Victory! Mars does a U turn on its decision to use animal rennet

No doubt lots of people would have been disappointed when Masterfoods, the company behind such famous brands as Mars, Maltesers, Bounty and Twix announced that it would be using animal rennet in some of its chocolates. This decision hurt not just Vegetarians but also faith groups such as Muslims and Hindus.

Why Masterfoods would undertake such a step, that excluded a sizeable part of their customer base, is a mystery but what's important is that the people affected buy this decision refused to stay silent and took action.

Over 6,000 complaints were sent to Masterfoods who soon realised the error of their ways and reneged on their decision to the delight of chocolate lovers everywhere!

The real lesson to take away from this though is the success of taking action rather than complaining privately between friends. If there is something that you disagree with then don't stay silent, voice your thoughts in a non-violent manner e.g. through a letter and get your friends to do the same.

If enough people do this then we can make a difference...the masterfoods example is living proof of this. Well done once again to all who took part and happy eating!

Say Enough! Loud and Clear on 9th June

EMPOWERING US Says Enough! To 40 Years Of Israeli Occupation Of Palestinian Territories.

Since that time the government of Israel has built ‘settlements’ in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and assisted its citizens in setting up homes and businesses using land and resources stolen from the Palestinian people. This situation has continued to the current day despite Israel being in violation of international humanitarian law and over 60 UN resolutions.

The Occupation has created serious poverty for the Palestinians, as well as severe human rights violations. But Palestinian suffering dates back further to 1948, when the state of Israel was created and 750,000 Palestinians were driven or .ed from their homes. The United Nations asserted the refugees’ right to return home in 1948, but Israel has refused to allow this. Meanwhile the refugee population has grown to over four million, one of the largest in the world, many of whom live in camps waiting for international law to be upheld.

Britain bears a particular responsibility for this suffering. From 1917 to 1948 Britain controlled Palestine. Along with the US and many EU countries, the UK government is today involved in a close military, economic and political relationship with Israel, and fails to stand up for the rights of the Palestinian people.

We say Enough! We are a group of charities, trade unions, faith and other campaign groups. We have come together because we want peace for Israelis and Palestinians alike. This can only be built on justice, equality and freedom. In order to achieve this goal governments like the British government must stand up for international law and human rights.

Join the Demo on 9th June

Meet at Lincoln’s Inn Fields at 1.30pm for the march to Trafalgar Square

Coalition members: Amicus, Amos Trust, Arab Labour Group, Arab Media Watch, BFAWU, Britain-Palestine All Party Parliamentary Group, Britain Palestine Twinning Network, BRICUP, British Muslim Initiative, CAABU, CWU, Freedom Clothing Project, Friends of Al-Aqsa, Friends of Birzeit University, Friends of the Earth, Friends of Sabeel UK, GMB, Green Party, Interpal, ICAHD UK, Jewish Socialists’ Group, Jews Against Zionism, Jews for Justice for Palestinians, Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine, Liberation, Medical Aid for Palestinians, Muslim Association of Britain, Muslim Council of Britain, Muslim Parliament of Great Britain, Muslim Public Affairs Committee, National Association of British Arabs, 1990 Trust, NUM, NUS Black Students Campaign, Open Bethlehem, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Palestinian Forum in Britain, Palestinian Return Centre, Pax Christi, PCS, Qattan Foundation, Quaker Peace and Social Witness, Scottish Episcopal Church’s Justice Peace and Creation Network , Scottish Palestinian Forum, Stop the War Coalition, Trade Union Friends of Palestine, TGWU, UNISON, War on Want, Welfare Association, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom UK Section, Zaytoun Ltd

Brilliant Documentary by Channel 4 and CTVC

A mind blowing, objectional, inspirational expose on the 'Battle of the Holy Land' and its impact upon the Palestinian's plight. This documentary exposed the racist state of Israel for what it truly is and the injustices and oppression endured by the Palestinians since the illegal occupation of Palestinian terrotories as well as East Jerusalem. East Jerusalem is considered by the international community to be illegally occupied by Israel, in contravention of several binding UN Security Council Resolutions.

Read more on the documentary here:

I urge all readers to take some action and email/call Channel 4 and CTVC in humble gratitude for objective, balanced coverage of the true ongoings in the Middle East. The choice of presenter - Paddy Ashdown - was particularly inspiring and refreshing for his objective and informative presenting - finally a presenter and researcher who does not have an ulterior motive and is not driven by a pro-Israeli agenda.

Thank channel 4 and CTVC NOW as no doubt the pro-Israeli community have already complained in numbers, exploiting the anti-semitism card. Don't just lobby the media when they are bias and tar us as extremists and fanatics - lobby them in the postive too! Credit where credit is due! Well done Channel 4 and CTVC!

Contact Channel 4:

Tel: 0845 076 0191
Email:

Contact CTVC:

tel: +44 (0)20 7940 8480
email: info@ctvc.co.uk

Trust MPACUK to cover the documentary and try to convert it into positive action for readers (aka political and media lobbying): http://www.mpacuk.org/content/view/3668/64/

And Jonathan Fryer has made a very interesting and informative post on his blog:
http://jonathanfryer.wordpress.com/2007/05/19/paddys-battle-for-the-holy-land/

Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods (J-BIG)

A letter from Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods (J-BIG) to The Guardian in support of the boycott. (The Guardian leader opposed the boycott but got alot of complaints from readers):

We welcome the courageous decision of the National Union of Journalists to boycott Israeli goods (Letters, April 23). Given Israel's contempt for international law, with the complicity of the US and UK governments, pressure has to be increased by civil society if justice is to be achieved. A boycott of Israeli goods is a legitimate form of grassroots action and is particularly appropriate as Israel is destroying the Palestinian economy. Such a boycott has been called for by Israeli peace organisations.

As a result of its illegal occupation, Israel is able to flood the Palestinian market with its products, while preventing Palestinian farmers from growing and trading their own. We believe Israel's actions betray Jewish ethical traditions - the cutting down of olive and fruit trees is prohibited by Jewish law. The continuing occupation and exploitation of Palestinian land is a major obstacle to peace for Israelis and Arabs alike which has global implications for world peace.

Deborah Fink, Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi, Mike Cushman, Sylvia Finzi, Tony Greenstein, Ruth Tenne, Deborah Maccoby, Prof Moshe Machover, Mike Marqusee - Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods

----------------------------

This article about J-BIG highlights things we should all be actively doing:

Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods - A Spearheading New Initiative

"...the viability of a future Palestinian economy depends significantly on its trading opportunities."

The latest report of the International Development Select Committee regarding the Occupied Palestinian Territories (31 January 2007) makes for very distressing reading. [...]

In order to challenge the stronghold Israel has on Palestine and its fledgling economy, a group of Jewish and Israeli residents in Britain was set up as a subsection of the campaign undertaken by Boycott Israeli Goods – BIG. The new group, J-BIG, is an outcome of the deep frustration Jewish peace activists feel towards the inaction displayed by the Jewish community and its liberal wing with regard to Israel's repressive occupation of Palestinian land. J-BIG members believe that Israel's policies "constitute a betrayal of the best trends in Jewish ethical tradition" and operate a form of racism which is reminiscent of South African Apartheid [...]

J-BIG's campaign however, is not focused on one-off events. It is in the process of launching an ongoing campaign which will put pressure on supermarkets by informing them and their customers about Israel's violation of human rights in the Occupied Territories, and of Israel's use of unethical and exploitative methods in marketing the produce of its illegal settlements in the West Bank - taking advantage of Palestinian labour and produce. In addition, J-BIG members will be requesting supermarkets to clearly label all goods which originate from the West Bank and Israel in order to help consumers make an ethical choice.

An additional aim of J-BIG is to promote Palestinian produce, especially extra virgin, organic, olive oil which is marketed by Zaytoun in accordance with the Fair Trade's code of practice. [...]

On a political level, members of J-BIG have joined the wider campaign for abolishing the special trade and economic benefits granted to Israel as part of its trade agreement with the European Union . Indeed a significant number of British MPs appear to support this campaign. In February 2007 an Early Day Motion (EDM) submitted to Parliament by Derek Wyatt notes that Israel "has routinely prevented the free movement of Palestinian goods and people and has withheld Palestinian funds from their people...... These and other grievous human rights abuses represent a clear breach of Article Two of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which calls for adherence to human rights." [...]

Being an Israeli-born citizen I hope, like the rest of my colleagues, that our campaign of boycotting Israel's produce of repression and "fruits of injustice" will successfully spearhead a grass roots action within the Jewish community against a brutal occupation which seeks to stamp out the Palestinians' legitimate aspirations for nationhood.

full article: http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/42134
more info: http://s188604020.websitehome.co.uk/...-israeli-goods

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of a crime....a slap in the face for the International community!

Nothing is more disturbing than seeing the glorification of criminal activities, one would think that such acts would only be restricted to common crooks who hold scant regard for the rule of law. Yet the Zionist Federation of the UK is doing precisely that, they are celebrating what they are calling the 40th anniversary of the "re-unification" of Jerusalem.

In reality it is, sadly, the 40th anniversary of the illegal occupation of Jerusalem, which Israel continues to occupy in defiance of UN resolutions and international law.

The legal position on Jerusalem is well known and undisputable. East Jerusalem is considered by the international community to be illegally occupied by Israel, in contravention of several binding UN Security Council Resolutions. In these resolutions, the United Nations Security Council has also called for no measures to be taken to change the status of Jerusalem until a final settlement is reached between the sides: declaring Jerusalem as Israel's capital is an attempt to change this status, and is thus a violation of these Security Council resolutions.

Yet despite this we see continuous settlement expansion and increased hardship for Palestinian citizens of Jerusalem making it harder for them to live in their home city...in short implicit ethnic cleansing.

The sickening part is that all this is happening for all the World to see yet no Western Government pays anything more than lip service to this grave situation.

The celebration by the Zionist Federation is a slap in the face of Western Democratic Values... it stands for 40 years of injustice, occupation and racism and they should be ashamed of themselves!

David Cameron - Our Friend?

David Cameron has spent the last week living with a Muslim family in Birmingham. I’ve been going over this in my head and have contemplated what his true motives behind this could be. It’s not every day politicians decide to move in with us! Was it a publicity stunt to appease voters from the Muslim community? If so, he must have had to deal with the inevitable wrath from the pro-Israeli lobbies in the UK and abroad who undoubtedly must have given him hell for reaching out to Muslims. Does he truly want to reach out to us, to try to understand us, because he really does care for all citizens of our country? Either way, Muslims must take note that Cameron could be the next PM and it is about time we started to pay attention and look into those who reach out a friendly hand. I’m not saying Conservatives and Cameron are the answers to our prayers in relation to the horrific foreign policy our country turn a blind eye to. But research into the Conservatives, into Cameron and we could be pleasantly surprised….

In the meantime, I urge people to post some appreciative feedback on his blog for trying to reach out and extend a hand to us. Remember, if you don’t, pro-Israeli Zionists will speak on your behalf damning his actions…or even worse certain people from our own community!

Some extracts from his blog:

http://www.webcameron.org.uk/118

My final thought yesterday was that integration is a two way street. Yes we can ask minority ethnic communities to work at integrating with British society as a whole, but we have to recognise that it won’t happen unless there’s something attractive to integrate into. Time after time I heard people here talking about the uncivilised behaviour and values that they see all around them. As I’ve said before, we can’t just bully people into being more British, we’ve got to inspire them. And frankly, there are many aspects of our society today which are hardly inspiring – the drinking, the drug-taking, the rudeness and incivility, the lack of consideration for others, anti-social behaviour…we’ve got a serious fight on our hands to build a responsible society that is the kind of society people admire and want to be part of. I know we can do it because most people in this country, like the people I’ve met here, are decent, hard-working and committed to their communities. We’ve got to much more to make sure that those are the values that win out.

Hijabi Power in Action!

In western Sweden, a Muslim woman has won her battle with a supermarket which told her at a job interview that she couldn't work there if she refused to remove her headscarf. The woman took her case to the Ombudsman against Ethnic Discrimination and was awarded compensation. The ICA Kvantum supermarket in Västra Frölunda were ordered to apologize to the woman and pay her around $11,000 in damages. The supermarket has adjusted its dress code for staff.

…And who says Muslim women are oppressed, meek and timid characters…! I rate this woman for refusing to be victimised or compromise her right to wear hijab in a workplace. I rate her for not just making a fuss and moaning about this form of discrimination and oppression – she took some solid action and worked within the systems to make an effective change for her and her community.

It’s so refreshing to hear Muslim women refusing to accept discriminatory acts and take it upon themselves to empower themselves and stand up for their rights. Remember ladies, if you want something bad enough – you’re gonna have to go out and do it yourself!

Girl power rocks!

Israeli Animals in Action

A clip from "Dispatches: The Killing Zone" (Channel 4 UK), showing perhaps one of the most tragic of several documented cases of Palestinian civilian casualties of Israel's 'war on terror' - even though this victim, a schoolgirl shot through the head while sitting in class in a UN-run school in Gaza, survives her injuries. When she awakes from coma she and her family find out the brain injury she suffers has made her blind.

This video truly is sickening. I can barely type after witnessing the brutality inflicted upon the Palestinians. Words cannot express how I am feeling right now. May Allah help us help them, Ameen.

Foreign Policy isn't THAT bad...is it?

I came across this on a blog which seems to be run by dogs - little bulldogs that is:

Finally, we have the very vocal MPACUK. In a piece today they blame our foreign policy for radicalising young Muslims (something which we know not to be true because most of these Muslims were involved with Al Muhajiroun pre-9/11). They also blame the Mosque leaders for not doing anything. At least we can agree on the latter.

What I find interesting is that people only seem to think that after 9/11 foreign policy became an issue.

Puh-lease!

Israeli occupation of Palestine has been going on for decades and some politicians have backed Israeli. Now I'm pretty sure that has something to do with foreign policy.

It worries me that alot of people on this earth do not seem to find anything wrong with what Israel is doing. The Palestinians don't have a voice. I bet some Non-Muslims and Muslims don't even consider it a problem - now that is disturbing.

We need vocal groups like MPACUK to say something - the killings of the Palestinians can't continue in silence anymore - we have do something. It's time to rise up and live up to the title that Allah gave us - Muslim.

It's time for those that have an ounce of humanity in them to stand them. Because if we don't stand for something, we'll fall for anything.