Rally of support for trapped student Khaled Mudalla to coincide with his Supreme Court hearing tomorrow in Israel.
Tomorrow (2nd October) at Bradford University, outside the Atrium, 1pm – 2pm
A Palestinian student urgently trying to get back to Bradford University to start his third year of study, has found him self unable to do so after Israel identified Gaza as “hostile territory” this week, effectively closing it off to the outside world and in the process creating the world’s largest open air prison.
Khaled Mudallal, 22, a British-educated business and management student who risks losing his third year if he does not return to Bradford next week, has become its latest inmate.
The Israeli human rights organisation Gisha, is presenting a petition to the Israeli Supreme Court arguing that new restrictions which have so far prevented approximately 300 Palestinian students from Gaza to return to courses abroad is a violation of international law.
The rally will be attended by friends of Khaled, his lecturers and students’ unions throughout the UK.
NUS calls for Palestinian student Khaled Al-Mudallal’s right to education. (28.9.7)
Israeli government must allow Khaled to return to Britain to finish his degree.
The National Union of Students (NUS) has today (28th September) written to Prime Minister Gordon Brown calling on him to ensure his Israeli counterpart allows Khaled Al-Mudallal, a Palestinian and a business and management student at the University of Bradford, to leave Gaza so that he may complete his degree.
Khaled is currently trapped in Gaza due to the restrictions on freedom of movement imposed by the Israeli government on Palestinians living in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. These restrictions were introduced following the declaration that Gaza was a ‘hostile territory’.
Khaled needs to return to Bradford urgently to begin the third year of his degree course. He has a British residence permit valid until November 2010.
NUS President, Gemma Tumelty said:
‘The Prime Minister should call on the Israeli government to allow Khaled Al-Mudallal to leave Gaza immediately. The right to education is a human right as stated in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The right for students to study freely and safely across the world must be defended. Education will be central to finding a peaceful resolution in the Middle East.”
NUS National Black Students’ Officer said:
‘Khaled, along with hundreds of other students, is currently unable to leave Gaza to begin the new academic year. Students in Britain have a responsibility to support them by calling on our government to join us in insisting that students in Palestine are allowed to complete their studies.’
The Israeli Supreme Court turns down a petition put forward by human rights organizations on behalf of a UK student trapped in Gaza . Khaled Mudallal, 22, a British-educated business and management student has not been able to leave Gaza to the UK to do his final year at Bradford University and risks losing his third year if he does not return to Bradford next week.
The Supreme Court said that the matter is in the hands of the army and have consistently refused to interfere. Human rights organizations have argued that new restrictions which have so far prevented several hundred Palestinian students from returning from Gaza to courses abroad are in violation of international law.
A rally was organized at Bradford University to coincide court hearing by “Trapped in Gaza †campaign which was setup to try and put pressure on Israeli Government to lift the travel restrictions on Khaled as well as all o the r Palestinians. The organizers were hoping that the rally would conclude the campaign on a positive note, unfortunately the Israeli supreme court choose to ignore the Khaled’s case, despite the campaign gaining a lot of support, ranging from national newspapers, National union of students, UCU, several MPs and numerous civil society groups.
Khaled’s case is considered a test case of new restrictions on movements in and out of Gaza since Israel declared it as “hostile entity” last week. A student who joined the campaign commented that “The latest restriction on freedom of movement within Gaza is yet ano the r blow to all those who support basic human rights, within Palestine and across the world. The Israeli Supreme Court, yet again, has legitimised the idea that being a Palestinian in Palestine ranks you as a lower class citizen.â€
From “The Guardian”
We find it deeply ironic, given the recent heated debate on the proposed academic boycott of Israeli universities by the UCU (Report, September 29), that the Israeli supreme court on October 2 ruled that Kahled al-Mudallal, a Bradford University student, cannot leave Gaza and return to his studies in the UK. We hope the voices that criticised the boycott and called so vociferously for preserving academic freedom and promoting dialogue will lend their support to those of us calling on the Israeli government to reverse the supreme court decision, and on the UK government to do all in its power to support the human rights of students like Kahled.
This is not just an issue of academic freedom, important though that is, but is a flagrant breach of a fundamental human right to education. This judgment undermines both academic freedom and the very possibility of constructive dialogue across communities.
Sarah Perrigo,
Dr Mandy Turner,
Prof Jenny Pearce,
Prof Mike Pugh,
Prof Donna Pankhurst,
Prof Nana Poku,
Valentina Bartolucci and 10 others
Department of peace studies, University of Bradford
______________
The right to education is a human right as stated in the UN universal declaration of human rights. Khaled al-Mudallal is one of hundreds of Palestinian students who are currently unable to leave Gaza to begin the new academic year. The British government should do everything in its power to ensure that Israel lifts the restrictions that are preventing Khaled and other students leaving Gaza to complete their education.
Richard Burden MP
Gemma Tumelty President, NUS
Sally Hunt General secretary, UCU
Ruqayyah Collector NUS Black Students’ Campaign
Dan Judelson Jews for Justice for Palestinians
Professor Irene Bruegel
Betty Hunter Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Professor Lynne Segal
Richard Kuper
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article2591922.ece
http://www.guardian.co.uk/letters/story/0,,2184016,00.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2184210,00.html
The manner in which One Voice dealt with the events surrounding the cancellation of a concert planned to have taken place in Jericho on the 18th of Oct exposed the complete hypocrisy of the organisation. In reality no further proof of the hypocrisy was needed as whilst they claim to be a group working towards a better future in the region they in fact do nothing to improve the situation.
The organisers, as they often do, misled bands that were invited to the concert about their political line. The truth is that when a real grass roots movement called “Another voice†was spontaneously founded to present the voice of Palestinians One Voice attacked the movement very viciously and consistently made many false accusations. Five of the eight performers pulled out from the concert after they had been contacted by Another Voice regarding the political line of the organisation One Voice. The performers released statements confirming their cancellation stating that they had been misled by One Voice. One Voice subsequently cancelled the event claiming that “threats (had been) made against the celebritiesâ€, but no evidence were given with these accusations. We were in fact told One Voice would provide more information regarding these alleged “threats†but we are still waiting. A senior Palestinian official dismissed the claims that threats had led to the cancellation and stated that the Palestinian presidential guard, who would have been responsible for security arrangements in Jericho, “are reliable†and that “no one has ever cancelled an event in Palestine because of the security servicesâ€.
The claims from One Voice about Another Voice once more demonstrate that as an organisation they care little for the grassroots they claim to represent and have no interest in empowering Palestinians against extremists. Instead what they have done is undermine a political opponent by making false accusations about a non-violent and grassroots organisation (Another Voice). They also implied that the group is “extremist†and made threats to their own group. One Voice founder Daniel Lubetzky has always referred to any activist or organization which believes in the one-state solution as “extremist†despite the fact that they can make a strong argument for a two-state solution not being able to achieve long term “peaceâ€. Another Voice is an organisation who have worked and cooperated with individuals, such as those who work within Check Point Watch, and organisations who call for a two-state solution. However unlike One Voice this organisation and individuals will work with anyone who is looking and working towards a better future without using the type of tactics that One Voice use to discredit their opponents.
One Voice was first set up as an organisation in 2002 and has been active in the region ever since then. One Voice claims to “empower†the silent “moderate†majority and give a platform for people to voice their opinions and speak out. They do this by asking Palestinians and Israelis to answer a survey about “the ten most†contentious issues regarding the conflict. However this is oversimplified and misleading as if fails to address any of the key elements required for just and lasting peace. Much of the article in fact subordinates Palestinian interests to that of the Israelis by justifying the use of settlement blocs, avoiding the issue of the refugees’ right of return and avoiding the framework of international law. The language on website of Once Voice seems to be similar to that used by many Israeli propagandists, for example if fails to use the word “occupation†anywhere on the website.
Furthermore, many are disturbed by the manner in which One Voice has been gathering support for their campaign. It has been discovered that many Palestinians and Israelis have signed on without access to the 10 pillars or proper understanding of the One Voice initiative. Many individuals and organizations which have been listed as endorsers, including Bishop Atallah Hanna, have pulled out upon closer examination of what One Voice stands for. Also several alleged endorsers, including President Mahmoud Abbas, were listed without their prior knowledge or consent. Their collection of signatures has been proved controversial many times as well and this would have been demonstrated at the concert as people attending the event would have been required to sign One Voice’s mandate before entering.
Many of their high profile sponsors, both individuals and companies, are known supporters of Israel. These include companies that invest heavily in Israel such as IBM and individuals, including people such as Labor Kenesst member and former IDF General Matan Vilnai. This individual was a minister during Operation Defensive Shield and heavily supported the offensive that led to Israeli forces reoccupying all of the areas in the West Bank which had been handed to the Palestinian National Authority as part of the Oslo Accords. This move was seen by many as the ‘final nail in the coffin’ of these agreements and undermined the entire peace process.
One Palestinian economic student who studies at Berzeit University when answering claims made by One Voice that Another Voice does not want peace said that “Of course me and my fellow students want peace…out future relies on it…what would I do with degree after four years of studying if we never get peaceâ€. He further went on to say that “One Voice has always been the Israeli voice….and never tried to speak for Palestiniansâ€. The organisation One Voice has always claimed to represent what the people of the region want but the student above, like many others we talked to, clearly does not agree.
Naji Mohamed
najimohamed@actionpalestine.org