Don't let the Young zFUKers get you down!

The Youthful wing of the Zionist Federation UK aka ZFUK is holding a counter demo tonight at the Jewish National Fund's Tzipi Livni event so here's another invite:

Come out to support Israel TONIGHT!

Do you believe Israel has the right to defend itself from terrorism?

Do you believe Israel should respond when rockets are fired at her civilians?

Do you believe Israelis should be free to visit this country without harassment?

If your answer to any of these is ‘yes’ then come out to support Israel TONIGHT!

This evening the Palestine Solidarity Campaign will be protesting against Tzipi Livni speaking in London. The ZF will be holding a mass pro-Israel rally in response, to show the Israel-haters that they won’t go unopposed. We have flags, banners and music – all we need is you!

Our rally will be from 6.30 – 8.30

Jumeirah Carlton Tower Hotel,

2 Cadogan Place, London, SW1X 9PY

(Map here)

If you’re interested in details for tonight, please email chris@zfuk

Their rally will be from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm which is a curious coincidence because so is PSC's demo.

Invitation to an evening with Tzipi Livni

This is what the Jewish National Fund sent out to invitees to the "Tzipi Livni event".  They sent it out yesterday to thwart protestors:

Thank you for confirming your attendance at JNF UK’s Tzipi Livni event this Thursday evening, 15 May 2014.

We are delighted to confirm the event details, as follows:

Venue:          Jumeirah Hotel, Carlton Tower, 2 Cadogan Place, London, SW1X 9PY click here for map
Event Timings:    Doors open 7:30pm for a pre-event canapé and drinks reception
   8:45pm – 10:30pm Main Event
Security Access:         Photographic ID and a print-out of this ticket confirmation are both essential

JNF UK has the right to refuse entry (whereby a full refund will be given) and details of the venue are strictly confidential to attending guests only. We ask you to kindly refrain from publicising these details on any media, either before or during the event. Seating will be allocated on arrival.

For any enquiries, please contact 020 8732 6146, events@jnf.co.uk or visit www.jnf.co.uk/livni

We look forward to seeing you there,
The JNF UK team

Palestine Solidarity Campaign is organising at demonstration at the event.

Union calls on Theresa May to say FUCU to Tzipi Livni

This in from Stop the Jewish National Fund:

UCU Scotland condemns Israel war criminal visit to London JNF

 

The 2014 Annual Congress of the University and College Union Scotland Congress (UCU Scotland) today voted unanimously to condemn the planned visit by Israeli war criminal Tzipi Livni.  The Israeli politician was given a rare diplomatic passport by the UK Government in 2011 specifically to protect her from the risk of arrest and prosecution for complicity in Israeli war crimes.  Livni is planning to speak at a provocative Nakba Day meeting of the racist JNF (Jewish National Fund) at a secret central London venue on Thursday 15th May.  UCU Scotland Congress called on Theresa May to refuse Livni entry to the UK.

On Nakba (“Catastrophe”) Day, Palestinians remember the wave of Zionist ethnic cleansing that engulfed Palestine in 1948, and created the world’s largest refugee population.  Every year on 15th May Palestinians and human rights supporters protest Israel’s ongoing ethnic cleansing programmes, house demolitions and Israel’s apartheid system, of which the JNF is a central pillar.

Stop the JNF UK supports the demonstration called by Palestine Solidarity Campaign of England and Wales and the London Palestine Action in Central London on Thursday May 15^th to protest the racist JNF and its war criminal guest, Livni.

In late 2009 Livni cancelled a scheduled visit to London when she discovered an arrest warrant had been issued against her on the grounds she had been a member of the Israeli war cabinet which organised the massacre of more than a 1400 Palestinians.

Click here to write to Home Secretary Theresa May to demand that Tzipi Livni be prevented from entering the UK to participate in incitement to hatred and division.

State of denial

Have a look at this clip by Lia Tarachansky (working title: Seven Deadly Myths) through to the end.



Did you see it to the end? See the bit where she says she needs money for the post-production and all that? You can donate here.

Almog worried again

Former Israeli general Doron Almog is having another worry about being arrested in the UK in spite of the UK government jumping through hoops to protect Israeli war crimes suspects. The case of Doron Almog has a long and murky history so who better to report on this than the Jewish Chronicle?

Seven years after almost being arrested at Heathrow, former Israeli general Doron Almog has cancelled his participation in a London fundraiser, following concerns regarding Britain’s universal jurisdiction law.

Major General (res.) Doron Almog was commander of the IDF’s Southern Command from 2000 to 2003. In September 2005, he travelled to London for a fundraising event for Aleh, an Israeli charity that supports homes for severely disabled children and young people.

When he landed, he was warned by the Israeli embassy that an arrest warrant had been issued for him by a magistrates’ court, over the suspicion of alleged war crimes committed under his command in the Gaza Strip. He remained on the plane and returned to Israel.

Mr Almog was the first of a number of senior Israeli officers and officials, including former foreign minister Tzipi Livni, prevented from visiting Britain, due to the fears that pro-Palestinian activists would obtain arrest warrants against them.

Last September, after repeated promises by successive British governments, the universal jurisdiction law was changed, so that an arrest warrant could only be issued via the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

While Israel praised the change, subsequent analysis by its legal experts raised concerns that the DPP, a civil servant, could still issue an arrest warrant at the request of pro-Palestinian activists.

Aleh UK was due to hold a fundraising dinner on June 28, in London. Mr Almog, who has been one of Aleh’s most active spokespeople over many years and one of the founders of a rehabilitative village for severely disabled young adults in the south of Israel, was to be the guest of the honour at the event. The village was named Nahalat Eran, after Mr Almog’s son Eran, who died in 2007 at the age of 23.

Last month, following advice he received from the Israeli government, he decided to pull out and the event has been postponed.

This is good news for opponents of the State of Israel and the occupation but there is still an issue around the fact that the UK has been so willing to change its law, indeed to duck out of commitments to international law, for the sake of war criminals.

Against ethnic cleansing, against UEFA whitewashing Israel and against war criminals visiting the UK

And it's all in today's Guardian letters page:

On Thursday Palestinians are protesting about the latest instance of ethnic cleansing by the Israeli government. In the Beer Sheba (Beer es Saba) region of southern Israel about 30,000 inhabitants are about to be driven from their homes.

Their villages have been designated "unrecognised" for more than 60 years, making their lands easy prey for confiscation. And while they are refused the same rights as other Israeli citizens to facilities such as running water, schools and hospitals, the Israeli state demands their taxes.

The British government must condemn any move to evict the Palestinian citizens of Israel from their lands, which were documented under the British Mandate as privately owned Palestinian land – not ownerless as the Israeli state now claims.

Geoffrey Bindman QC
Victoria Brittain
William Dalrymple
Ken Loach
Tony Benn
Ahdaf Soueif
Miriam Margolyes
Caryl Churchill
Jeremy Corbyn MP
Linda Riordan MP
Bob Russell MP
Martin Caton MP
Katy Clark MP
Alex Cunningham MP
Julie Hilling MP
John McDonnell MP
Andy Slaughter MP
Dame Jenny Tonge
John Pilger
Leila Sansour
Ghada Karmi
Ilan Pappe
Dr Salman Abu Sitta
Prof Steven Rose
Prof Hilary Rose
Louise Christian
Rodney Bickerstaffe
Bruce Kent
Reem Kelani
Lowkey
Kika Markham
Michael Rosen
Leon Rosselson
Alexei Sayle
Jeremy Hardy
Hugh Lanning, Chair PSC
Keith Sonnet
John Austin
Canon Garth Hewitt
Andy de la Tour

• Those who lead European football must respond to an appeal from Palestinians dismayed at the prospect of Israel hosting Uefa's under-21 tournament in 2013. A state that uses military might to hold sway over land it illegally occupies and exploits, flouts international law and ignores UN resolutions surely forfeits the right to be treated as a member of the community of nations. But western powers continue to embrace Israel as an ally.  

During the 2011 under-21 tournament in Denmark in June, 42 Gazan football clubs, backed by many sporting bodies, wrote to Uefa president Michel Platini calling on his organisation not "to reward Israel for its violent repression of Palestinian rights". We ask Uefa to respond positively to this plea.

Stephane Hessel diplomat
Ken Loach filmmaker 
Michael Mansfield barrister
Miriam Margolyes actor
Nurit Peled Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought joint winner 2001
John Pilger journalist and filmmaker,
Ahdaf Soueif novelist and political and cultural commentator
Jean Ziegler vice-president, advisory committee of the UN human rights council

• The government changes the law and brings out the red carpet to allow alleged Israeli war criminals into the UK (Former Israeli minister to visit UK after change in arrest law, 4 October) but changes the rules to arrest visiting Palestinians whose only "crime" is to campaign for their rights (Palestinian activist was held unlawfully, says high court, 1 October). The Goldstone report, which has been endorsed at the UN general assembly, provides clear evidence of how in its 2008-09 attack on Gaza, Israel was responsible for attacks on children, use of human shields, and use of phosphorous bombs and flachettes in civilian areas. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have also documented serious cases of abuse. For William Hague to invite to the UK Israeli leaders who were in government at the time these alleged crimes were committed is a slap in the face for relatives of the 1,400 dead, the 5,000 injured and the many others who suffered due to Israel's Cast Lead attack on Gaza.
Dr Stephen Leah
York

Not bad, not at all bad. Now wait for the balancers....

Protest against Tzipi Livni visit to the UK

5pm, Thursday, 6th October

Outside Downing Street, Whitehall, London, SW1 - nearest tube stations Westminster, Charing Cross.

Tzipi Livni, who faced an arrest warrant in the UK in 2009 over war crimes committed during the so called "Operation Cast Lead", feels she now can visit the UK because our Government – with the support of the Opposition party – has just changed the law on universal jurisdiction.

According to The Guardian:

The former Israeli foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, will meet the foreign secretary, William Hague, in Britain on Thursday in the first test of a new law governing arrest warrants for war crimes.

For a commentary on the change of UK law to appease Israeli war criminals see  Electronic Intifada.

Law change lets Livni visit UK

Here's YNET:

Opposition Chairwoman Tzipi Livni announced that she will travel to London next week, her first trip to the United Kingdom since it issued a warrant for her arrest in the aftermath of Operation Cast Lead.


British Foreign Secretary William Hague called Livni last week, on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, and invited her to visit the UK. On Sunday, she said that she has accepted the invitation.

Related stories:

• UK amends law that allows arrest of Israeli officials
• Peretz evades UK arrest warrant 
• Meridor cancels UK visit for fear of arrest 

The news came two weeks after British legislators amended the law that allowed arrest warrants to be issued against Israeli officials, making Livni's trip possible.

The article goes on to list out some of the Israeli war crimes suspects who have had to avoid or flee the UK for fear of arrest.

UK now safe haven for war criminals

According to the Jewish Chronicle, the UK has now changed its law so that Israeli war crimes suspects can come here without fear of arrest:

The British government has approved the change in this country's universal jurisdiction law.

Nearly two years after Israeli Opposition leaderTzipi Livni was forced to cancel a trip to the UKwhen pro-Palestinian activists applied for a warrant for her arrest, the change was given the Royal Assent and became law.

The law has a bizarre Orwellian name, The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act. And there's a circle to be squared:

Matthew Gould, the Britsh ambassador to Israel, said it was an important amendment that would "ensure that the UK's justice system can no longer be abused for political reasons".
He said: "The change will ensure that people cannot be detained when there is no realistic chance of prosecution, while ensuring that we continue to honour our international obligations.
"The UK remains committed to ensuring that those guilty of war crimes are brought to justice. This will put an end to requests for warrants where there is no realistic chance of prosecution."

Now the law has been changed so that someone like Tzipi Livni can come here freely but, at the same time,

The UK remains committed to ensuring that those guilty of war crimes are brought to justice

. Let's see how many of "those guilty of war crimes are brought to justice" in the UK now that Tzipi Livni can come here freely.

Protecting countries from war crimes allegations

Daniel Machover in Comment is free on The Guardian website arguing against the idea of "protected countries" for the purpose of universal jurisdiction:

The rationale behind universal jurisdiction is that certain crimes – piracy, war crimes, genocide, torture, crimes against humanity and hostage taking – are so harmful to international interests that states are entitled, and in some cases even obliged, to bring proceedings, regardless of the location of the crime and the nationality of the perpetrator or the victim. In accordance with that principle, in December 2009 a British judge granted an arrest warrant against Tzipi Livni, who had been the foreign minister during Israel's assault on Gaza a year earlier. It was withdrawn when it emerged that she had not travelled here after all, but the Labour government, backed by the Conservative leadership, expressed outrage that the warrant had been issued.

The coalition government claims that it is in favour of applying universal jurisdiction here. But it has brought forward proposals to change the law on arrest warrants requested by private individuals in international cases that will, in practice, deny access to criminal justice to victims from those countries allied to Britain who are prepared to withdraw intelligence co-operation or use other political or economic pressure to achieve immunity for suspects.

If the law is changed, suspects from a list of "protected countries" that includes Israel, America, China, Saudi Arabia and potentially others, such as Bahrain, will visit our shores with impunity, making us a safe haven for some war criminals and torturers. This outcome would be a sick parody of true universal jurisdiction.

Echoes of the "white list".

Clause 151

Another one of those infamous clauses tucked away in a large bill going through the UK parliament.  The bill is mostly about the bill, ie the police and its full title is the police and social responsibility bill but clause 151 is included so that Israeli war criminals can visit the UK without fear of arrest for war crimes.  Here's the Morning Star from a couple of days ago:

Clause 151 would give the Director of Public Prosecutions a veto over whether an arrest warrant could be issued for war crime suspects.

This would essentially allow the government of the day a political veto over what is a legal question.

War crimes are closely defined under international law and all legal administrations have a responsibility to apply the law strictly and impartially.

Yet Israel believes that different rules should apply to itself or that conduct which would be a war crime in any other circumstance should not be viewed as such when committed by the zionist state.

And the British political Establishment supports Tel Aviv on this issue, which is why David Cameron and Gordon Brown undertook to propose this measure after former Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni cancelled a visit to London to dodge a war crimes arrest warrant.

The Israelis were furious because, in common with the European Union and the US, they believe that war crimes are committed only by Africans or by countries at odds with the western allies.

Tel Aviv complained of being "singled out" for special treatment. The opposite is the case.

The demand to arrest Livni for the well-documented crimes carried out by Israeli forces in their merciless assault on Gaza was a bid to ensure that Israel is bound by the same international law as other states.

Yesterday The Guardian published a letter to show that justice still has support even in the UK parliament:

We are joining the chorus of voices against government proposals (contained in the police reform and social responsibility bill) to give the director of public prosecutions a power of veto over arrest warrants for war crimes suspects who are visiting the UK. These warrants are issued very rarely by extremely senior district judges in Westminster, and only in response to submissions from victims accompanied by substantial evidence against the suspect. Giving a power of veto to the DPP would risk: political interference by ministers in the arrest of war crimes suspects; delaying proceedings, allowing suspects to escape justice; and would constitute a gross interference with the rights of the victim and the responsibilities of the judiciary.

Ministers and diplomats are already protected by immunity when carrying out their public duties, but this change in the law would risk creating a culture of impunity in the minds of those politicians and military leaders who already treat international law with cavalier disregard. We call on parliamentarians in both houses and of all parties to support international law and reject these proposals.

Richard Burden MP 

Jeremy Corbyn MP  

Alex Cunningham MP

Mark Durkan MP

Jonathan Edwards MP

Clive Efford MP

Paul Flynn MP

Mike Hancock MP

Cathy Jamieson MP

Gerald Kaufman MP

Ian Lavery MP

Andy Love MP 

Caroline Lucas MP

Kerry McCarthy MP

John Mcdonnell MP

George Mudie MP

Ian Murray MP

Sandra Osborne MP

Yasmin Qureshi MP

Joan Ruddock MP

Bob Russell MP

Baroness Jenny Tonge

Mike Wood MP

Billy Hayes, CWU

Paul Kenny, GMB

Chris Kitchen, NUM

Kevin Courtney, NUT

Hugh Lanning, PCS

Bob Crow, RMT

Betty Hunter, Palestine Solidarity Campaign

John Austin

Victoria Brittain

Caryl Churchill

Jocelyn Hurndall

Dan Judelson

Bruce Kent

Ken Loach

Kika Markham

Prof Karma Nabulsi

David Polden

Prof Hilary Rose

Prof Steven Rose

Alexei Sayle

Clare Short

Keith Sonnet

Ahdaf Soueif

Dr Benjamin Zephaniah 

Revd Canon Garth Hewitt, Amos TrustAbe Hayeem, Architects and Planners for Justice in Palestine

Len Aldis, Britain-Vietnam Friendship Society

Chris Doyle, CAABU

Estella Schmid, Campaign Against Criminalising Communities (CAMPACC)

Kate Hudson, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND)

Ismail Patel, Friends of Al Aqsa

Brenda Heard, Friends of Lebanon, London

Liz Davies, Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers

Mary Nazzal-Batayneh, Human Rights Legal Aid Fund

Pat Price-Tomes, ICAHD UK

International Solidarity Movement (ISM) London

George Farebrother, Institute for Law Accountability and Peace

Diana Neslen, Jews for Justice for Palestinians

Martin Linton, Labour Friends of Palestine & the Middle East

John McHugo, Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine

Daud Abdullah, Middle East Monitor (Memo)

Pat Gaffney, Pax Christi

Frank Barat, Russell Tribunal UK

Dr Alan Mackinnon, chair, Scottish CND

Hugh Humphries, Scottish Friends of Palestine

Michael Marten, Scottish Palestinian Forum

Lindsey German, Stop the War, Tahrir Swift, Women Solidarity for Independent and Unified Iraq

John Hilary, War on Want

Sarah Lasenby, NOW Network of Oxford Women for Justice and Peace

Marguerite Finn, Norwich Branch Of Women's International League Of Peace And Freedom (Wilpf)

Nigel Day, Oxford Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) ,

I wonder how LibDems are going to vote on this.