“Rebuilding in Palestine" -Dennis McEldowney, 18th June 2015
Dennis presented an illustrated account of his experiences,
as one of a group organised by the Amos Trust, of rebuilding demolished
Palestinian houses, near a refugee camp in the Occupied West Bank, south
of Bethlehem.
Our speaker linked this to the wider perspective of the Israeli Occupation,
illegal under International Law. He spoke of the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian
people and the apartheid policies of the Israeli government, and explained the role
of the Wall, the ubiquitous checkpoints, the constant military incursions by the IDF
(Israeli “Defence” Forces), and the ever-expanding and illegal settlements, all part
of which he argued can be seen as the matrix of control – of the Palestinian population.
After refreshments, Colin Lomas chaired a lively discussion of Dennis’s report and
the issues arising from it. Prominent among these issues were the distinction between
anti-semitism and outrage at Israeli state policy in Palestine, and the appropriateness
of boycott measures in response to the latter.
You can download the report here
29th June 2015