Faversham & Whitstable Palestine Solidarity Campaign

Helen Whately and Rosie Duffield – MPs for Faversham and Whitstable – are being urged by constituents to demand action from the British government on Gaza’s plight in the wake of this month’s massacres by Israel of peaceful protesters. Supporters can email their MPs – it takes only a few seconds – via the PSC … Continue reading →

Israeli Apartheid Week is to return to Canterbury Christ Church University in April, as organisers unveiled the programme this week. Students and staff have together organised the events, which are open to the public, under the banner of ‘Palestine: 70 years since the Nakba’. The programme includes a panel discussion featuring hip hop artist Lowkey, … Continue reading →

This week Israel announced the imminent destruction of an entire village. Umm al Hiran is home to over 500 Bedouin men, women, and children, who all face eviction because Israel wants to build a Jewish-only settlement (to be called New Hiran) in their place. The villagers value their indigenous agricultural lifestyle and ask only to be … Continue reading →

The PSC and War on Want are calling on supporters to tell HSBC to stop investing in companies that arm Israel’s apartheid regime. The campaigns argue that the bank’s investments make it complicit with Israel’s violations of Palestinians’ human rights. Israel uses military force to maintain its oppression of Palestinians. It targets people with tear … Continue reading →

Faversham & Whitstable PSC members joined thousands of others in London on 4 November to mark 100 years since the Balfour Declaration. The 1917 statement by the British government paved the way for the later creation of the state of Israel in Palestine, a crucial step in the dispossession and oppression of the Palestinian people. … Continue reading →

A packed house at the Labour Club in Whitstable was treated to a stunning display of Palestinian costume and embroidery on October 13. Rayya Ghul displayed her personal collection of beautifully intricate thobs – a style of traditional dress – interweaved with the story of her own family history, a tale of refugees on both … Continue reading →

The Co-operative Bank – formerly known for its relatively ethical practices – has unilaterally closed the accounts of at least 20 groups involved in Palestine solidarity efforts – including the national PSC itself. This week the Palestine Solidarity Campaign launched a legal case against the bank on the grounds of discrimination. It is also urging … Continue reading →

A Faversham project to mark the deaths of Gazan children during the 2014 massacre by Israel has now inspired an art exhibition opening in Margate next month. Faversham artists Bob Lamoon and Natalie Banaigs asked local people to respond to the children’s killing by placing small floral tributes in public places. The idea, called ‘I … Continue reading →

Canterbury Christchurch University (CCCU) has provoked a storm of criticism over its decision to host a lecture by Rony Yedidia, Israel’s Director of Public Affairs in the UK. The university’s debating society was approached by the Israeli Embassy, offering a speaker visit, which the university agreed to. Ms Yedidia requested that her identity be concealed … Continue reading →

On 30 October it was an honour for us to host Nawal Slemiah, the formidable, passionate and talented founder of the Women In Hebron handicrafts co-operative. The co-operative has empowered hundreds of women from the city of Hebron and its surrounding villages, it offers a crucial income for families and it preserves and continues the … Continue reading →

A huge victory for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign has been confirmed as giant multinational company Veolia announced it is pulling out of all its Israeli investments. The company had been shedding its involvements in Israeli projects and has now pulled out of its last remaining project: the Jerusalem light rail development linking West … Continue reading →

An alliance of activists have forced a one-day closure of an arms company in east Kent for the second time this year. In the early hours of Monday 6 July, some of the group climbed over the fence of Instro Precision Ltd in Broadstairs, with four people occupying the roof. It follows a similar action … Continue reading →

A local supporter of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign writes about his poignant encounter with a beekeeper on a recent trip in the southern Khalil hills in the West Bank of Palestine. J looks troubled at the bar this afternoon. She had an accident in the car a few days ago, and needs to pay a … Continue reading →

A local Faversham & Whitstable PSC activist is currently working in the West Bank, conducting research but also volunteering with the work of planting olive trees. He has just sent this devastatingly sad report of what is just one such incident among many faced by Palestinian farmers: In the night between the 16th and 17th … Continue reading →

How Kent arms company protest happened – and the questions that remain Protesters yesterday occupied and shut down an arms factory in Broadstairs linked to last year’s devastating massacre of Gazans and to the machinery of Israel’s apartheid system. While few local people knew that they were neighbours to a firm making parts for drones, … Continue reading →