BACKGROUND of Psychoanalytic Voices for Palestine (PVP)
Psychoanalytic Voices for Palestine (PVP) is a group comprised of psychoanalytic clinicians, current or former registrants of the British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC), who signed a Statement in January 2024 entitled ‘A Call for Psychoanalytic Professionals to address the human catastrophe in Gaza’.

The statement was born of two concerns. One was a belief that the onslaught on the people of Gaza, especially in light of its apparent genocidal nature, required a professional response. This included a call for a ceasefire and negotiations towards a peace aimed at providing justice and security for both the Palestinian and Israeli communities based on international law. The second was a realisation that the bodies representing psychoanalysis had failed in this regard, and if anything were revealing a bias in support of Israel, while curtailing freedom of thought and speech in relation to Gaza. Many associations responded appropriately to the horrific attacks launched by Hamas on October 7^th but ignored the historical context of colonial occupation and siege, impoverishment and massacre. Efforts to give voice to this were being silenced.

The Statement now has almost 300 signatures and it, together with its signatories, can be seen  here

If you are a current or former member of the BPC and would like to add your name, please email us at pav4pal@gmail.com

GOOGLE GROUP

This is a forum in which we support each other in speaking out about the situation in Gaza, we reflect on our role as psychoanalytic clinicians as well as circulate materials which may be of interest. PVP meets online every 4-6 weeks to discuss issues arising from the Statement, and share further relevant information.

If you are a signatory who would like to join the group please do contact us at pav4pal@gmail.com

INAUGURAL MEETING
PVP held an inaugural public meeting at the Frontline Club in London on May 10^th 2024 entitled ‘Psychoanalytic professionals and the human catastrophe in Gaza’ with speakers, Karim Dajani, Martin Kemp and David Bell, chaired by Diana Bass.

The central issue addressed by each of the speakers was the ethical confusion within the profession that has been evidenced by official responses to the genocide in Gaza.
For a link to the recording of the event (2 hours):
https://youtu.be/0x_mAmvpa7E

ETHICS IN PUBLIC BEHAVIOUR
We believe that concern for ethics in public behaviour should be standard practice in all civil society and professional bodies. One practical expression of this would be taking action to ensure that our associations’ financial reserves are not being unwittingly placed in the hands of companies that profit from human rights abuses, militarism and apartheid or fossil fuel extraction and other anti-social economic activities.

OPINION PIECES AND PAPERS
Opinion pieces and papers by PVP signatories providing follow-up action, personal reflections and further context on the Gaza statement can be found: here:
https://ukpalmhn.com/letters-opinion-pieces-and-papers/

RESOURCES
Further resources to provide context to the situation in Gaza may be found on the UK-Palestine Mental Health Network site, which hosts us as an autonomous group, via this link:
https://ukpalmhn.com/resources/books-articles-films-etc/

You can find links to actions that you can take for Palestine on the UKPALMHN Actions page:
https://ukpalmhn.com/gaza-crisis/

FURTHER ACTION AND FUTURE EVENTS
More information can be found here:
https://ukpalmhn.com/pvp/further-action-and-future-events/