Bristol NAKBA Conference

bristol | peace | event notice Sunday April 06, 2008 11:57 by Ed Hill Bristol.Nakba60 at yahoo dot co dot uk

SATURDAY 26th APRIL

2008 is the sixtieth anniversary of the Nakba (Arabic for "The Catastrophe"), the ethnic cleansing of Palestine in 1948. Zionist forces expelled approximately 750,000 Palestinians - almost 2/3 of the population--from their homes. 11 urban neighbourhoods were emptied and 531 villages were destroyed. Palestinians were forced out into the West Bank & the Gaza Strip and into the neighbouring countries. According to the UN, the number of registered Palestinian refugees today is approximately 4.5 million, the largest single refugee group in the world. Israel refuses Palestinian refugees to return to their homes, or to pay compensation as required by UN. Zionists deny the Nakba ever happened, as with the well-know saying "a people without land returning to a land without people."

The Nakba continues to this day. The Gaza Strip is a vast refugee camp, being strangled by Israel. A tenth of the West Bank is currently been stolen by the building of the WALL and the Jordan Valley, another third, has been virtually annexed. The remainder of the West Bank is split into over sixty non-contiguous areas, separated by strings of settlements, settler-only roads, and internal checkpoints. Palestinians are subjected to a process of slow-ethnic-cleansing by settler or military harassment, land-theft and house demolitions. All this is supported by the connivance of Western Governments, including the EU and the UK.

Locally, the Bristol Palestine Solidarity Campaign is drawing attention to this injustice with a one-day conference at the Malcolm X Centre 10.30 – 5.00 on Saturday 26th April.
Speakers include:-
Maha Rahwanji, member of Palestine Solidarity Campaign Executive Committee, whose family were driven out of Haifa in 1948.
Kerry McCarthy, MP for Bristol East and member of the All-Party Britain-Palestine Group.
Ilan Pappe, Professor of History at Exeter University and internationally acclaimed academic on the Nakba.
The conference will include stalls & exhibitions, together with eight workshops to build genuine networking and practical empowerment.
Middle Eastern lunch and refreshments available for purchase.
Entrance to the conference is free/donations.

Followed in the evening by:

SOCIAL FOR PALESTINE
8.00 til midnight.
Also at the Malcolm X Centre.
With Middle Eastern meal, bands, cabaret, oriental dancers, DJ, and bar.
Tickets £6 (£3 concessions) on the door or in advance from Booty, 82 Colston Street, Bristol.

For more information on the Nakba visit http://www.palestinecampaign.org/?sel=81
Prof Ilan Pappe, Exeter University www.ilanpappe.org/
Local highly informative site http://israel-palestine.janineroberts.com/
Evidence of lost Palestine www.palestineremembered.com

FFI visit Bristol Palestine Solidarity Campaign website
at http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/Bristol_PSC/
or email Bristol.Nakba60@yahoo.co.uk