war on children in Gaza. https://www.warchild.org.uk/news/war-child-shares-first-study-psychological-impact-war-vulnerable-children-gaza We Must Kill Her Very Young: On childhood and genocide in Palestine An essay by Mira Mattar, UK-Palestine Mental Health Network Steering Group member. https://decolonialhacker.org/article/we-must-kill-her-very-young Sumud Podcast with Dr Lara Sheehi Dr. Sheehi is the Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies. Dr. Sheehi shares her experiences growing up in Lebanon during the civil war, navigating the complexities of identity and mental health in the diaspora, and her influential work in psychoanalysis. She delves into the role of psychoanalysis in Palestine, the psychological warfare faced by Palestinians, and the profound concept of one’s soul or psyche as a form of resistance. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycWCv0bNbp8&list=PLGbkNTLxpiL5aASze17xi9rwvA5BoEyeo&index=1 Enduring the Trauma of Genocide The Chris Hedges Report with Gabor Maté While the trauma that Palestinians continue to face in Gaza is sustained, brutal and seemingly never-ending, the universal susceptibility to trauma unites humanity as much as it divides the self. Dr. Gabor Maté, renowned physician and expert in trauma and childhood development seeks to make sense of the psychology, trauma and reason behind the actions of Palestinians, IDF soldiers, WWII survivors, Nazis and even himself. https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/enduring-the-trauma-of-genocide-w?r=2otfwk Learning to see in the dark This article examines the intimacy and sense of responsibility created by the fact that Palestinian journalists in Gaza are telling their own stories. We know some by their first names – Motaz, Plestia, Bisan, Hind – and they have brought us into unbearable intimacies. We watch as they weep over friends and colleagues killed, talking to us as we hear bombs and shouts around them. https://overland.org.au/2024/12/learning-to-see-in-the-dark/ I will serve my people as long as I am breathing, if we are going to die, we will not die in silence, if we are going to live, we are going to live in dignity. From Bisan in Gaza https://x.com/bisanowda01/status/1868729820383002813 Written evidence to the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee inquiry into Israel/ Palestine The UK-Palestine Mental Health Network, jointly with the Palestine Trauma Centre UK, is submitting written evidence to the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee inquiry into Israel/ Palestine. Other interested organisations can also do so here: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/78/foreign-affairs-committee/news/203961/foreign-affairs-committee-launches-inquiry-into-israelipalestinian-conflict/ FEATURED ACTION Demand the UK suspend all arms transfers to Israel now https://www.amnesty.org.uk/actions/suspend-arms-transfers-now Want to take Action? Our website has a list of up to date petitions, letter writing campaigns and other ways you can express your solidarity. https://ukpalmhn.com/gaza-crisis/ Think it’s all hopeless? Look at this message from the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign. ***NEW*** Together we are ending this genocide! BDS impacts in the second half of 2024 BDS is working! Thanks to your support, our ongoing struggle to end Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza is bearing fruit. https://bdsmovement.net/BDS-Impacts-Second-Half-2024 The UK-Palestine Mental Health Network is one of 19 national mental health networks working under the umbrella of the Palestinian-led Palestine-Global Mental Health Network. |
UKPALMHN mailing 11 December
Christmas Cultural Souq Saturday 14 Dec from 12:00 noon to 6:00 PM Palestine House, London WC1V 6JJ Welcome back to the monthly Souq—this time, perfectly timed for the holiday season! It’s a wonderful opportunity to shop, connect, and celebrate the season’s spirit together. https://www.tickettailor.com/events/palestinehouse/1488720 UKPALMHN Solidarity Space Monday 16 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 write to ukpalmhn@gmail.com if you would like a link to this meeting. The Israeli Society and the War Wednesday 18 December at 5pm (UK time) A Conversation with Orly Noy, journalist, political activist and chair of the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem. She is also an activist with the Palestinian Democratic National party, Balad. https://www.scientists4palestine.com/a-conversation-with-orly-noy/ “There, People Suffer And Die”: A Qualitative Analysis Report 2024 An important and comprehensive new report from the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme. In the five months since our teams in Gaza last reported from the tents, UNRWA schools and zones designated safe by the Israeli army, on the mental health of grieving and terrorised survivors of genocide, the context of these lives has significantly worsened. Our new report reveals an unimaginably challenging context for our work after many more forced evacuations into more crowded and unsafe spaces where malnutrition or starvation and contagious diseases are part of most families’ personal experience. In addition, the loss of almost all medical facilities, from the destruction of buildings, and the loss of electricity and fuel for generators, and the absence of equipment and medicines has taken a toll on everyone’s physical and mental strength. Our staff members, despite their own difficult situations and the dangers of moving around, have made a systematic survey from the grass roots of Gaza life. https://www.gcmhp.org/publications/4/220 (Click on the image to view the whole report) Miraculously, therapeutic care for Gaza’s deeply traumatised people is happening An article by Victoria Brittain related to the new GCMHP report (see above) New report details the mental health impact of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and how medical professionals are helping Palestinian survivors cope. https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/gaza-mental-health-miraculously-therapeutic-care-traumatised-people-happening Cafe Palestine 37: The human effects of starvation as a weapon of war The recording is now available. In this Cafe Palestine presenters spoke about the physical and psychological effects on children, families and their communities of the deliberate policies of starvation used on the population of Gaza. We heard testimonies from within and outside Gaza. Speakers: Dr Deborah Harrington from the UK, Obstetrician and expert in maternal and infant health, recently working at al Aqsa hospital in Gaza Dr Said Al Kahlout, Psychiatrist, Palestine Trauma Centre in Gaza Dr Omar Al Buhaisi, Psychiatrist, Palestine Trauma Centre in GazaDr Yasser Abu Jamei, Director, Gaza Community Mental Health Programme Dr Lama Khouri, Psychoanalyst, Palestine Global mental Health network https://ukpalmhn.com/cafe-palestine/cafe-palestine-37/ “Have you seen hunger?” A prose-poem read in Arabic by Dr. Said M. Kahlout at Cafe Palestine 37 https://ukpalmhn.com/resources/have-you-seen-hunger/ ***** FEATURED CAMPAIGN NO CHILD A TARGET INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN The Palestine-Global Mental Health Network, in collaboration with its international counterparts, is launching an urgent campaign demanding that world governments hold Israel accountable to the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which prioritizes the inherent right to life and upholds the best interests of all children. Mondoweiss article about the campaign: https://mondoweiss.net/2024/11/no-child-should-be-a-target-international-campaign-launched-to-protect-the-children-of-lebanon-and-palestine/ 14-year-old Ayham Al-Salaymeh began serving a one-year prison sentence in Israel, becoming the youngest Palestinian ever imprisoned under Israel’s military law. The case is not an isolated transgression imposed by Israel; it is a reflection of a deeply rooted system of apartheid and oppression. https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20241206-why-is-the-world-silent-about-israel-imprisoning-its-youngest-palestinian-child-yet/ Dr Lama Khouri, Psychoanalyst and member of the Palestine Global Mental Health Network introduces the No Child A Target campaign https://youtu.be/Rls6DuTF6CY Message to supporters of the No Child A Target campaign Thank you for supporting the No Child A Target–International campaign, which is steadily gaining momentum. The Palestine Mental Health Networks, active in 20 countries, will be launching the No Child A Target–International campaign within their respective regions. This is a long-term initiative, and we aspire for its message to echo powerfully and garner support from every corner of the globe. If you haven’t already, please sign our petition: https://ujoin.co/campaigns/3351/actions/public?action_id=4410 For those with a UK address, we encourage you to write to your MP. There is a template letter here: https://ukpalmhn.com/resources/no-child-a-target-template-letter-uk/ The No Child A Target–International team kindly asks you to forward the email below to at least ten people in your network and encourage them to do the same. Your support is invaluable as we steadfastly move toward the liberation of Palestine. With gratitude, Template letter for the No Child A Target CampaignDear friends, I am reaching out to you with an urgent appeal. The lives and futures of Lebanese and Palestinian children are at stake, and your voice can truly make a difference. The Palestine-Global Mental Health Network is demanding that world governments hold Israel accountable for its war crimes against these vulnerable children. Please see this Mondoweiss article for further information: https://mondoweiss.net/2024/11/no-child-should-be-a-target-international-campaign-launched-to-protect-the-children-of-lebanon-and-palestine/ I have just taken the following three actions, and I would like to urge you to do the same: 1. Sign the International Petition: No Child A Target International. https://ujoin.co/campaigns/3351/actions/public?action_id=4410 2. If you have a UK address, please write to your MP. Follow this link: https://ukpalmhn.com/resources/no-child-a-target-template-letter-uk/ 3. Please follow the campaign’s Instagram account. https://www.instagram.com/no_child_a_target/ 4. Please share this email with at least 10 people in your network. Please act now. Every signature amplifies the demand for justice. Together, we can protect these children and hold Israel accountable for its actions. Thank you. ***** Contextualised trauma training in Ramallah This was organised through Medical Aid for Palestinians and led by Dr Samah Jabr https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dr-alan-kessedjian-2572622b_huge-respect-to-all-the-incredible-palestinian-activity-7272158093176672259-R86y/ Norway’s wealth fund divests from Israel’s Bezeq over services in West Bank Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, announced on Tuesday that it has sold all its shares in Israel’s largest telecoms group, Bezeq, as it provides telecommunication services to illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/norways-wealth-fund-divests-israels-bezeq-over-services-occupied-west-bank If I Must Die (set to music by the Irish musician Sive) “If I Must Die” is a poem by Palestinian writer and professor Refaat Alareer, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on 6 December 2023. The imagery is inspired by the children of Gaza who set a world record for the most kites flown in one place on the Gaza Strip in 2011. Kites have become an international symbol of solidarity with Palestine. The music by Sive is a beautiful, haunting tribute. https://sivemusic.bandcamp.com/track/if-i-must-die Want to take Action? Our website has a list of up to date petitions, letter writing campaigns and other ways you can express your solidarity. https://ukpalmhn.com/gaza-crisis/ Think it’s all hopeless? Look at this link celebrating the successes of the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement on its 19th anniversary in July 2024: https://bdsmovement.net/BDS_Impacts-In-Times-Of-Genocide The UK-Palestine Mental Health Network is one of 19 national mental health networks working under the umbrella of the Palestinian-led Palestine-Global Mental Health Network. |
UKPALMHN mailing 4 December
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| *** CAFE PALESTINE IS BACK *** The human effects of starvation as a weapon of war Saturday 7 December 2024 4pm-6pm UK Time (6pm-8pm Palestine) (Please note slight change of time) In this Cafe Palestine presenters will speak about the physical and psychological effects on children, families and their communities of the deliberate policies of starvation used on the population of Gaza. We will have testimonies from within and outside Gaza Speakers: Dr Deborah Harrington from the UK, Obstetrician and expert in maternal and infant health, recently working at al Aqsa hospital in Gaza Dr Said Al Kahlout, Psychiatrist, Palestine Trauma Centre in Gaza Dr Omar Al Buhaisi, Psychiatrist, Palestine Trauma Centre in Gaza Dr Yasser Abu Jamei, Director, Gaza Community Mental Health Programme Dr Lama Khouri, Psychoanalyst, Palestine Global mental Health network Zoom link: Please write to ukpalmhn@gmail.com if you would like the Zoom link for this meeting. UKPALMHN Solidarity Space Monday 9 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 write to ukpalmhn@gmail.com if you would like the Zoom link for this meeting. Christmas Cultural Souq Saturday 14 Dec from 12:00 noom to 6:00 PM Palestine House, WC1V 6JJ Welcome back to the monthly Souq—this time, perfectly timed for the holiday season! It’s a wonderful opportunity to shop, connect, and celebrate the season’s spirit together. https://www.tickettailor.com/events/palestinehouse/1488720 The Israeli Society and the War Wednesday 18 December at 5pm (UK time) A Conversation with Orly Noy, journalist, political activist and chair of the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem. She is also an activist with the Palestinian Democratic National party, Balad. https://www.scientists4palestine.com/a-conversation-with-orly-noy/ Healing Through the Skies: Coping With Grief Through a Therapeutic Group Activity for Children in Palestine In the Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies (published 1 December 2024) by Samah Jabr, Zaynab Hinnawi, Elizabeth Berger. The authors propose an innovative group-based therapeutic activity for traumatized children in Palestine, a one-day program creating and flying kites. The authors discuss the importance of flying within the religious and cultural background of Palestine as well as the prevalence of kite imagery in children’s books, songs, and artisanship. Link to Abstract: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aps.1898 Photo reportage: Rainstorm devastates Khan Younis displacement camp Heavy rain and strong winds battered the tents of Gazans displaced by Israel’s onslaught, leaving many without any shelter for the coming winter. https://www.972mag.com/photos-rainstorm-khan-younis-tents/ +972 Magazine is an independent, non-profit media organisation of Israeli and Palestinian journalists. It is calling on readers to become a member by making a monthly contribution of any size (which you can cancel at any time). https://www.972mag.com/members/ My stories as an OB/GYN in Gaza reveal the truth of the Gaza genocide I am an obstetrician and gynecologist who has worked in Gaza throughout the Israeli genocide. I have seen the destruction of Gaza’s medical sector first-hand. My patients’ stories tell the story of the genocide. https://mondoweiss.net/2024/11/my-stories-as-an-ob-gyn-in-gaza-reveal-the-truth-of-the-gaza-genocide/ Palestinian journalists, ambulances attacked by Israeli army in central Gaza Dozens have been killed across the besieged enclave over the past 24 hours, with UN agencies describing the crisis inside Gaza as ‘apocalyptic’. https://thecradle.co/articles/palestinian-journalists-ambulances-attacked-by-israeli-army-in-central-gaza UN Says Food Availability Has Hit ‘All-Time Low’ in Gaza as Forced Famine Takes Hold The UN Food and Agriculture Organization has warned that food availability in Gaza has reached “an all-time low” due to Israel’s blockade, leading to widespread famine and catastrophic levels of food insecurity, with aid deliveries obstructed and agricultural infrastructure destroyed. UN officials describe the situation as “appalling and apocalyptic,” with malnutrition surging and urgent calls for a ceasefire and unrestricted humanitarian assistance to prevent further devastation. https://www.commondreams.org/news/gaza-food-famine “Made in Gaza: From Ground Zero” gives voice to film makers trapped in war zone Acclaimed Palestinian film maker Rashid Mashawari collated 22 short films made by Palestinians living through Israeli attacks on Gaza. Each short film features a central character and is handled in a unique manner by a different director. It creates a picture of real individuals struggling and coping in the most unimaginable circumstances. This film has been chosen as the Palestinian entry to the 2025 Oscars. https://www.middleeasteye.net/discover/bristol-palestine-film-festival-ground-zero-showcases-anthology-shorts-documenting Just Say Genocide – The Problem of Truth Sadism This article critiques institutions like the Freud Museum in Vienna for their inability to confront uncomfortable political truths, particularly regarding Israeli aggression and the Palestinian genocide. It argues that inviting speakers with dissenting views, only to later disinvite or restrict their platform, reflects institutional denial and avoidance of reality, underscoring the psychoanalytic concept of “truth sadism”—the difficult reckoning with truths that demand profound personal and societal transformations. https://thebattleground.eu/2024/11/28/just-say-genocide/ Occupation Forces raid Aida Youth Center (in Aida refugee camp near Bethlehem) On the morning of Tuesday 3 December, Israeli Occupation Forces raided the Aida Youth Center, ransacking offices, confiscating documents, and leaving threatening posters warning families to prevent their children from engaging in resistance. Despite this alarming crackdown on Palestinian grassroots organizations, the Center remains resolute in its mission to provide education, support, and advocacy for the Aida camp community, inspired by its children and strengthened by international solidarity. Read the full statement from Anas Abu Srour, Executive Director of Aida Youth Center: https://mailchi.mp/9e7cd97c4e67/summer-update-from-aida-youth-center-5853534 WE WON’T BE SILENT One of the founding aims of UKPALMHN is “to encourage our colleagues individually and collectively to consider their response to the Palestinian call for boycott, sanctions and divestment (BDS).” Boycat App The Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement has partnered with the Boycat App. You can install the app on Android or Apple phones and easily scan goods whilst you are in a supermarket. The results immediately let you know whether a product is on a list that is kept up to date by the BDS Movement.   Don’t Buy into Occupation (DBIO) Report 2024 The DBIO coalition investigates and highlights the financial relationships between the illegal Israeli settlement enterprise in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the businesses involved in this enterprise, and European Financial Institutions. The detailed report names and provides information about 58 companies that are actively involved with illegal Israeli settlements. It also includes a section on “Growing divestment momentum and other positive developments in 2024.” https://dontbuyintooccupation.org/reports/dont-buy-into-occupation-report-2024/ UK Government Foreign Affairs Committee Call for Evidence – The Israeli-Palestinian conflict The link provides full details about the nature of submissions to the Committee. The deadline is 31 December. https://committees.parliament.uk/call-for-evidence/3486/ Want to take Action? Our website has a list of up to date petitions, letter writing campaigns and other ways you can express your solidarity. https://ukpalmhn.com/gaza-crisis/ Think it’s all hopeless? Look at this link celebrating the successes of the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement on its 19th anniversary in July 2024: https://bdsmovement.net/BDS_Impacts-In-Times-Of-Genocide |
UKPALMHN mailing 27 November
Week of action in solidarity with the Palestinian people Monday 25 November to Sunday 1 December A full list of action is available at this page: https://palestinecampaign.org/events/november-2024-week-of-action/ International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People Friday 29 November Download the free PDF and print your own poster to put in your window. Take a photo of the poster in your window and share it with your social media networks. https://palestinecampaign.org/wp-content/uploads/International-Day-of-Solidarity-Poster.pdf National Demonstration for Palestine Saturday 30 November – Assemble at 12 noon on Park Lane and march to Whitehall https://palestinecampaign.org/events/30-november-national-demonstration-for-palestine/ The UK-Palestine Mental Health Network banner will be at the march. We will assemble on the south west corner of Grosvenor Square, W1K 2QB at 11.45 am All are welcome to join us.  Seeds of Resistance: The people stand with Gaza Saturday 30 November 7pm – 9.30pm Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church, 235 Shaftesbury Avenue London WC2H 8EP Join us for an evening of culture, community, and music headlined by acclaimed hip-hop artist and campaigner Lowkey. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/seeds-of-resistance-the-people-stand-with-gaza-tickets-1082303301309 UKPALMHN Solidarity Space Monday 2 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 email ukpalmhn@gmail.com if you would like a link to the meeting. *** CAFE PALESTINE IS BACK *** Saturday 7 December 3.45pm – 5.30pm (UK time) This will be a special Cafe Palestine round-table discussion about the physical and psychological effects on children, their parents and their communities, of the deliberate policies of starvation used as a weapon of war in Gaza. We aim to have presentations from medical and mental health practitioners and accounts from the lived experiences of our friends and colleagues in Gaza. The Zoom link will be available in next week’s mailing on Wednesday 4 December. Israeli siege leaves 130,000 kids trapped and at risk of starvation in Northern Gaza “With no food, no clean water, and constant fear, both my children have developed rashes, and my daughter is passing blood, but there is no medicine, no help, and absolutely nothing I can do,” said one mother trapped in the area. https://www.commondreams.org/news/northern-gaza-hunger-israel “A Starvation Policy”: Former UN Aid Chief on how Gaza suffering is on a “different level” Jan Egeland talks to Mehdi about his visit to Gaza, the ICC arrest warrants, and how Israel under Netanyahu is behaving like Syria under Assad. https://zeteo.com/p/israel-starvation-policy-gaza Steadfast Bisan is still reporting from Gaza … Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda documents her harrowing experience amid Israel’s war on Gaza. She criticizes the U.S. veto on the Gaza ceasefire resolution, calling it a betrayal of those suffering under relentless attacks. Owda’s reflections highlight the resilience of Gaza’s people and the failure of international intervention to protect them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuTV6hrjQW8 Erasing Palestinian Life in Gaza: Israel’s Genocide Exposed A one-hour interview from Palestine Deep Dive featuring Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territory, and Eyal Weizman, Director of Forensic Architecture. Forensic Architecture have published a new 800 page report titled “A Spatial Analysis of the Israeli Military’s Conduct in Gaza since October 2023” using innovative digital technology to illustrate Israel’s wholesale destruction of the Gaza Strip. https://www.palestinedeepdive.com/watch/erasing-palestinian-life-in-gaza-israels-genocide-exposed Rooted in the West Bank: 25 years of defying settler violence Uniquely spanning 25 years in a farmer’s struggle to stay steadfast, this Al-Jazeera Witness documentary is is a moving testimony to the depth of one man’s humanity in the face of intensifying settler violence and intimidation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhXIYns7ZeM WE WON’T BE SILENT Updates from activist groups working for Palestine in professional associations Social Workers for a Free Palestine Social workers, several of whom had been members of the earlier group, the Palestine-UK Social Work Network, began to organise in late 2023 and Social Workers for a Free Palestine held its online launch on 19th March. Among the Palestinians who presented was the human rights activist and former General Secretary of the Palestinian Union of Social Workers, Munther Amira. We have launched the Social Workers’ Pledge for Palestine, which can be signed by any social worker, social care worker, social work academic or student, or retired social worker. https://www.sw4palestineuk.org/ We send occasional updates to our mailing list, looking to amplify Palestinian voices, especially social work voices. If you would like to be on this list, email sw4palestineuk@gmail.com You can follow us on: X – @SW4PalestineUK Instagram – socialworkersforafreepalestine We have been working to encourage BASW, our professional association, to clearly and publicly oppose Israel’s apartheid and genocide. BASW has recently launched an “information hub” on the “Israel and Palestine/Gaza conflict” on its website: https://basw.co.uk/about-basw/international-work/israel-and-palestinegaza-conflict-baswswu-information-hub We invite others to join us in making representations to BASW about the content of this hub using this contact form: https://basw.co.uk/contact Finally, a member of Social Workers for a Free Palestine has this week engaged in direct action with Palestine Action at Elbit’s Shenstone factory to “Shut Elbit Down!” https://x.com/Pal_action/status/1861020342145204491 She said later: “My action is motivated by the same ethics we have as social workers, but I apply them to all people of the world, not only people in the UK. And I held in mind with great respect and honour all the people in Palestine I have met while being involved in the Palestine-UK Social Work Network, all the people of Palestine and with sadness all the people of Gaza killed in the Israeli genocide of the Palestinians.” As Social Workers for a Free Palestine, we are hugely proud of our colleague. Challenging Israeli “Hasbara” and “conventional wisdom” on Palestine: An anti-colonial re-framing The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions have published a new campaigning resource. Israel’s success in “selling” its wars and oppressive colonial practices lies in its ability to condense its political position into one succinct sentence. It is: “Israel is a small, democratic, Western [subtext: white] country besieged by Arab/Muslim [subtext: dark, irrational] terrorism.” To effectively counter Zionism’s manipulative framing this new resource presents a clear framing that helps people make sense of “the conflict” and more effective advocates for Palestinian rights, and that also respects the integrity of the Palestinian cause. https://icahd.org/2024/10/30/challenging-israeli-hasbara-and-conventional-wisdom-on-palestine-an-anti-colonial-reframing/ Want to take Action? Our website has a list of up to date petitions, letter writing campaigns and other ways you can express your solidarity. https://ukpalmhn.com/gaza-crisis/ Think it’s all hopeless? Look at this link celebrating the successes of the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement on its 19th anniversary in July 2024: https://bdsmovement.net/BDS_Impacts-In-Times-Of-Genocide  |
UKPALMHN mailing 20 November
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| When Truth Becomes the Enemy: Voices from the frontlines of Jenin Sunday 24 November at 6pm – 7.30pm (UK time) Palestinian journalist Mariam Barghouti and Jenin resident Rwanda Arqawi share their firsthand experiences with Palestinian trauma healer Ashira Darwish to reveal the human realities often obscured in Western mainstream narratives. https://we.scienceandnonduality.com/offers/oF56hjaR/checkout UKPALMHN Solidarity Space Monday 25 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. If you would like a link to this meeting, please contact ukpalmhn@gmail.com Week of action in solidarity with the Palestinian people Monday 25 November to Sunday 1 December A full list of action is available at this page: https://palestinecampaign.org/events/november-2024-week-of-action/ International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People Friday 29 November Download the free PDF and print your own poster to put in your window. Take a photo of the poster in your window and share it with your social media networks. https://palestinecampaign.org/wp-content/uploads/International-Day-of-Solidarity-Poster.pdf National Demonstration for Palestine Saturday 30 November at 12 noon in central London <Details to be confirmed in the next mailing> Seeds of Resistance: The people stand with Gaza Saturday 30 November 7pm – 9.30pm Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church, 235 Shaftesbury Avenue London WC2H 8EP Join us on Saturday, November 30th, for an evening of culture, community, and music headlined by acclaimed hip-hop artist and campaigner Lowkey. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/seeds-of-resistance-the-people-stand-with-gaza-tickets-1082303301309 The Palestinians of Israel: The historical development from 1948 to present Wednesday 4 December 2024 at 3pm A webinar from the Balfour Project with Thair Abu-Ras https://mailchi.mp/balfourproject/enewsletter-13534450 Human Rights Watch: Israel’s crimes against humanity in Gaza – Mass forced displacement and widespread destruction A new 154-page report from Human Rights Watch. “Hopeless, Starving, and Besieged: Israel’s Forced Displacement of Palestinians in Gaza” examines how Israeli authorities’ conduct has led to the displacement of over 90 percent of the population of Gaza—1.9 million Palestinians—and the widespread destruction of much of Gaza over the last 13 months. Israeli forces have carried out deliberate, controlled demolitions of homes and civilian infrastructure, including in areas where they have apparent aims of creating “buffer zones” and security “corridors,” from which Palestinians are likely to be permanently displaced. Contrary to claims by Israeli officials, their actions do not comply with the laws of war. https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/11/14/israels-crimes-against-humanity-gaza Two Palestinians die in ‘catastrophic conditions’ in Israeli prison Two Palestinian monitoring groups have warned of “catastrophic conditions” in Israeli jails after the recent deaths of two prisoners. In a joint statement, the Ministry of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society announced on Friday the deaths of Samih Suleiman Muhammad Aliwi, 61, and Anwar Shaaban Muhammad Aslim, 44. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/two-palestinians-die-catastrophic-conditions-Israeli-prisons Top genocide scholar calls Starmer and Lammy ‘hypocrites’ over Gaza stance William Schabas noted how British leaders previously voted in favour of recognising genocides in conflicts of a lesser scale than Gaza. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/top-genocide-scholar-calls-starmer-and-lammy-hypocrites-denying-gaza-genocide WE WON’T BE SILENT Updates from activist groups working for Palestine in professional associations. The Family Therapists for Palestine group was established at the end of October 2023, currently has around ninety members and meets approximately once a month. There is also a google group through which members can exchange ideas and information. We have taken various initiatives, such as encouraging our association (AFT) to take a more robust ethical stance on the genocide and challenging a statement the Chair and Chief Executive published on the anniversary of October 7th which failed even to mention Palestine. We have written a response to this signed by fifty AFT members which will be published in the next edition of Context (the magazine for family therapy and systemic practice in the UK). We will distribute this text after it is published. A group of five of us was invited to submit an article on Gaza to the Journal of Family Therapy and this has recently been submitted. A very successful webinar was held on October 21st featuring the Palestinian psychotherapist, Dr Yo’ad Ghanadry Hakim and a panel of systemic therapists, which was attended by 300 people. We were also signatories to the statement by Mental Health practitioners published in Middle East Eye on October 18th called ‘As mental health workers, we call for an end to the West’s collusion with Israel’ https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/gaza-war-uk-mental-health-workers-west-end-collusion-israel If anyone would like to join our group, please contact: Gwyn Daniel danielgwyn@gmail.com Open letter to the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy requesting a public statement regarding the attacks on healthcare provision in Gaza As registered members, we urge the BACP to issue a public statement regarding the current situation affecting hospitals in Gaza. Our ethical framework emphasises respecting human rights and alleviating suffering. As mental health professionals, we believe we have a responsibility to advocate for the protection of healthcare facilities, which are protected under international humanitarian law. Irrespective of any political affiliation, healthcare services must be safeguarded for all civilians impacted by conflict […] https://openletter.earth/open-letter-to-the-bacp-requesting-a-public-statement-regarding-the-attacks-on-healthcare-provision-in-gaza-8f809ca4 No Child A Target International [The Palestine-Global Mental Health Network is the Palestinian-led umbrella organisation for the 20 national Mental Health Networks, including UKPALMHN] The Palestine-Global Mental Health Network, in collaboration with its international counterparts, is launching an urgent campaign demanding that world governments hold Israel accountable to the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. ‘We condemn the killing of all children – no child should ever be a target and all efforts must be taken to end violence against all children.’ You can sign the petition here: https://ujoin.co/campaigns/3351/actions/public  Want to take Action? Our website has a list of up to date petitions, letter writing campaigns and other ways you can express your solidarity. https://ukpalmhn.com/gaza-crisis/ Think it’s all hopeless? Look at this link celebrating the successes of the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement on its 19th anniversary in July 2024: https://bdsmovement.net/BDS_Impacts-In-Times-Of-Genocide |
Bombing tents in a so-called safe area
From the Instagram feed of brave, award-winning citizen journalist, @wizard_bisan1, in Gaza
Time: Wednesday 13-11-2024
Day 404 of the genocide, mid of the day
Location: Mawasi area of Khan Younis (safe area as they claimed)
الشبكة البريطانية الفلسطينية للصحة النفسية 