Author Archives: Diana Safieh

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 →

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 →

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    

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

Netanyahu and Sunak – Letter in The Times, 28 March 2023 On Friday Rishi Sunak welcomed Benjamin Netanyahu, and stressed the importance of upholding shared “democratic values, including in the proposed judicial reforms in Israel”. Mr Netanyahu went home and … Continue reading →

Mike Scott-Baumann – ChairMike Scott-Baumann is a graduate of Cambridge University and has an MA in Palestine Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. He has thirty-five years’ experience as a history teacher and lecturer. He … Continue reading →

By Rabbi Danny Rich Stranger in My Own Land Palestine, Israel and One Family’s Story of Home By Fida Jiryis (C.Hirst & Co. (Publishers) Ltd., London, 2022) In a submission to ‘Zionism: a Jewish Communal Response from the UK’ (Board … Continue reading →

By Michael Lynk In his eloquent 2012 memoir, Kofi Annan, the former secretary general of the United Nations, wrote that the failure of the U.N. to achieve lasting peace in the Middle East was a deep internal wound as old … Continue reading →

By Menachem Klein (reprinted from the US journal LOGOS*) The death of Faisal Husseini, the senior Palestinian leader in East Jerusalem, in May, 2001, and Israel’s order to close the Orient House, the PLO headquarters in Jerusalem, in August of … Continue reading →