By Leah Levane
Reports of mistreatment of Palestinians incarcerated by Israel are not new but this has been ramped up exponentially since October 7th 2023 in what this ex prisoner calls a “war on Palestinians prisoners”. He refers to “the use of extreme, unpredictable and frenzied violence against prisoners, for instance daily physical beatings where there was no …
By Leah Levane
Gary Lineker has quit the BBC for inadvertently sharing a post that included a rat emoji, considered antisemitic – yet the rat or rodent has been used to depict Nazis in the past and also Palestinians, especially Hamas, as rats by some who support Israel’s actions in Gaza today.
In January the Metropolitan Police, backed by Labour Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, ratcheted up heavy handed policing of pro-Palestinian protest on the specious grounds that it was protecting Jews. Since then the Jewish Bloc of organisations represented on every major demonstration has been attempting to meet the Met to explain how wrong that policy is.
JVL Introduction OR Books has just published Mohammed Omer Almoghayer’s book On the Pleasures of Living in Gaza. This aims to get away from “the way folks fixate on the sad side of the story” – and Gazans as victims – by reconstructing for readers the real Gaza as it was before the ongoing genocide. … Continued
By Leah Levane
On May 19th Israel demolished sixteen Bedouin homes in As Sirrah in the Negev (Inside the Green line. recognised as Israel) and on May 20th, destroyed the Al-Ameera park and its wedding venue in Beit Sahour just outside Bethlehem in the West Bank. The article, also from IMEMC, on the Beit Sahour demolition follows the …
By Leah Levane
A cautious welcome to the recent documentary by Louis Theroux on Israeli Settlers but with criticism that the documentary risks showing these settlers as outliers, extremists, when over 10% of Jewish Israelis live in West Bank settlements, all of which are illegal under international law. The likes of Ariel and Ma’ale Adumim in many ways …
By Leah Levane
We await the decision of the High Court regarding the Judicial Review on whether the UK government has illegally supplied Israel parts that may be used to attack Palestinians. Most astonishing perhaps has been the defence arguments of the lawyers acting for the government; including there being no evidence of genocide
By Leah Levane
Anti racist organisations have strongly criticised Keir Starmer for the language used in his speech on immigration and for aspects of the White Paper. Equalities groups have labelled the stance of his government, claiming that “uncontrolled migration had done ‘incalculable’ damage to British society”, a betrayal. Starmer used to hold a very different position but …
By Leah Levane
Erik Hegelson is the Vice Chair of the Swedish Dockworkers Union and he cares about security – for his members and for the people of Gaza. In February 2025, he led a symbolic six-day blockade of 20 Swedish ports against military cargos destined for Israel. His employer – DFDS – responded by sacking him, claiming …
The 27th national demonstration against the Gaza genocide, on May 17 in London, drew the biggest crowds since November 2023 when close to a million attended. Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi spoke for the Jewish Bloc.