The above petition is now available for signatures on the website of the Scottish Parliament. The petition can be accessed here (NOTE: You must accept Cookies for the link to become ‘live’.) You are urged both to sign the petition and to publicise it as widely as possible.
Read more →As the media report ongoing Israeli aggression in the Palestinian Territories, Scotland’s young people continue to be left in ignorance of the history and current consequences of the conflict. For six years Scottish Friends of Palestine have been engaged in supporting the development of teaching materials for use in Scottish schools. In spite of initial […]
Read more →The above petition is now available for signatures on the website of the Scottish Parliament. The petition can be accessed here (NOTE: You must accept Cookies for the link to become ‘live’.) You are urged both to sign the petition and to publicise it as widely as possible.
Read more →As the media report ongoing Israeli aggression in the Palestinian Territories, Scotland’s young people continue to be left in ignorance of the history and current consequences of the conflict. For six years Scottish Friends of Palestine have been engaged in supporting the development of teaching materials for use in Scottish schools. In spite of initial […]
Read more →The issue of Israeli Government plans to unilaterally annex large swathes of the illegally occupied West Bank has been in the news over the last few months. Annexation is illegal under international law. It involves the forcible and unilateral acquisition of territory over which it has no recognised sovereignty. Annexation would follow on from years […]
Read more →Trump’s new Jerusalem Scottish Friends of Palestine joins with the many in condemning the decision of Donald Trump to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. It is the consequence of a dysfunctional president of the USA with no understanding nor concern for international law. In 1948 West Jerusalem was invaded and occupied with its […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine condemns the presence of the Israeli government sponsored Shalom Festival at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe. Dismay is expressed that Scotland’s leading politicians should express their support for Israel’s cultural “bridge building” efforts. Such crass pandering to Israel’s apologists not only defies the imagination but defines their culpability. In a hard hitting […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine acknowledge the contribution made by Liz Cameron to the civic life of Glasgow during her long career as a councillor and Bailie for the City of Glasgow. We note the expressions of confidence and appreciation made in the media and elsewhere with regard to this long career. It is with regret […]
Read more →SFoP dismay at presence of Israel at Glasgow University Scottish Friends of Palestine expresses its dismay at, and total opposition to, the presence of Israel at Glasgow University today. The details of this visit by representatives of a brutal, apartheid state lacks the transparency one expects of academia in Scotland. If it should result in […]
Read more →Palestine UN Membership Upgrade Scottish Friends of Palestine welcomes the vote to upgrade the status of Palestine in the United Nations as an important milestone in the recognition of Palestinian rights. In common with the state of Israel, Palestine has no defined border but it has a people and those people have rights – long denied by Israel and […]
Read more →UK Media fails to report the abuse of Palestinian children at the hands of the Israeli Occupation Forces. With the UK media currently indulged in a positive frenzy around the issue of abuse of children and young people, Scottish Friends of Palestine can only express its amazement at the lack of interest shown by the same […]
Read more →To be forgotten, too, is to die a little. It is to lose some of the links that anchor us to the rest of humanity. Wherever suffering is ignored, there will be the seeds of conflict, for suffering degrades and embitters and enrages. Aung San Suu Kwi extracted from her Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech […]
Read more →Israeli Attacks Must Be Stopped Now to Prevent Disastrous Consequences Scottish Friends of Palestine endorses the following Press Release from the Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights Israeli Attacks Must Be Stopped Now to Prevent Disastrous Consequences: IOF Escalates Its Aggression and Attacks Children and Houses Al Mezan Calls on International Community to Intervene Promptly […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine condemns the recent action of the Israeli government in authorising the raid on Al-Quds Educational TV in al-Bireh and the theft of their transmitter. This facility is part of the Institute of Modern Media of Al Quds University. Many of its programmes, such as Sesame Street, are directed at children, it broadcasts […]
Read more →Aqaba When the children who had been thrown out of their homes were crying, the soldiers posed for souvenir photos on the bulldozer, smiling and laughing Occupation rule’s cynical game with the small village of Aqaba. Brigadier General Almaz makes a personal visit, promising to “look into the complaints” Then, his representative issues 25 demolition […]
Read more →The recent decision by UNESCO to admit Palestine as a member is an overwhelming endorsement of the struggle by the Palestinian people to have their legitimate rights recognised by the global community. That the United States not only led the opposition against Palestine’s admission as a member but then announced the withholding of funding from […]
Read more →Tzipi Livni Scottish Friends of Palestine welcomes and endorses the following Press Release from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (UK). That both major UK political parties should support the change in the Law of Universal Jurisdiction which now allows suspected war criminals to visit Britain is nothing short of self-seeking hypocrisy of which both parties should […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine welcomes the news in the following Press Release that, in the face of state sanctioned obstruction, and sabotage, one boat is finally on its way to the besieged Gaza Strip. We wish it bon voyage and look forward to the successful completion of its journey and the breaching the illegal and inhumane siege […]
Read more →The recent presence of Israel in Scotland or, to be more specific, Israel in Glasgow, is an event which Scottish Friends of Palestine views with abhorrence. However, we do welcome the clarification by the Lord Provost of Glasgow, Bob Winters, that it was a diplomatic function, as opposed to a propaganda opportunity which, as the reporting made quite clear, was […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine welcomes the initiative taken by Egypt, the resolve of the Egyptian people, to end the collaboration with Israel and start the process of allowing the Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip to travel freely into Egypt. It is a much welcome development in which we hope, eventually, to see trade and […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine welcomes the news of the rapprochement between all Palestinian factions including, Fatah and Hamas. In acknowledging there is still a lot of work to be done to secure much needed Palestinian unity, a measure of its initial success is clearly indicated by Israel’s hostility to this act of reconciliation. Together with the impending […]
Read more →On the 16th Feb. 2011 Scottish Friends of Palestine received this cryptic appeal from Jaloud, near Nablus: dear all my friend ,all peace supporters ,all fighters for justice and equlity… we need you all t be with people in jaloud ..small village south est nablus near alsawyah and quryot. israli satllers shot ..palestinian youth from […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine welcomes and commends the recent action of campaigning journalist, David Cronin, in his attempt to make a citizen’s arrest of Israel’s foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman at the recent meeting between the EU and Israel. WHY I TRIED TO ARREST AVIGDOR LIEBERMAN By David Cronin, Live from Palestine, 22 February 2011 If […]
Read more →One week today Brand Israel yet again visits Scotland, disgracing the City of Glasgow with the presence of Israel’s ambassadors, Hapoel Tel Aviv. And Glasgow could not ask for better ambassadors of the state of Israel. Every player will have served in the Israeli military, will have served in the occupied Palestinian territories – where […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine welcomes the decision by the UN Human Rights Council to endorse the Goldstone Report on the savage Israeli onslaught on Gaza. While the endorsement could and should have been stronger, it is none the less welcome. Most unwelcome is the contribution from Britain which did not even exercise her vote. Here […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine endorses this appeal from the Jerusalem community of Sheikh Jarrah. Throughout 1948, Jerusalem was the target of the various Zionist terrorist groups intent on removing the Palestinian owners from their property and livelihood. The extent to which they were successful can be measured by the fact that West Jerusalem is, erroneously, […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine welcomes and endorses today’s vote by the affiliates of the Scottish Trades Union Congress to Support Boycotts and disinvestment against Israel Call for Sanctions against Israel Encourage positive investments in the occupied territories. With around 400 delegates voting in favour (2 against) this was effectively a unanimous vote. It was also […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine will hold its annual commemoration for the victims of the massacre at the village of Deir Yassin on 9th April 1948. This will take place at the Deir Yassin Memorial Plaque (to the rear of Kelvingrove Art Galleries) on Sunday 19th April 2009 at 2.30pm As always, this remembrance ceremony encompasses […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine expresses alarm and grave concern over recent news from Gaza. The occupation authorities have advised all expatriates, including medical personnel, to leave Gaza by 5th February. Along with the message from war criminal, outgoing prime minister Ehud Olmert of Israel, for the world to expect a “disproportionate response” to recent rocket […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine condemns in the strongest possible terms the decision by the BBC to break a longstanding agreement with the Disasters Emergency Committee and refuse air time to an appeal for the survivors of Israel’s blitz on Gaza’s civilian population. A decison which has now been emulated by other broadcasters and will deprive […]
Read more →“The bombs began to fall just as the children were on the streets walking back from school. I went out onto the stairs and a terrified 5 year old girl ran sobbing into my arms.” Sharon Lock (Australian) International Solidarity Movement Scottish Friends of Palestine utterly condemns the slaughter now taking place in the Gaza […]
Read more →On the evening of Friday 7th December the SS Dignity sets sail from Cyprus to Gaza, the third boat to do so in recent months. Scottish Friends of Palestine welcomes this development and looks forward to such voyages becoming a regular feature of bringing hope to the besieged people of Gaza. That members of civil […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine remembers and commemorates the 60th Anniversary of the murder of Count Folke Bernadotte Sixty years ago on the 16th September 1948, UN appointed mediator in Palestine, Count Folke Bernadotte, completed the report which outlined his proposals for the resolution of the Palestine question. This report offered hope to the hundreds of […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine welcomes the recent arrival in Gaza of SS Liberty and SS Free Gaza together with their cargo of humanitarian aid. Not only did the volunteers survive a stormy crossing, the loss of all electronic communication including navigation (for which Israel denies, as Israel always does, any culpability in the jamming of […]
Read more →Gerald Quin was fourteen years of age when he first read and heard the reports of the activities, in Palestine, of “Jewish terrorists”. At that age Gerald was unaware that he was witnessing the fruits of one of the last acts of colonialism in the first half of the 20th century, when the adherents of […]
Read more →As the designated day, which marks the 60th year since the Palestinian people were ethnically cleansed from their land, approaches, Scottish Friends of Palestine can only wonder at those who will be celebrating the looting and plundering of the land, homes and property of over 750 000 Palestinian people six decades ago. We can only […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine welcomes the joint statement from the major UK charities with regard to the grave humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Gaza Strip. We have to ask why it is that only the charities express their concern. Where is the condemnation from the government and major political parties? Not one single word of […]
Read more →With President George W Bush having arrived to place his stamp on the Middle East “peace process”, Scottish Friends of Palestine observes that, yet again we have an incumbent U.S. president: -with no sense of justice -with no sense of the need to adhere to the rule of law -with no sense of the hypocrisy […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine endorses the prompt action of HMG and the Muslim peers in trying to bring an end to the ordeal of British teacher, Gillian Gibbons, in the Sudan. We are prompted to ask, however, as to why this humanitarian concern is totally absent when it comes to the ordeal and severe humanitarian […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine expresses its severe reservations with regard to the prospects of the forthcomimg Annapolis conference. Attempts at peace negotiations which ignore a majority stakeholder – the Palestinian people – is ultimately doomed to failure. Further, a peace conference which has been cobbled together by those states which: -ignore the democratically elected representatives […]
Read more →With the recent announcement from the government of Israel that the Gaza Strip and its occupants will be treated as an “enemy entity” with yet more economic and humanitarian hardship imposed upon the civilian population, Scottish Friends of Palestine endorses the following message from the Israel based Gush Shalom The starving of the Gaza inhabitants […]
Read more →The recent events in the Gaza Strip have not been driven by ideology. They have been driven by circumstances. What then are the circumstances which have led to the Palestinian people feeling that the soul of many of their kinsfolk has been lost in recent days? The right to self-determination, to sovereignty over their land, […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine expresses its deep concern over recent developments in the Gaza Strip. We are mindful that the international community has no qualms in supplying one side of the current civil conflict with arms – thereby encouraging the depressing events now being witnessed. We are mindful that the international community has chosen to reward […]
Read more →What is now going through the mind of the soldier who fired a loaded weapon at a boy on the Sunday before last – and killed him? This question was asked on 17th Dec 2006 by Gideon Levy, journalist for the Ha’aretz newspaper, in reponse to the shooting dead of 14 year old Jamil Jabaji. […]
Read more →Once again Glasgow Rangers FC finds itself as Scotland’s football ambassador in Israel. Wednesday’s match against Hapoel Tel Aviv, should of course, not be happening. It defies all logic that FIFA, UEFA and the SFA should countenance the presence of any Israeli football team in its fixture list. By doing so, these football bodies legitimise […]
Read more →As Tony Blair tours the Middle East in search of “moderate Muslim opinion” Scottish Friends of Palestine urges Mr Blair to consider a number of crucial aspects of his task. We would ask him to question his own understanding of the situation in Israel-Palestine and the wider Palestinian diaspora. To question his status as a […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine expresses its dismay and disappointment that any community within Scotland should host a visit of a representative of the Israeli government. Given our solid commitment to the boycott of the Israeli state until as such times as this state ceases to boycott the human and national rights of the Palestinian people, […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine expresses concern over the continuing detention of Theresa McDermott, a volunteer from Scotland who came to pick olives with Palestinian farmers with the assistance of the Israeli group Rabbis for Human Rights. Today Theresa sits in an Israeli detention cell, awaiting deportation. Theresa is not charged with any crime. She is […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine condemns the recent act of barbarity where, it would seem, the starving of Palestinians under occupation is not enough. They must now be killed in their beds – whether they be man, women or child. On Wednesday morning, Israeli occupation forces shelled a civilian area near Beit Hanoun in the north […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine expresses its repugnance at the impending presence of the Israeli football team, Maccabi Haifa, on Scottish soil. That this UEFA Cup match is taking place, at all, raises serious questions for Glasgow Rangers FC, the SFA and UEFA. The state of Israel denies the players representing the national Palestine football team […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine expresses concern at the appointment of Avigdor Lieberman to a post of respectability and power within Israel’s coalition government. It urges the British Government to express its concern to both the EU and Israel at the appointment of a politician whose affinity with fascist ideology is well known. In a frightening […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine welcomes the cessation in hostilities between the Israeli state and Hizbollah in Lebanon. It is hoped that not only will this prove to be durable but that the Israeli state, and its citizens, will use the opportunity to reflect on the madness of its recent actions. We hope that prime minister […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine expresses no surprise at the recent slaughter on Gaza beach. Given the actions of the occupier since it relocated the occupation infrastructure to the outside of the Gaza perimeter fence it was a matter of time until this beach massacre of the innocents happened. The inevitable promised investigation – a response […]
Read more →Yes Mr. Solana, the EU has abandoned the Palestinian people Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada, 25 April 2006 -Over 152,000 people are employed by the Palestinian Authority. Their salaries support about 1 million people – approximately 25% of the Palestinian population. These people operate 62% of primary health clinics, all the major general hospitals bar […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine welcomes the conclusion of the democratic process in Israel. As always, the result is a victory for the myopic and for those who are blind to the requirements for a just and lasting peace in the land of Palestine. As Kadima marches forward into the past it is worth recording the […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine questions both the integrity and the wisdom of British government policy and practice in Palestine. In August 2001 the then Secretary General of the PFLP, Abu Ali Mustafa, was slaughtered by two Israeli missiles as he sat at his desk in Ramallah. His successor was Ahmad Sa’adat. Shortly afterwards the Israeli […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine welcomes the recent inauguration of the Palestinian parliament under occupation, the Palestinian Legislative Council. We wish it well. We also hope that under its new govern ship there will be a move to include the Palestinian diaspora, amounting to over 5 000 000 Palestinian people, whom the state of Israel seeks […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine welcomes the conclusion of the democratic process in occupied Palestine. We welcome this further opportunity for the Palestinian people, under occupation, to participate in the fruits of democracy. We do have a number of concerns: First and foremost is the fact that the elections took place under military occupation. Inevitably the […]
Read more →From November 2005 to January 2006, Scottish Friends of Palestine direct a series of Press Releases to General Colin Powell, principal speaker at a JNF Charitable Trust fund raising dinner in Glasgow, January 2006. These Press Releases contained a question directed at Mr Powell. For three years, Scottish Friends of Palestine questioned the activities of […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine welcome the news of the release of Kate Burton and her parents. We welcome the support given to Kate and her parents by Palestinian civil society, its religious leaders and those of the resistance groups. All volunteers in occupied Palestine are highly valued. They are treated as one of the community […]
Read more →If condemnation was sufficient to bring about change, Scottish Friends of Palestine would be at the forefront of this activity. Worthy of condemnation is the act of folly, over the past 24 hours, of the assassination of the Palestinian resistance leader Amjad Hinnawi by the Israeli occupation forces. Already penned within a concrete and razor […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine expresses its concern at the involvement of Sir David Frost as guest speaker at the annual Balfour Dinner in Tel Aviv hosted by the Israeli based Israel, British and Commonwealth Association. That Israeli organisations should celebrate the actions of Arthur J Balfour, the architect of the infamous Balfour Declaration of 2 […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine expresses deep concern over the appearance of Ariel Sharon on the world stage at the UN in New York. Israel’s membership of the U.N. has always been under a cloud. Its admittance to the UN in May 1949 was contingent on her accepting General Assembly Resolution 194 which states that all […]
Read more →With January 9th, election day for the Palestinian people under occupation, looming closer, Scottish Friends of Palestine expresses its concern at recent events in occupied Palestine. We believe that the events undermine the democratic process in this part of the Middle East where the people have long yearned for democracy. We believe that the events […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine welcomes all efforts to bring about a just peace in Palestine. It welcomes the opportunity provided by today’s London conference to give Palestine its rightful place on the international agenda. The conference and the subsequent reporting have given a platform to many fine sentiments international support for the foundation stone of […]
Read more →To convene a conference/meeting in the absence of the major contributor to violence and terror in the area, the state of Israel, is to convey the message that peace can somehow be attained without Israel contributing to the process. It conveys the erroneous impression that peace lies only at the door of the Palestinian under […]
Read more →sumud : to stay put, to cling to your own home and land by all means available Sumud is watching your home turned into a prison. You, samid, choose to stay in that prison, because it is your home, and because you fear that if you leave, your jailer will not allow you to return. […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine congratulates the Scottish Parliament on its recent motion (see below) over Israel’s notorious and internationally condemned separation wall. With foreign affairs a reserved issue for Westminster it is important that Scotland, as a nation, makes its voice loud and clear on this important matter. Motion Israel’s Separation Wall That this parliament […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine expresses its deep concern and condemnation over the actions of the Israeli state in Rafah refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. To enforce a brutal military occupation over a subjugated people for nearly 4 decades is bad enough. To have them confined within a congested ghetto, surrounded by an electrified fence […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine expresses its concern, but no great surprise, at George W Bush’s announcement in support of Ariel Sharon’s intention to pursue unilateral action in the occupied Palestinian territories. That, after a one day visit to the US by Ariel Sharon – the one individual responsible for undermining all attempts to implement the […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine expresses concern over the association of comedienne and TV personality, Ruby Wax, with the JNF fund raising dinner in Glasgow, 28th March. As usual, by adopting the acronym, JNF, the organiser of the charity event, the JNF Charitable Trust, makes no effort to distance itself from its “cousin” the non-charitable JNF. […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine condemns the assassination of the Palestinian cleric and spiritual leader, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. That the Israeli political and military establishment should stoop to such an act of cowardice against an ageing, quadriplegic, wheelchair bound cleric, leaving a place of worship, is simply a measure of the brutality, the moral and political […]
Read more →The Antonine Connection – a Link between Walls Public Meeting Falkirk Old and St Modan’s Parish Church Hall Monday 8th March 8pm – 10pm Speakers: Ahmad Sorany from the Gaza Strip,an activist with the International Solidarity Movement. Ahmad was present when Tom Hurndall, a young English volunteer, was shot through the head and murdered by […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine welcomes and endorses the statement recently received from the Israeli dance company, Inbal Pinto, dissociating the company and its members from the occupation of the Palestinian territories. The appearance of the Dance Company at the Theatre Royal this coming Tuesday 11th November, provokes a degree of debate within the ranks of […]
Read more →Shaul Mofaz, Israel’s IDF Chief of Staff until July of this year, is the invited guest to the charity dinner of the United Jewish Israel Appeal. A member of Israel’s extreme right wing, his contribution to the health and welfare of the Palestinian people can only be measured in terms of blood spilt. He initiated […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine, while welcoming the long overdue acknowledgement of the need for a sovereign Palestinian state, expresses its concern over the recent statement from President Bush. We note, with concern, the statement’s anti-democratic position with regard to the rights of the Palestinian people, its poverty of understanding and analysis of events in occupied Palestine. […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine, in conjunction with Deir Yassin Remembered, will hold a short commemoration ceremony for the victims of the massacre at Deir Yassin, Palestine on Sunday 7th April at 2.00pm at the Deir Yassin commemoration plaque located at Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Galleries You are invited to attend this commemoration ceremony which will include […]
Read more →Scottish Friends of Palestine strongly condemn the current onslaught by the military occupation forces of the State of Israel against the Palestinian civilian population – men, women, children, the sick and the elderly. We condemn the use of F-16 fighter planes, helicopter gunships, tanks and gunboats – the full military might of the Israeli army […]
Read more →Lobby for Peace in Palestine 10 December 2001 On Monday 10 December 2001, the Glasgow Hilton Hotel hosts one of the three UK 100th anniversary celebrations of the Jewish National Fund. Their guest speaker will be former US President Bill Clinton. Mr Clinton is not only raising funds for this racist UK charity but will […]
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