“As Palestinians continue to face down Israel’s genocidal violence, we must escalate our campaigns in Britain demanding that local councils, universities, cultural institutions, and financial institutions like Barclays, cut their ties to apartheid.”
By Lewis Backon, Palestine Solidarity Campaign
On Saturday 10 August, hundreds of campaigners will come together at Central Hall Westminster for Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s Divest for Palestine conference, to discuss the next steps for the solidarity movement.
As we prepare for the conference, Palestinians continue to face the darkest hour in their enduring struggle for liberation. Israel’s over nine month long genocidal assault has killed many tens of thousands and displaced 90% of Gaza’s population, most multiple times. Every day, we learn of yet another massacre committed by Israeli forces. Earlier this month, UN experts declared that “Israel’s intentional and targeted starvation campaign against the Palestinian people is a form of genocidal violence and has resulted in famine across all of Gaza.”
Across the West Bank, Israel’s militarised invasions, assassinations, and colonial land grabs continue apace. Meanwhile, in Israel’s prisons, many thousands of Palestinians face systematic torture. As refugees in exile, Palestinians continue to be denied their legally enshrined right to return to their homeland.
Israel’s militarised violence against the Palestinian people sustains its system of oppression that is recognised internationally as meeting the legal definition of the crime against humanity of apartheid.
Bearing witness to Israel’s atrocities over the past nine months, we have taken to the streets in an unprecedented series of protests, including 16 national demonstrations for Palestine in London, the largest attended by a million people. In every village, town and city, we’ve marched again and again to raise our voices for Palestinian freedom.
We should make no mistake about the impact we are continuing to have – our historic movement has shaken Britain’s complicit political establishment to the core.
The inspiring student encampments that have proliferated across universities in Britain and around the world over the past months have brought a renewed focus on the longstanding demand for divestment – the withdrawal of investments from companies that are enabling Israel to maintain its system of settler-colonialism and apartheid. For example, companies supplying Israel with the weapons and military technology it uses to carry out its devastating attacks, or companies that conduct activity in Israel’s illegal settlements on stolen Palestinian land. Divestment campaigns are an effective form of solidarity with the Palestinian struggle – working to end the financial ties that aid Israeli in maintaining its oppression of Palestinians.
As Palestinians continue to face down Israel’s genocidal violence, we must escalate our campaigns in Britain demanding that local councils, universities, cultural institutions, and financial institutions like Barclays, cut their ties to apartheid and divest their funds from companies that are arming and enabling Israel’s genocide.
Taking strength and inspiration from the Palestinian people over a century of steadfast resistance to Israel’s attempts to erase their existence, we must continue to mobilise popular pressure, across every sector of society, to break the ties of complicity linking British institutions and corporations to Israel’s machine of murder and oppression.
Our Divest for Palestine conference aims to provide activists with tools to continue in their campaigning, with a range of sessions focused on different aspects of our movement, including campaigning around the local government pension scheme, cultural and artistic campaigns, and university campaigning. The conference also has panels focused on developing the joint struggle for climate justice and Palestinian freedom, and on how to organise your workplace for Palestine.
We’ll also be joined by a range of inspiring speakers as we plan the next steps for the solidarity movement, including Omar Barghouti, co-founder of the Palestinian-led boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, and Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur for human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory.
- The Divest for Palestine Conference takes place on Saturday, August 10th from 10AM. Book your tickets to the conference today – please not advanced registration is needed to ensure you get a place.
- Lewis Backon is a Campaigns Officer at Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC). You can follow the PSC on Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram.
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