RESULT: UNISON Votes To Boycott Israel!

Last month delegates at the inaugural congress of the UCU voted in favour of a motion calling for the circulation of 'the full text of the Palestinian boycott call to all branches for information and discussion'. Delegates deplored Israel's occupation of Palestine and the violation of Palestinian educational rights by curfews, checkpoints and travel restrictions. Although this is not a direct boycott of Israeli academia, the motion allows a Palestinian voice to be heard. This is a commendable decision made by the delegates at the UCU and highlights the moral stance of British academia.

As a result of this conceded campaign by the UCU, UNISON votes to boycott the Racist, Apartheid regime of Israel! Check out the following article by MPACUK:

http://www.mpacuk.org/content/view/3772/64/

We Brits are known for our tolerance and sense of fair play. When Governments around the world stood by and did nothing about the apartheid in South Africa, it was ordinary men and women who stood against the racist regime. Over time their boycott spread from organisation to organisation, from churches and mosques, schools to universities, and finally the Governments of the World which had turned a blind eye to the injustices could no longer shy away, eventually taking their lead from the people.

UNISON is Britain's biggest trade union with over 1.3 million members. At its Annual Conference on 20th June 2007, the union passed Motion 53 on Palestine, stating that “ending the occupation demands concerted and sustained pressure upon Israel, including an economic, cultural, academic and sporting boycott.”

The motion, which was passed to cheers from the hall, urges Israel to respect the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and to establish a state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip with its capital in Jerusalem.

MPACUK commends the decision made at the UNISON conference with their pledge to support Palestine.

This follows hot on the heels of the recent UCU motion to boycott Israel, please see:
- Support the Anti-Apartheid Boycott

We would encourage our readers to contact UNISON to offer their whole-hearted support and to thank them for leading the way in this noble effort.

Only if we the British people work together with our common sense of fair play can we give hope to our fellow men, women and children in the occuppied territories who are living under a brutal occupation. Let the people of Palestine know that they have not been forgotten.

What you can do:

- Contact UNISON thanking them for passing Motion 53 on Palestine.

email UNISION on:
irelations@unison.co.uk
And / Or

'Phone UNISON on:
0845 355 0845

Looks Like Mad Mel’s Been At It Again.

Notorious within the Muslim community with a title that seems more apt then just ‘Mad Mel’, Melanie Philips was named the "Most Islamphobic Media Personality of the Year " by the Islamic Human Rights Commission (in 2003).This time, she’s been in a major ding dong with Arab Media Watch and urged her fans/readers to write to them. Surprise, surprise, AMW were then inundated with racist hate mail…..coincidence? Me thinks not!


The Guardian on 18 June 2007 reported the row between Arab Media Watch and Daily Mail regular columnist and BBC Moral Maze regular Melanie Phillips, whose blog post urging her readers to write to us resulted in racist hate mail that we sent to the media.

This is what the Guardian had to say:

"An entertaining spat between the Mail's Melanie Phillips and Arab Media Watch has taken an unfortunate turn. The lobby group urged people to complain to the Mail over a Phillips column about the Arab-Israeli conflict. Phillips, in turn, suggested on her website that her readers might like to write to Arab Media Watch. And boy, have they written, reports its chairman Sharif Hikmat Nashashibi. 'One might wonder whether she hoped for the kind of vulgar, racist abuse, not to mention grammatical and linguistic embarrassment that her blog post generated,' he writes. No room to reprint the messages in full, thank goodness, but suffice to say they included the phrase f*** off back to where you came from'. With readers like that, does Phillips need critics?"

AMW's press releases concerning the hate mail received are available at:

http://www.arabmediawatch.com/amw/Articles/PressReleases/tabid/77/newsid391/3959/The-hate-mail-continues/Default.aspx

http://www.arabmediawatch.com/amw/Articles/PressReleases/tabid/77/newsid391/3946/AMW-responds-to-Melanie-Phillips/Default.aspx

Making a Stand...

Anyone going to the march tomorrow? Stay tuned in for a write up of our ‘marching’ over the next few days …

http://www.islamophobia-watch.com/

Enough! End the Israeli Occupation – Justice for the Palestinians!
2007 marks the 40-year anniversary of the Six Day War, in which the Israeli army took military control of the Gaza Strip and West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Join the Enough! coalition demonstration tomorrow Saturday 9 July. Assemble 1.30pm at Lincoln's Inn Fields for the march to Trafalgar Square.

And speaking of actively making a stand…

Groningen University in Denmark is in talks with a law student who insists on wearing a full veil/Niqaab (face covering) to class. The university says the student may not take any exams with her face covered and has given her a few days to consider her position.

I still find it astounding that the veil can cause such uproar in today’s world. It just goes to show, the more we bury our heads in the sand and think these laws and discriminatory acts won’t affect us, the more likely it will ! So before it’s too late (and I say that lightly as the British government is not exactly improving its relations with the Muslim community) – wake up, get active, and play a role within the very systems and mechanisms (media, politics, etc) that make decisions about your rights and freedoms behind closed doors.

All it took was an email....

I'm so pleased alhamdulillah, all it took was an email!

I bet you're wondering what I'm on about - well, it's regarding this action alert by MPACUK that WideAwake put up (here's the link).

Basically, the BBC were wrong in saying that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel when it isn't, and alhamdulillah, people who cared decided to do something.

And this was the BBC's response:

Thank you for your e-mail.

'Football Focus' regrets any offence caused by the film broadcast ahead of the Israel v England football match. The purpose of the piece was to look at the state of football in Israel and particularly Tel Aviv, where the European Championship qualifying game was being held.

It was while comparing the young, vibrant city of Tel Aviv with the more historic Jerusalem that our reporter Damian Johnson inadvertently referred to it as the capital.

We re-iterate our apologies.

Please be assured that your feedback has been fully registered on our daily audience log which is made available to the production team involved and senior BBC management.

Thank you, once more, for taking the time to contact the BBC.

Regards
BBC Information

I say, if we get more people to voice their concerns we could (insha'allah) get the BBC to admit their mistake publicly. I'm just so pleased - because it shows to all those pacified Muslims who think that nothing can be done, that no, something can be done, only and only by the Will of Allah ofcourse, but all that Allah asks if us is to take the step and He will bring the victory.

So, next time you see a campaign worth running, go for it, because if it's for a good cause then victory is yours! Allahukbar!

Victory to the Intifada

Interpal has been targeted again by pro-Israeli lobbies Muslims are in no position to counter. We are a million light years away of even competing! I learn Natwest has decided to close the bank accounts of Interpal – the biggest and probably the most effective Palestinian charity.

The closure is likely to cause untold disruption to Interpals delivery of humanitarian assistance to the beleaguered Palestinian people in occupied Palestine, Lebanon & Jordan and comes at a time when the hardship and destitution in the region has reached an unprecedented level. Importantly it is likely to deprive 6,000 Palestinian children of their monthly relief assistance for many months to come. http://www.aqsa.org.uk/news_detail.aspx?newsid=1086

Today they try to close down the biggest and best Palestinian charity, tomorrow it will be smaller charities and finally the Israelis will have starved the Palestinians from their land. http://www.mpacuk.org/content/view/3475/64/

Back in 2003 Interpal were targeted by the Jewish Board of Deputies – they mobilized so fast and furiously that they managed to convince British Authorities that Interpal were linked to ‘funding terrorist activities in Palestine’ – their accounts were frozen immediately surprise surprise. However after a thorough investigation by the Charities Commission – they were cleared of the charges and even sought a libel case (and get this) won a notorious public apology from the JBOD…Woop woop!

To make a difference in this check out these sites: MPACUK, Friends of Al-Aqsa.

The smallest action can make the biggest of differences. Make that call today.

Victory to the Intifada