OldNews
News from The Big Ride for Palestine
15 May 2020
While in Britain we have freedom of movement on our bicycles even during our “lockdown”, getting out and about on a bike is never an easy option for Palestinians (but some still manage to do it - see Cycling Palestine
in the links section below. Palestinians in Gaza have their own difficult “lockdown” experience – locked down in Gaza for the 13 years, and counting, of the illegal blockade by Israel. In these conditions it must be right for Israel to lift the blockade to lessen the risk of a Covid-19 humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
Here is our news:
Here is our news:
News about The Big Ride
We’re aiming to have an outline plan for The Virtual Big Ride 2020
by 1st June, and to send out full details by mid-June. The annual Big Ride for Palestine is an act of solidarity with the Palestinian people, a message from us to them that they have not been forgotten, and we’re determined that this year will be no exception. We’ll also be using the Big Ride to fundraise for Palestine, as in previous years. Keep watching this space!
In the meantime we have the Big Ride 2020 cycling jersey for sale in the Big Ride online shop
- big Palestinian flag design front and back, men’s and women’s sizes, better quality, softer fabric than before, full length zip, from a new source with traceable supply chain and anti-slavery policy written into all supplier contracts. The price has gone up – to £27 – but we make no profit on them after postage charges. We also have limited stocks left of the 2019 version – for sale in the Big Ride shop
at the reduced price of £15!
Links
The Covid-19 lockdown hasn’t stopped campaigning organisations organising events – they are just happening online! Here are two more of them, helping us to gain a deeper understanding about the situation in Palestine, as well as simple actions we can take to bring pressure for change to happen.
The next monthly online event from the Balfour Project
will be on Thursday 4th June at 3.00pm BST. Entitled The UN, Britain and Palestine/Israel - 1947 to Present Day, it’s a webinar by Andrew Whitley, the founder and executive director of Geo-Political Advisory Services (GPAS), a UK-based consultancy that works on the alleviation of armed conflict in the Middle East and Asia, and a Middle East specialist who has lived in Palestine. Click here
to reserve your place for this online event.
The Stop the JNF UK
campaign
is running a series of monthly webinars, on the first Saturday of each month at 4pm BST. Stop the JNF UK
is a coalition of Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign and the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network. It’s part of an international campaign to end the Jewish National Fund's role in the oppression of the Palestinian people. The JNF has for decades financed discriminatory practices by the state of Israel against Palestinians, acting as a de facto arm of the Israeli state, yet benefiting from charitable status in many countries.
The next webinar is on Saturday 6th June at 4 pm BST: The JNF as a Pillar of Israeli Apartheid (1948-1967). Click to book a place on Eventbrite
or Facebook
Here’s some more about the new book we mentioned in the last news update - Fifty Miles Wide
by Julian Sayarer, one of our high profile supporters. We highly recommend it to everyone who loves cycling and supports the cause of freedom, justice and equality for Palestine – which are at the heart of the book. Julian told us: "I always felt that a bicycle was a unique way of seeing a place and its people. There's also a global community that loves riding bikes, and which gives you something in common with people that you perhaps disagree with about other things. It felt like Palestine and Israel was an important place to test if that was still the case."
With bookshops closed in Britain at the moment, Julian’s advice on buying the book is: "Mr B's
are posting nationwide from their great little shop in Bath. To be honest, and I wouldn't normally say it, but even Amazon, if people then leave a good review, is really helpful. I've heard so much about Zionist groups targeting books with 1-star and negative reviews that anything potentially helping to offset that is appreciated."
And here’s a recent podcast, Cycling Palestine with Sohaib Samara, Malak Hasan & Julian Sayarer. Believe it or not, Cycling Palestine is a cycling group in Palestine, which has grown into a campaign promoting cycling and advocating for freedom of movement. Watch the podcast to see an interview with two of its members and an interview with Julian.
Actions we can take
Write to your Member of Parliament
to explain why it is critical that Israel ends the siege of Gaza NOW, and that Palestinians get the medical resources they desperately need. Denying the population access to basic resources - including medicines - is a form of collective punishment that we have a responsibility to end. Ask your MP to raise this with the UK Foreign Office. Find your MP (UK parliaments and assemblies) here.
Ask your Member of Parliament (UK parliament) to sign Early Day Motion 464: Proposed Israeli Annexation of part of the West Bank. Israel’s annexation of territory occupied in 1967 would be illegal under international law. The UK government must go beyond words of condemnation and take action by imposing sanctions on Israel.
Take part in Together2Palestine, a virtual challenge launched by Medical Aid for Palestine (MAP) and taking place between now and 30th June, which is World Refugee Day. Show unity and solidarity with the Palestinian people and raise money to support Palestinians’ access to healthcare. Find out more here.
Join and/or support organisations campaigning for Palestinian rights – Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), Friends of Al Aqsa (FOA), Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA), Friends of Alrowwad and others - to receive regular news updates and to get involved in regular acts of solidarity.
Take part in Together2Palestine, a virtual challenge launched by Medical Aid for Palestine (MAP) and taking place between now and 30th June, which is World Refugee Day. Show unity and solidarity with the Palestinian people and raise money to support Palestinians’ access to healthcare. Find out more here.
Join and/or support organisations campaigning for Palestinian rights – Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), Friends of Al Aqsa (FOA), Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA), Friends of Alrowwad and others - to receive regular news updates and to get involved in regular acts of solidarity.
News from The Big Ride for Palestine
1 May 2020
News about The Big Ride
The Big Ride 2020, from Bristol to London, has been put back to 2021, but we’re still working on the idea of a Virtual Big Ride for 2020 – more details soon.
The Big Ride 2020 cycling jersey has arrived! Have a look at the Big Ride online shop to see and buy one. We’re really pleased with the completely new design – less black, more Palestinian flag! We still have limited stocks of the “classic” 2019 Big Ride cycling jersey at the bargain price of £15 – also for sale in the online shop.
Supporters of the Big Ride, particularly in the West Midlands, Coventry and Greater Manchester, have campaigned to pressure British Cycling to end its partnership with HSBC Bank, because of HSBC’s financial support for companies that make weapons and equipment used in the military repression of the Palestinian people. It’s great to see that HSBC has now decided to end its eight-year sponsorship arrangement with British Cycling four years early – because, according to HSBC, of “a shift in UK marketing and sponsorship priorities”. Why and how their priorities have shifted we don’t know, but it’s the result we wanted! Somehow we don’t think it was because British Cycling suddenly bought into the ethical arguments....
The Big Ride 2020 cycling jersey has arrived! Have a look at the Big Ride online shop to see and buy one. We’re really pleased with the completely new design – less black, more Palestinian flag! We still have limited stocks of the “classic” 2019 Big Ride cycling jersey at the bargain price of £15 – also for sale in the online shop.
Supporters of the Big Ride, particularly in the West Midlands, Coventry and Greater Manchester, have campaigned to pressure British Cycling to end its partnership with HSBC Bank, because of HSBC’s financial support for companies that make weapons and equipment used in the military repression of the Palestinian people. It’s great to see that HSBC has now decided to end its eight-year sponsorship arrangement with British Cycling four years early – because, according to HSBC, of “a shift in UK marketing and sponsorship priorities”. Why and how their priorities have shifted we don’t know, but it’s the result we wanted! Somehow we don’t think it was because British Cycling suddenly bought into the ethical arguments....
Links
The Balfour Project is holding monthly Zoom events. The April event was a wonderful talk by Sir Vincent Sean on Britain’s role in Palestine/Israel, attended by over 250 people. The next such session will be a free screening of the Project’s own 18-minute film “Britain in Palestine: 1917-1948”, followed by a Q&A, with two historians who know much about what Britain did, and why. Sign up for future events here, or on Facebook.
Musheir El-Farra, chair of Sheffield PSC, who organised rallies and receptions for The Big Ride when we arrived in Sheffield in 2015 and 2017, has made this powerful video with a message to Keir Starmer on Palestine.
Here’s an excellent short video made by PalSoc students from Sheffield University, calling for all Palestinian political prisoners to be freed immediately
Read here about the Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s victory in the UK Supreme Court in its long-running legal battle against the UK government. PSC was acting to protect the right of local authority and other public sector pension schemes to move investments, on ethical grounds, away from businesses and activities that harm Palestinian rights. PSC had been trying since 2017 to overturn legal regulations brought in to prevent ethical disinvestment – but the Supreme Court has ruled definitively that it was unlawful for the government to restrict pension schemes in that way. Many of us supported this amazing legal campaign and it’s great to see that it’s been successful.
Julian Sayarer has written this article on the Covid-19 pandemic in Palestine. It follows the publication of his new book, Fifty Miles Wide: Cycling Through Israel and Palestine.
Julian is a former round the world cycling record holder, and an author of several cycle touring travel books. Julian was going to join us in Bristol this year as one of the speakers at the Big Ride 2020 send-off rally, to talk about his recent cycle tour around Israel and Palestine, and to ride with us on day one of The Big Ride. We’re looking at ways he could get involved in the Virtual Big Ride 2020.
Read the latest newsletter from the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) here. It includes analysis of the new Israeli government’s proposals to annex settlements in the West Bank and news on ICAHD's current projects in Palestine.
Actions we can take
Boycott Israeli Apartheid – As consumers we can help support justice and human rights simply by choosing what we buy and, importantly, what we don’t buy. People across the UK and other countries are refusing to buy goods from Israel and from Israeli settlements in Palestine, specifically in the Occupied Territories. These settlements are illegal under international law.
We can support the boycott of Israeli products as part of the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) call by refusing to buy produce such as Israeli avocados, oranges, herbs and dates. Store managers may not realise that products they stock from Israel and settlements are helping fund violence, oppression and apartheid against Palestinians. We can tell them that, and ask them to withdraw those stock lines from sale. We can spread the word in our local areas to put pressure on stores to stop stocking those products.
The Balfour Project is holding monthly Zoom events. The April event was a wonderful talk by Sir Vincent Sean on Britain’s role in Palestine/Israel, attended by over 250 people. The next such session will be a free screening of the Project’s own 18-minute film “Britain in Palestine: 1917-1948”, followed by a Q&A, with two historians who know much about what Britain did, and why. Sign up for future events here, or on Facebook.
Musheir El-Farra, chair of Sheffield PSC, who organised rallies and receptions for The Big Ride when we arrived in Sheffield in 2015 and 2017, has made this powerful video with a message to Keir Starmer on Palestine.
Here’s an excellent short video made by PalSoc students from Sheffield University, calling for all Palestinian political prisoners to be freed immediately
Read here about the Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s victory in the UK Supreme Court in its long-running legal battle against the UK government. PSC was acting to protect the right of local authority and other public sector pension schemes to move investments, on ethical grounds, away from businesses and activities that harm Palestinian rights. PSC had been trying since 2017 to overturn legal regulations brought in to prevent ethical disinvestment – but the Supreme Court has ruled definitively that it was unlawful for the government to restrict pension schemes in that way. Many of us supported this amazing legal campaign and it’s great to see that it’s been successful.
Julian Sayarer has written this article on the Covid-19 pandemic in Palestine. It follows the publication of his new book, Fifty Miles Wide: Cycling Through Israel and Palestine.
Julian is a former round the world cycling record holder, and an author of several cycle touring travel books. Julian was going to join us in Bristol this year as one of the speakers at the Big Ride 2020 send-off rally, to talk about his recent cycle tour around Israel and Palestine, and to ride with us on day one of The Big Ride. We’re looking at ways he could get involved in the Virtual Big Ride 2020.
Read the latest newsletter from the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) here. It includes analysis of the new Israeli government’s proposals to annex settlements in the West Bank and news on ICAHD's current projects in Palestine.
Actions we can take
Boycott Israeli Apartheid – As consumers we can help support justice and human rights simply by choosing what we buy and, importantly, what we don’t buy. People across the UK and other countries are refusing to buy goods from Israel and from Israeli settlements in Palestine, specifically in the Occupied Territories. These settlements are illegal under international law.
We can support the boycott of Israeli products as part of the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) call by refusing to buy produce such as Israeli avocados, oranges, herbs and dates. Store managers may not realise that products they stock from Israel and settlements are helping fund violence, oppression and apartheid against Palestinians. We can tell them that, and ask them to withdraw those stock lines from sale. We can spread the word in our local areas to put pressure on stores to stop stocking those products.
News from The Big Ride for Palestine
17 April 2020
News about The Big Ride
The Big Ride 2020, from Bristol to London, has been put back to 2021, but we’re still working on the idea of a Virtual Big Ride for 2020. The Big Ride has generated practical solidarity and awareness raising every year since 2015, and we want to make sure that continues. Our fundraising for MECA, and specifically the Sports for Girls in Gaza project, continues to be crucial. We’re exploring the idea of creating a TBR Club on Strava, as well as keeping open the possibility of local, small scale rides in the UK and beyond.These options could be the focus of our fundraising efforts. If you have any additional ideas, please let us know.
Links
Here’s the fantastic video of the Sports for Girls in Gaza project, with English subtitles
Here’s a great documentary, From Balfour to Banksy. It is directed and presented by Martin Buckley, who has also directed several documentaries for the BBC. Miranda Pinch, the film’s producer, says:
The Big Ride 2020, from Bristol to London, has been put back to 2021, but we’re still working on the idea of a Virtual Big Ride for 2020. The Big Ride has generated practical solidarity and awareness raising every year since 2015, and we want to make sure that continues. Our fundraising for MECA, and specifically the Sports for Girls in Gaza project, continues to be crucial. We’re exploring the idea of creating a TBR Club on Strava, as well as keeping open the possibility of local, small scale rides in the UK and beyond.These options could be the focus of our fundraising efforts. If you have any additional ideas, please let us know.
Links
Here’s the fantastic video of the Sports for Girls in Gaza project, with English subtitles
Here’s a great documentary, From Balfour to Banksy. It is directed and presented by Martin Buckley, who has also directed several documentaries for the BBC. Miranda Pinch, the film’s producer, says:
"It is a non-profit documentary that began life in 2017 with the aim to discover the long term-effects of the British Empire's colonialist enterprises in the modern day region of Israel and Palestine and its role in creating the legacy of division that remains there today."
It includes interviews with both Jewish and Palestinian people that help explain the damaging legacy of the British, with cruel stories that are hard to believe but which many of us have similarly heard from visits to Palestine.
Israeli Coalition Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) Newsletter March 2020
This contains a piece by ICHAD director Jeff Halper and an interesting interview with Awad Abdelfattah, former general secretary of the Balad party.
A detailed blog post
by Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights (LPHR): COVID-19 pandemic: Vulnerable population groups in the occupied Palestinian territory and the legal duty to apply ‘all necessary preventative means available’
Actions we can take
Write to your MP about Israel’s repressive policies against Palestinians which continue with added cruelty during the coronavirus pandemic. Find a sample letter on the ICAHD UK website here
Contact details for your MP can be found here
Respond to a letter from Dr Mona El-Farra, MECA director of projects in Gaza. Here are some excerpts from it:
"The situation in Gaza is dire. MECA’s Gaza team and a hundred volunteers can move during the curfew to meet the needs of families. We will need protective gear for their safety too. You can see a video of the work we started last week to provide hygiene and cleaning supplies to families. This is on MECA website – www.mecaforpeace.org. The safest and quickest way to help us in Gaza is via MECA (Middle East Childrens Alliance) – “donate” at www.mecaforpeace.org/gaza-emergency"
Write to your MP about Israel’s repressive policies against Palestinians which continue with added cruelty during the coronavirus pandemic. Find a sample letter on the ICAHD UK website here
Contact details for your MP can be found here
Respond to a letter from Dr Mona El-Farra, MECA director of projects in Gaza. Here are some excerpts from it:
"The situation in Gaza is dire. MECA’s Gaza team and a hundred volunteers can move during the curfew to meet the needs of families. We will need protective gear for their safety too. You can see a video of the work we started last week to provide hygiene and cleaning supplies to families. This is on MECA website – www.mecaforpeace.org. The safest and quickest way to help us in Gaza is via MECA (Middle East Childrens Alliance) – “donate” at www.mecaforpeace.org/gaza-emergency"
Give Puma the Boot
Several UK football clubs have kit deals with Puma. You can call on them to #BoycottPuma until they stop supporting Israeli war crimes: http://palestinecampaign.eaction.online/puma
Stay well and stay active.
Several UK football clubs have kit deals with Puma. You can call on them to #BoycottPuma until they stop supporting Israeli war crimes: http://palestinecampaign.eaction.online/puma
Stay well and stay active.
News from The Big Ride for Palestine
14 April 2020
With the situation in Palestine even more severe than here in Britain, we’ll be posting a regular (twice a month) update here telling you about:
News about The Big Ride - including our ideas about keeping The Big Ride visible, and how we can still show solidarity as cyclists with the Palestinian people
Links to news and commentary about the situation in Palestine
Links to video and written material that informs about Palestine and Palestinian rights
Actions each of us can take from home that continue to show our solidarity The Big Ride is not a campaigning organisation, but we do support and are supported by organisations which campaign for Palestinian rights. As individuals, we can show support through actions such as:
- writing to MPs, corporations and campaigners
- presence on social media platforms such as joining Twitter storms or sharing on Facebook
