I've been contacted by many constituents who have been horrified, like me, by what we have seen happening in Gaza. I've signed a joint letter, along with a number of other Scottish Labour MPs, to the UK Foreign Secretary, calling for action, as follows:
Dear The Rt Hon David Milliband,
We, the undersigned, are writing to express our disgust, condemnation and concern at the current attacks being carried out by Israel on the Gaza strip killing over 200 people – including women and children. There is little doubt that the number of civilian deaths will rise in the next few days and weeks as Israel shows no signs of stopping its offensive on the people of Gaza.
The situation is bleak with hospitals running out of medical supplies as the Israeli blockade continues to suffocate the people of Gaza. The region’s power and infrastructure networks are on the verge of collapse with over 85% of Gazans depending on UN food aid – which is at critically low levels.
We, the undersigned, call on you to do all you can in your power to pressure the Israeli Government to halt attacks on the Gazan people who are being collectively punished for the actions of a minority. While we believe that Israel has the right to defend itself and its civilians from rocket attacks it cannot be allowed to collectively punish, maim and kill innocent Palestinian civilians in the process.
In the past 24-hours we have heard from the Israeli Defence Minister, Ehud Barak, that the attacks will not be short and will become increasingly intense. We believe that a strong statement of condemnation, of Israel’s actions, must be forthcoming from world leaders and political institutions before the attacks escalate and further air attacks are intensified and ground troops sent to the region.
Please, we urge you to do all you can to halt the killing of innocent lives and send a strong message of condemnation to the Israeli’s for their current attacks.
I also put out my own statement soon after the Israeli attacks began:
“While the rocket attacks from Gaza on Israel are wrong, and should stop immediately, they do not justify these massive and indiscriminate reprisals by the Israeli forces. The Israeli attacks are bound to lead to heavy civilian
casualties, and if they are continued as the Israeli government threatens
the toll of dead and wounded innocent civilians could well be in the
hundreds and even thousands. These attacks, which appear to have been
motivated at last partly by the electoral weakness of the current Israeli
government as it faces elections, are indefensible and are a crime under
international law. They must stop, and the international community needs
to make loud and clear its condemnation of these attacks.”
The current events give added impetus to an event in Edinburgh organised by the Scottish Palestinian Forum, on 31 January, at which I am one of the speakers. - details below:
Working for a Just Peace for Palestine and Israel
- how to become more effective advocates
One day conference 31st January 2009
0930 hours – 1600 hours
St George’s West Church, Shandwick Place, Edinburgh.
Keynote Speaker The Very Rev Dr Andrew McLellan
Advocacy and Parliamentarians Mark Lazarowicz MP : David Martin MEP : Robin Harper MSP
Advocacy with the Jewish and Muslim Communities
Barrie Levine Scottish Jews for a Just Peace
Humza Yousaf Scottish Islamic Foundation
Advocacy and the Media Lesley Riddoch, Journalist
Experience of Advocacy William Bell, Christian Aid
______________________________________________________
Cost : £10 per person (includes a light lunch)
Register with and send payment to: Alison Phillips, Muiredge, Rannoch, Pitlochry, PH17 2QW
Cheques payable to Scottish Palestinian Forum
e:mail : phillipsrannoch@hotmail.com
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
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4 comments:
Unless someone can get the US to condemn the attacks then I fear any such condemnation will fall on deaf ears.
The level of hypocrisy in relation to this on-going conflicts stinks.
Dear Mark,
Thank you for condemning Israel's appalling and cowardly war crimes and crimes against humanity. The present situation is just the latest instalment in the slow genocide against the Palestinian people in their own land.
I hope that Brown and the Labour Cabinet (mostly war criminals themselves) show some moral leadership and call for justice in Palestine rather than continue to be the US's "bleating little lamb tagging behind it on a lead: the pathetic and supine Great Britain" as the late Harold Pinter put in his Nobel Prize speech.
At the end of the day it is a "white Chritian-Zionist" war against Muslims. There have been no incidents of Muslims ever been involved in any genocide, especially not against the Jews. On the contrary it is the Muslims/ Moors who have been instrumental in protecting Jews from persecution since the middle ages. Be it Spain or France, Poland, England... there has only been persecution for Jews. But none in the Middle East. The mother of Suleiman the Great of Turkey was a Jew.
Look at the brutal colonization of the Americas, the conquistadores, "How the West was Won", the sheer barbarity of a Pizzarro and the early settlers in their brutal suppression of the Native Americans, the brutalisation of Africa, slave trade, the plunder of India and the barbaric suppresion of the anti colonial revolt of 1857 where more than 10 million Indians were put to death...
The most horrific of all was the Holocaust - once again it was "White Christian Germans" who killed more than 6 million of them- which Arab or Palestinian has ever done anything even remotely as brutal as that. The shameful fact is that Israelis are doing exactly the same to the Arabs...walling them in, taking away their lands, barb wires, inhuman conditions, aggressive excessive use of force- the Israelis are desperate to out do the Nazis.
If the European powers and the US had so much concern for the Jews- they should have punished Germany first by carving out an Israel/Jewish homeland in Germany!! Why throw the problem on to the Palestinians and Arabs? Let the USA give a small strip of the huge country they have and invite all the Jews to settle there.
This whole obscurantist "homeland" nonsense is sheer tripe, if a three thousand year old book is the only title deed over a land- then let us empty out both the North and South Americas, New Zealand and Australia and give back all the land to their original owners - the natives and aboriginals. Lets start with this first.
This is an unjust war and Israel - the lap dog of America will once again be taught a lesson they will remember for the rest of their lives. Long live the Palestinian Struggle.
Thanks for your thoughtful words on this situation. I live in your constituency, and I'm happy that you're putting this ideas forward as my representative.
My one concern in the debate about this issue is that nobody seems to be questioning the fact that the UK is so heavily involved in the business of selling weapons in the first place. We should be ashamed of the incestuous link between our government and such vicious, inhuman businesses like BAE. How can our government justify these quotidian atrocities? How is this normal to us?
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