Ilan Pappe, Mayor of Bethany in London appearance Thur 29th

[Mandy]

From: <Su>

This Thursday we will have the Mayor of Bethany speaking at the LSE SU Palestine Society on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Bethany is mostly known for being the village where Jesus ascended to Heaven (Luke 24:50-51). Today Bethany is strangled by the wall and their inhabitants are cut-off from Jerusalem (4 km away) due to the Apartheid system that the Israelis impose on them.



Illan Pappe will also be speaking this Thursday at the LSE about the threat to the free speech of scholars. He was fiercely attacked and forced out of “democratic” Israel because his academic work challenges the founding myths of the state.



1 – Lobby of Parliament: Wednesday, 28th November – we will meet outside to the Old Building at 4:15pm

2 - Weekly meeting: Friday, 30th November, 4:30pm, room A283 (Old Building)

3 – International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People talk: Voices from the “Holy” Prison by Issam Faroun

4 – LSE Public Lecture: The threat to the free speech of scholars with Ilan Pappé

5 – Press Release: LSE Hypocrisy continues over Palestinian Right to Education





1 - Lobby of Parliament: 28 November – we will meet outside to the Old Building at 4:15pm



The LSE group will meet outside the Old Building to go to Parliament - 4:15pm, Wednesday 28 of November - Contact your MP this week to book an appointment.



End Israeli Occupation:

Peace for all



Lobby of Parliament



28 November 2007



2–6pm Westminster

London





To lobby your MP:



Firstly, contact your MP as soon as possible and arrange a meeting with them on

Wednesday 28 November. If you don’t know who your MP is, go to www.faxyourmp.com or phone 020 7219 3000.



Briefly explain to your MP what you would like to speak to them about.



Secondly, please let us know when you have an appointment with your MP so we can co-ordinate with other people in the same constituency —

phone 020 7700 6192 or email info@palestinecampaign.org

or 020 7832 1310 / wattg@caabu.org



Even if you do not manage to contact your MP in advance, you can still try to meet them on the day — just come along to the lobby and ask for a ‘green card’ which you then fill in to request that your MP meets you.



We will be able to brief you on how to lobby your MP in the House of Commons on the lobby day.



For more information please contact:



PSC

Tel: 020 7700 6192

Email: info@palestinecampaign.org

www.palestinecampaign.org



CAABU

Tel: 020 7832 1310

Email: wattg@caabu.org

www.caabu.org



2 - Weekly meeting: Friday, 30th November, 4:30pm, room A283 (Old Building)



Our weekly meeting will be this Friday, 30th November, 4:30pm, room A283. Feel free to join us!





3 – International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People talk: Voices from the “Holy” Prison by Issam Faroun



“International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People” presents:



Voices from the “Holy” Prison - Bethany



By Issam Faroun

Palestinian Mayor of Bethany/Aizaria



Thursday, 29th November, 6pm, Room H101 (Connaught House, 1st floor)



Issam Faroum is the Mayor of Aizaria, also known by its Biblical name of Bethany, a town in East Jerusalem on the West Bank in Palestine. It is now surrounded on three sides by Israel’s apartheid wall. The wall physically separates Palestinians from their jobs, relatives and vital services like education and health. The wall has devastated the local economy and community, and Issam has been central to the fight against it. Issam can describe in detail the effects of Israeli military occupation and how ordinary people are struggling to survive, and to fight back.

Bethany is about 4 km from Jerusalem on the Jericho road. It lies on the east side of the Mount of Olives, and can easily be reached by car, coach or bus from Jerusalem, the road skirting the base of the hill.



Event organised by: LSE SU Palestine Society and Haringey Justice for Palestinians



4 – LSE Public Lecture: The threat to the free speech of scholars with Ilan Pappé

Centre for the Study of Human Rights Public Seminar
Intolerance in the Ivory Tower: the threat to the free speech of scholars
Date: Thursday 29 November 2007
Time: 1.15 -2.30pm
Venue: Room G108, 20 Kingsway
Speaker: Ilan Pappé, Kuyok Abol Kuyok, Kate Robertson
Chair: Professor George Gaskell

Free speech is under attack around the world by a return to political, religious and anti-terrorism dogma. At the front line of vulnerability are scholars working in countries where free speech is under threat. In this event, the dangers to such scholars is analysed by specialists and scholars with first-hand experience of the problems.

Ilan Pappé is an Israeli historian, senior lecturer at Haifa University and the chair of the Emil Touma Institute for Palestinian Studies. Dr Pappe has been both acclaimed and smeared on the publication of each of his many books relating to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Kuyok Abol Kuyok’s involvement in political activities resulted in him being forced to leave Sudan. With the support of CARA he is now completing his PhD at the Institute of Education in London, has a position at the London Metropolitan University and is successfully rebuilding his academic career. Kate Robertson is deputy executive secretary of the Council for Assisting Refugee Academics.

5 – Press Release: LSE Hypocrisy continues over Palestinian Right to Education



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



LSE Hypocrisy Continues Over Palestinian Right to Education



· School Refuses To Publish Statement Backing Universal Academic Freedom

· LSE Council Chair Grabiner Gatecrashes Student-Staff Meeting With Director



The London School of Economics has backtracked on promises to students after a long-awaited meeting with Director Howard Davies, by refusing to publish a statement which acknowledged the Palestinian Right to Education. Despite explicit protests from students that he should not be in attendance, controversial LSE Council Chair, Lord Grabiner of Aldwych, insisted on being present at the meeting and stifled debate over the crucial issue.



On Tuesday 20th November, representatives of LSE students, and members of academic staff, met with representatives of LSE Council to discuss the Director’s opposition to a campus debate on a potential boycott of Israeli academic institutions after a UCU (University and College Union) resolution[1] backed such debate. The meeting was held after students were forced to resort to direct action to obtain a meeting with their Director, who had twice ignored written requests to discuss the issue, signed by over 100 students, staff and alumni.



In the meeting, Lord Grabiner and others rejected the concerns of those seeking an even-handed approach by the School, implying that they were unable to read properly. Meanwhile the School’s Director Howard Davies refused to acknowledge that the provocative statement on the LSE website constituted opposition to debate.



The students also questioned Grabiner, the non-executive Chair of LSE Council, on his remarks in a House of Lords debate on anti-Semitism in which he branded the UCU motion for debate as “poisonous”, warning that “we must be vigilant”. Grabiner had stated that “the Director of the LSE, Sir Howard Davies, promptly rejected the UCU resolution, and that appears clearly and firmly on the front of the [LSE] website.”[2] Many students are infuriated that Grabiner has suggested that those who wish to debate the boycott may in any way be “anti-Semitic” whilst also appearing to abandon the impartiality that the Chair of Council is expected to maintain and undermining the LSE’s commitment to free debate and thought on campus, secured by its own Code of Free Speech.



Students had previously twice protested at the possible presence of Grabiner in the meeting as they feared that his presence would be detrimental to a constructive engagement between students and the School's Governors. So indeed it was.



At the end of the meeting, Grabiner and Davies refused to publish a proposed a joint statement on the LSE website which supported free debate amongst student and academic staff “without intimidation, including on controversial topics such as the proposed boycott of Israeli academic institutions.” The proposed statement also included the recognition that “students everywhere have the right to pursue their education, and recognises that where this right is systematically violated, as in Palestine, students and staff at LSE are free to undertake solidarity actions.” Davies claimed that the proposal constituted a “political statement” despite his open support of Israeli academic institutions that are complicit in the occupation of Palestine.



Grabiner and Davies incorrectly argued that the school has never taken a position on Iraq, Afghanistan and South Africa under apartheid and do not wish to oppose Israel’s violations of Palestinian academic freedom. This is false, as previously in its history the School’s divested from companies who were heavily operating in Apartheid South Africa in the 1980’s. After the Tiananmen massacre in 1989 the Academic Board voted for a complete suspension of all academic connections with China. Also, just last year LSE backed Students’ Union “proposals for a socially responsible investment policy” that “met both its financial and humanitarian objectives”.[3]



The School also refused to promote a proposed public debate between opponents and supporters of the proposed boycott of Israeli academic institutions, although this would have been in the School’s tradition of hosting a wide range of speakers with diverse views on controversial subjects.



Davies however has promised that the LSE will actively reach out to donors to secure funds for a scholarship for Palestinian students and provide institutional support in service of this goal. He also stated that the School will consider supporting existing staff initiatives with Birzeit University in Palestine.



Ziyaad Lunat, a spokesperson for the LSE Students’ Union Palestine Society and a Student Member of Court of Governors said: “LSE continues to mislead its students, staff and alumni thereby protecting Israel and ignoring entirely the plight of Palestinians. Davies’ and Grabiner’s statements condemning debate and their unwillingness to rectify such bias is a disgrace to our School, undermining its international credibility for thousands of students and potential donors across the world.”



A member of LSE academic staff said: “Although, given the financial consequences, no university administration can today be expected to adopt policies critical of Israeli violations of the rights of Palestinians, the LSE administration went beyond that to condemn debate among their staff and students concerning appropriate individual moral and non-violent forms of solidarity. Where all Western governments back the oppressor, only individual moral action remains.”



Ends



Notes for Editors



1. On 30 May 2007 UCU (University and College Union) passed a resolution at its annual congress calling for a debate within the Union about boycotting Israeli universities. The next day LSE’s Director Howard Davies posted a statement on the LSE website condemning the resolution and by implication a free debate on the issue.



LSE students, staff and alumni wrote a joint letter to LSE Director Howard Davies in response to this statement. The letter, signed by most of the LSE Students Union Executive and more than 100 students, staff, alumni and heads of student societies, expressed concern at the Director's apparent opposition to the free expression of opinion. In two subsequent responses (22 June 2007 and 5 September 2007) Davies refused to meet with representatives of the signatories. He also declined to address or recognise the desperate condition of Palestinian academic institutions, stating that the School “has no corporate position” on this matter.


Over 20 LSE students silently occupied a meeting of LSE's governing body for over 30 minutes in protest at LSE Director Howard Davies refusal to meet representatives of students and academic staff (October 30th). Holding up banners stating “Academic Freedom for All” and “Equal Rights for Palestinians”, the students peacefully entered an LSE Council meeting, the monthly meeting of LSE's 25 directors, bringing it to a halt, and reissued a request for a meeting with Davies to discuss the issue, as well as that a statement be displayed on the LSE website recognising the right to education for Palestinians. After lengthy deliberation, and threatening to ask security to forcibly remove the students, Davies and Council Chair, Mr. Grabiner, reluctantly agreed to attend a meeting and that a statement would be issued that acknowledged Palestinians' right to education.


Minutes of the meeting of 20th November are attached.



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[1] UCU resolution 30: http://www.ucu.org.uk/index.cfm?articleid=2555 and PACBI call for boycott: http://www.pacbi.org/campaign_statement.htm

[2] Hansard, Tuesday 12 Jun 2007, Volume No. 692, Part No. 100 - http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200607/ldhansrd/text/70612-0012.htm#07061287000030

[3] Minutes of LSE Council, 30th April 2007