Question by Baroness Sheehan (Lib Dem) on 21st May 2021 (HL535) To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of reductions in the Overseas Development Assistance Budget on donations to organisations bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza. Answer from Lord Ahmad (Conservative) on 8th June 2021 Allocation decisions have been taken…
DetailsQuestion by Baroness Tonge (Independent) on 18th january 2021 (HL12261) To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that all Palestinians are able to vote freely in (1) the elections for the legislature on 22 May, and (2) the presidential election on 31 July. Answer from Lord Ahmad (Conservative) on 1st…
DetailsQuestion from Baroness Tonge (Independent) on 6th August 2020 (HL7405) To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for providing protection for archaeological artefacts in Palestine to ensure that any such artefacts remain under Palestinian ownership. Answer from Baroness Sugg (Conservative) on 6th August 2020 The UK acknowledges the importance…
DetailsQuestion by Caroline Ansell (Conservative) on 24th May 2022 (UIN8084) To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with representatives of the Palestinian Authority (PA) on the removal of material reportedly inciting violence and antisemitism and the inclusion of material promoting peace in the PA…
DetailsBusiness and Trade – Oral Questions to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of Business and Trade:– Kate Osamor: I understand that the Government are set to undertake a second round of trade negotiations with Israel in the spring. Israel applies our current agreement to the Occupied Palestinian Territories, against the EU negotiator’s original intentions. Have the Government…
DetailsQ Asked by Baroness Tonge (Independent) on 14 January 2019 Department for International Development: Gaza: Young People: HL12814 To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the World Bank’s findings in October 2018 that there is 70 per cent youth unemployment in Gaza; and what discussions they have had with the government…
DetailsQuestion from Baroness Janke (Lib Dem) on 1st February 2023 (HL5314) To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effects of the Israeli blockade of Gaza on people living there; and in particular, what assessment they have made whether the treatment needs for cancer patients in Gaza are being met. Answer…
DetailsQuestion from Andy McDonald (Labour) on 4 July 2022 (UIN 30027) To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made to her Israeli counterpart on ending the blockade of Gaza in compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 1860 (2009). Answer by Amanda Milling (Conservative) on 7th July…
DetailsQuestion by Baroness Janke (Lib Dem) on 23rd May 2022 (HL422) To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of (1) the presence of armed Israeli forces at St Joseph’s hospital on 13 May, (2) the actions of the Israeli forces towards attendees of the funeral of Shireen Abu Aqleh, and (3) the…
DetailsQuestion by the Bishop of Southwark on 9th January 2023 (HL4594) To ask His Majesty’s Government what representation they have made to the government of Israel to safeguard and protect religious minorities in that country following the desecration of graves at the Protestant Cemetery on Mount Zion, Jerusalem. Answer from Lord Ahmad on 26th January…
DetailsQuestion from Baroness Janke (Lib Dem) on 1st February 2023 (HL5318) To ask His Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of Israel regarding (1) the right of Palestinians living in Israel (a) to hold Israeli citizenship, and (b) to vote in Israeli elections, and (2) statements by the Minister for Internal…
DetailsQuestion by Baroness Sheehan (Lib Dem) on 10th January 2022 (HL5266) To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel concerning the treatment of Palestinians and their property during night raids by Israeli forces. Answer from Lord Ahmad (Conservative) on 24th January 2022 While we recognise Israel’s legitimate need…
DetailsQuestion by Baroness Sheehan (Lib Dem) on 23rd May (HL453) To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel concerning reports of Israeli forces using a girl as a human shield, and then bombing her home in Jenin, on 13 May. Answer from Lord Ahmad (Conservative) on 7th June…
DetailsQuestion from Baroness Janke (Lib Dem) on 1st February 2023 (HL5315) To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the expulsion of Palestinian residents from the Masafer Yatta area of the West Bank; and what discussions they have had with the government of Israel about protecting the rights of those individuals, including…
DetailsQuestion: by Baroness Tonge (Independent) on 10 June 2019 Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Hebron, (HL16231) To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the consequences for Palestinian children in Hebron of the removal of the Temporary International Presence in Hebron by the government of Israel. Answer: by: Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Conservative) on 24…
DetailsQuestion from Seema Malhotra (Labour) on 8th February 2023 To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the situation in Jenin. Answer by David Rutley (Conservative) on 20th February 2023 The Minister for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, set out on 26…
DetailsQuestion by Wera Hobhouse (Lib Dem) on 18th January 2023 (UIN 126759) To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made representations to the Israeli Government over settlement expansion and demolitions of Palestinian homes and other buildings. Answer from David Rutley (Conservative) on 26th January 2023 The UK…
DetailsQuestion by Baroness Janke on 15th June 2022 (HL993) To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the UN Human Rights Council Commission of Inquiry report on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, published on 9 May; and in particular, the findings that Israel (1) has “no intention of ending the occupation”, (2) is…
DetailsQuestion by Baroness Janke (Lib Dem) on 1st February 2022 (HL5843) To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support they intend to offer, if any, to the COVID-19 vaccination programme for Palestinians in Gaza, given reports of shortages of medical equipment. Answer from Lord Ahmed (Conservative) on 14th February 2022 Tackling COVID-19 remains a priority for…
DetailsQuestion by Rupa Huq Labour, Ealing and central Acton on 28th August 2020 (UIN82211) To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has held with his counterparts in other European states on reaching a co-ordinated recognition of the State of Palestine after the end of the transition period.…
DetailsOral Answer on Monday 6th July 2020 1. Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime:– Dominic Raab (Conservative, First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs): Mr Speaker, with permission, I would like to make a statement on the global human rights sanctions regulations. As we forge a dynamic new vision…
DetailsIt is no exaggeration that the history of Israel/Palestine for the last hundred years has turned on the seminal Balfour Declaration of November 1917. Loved and loathed in equal measure, this was the letter that changed the future. The following extract of the Balfour Declaration from the ‘Companion Guide’ to the Balfour Project film, ‘Britain…
DetailsA talk given online on 30th June 2020. John McHugo is a trustee of the Balfour Project and a board member of CAABU, The Council for Arab British Understanding. This paper is the edited text of a Balfour Project talk he gave on 30 June 2020, and is a development of what he wrote about…
DetailsOn Saturday May 18th 2013, the Balfour Project held a one day conference at The Stripe, University of Winchester exploring the different legacies of the Balfour Declaration and how a greater understanding of history can contribute to justice and peace in the Middle East today. Speakers included, Professor Mary Grey, Rabbi Professor Dan Cohn-Sherbok, Dr…
DetailsParallel Histories have developed a series of videos for teaching disputed history starting with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They have produced a film ‘Should the British government be praised or blamed for the Balfour Declaration?’. Do watch it. They also have many other videos covering the history of Israel Palestine
DetailsAn interview with Banjamin Balthaser, published on Jacobin The roots of modern Zionism are in colonialism. This was the foundation of the Jewish left’s opposition to Zionism in the 1930s and ’40s, on the grounds that it is a form of right-wing nationalism and imperialism that is fundamentally opposed to working-class internationalism. Israeli Prime Minister…
DetailsBy Robert A. H. Cohen, published on Mondoweiss, 30 July 2020 Progressive rabbis in the UK have written to the Israeli embassy in London to express their concern over the Israeli government’s plans to annex parts of the West Bank. The letter has been sent from British Friends of Rabbis for Human Rights, an organisation…
DetailsA talk given online in August 2020. Tim Llewellyn: Hello, everyone. I want to start by saying two basic things to plan out, to map out my thesis, if you like, about the British media coverage, particularly the broadcasting media coverage of the Israel/Palestine question over the past 40 years or so. The first, the…
DetailsEuropean MPs have come together to oppose the illegal plan of Israel’s Prime Minister to annex part of the Palestinian West Bank, under Israeli military occupation since 1967. Convened by Stephen Kinnock MP, Co Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Palestine, colleagues from France, Ireland, Belgium and the U.K. agreed to challenge and…
DetailsA live online talk given in July 2020 Welcome everyone. Sarah Helm was a staff correspondent for The Sunday Times and a foreign correspondent for The Independent and she’s written two books, most recently, If This is a Woman about the Nazi concentration camp for women. And she has also written a play about the…
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Palestine: The RealityThe inside story of the Balfour Declaration 1917–1938 by J.M.N. Jeffries Published: 1939, reissued 2017 Formats: Hardback, paperback ISBN: 9781911072126 £26.99 First published by Longman Green and Co. Reissued by Olive Branch Press and Skyscraper Publications. Paperback £26.99 By John McHugo Many people trying to get to grips with the Israel/Palestine conflict…
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By Sam Bahour, The Guardian, 12 July 2020 In January, when the Trump administration formally unveiled its long-awaited peace plan for the Israel-Palestine conflict – known as the “deal of the century” – not a Palestinian was in sight, nor were any invited to the White House press conference. President Trump shared the stage with…
DetailsBy Alleks Phillips, first published in The Jewish Chronicle, 9 July 2020 Over 40 British rabbis – including former Liberal senior rabbi Danny Rich and outgoing Reform senior rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner – have written to the Israeli embassy in London opposing the government’s annexation policy. Addressing chargé d’affaires Sharon Bar-li, who is Israel’s senior diplomat…
DetailsOne State? An alternative, authentic Jewish voice By Peter Beinart, Published in on Jewish Currents 7th July 2020. WHAT MAKES SOMEONE A JEW—not just a Jew in name, but a Jew in good standing—today? In Haredi circles, being a real Jew means adhering to religious law. In leftist Jewish spaces, it means championing progressive causes.…
DetailsA talk given online in June 2020. Andrew Whitley: My thanks to so many of you for taking the trouble today to attend this online talk from the Balfour Project, I hope you will find it stimulating and thought-provoking. It may be a little confusing at times because we’re going to be jumping between Palestine…
DetailsBy Andrew Whitley, Trustee and member of the Executive Committee of the Balfour Project Prime Minister Boris Johnson today published a last-minute appeal to Israel not to proceed with the Netanyahu government’s plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank after the 1st July. The medium used was an Op-Ed in Israel’s biggest circulation…
DetailsWashington Report, November 2005, pages 44–50 Special Report by John Cornelius IN THIS article the author relates what he believes to be the true story of how the British government came to issue what has come to be known as the Balfour Declaration. The Balfour Declaration took the form of a letter, dated Nov. 2,…
Details23 June 2020 We, parliamentarians from across Europe committed to a rules-based global order, share serious concerns about President Trump’s plan for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the imminent prospect of Israeli annexation of West Bank territory. We are deeply worried about the precedent this would set for international relations at large. For decades, Europe has…
DetailsBy Avi Shlaim This is the full text of a truncated version of Avi Shlaim’s article in The Guardian. The Guardian had edited out the references to Winston Churchill and the Israeli Policy Working Group. The wave of anti-racist protest sweeping through the country has prompted a re-examination of colonial legacies and responsibilities. Britain’s theft…
DetailsLeague of Nations 30 November 1937 C.495.M.336.1937.VI.Geneva, November 30th, 1937. LEAGUE OF NATIONS MANDATES P A L E S T I N E ——– REPORT of the PALESTINE ROYAL COMMISSION presented by the Secretary of State for the Colonies to the United Kingdom Parliament by Command of His Britannic Majesty (July 1937) Distributed at the…
DetailsBy World Council of Churches, 17 June 2020 Church leaders from across the world are expressing their grave concern over the government of Israel’s plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank. Archbishop Justin Welby and Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster published a “Joint Statement on Annexation” on 12 June, delivered to both the…
DetailsOpposing the Israeli government’s land grab SIR – From July 1 Israel’s prime minister is set on annexing Palestinian West Bank territory to become part of “Greater Israel”. Annexing the Jordan Valley leaves an enclave around Jericho – a bantustan – and dismembers Palestine itself, making it impossible for any future Palestinian government to administer.…
DetailsBy Joseph Massad in Middle East Eye The Nakba, Palestinians’ loss of their lands and homes, arguably began in the 1880s with the arrival of the first Zionist Jewish colonists, who evicted Palestinians from land the colonists had purchased from absentee landlords. The Nakba is an ongoing calamity that continues to define the Palestinian condition…
DetailsBy William Bell, Head of Middle East, Christian Aid UK and Ireland Last June, an 82-year-old Palestinian refugee called Fayza in Lebanon’s Nahr el-Bared camp wept as she told me: “Palestine is in our bones – it is not something to describe. When you lose your home town, you never trade it with anything. I…
DetailsBy Oliver Holmes in Jerusalem Benjamin Netanyahu has announced the time is ripe for his country to permanently seize Palestinian territory by annexing swathes of the West Bank. With a US “vision for peace” blueprint largely backing up his expansionist ambitions, the Israeli prime minister intends to make the explosive move with the support of…
DetailsIn an unprecedented letter to Israel’s UK ambassador, prominent British Jews warn that annexation ‘poses an existential threat to the traditions of Zionism in Britain, and to Israel as we know it’ The following letter was sent by leading members of the UK Jewish community to Israel’s Ambassador to the Court of St James’s, Mark…
Detailsby Ahmad Samih Khalidi Trump’s so called “deal of the century” is an assault on the Palestinian narrative even before it is an assault on their rights. Perhaps, the most extraordinary aspect of the Trump plan dubbed the “deal of the century”, is its clear and seamless alignment with a long history of inequity inflicted…
DetailsPublished in the Independent 30 May 2020 Whatever Boris Johnson’s troubles, he can always comfort himself that unlike the prime minister of a British ally 3,000 miles away, he’s not running the country while simultaneously being tried on corruption charges. But a difference between Johnson and Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu is the latter’s political nous, most recently deployed in…
DetailsBy Alistair Burt Courtesy of Arab News Three notable interventions from UK sources this week gave an indication that the country’s long relationship with and support for the state of Israel is imminently facing its greatest ever test. Almost 130 cross-party and nonaligned parliamentarians signed a letter drawing attention to the Israeli coalition government’s declared…
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