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Recent Articles
- Middle East Studies Association speaks out against cultural genocide
- WEBINAR: Resist! Palestinian women and non-violent resistance to occupation with Rula Salameh
- Nidal Younis Exposes Israel’s Silent Ethnic Cleansing of the West Bank
- Statement of the Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, to the General Assembly
- Britain must fight back now against Israel’s political onslaught on UNRWA
- The UN experience in Gaza
- A symbolic vote
- The Boycott Bill: ‘another pernicious piece of legislation’—Lord Hain
- We must work with the US to stop a massacre in Rafah
- After 7 Oct: Israel’s search for victory: a personal statement on the war
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Author Archives: Diana Safieh
115 peers and MPs demand UK call for immediate ceasefire
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Gaza ceasefire now
Gaza ceasefire now: Building hope for a better future for Palestinians and Israelis, with equal rights and mutual security A call on the British Government by the Balfour Project This cannot be allowed to continue: the civilian deaths and mass … Continue reading
Posted in Advocacy, Balfour Project viewpoint, News
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Sir Vincent Fean on LBC with Matt Frei 11 Nov 2023
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Some leaders are more concerned about Gaza’s future than ending war now
Sir Vincent Fean, Balfour Project Trustee, on Al Jazeera Inside Story, 9 November 2023 Britain in Palestine 1917-1948 Film Palestinians live moment to moment as Israel’s bombardment continues. Life in Gaza is dominated by fears of Israeli attacks, finding … Continue reading
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War on Gaza
Israel/Gaza update Statement made on 23 February 2024 Mr Andrew Mitchell, Conservative https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2024-02-23/HCWS289 The Government supports Israels right to self-defence, in compliance with International Humanitarian Law, against the horrific terror attacks perpetrated by Hamas on 7 October 2023. We condemn … Continue reading
Posted in Britain's current role, Current Positions
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Gaza before the Nakba…and under occupation, siege and invasion
The Palestinian-American lawyer, activist and academic Noura Erekat gave an address entitled “In This Moment” on 1 Nov 2023 to the Palestinian Festival of Literature in New York City. The Balfour Project is running this excerpt of her “address to … Continue reading
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A message from Gaza: round-the-clock bombs, no water, no escape
The Balfour Project podcast Keys: a Troubled Inheritance, tracing the stories of two families, one Jewish and victims of the Nazi genocide, the other Palestinian, uprooted by the Nakba, the Catastrophe of 1948, is written and presented by Michael Joseph, a son … Continue reading
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Sir Vincent Fean interview with Al Jazeera English, 2 Nov 2023
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Gaza and international law: SOAS “Influencing the Corridors of Power” briefing note
I draw to your attention this note below sent to all UK Parliamentarians in the SOAS “Influencing the Corridors of Power” series. It seeks to describe what is and is not legally permissible in this war. Further to the analysis … Continue reading
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The Middle East Study Centre and The Balfour Project with Professor Salam Fayyad
The Prime Minister Lecture December 2023 Professor Salam Fayyad Prime Minister of The Palestinian National Authority (2007-2013) “In conversation with Salam Fayyad” Professor Raphael Cohen-Almagor (Director, MESC) Sir Vincent Fean (Trustee, The Balfour Project Charity; MESC) Sir Tom Phillips (MESC) Watch … Continue reading
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Reactions from the UN Secretary-General, and EU foreign affairs and humanitarian affairs office leaders
UN Secretary-General: ‘end this vicious circle of violence’ Israeli actions in Gaza breach international law, says EU’s top diplomat Humanitarian Affairs chief: the laws of war must be upheld
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Food, water and fuel deprivation used as collective punishment, says UNRWA chief
UN leaders speak reason in the midst of madness By Andrew Whitley, Balfour Project Chair of Trustees In the midst of so much madness, misrepresentation and moral equivocation, it can be hard to find voices of sanity and reason. One … Continue reading
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The politics of water in Israel-Palestine: a discussion with James Fergusson, author of ‘In Search of the River Jordan’
Online webinar hosted on 21 November 2023 In Search of the River Jordan is the new book by award-winning writer and journalist James Fergusson. Travelling through Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, Fergusson describes how historic water resources such as the … Continue reading
Gaza, Israel and the Law
In its statement of 13 October, the Balfour Project set out its view on war crimes committed by Hamas and by Israel. Nothing can excuse the murder of civilians and the taking of hostages by Hamas. These are war crimes. … Continue reading
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Balfour Project evidence to the Commons Foreign Affairs Ctee on the viability of the two-state solution
In our statement of 13 October on war crimes in Israel and in Gaza, we mentioned that the Balfour Project charity has submitted evidence to the Commons Foreign Affairs Ctee inquiry into the UK’s engagement with the Middle East and … Continue reading
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The Balfour Project condemns Hamas atrocities and calls on Israel to desist from also committing War Crimes
The Balfour Project condemns Hamas’ act of terrorism of 7 October, including heinous murder and the taking of mass hostages in Israel. Securing their safe release must be a top priority. Those responsible for this outrage must be held to … Continue reading
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Why Israel fears the facts: reporting on Israel’s human rights violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory for the UN
By Mandy Turner, originally for Jadaliyya [This is a review essay of Richard Falk, John Dugard, and Michael Lynk (with a foreword by Francesca Albanese), Protecting Human Rights in Occupied Palestine: Working Through the United Nations (Atlanta: Clarity Press, 2022).] … Continue reading
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Anti-BDS legislation
Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill Volume 836: debated on Tuesday 20 February 2024 Download text https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2024-02-20/debates/1906FBFC-C909-4322-8F64-AFCD6C706E31/EconomicActivityOfPublicBodies(OverseasMatters)Bill Previous debate Second Reading Relevant document: 4th Report from the Constitution Committee. Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland Legislative Consent sought; King’s … Continue reading
Posted in Britain's current role, Current Positions
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How Israel has misused its position as an occupying power
John McHugo, Balfour Project Trustee, internation law expert and Middle East historian writes: The International Court of Justice is the judicial organ of the United Nations. In December 2022 it was requested by the UN General Assembly to clarify “the … Continue reading
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One on One: Britain, Palestine and a history of broken promises
Video published by The Middle East Eye on 25 September 2023. The United Kingdom played a pivotal role in the dispossession of the Palestinian people and the Zionist takeover of historical Palestine, says Middle Eastern historian Peter Shambrook. Speaking with … Continue reading
Posted in Mandate Period, News
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The DOP, Oslo and 1993+: Archetype of a Failure
By Daniel Levy, 13 Sept 2023 September 13, 2023, marks the 30-year anniversary of the signing of the Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles (DOP) on the White House South Lawn. What seemed like an auspicious moment in the history of the … Continue reading
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The Boycott bill: Britain’s political gift to Netanyahu
By Peter Oborne From Middle East Eye The anti-BDS Bill trashes the UK’s global reputation, yet Sunak’s morally broken government is pushing it through without serious scrutiny. On 11 and 12 Sept, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly received a hero’s … Continue reading
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Dr Ralph Wilde Webinar: How Britain broke international law to stop Palestinian independence
28th September 2023 Watch Video Listen to Audio/Podcast The 29th of September marks the centenary of when the League of Nations ‘Mandate Agreement’ for Palestine entered into force in international law. This legal instrument purported to put the commitment to … Continue reading
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Much Ado About What?
Evidence Submitted to House of Commons Committee on the Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Public Bill, 5 September 2023 With a host of other pressing matters, domestic and foreign, already on its plate, puzzlingly the Sunak government has … Continue reading
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In Search of the River Jordan
By James FergussonYale University Press£16.50ISBN 978-0-300-24415-1 Review by Ian Portman James Fergusson’s great aunt Frances was a keen advocate of a Jewish state in Palestine. Her mother, Blanche Dugdale, was Arthur Balfour’s biographer – herself an ardent Zionist and a … Continue reading
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US Jews urged to condemn Israeli occupation amid Netanyahu censure
Open letter calls on Jewish leaders to speak out against ‘ultimate purpose’ of PM’s judicial reforms – upholding ‘regime of apartheid’ By Chris McGreal, published in The Guardian on 15 August 2023. Hundreds of Israeli and American public figures have … Continue reading
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Michael Gove’s bad Bill – an update
By Sir Vincent Fean The Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill was heavily mauled in debate in the House of Commons on 3 July, particularly in this excellent speech by Conservative MP Alicia Kearns (Chair of the influential … Continue reading
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Varying degrees of imprisonment in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
Report by Francesca Albanese Sir Vincent Fean, Balfour Project trustee, writes: Francesca Albanese is the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). She studies developments and reports regularly to the UN Human Rights Council, of … Continue reading
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Policy of Deceit: Britain and Palestine, 1914-39
by Peter ShambrookOneworld Academic£35.00, $US45.00ISBN 978-0-86154-632-9 Review by John McHugo Before Peter Shambrook produced Policy of Deceit, many historians in the West had shied away from the controversy over the Hussein-MacMahon correspondence of 1915-16. Whatever British commitments the letters … Continue reading
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The Report of the Haycraft Commission of Inquiry, 1921
By Mike Scott-Baumann The Commission was appointed by Sir Herbert Samuel, the High Commissioner for Palestine, to inquire into, and report on, the “disturbances” in Jaffa and elsewhere in early May 1921. It was headed by Sir Thomas Haycraft, the Chief Justice … Continue reading
Posted in Historical, Key Documents, Mandate Period
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The International Court of Justice should rule on the legality of the 1967 Occupation
Sir Vincent Fean writes: Last year the UN General Assembly voted to request that the International Court of Justice should deliver an advisory opinion which would consider the question of the legality of the Israeli military occupation of East Jerusalem, … Continue reading
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Peter Shambrook’s Policy of Deceit
Policy of Deceit Britain and Palestine, 1914–1939 Published by Oneworld Publication date: August 3, 2023 ISBN: 9780861546329 RRP: £35.00 Pages: 416 ‘The most comprehensive and incisive exposure of the origins of the British betrayal of Palestine.’ Ilan Pappe ‘Deeply researched, powerfully argued and meticulously … Continue reading
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Friendship and twinning between Britain and Palestine: a mark of recognition and solidarity
Sir Vincent Fean writes: There are over forty British volunteer friendship and twinning groups with Palestine, from Dundee to Camden, from Sheffield to Bradford on Avon. To see the full list, please visit www.twinningwithpalestine.net, the attractive website of the Britain … Continue reading
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In the looming civil war, the Israeli right has the upper hand
While the government can rely on national-religious identity to mobilise supporters, the opposition’s counternarrative suffers a serious weakness By Menachem Klein on 24 July 2023. This article originally appeared in the Israeli +972 magazine The brewing “civil war” we are witnessing … Continue reading
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‘We are in a civil war over Israel’s national identity’
By Ben Lynfield, published 29 July 2023 on Plus 61J Media The religious Right wants Jewish supremacism, the liberal Left wants democracy. The war could yet turn violent, political scientist Menachem Klein tells Ben Lynfield. Could there be a civil … Continue reading
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New report from Save the Children: “Injustice: Palestinian children’s experience of the Israeli military detention system”
Sir Vincent Fean writes: The Balfour Project commends a new report by Save the Children on the plight of Palestinian children in Israeli military detention. Please click here to read the report. The report results from sustained, careful research. It … Continue reading
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All Palestinians and Israelis deserve to live in peace: UK statement at the Security Council
Sir Vincent Fean writes: Every month, the UN Security Council discusses developments in the Middle East, including Palestine/Israel. As a permanent member of the Security Council, the UK makes a statement at each session. The latest statement can be found … Continue reading
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Balfour Project hails former world leaders’ honest assessment, compared with UK’s ‘mealy-mouthed platitudes’
By Andrew Whitley Often it requires taking a break away from a situation to be able to observe more distinctly dramatic changes taking place; changes that might otherwise pass unnoticed to a day-to-day observer. That was the case for The … Continue reading
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Palestinians and Israelis, A Short History of Conflict
By Michael Scott-Baumann Review by Prof. Menachem Klein The History Press, 2021, hard cover. 258 p. £14.99 The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the oldest active national conflict in the world. It has raged without cease since the late 19th Century. The … Continue reading
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My father, and his struggle with the British and their plots against Palestine
By Raja Shehadeh The brief history I present here about the relations between Britain and Palestine is selective. I focus on events in which my father, Aziz Shehadeh, played a role. Much of what I will cover in this talk … Continue reading
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Memoirs of an Arab Jew
By Avi Shlaim Review by Gillian Mosely “The trouble with nationalism is that it stops us thinking.” The source of this piece of profound wisdom, imparted on page two of Avi Shlaim’s new book, Memoirs of an Arab Jew, is … Continue reading
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KEYS: A Troubled Inheritance Podcast
An epic journey to uncover a Holocaust inheritance leads relentlessly to discovering a Nakba inheritance: two catastrophes that are very different, but very connected. Can they both be heard and understood? With personal testimony, letters and memories by those who … Continue reading
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The German problem with Palestine
By Ian Portman, 22 June, 2023 In May this year, Palestinians were preparing for their 75th commemoration events marking the Nakba (disaster) which overcome their land before and during the 1948 war. Starting in the autumn of 1947, colonial settler … Continue reading
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Elders warn of consequences of “one-state reality” in Israel and Palestine
Following their visit to Israel and and Palestine, Mary Robinson and Ban Ki-moon warn that a ‘one-state reality’ is now rapidly extinguishing the prospect of a two-state solution. The Chair and Deputy Chair of The Elders today warned that a ‘one-state reality’ is now rapidly extinguishing the … Continue reading
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New report reveals human rights violations because of IHRA definition of antisemitism
The European Legal Support Centre (ELSC) has launched (June 6. 2023) its new report “Suppressing Palestinian Rights Advocacy through the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism – Violating the Rights to Freedom of Expression and Assembly in the European Union and … Continue reading
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Government’s new Bill drives a coach and horses through the UK’s claim to uphold human rights and international law.
By Richard Burden, Trustee This week, the UK Government has published a Bill that will both jettison Britain’s respect for international laws that ban the acquisition of territory by conquest and ignore UN rules signed by the UK over a … Continue reading
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Friends of Israel: The Backlash Against Palestinian Solidarity
By Hil Aked Review by Tim Llewellyn Verso, £18.99 Israel’s usually deep well of public approval in the British Isles began in 2000 quickly to empty. It was being seriously depleted by the collapse of the Oslo peace process and … Continue reading
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An Eye Witness account of my time as an Ecumenical Accompanier in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
6 June 2023 NOTE: this webinar was not be recorded, as per EAPPI standard policy. Ann Wilson (ex CAFOD employee in the Diocese of Salford and previous chaplain of Loreto College, Manchester) returned from monitoring human rights violations and breaches … Continue reading
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The 2030 roadmap for UK-Israel bilateral relations
Published 21 March 2023 Signed at One Carlton Gardens, London, on 21 March 2023 For the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Of the State of Israel For the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and … Continue reading
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Screening of the documentary film Britain in Palestine 1917 – 1948
April 2023 Palestine Museum US held a Screening of our film 18-minute documentary Britain in Palestine 1917-1948, followed by Q&A discussion with Balfour Project Vice-Chair Sir Vincent Fean, a British diplomat, and Trustee John McHugo, a British historian and lawyer. … Continue reading
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