October Newsletter

Hello, and welcome to the first edition of our new branch newsletter.  The past few months have been an extremely challenging time for Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, with COVID-19 and threats of annexation alongside the more habitual presence of siege, occupation and apartheid. 

As you’ll read below, the Aberdeen branch of Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC) has been busy developing a number of campaigns.  We are always looking for more people to get involved – please get in contact at aberdeen@scottishpsc.org.uk.         

What else can you do? Join SPSC, sign this petition, write to your MP and MSP asking them what they’re doing to support the Palestinian cause.

Don’t Play Ball with Apartheid Israel

A protest is being organised by a wide range of organisations for the upcoming football match between Scotland and Israel.  For more details: https://www.facebook.com/events/766762820812309/ 

COVID-19, Gaza and shameful UK government response

ThevGaza Strip has been under siege from Israel since 2007. The impact of this siege, coupled with intermittent bombardments, has had a disastrous impact on the physical and mental health of Palestinians in Gaza, as well as devastating the economy.  In recent weeks this calamitous situation has been exacerbated as COVID-19 has started to spread quickly through refugee camps and communities.

The people of Gaza have for too long been abandoned by the international community and, due to its historical role in the region, those of us in the UK have a unique responsibility to act.  Write to your councillors, MSPs and MP, requesting that they sign this petition and asking them what else they plan to do in support and solidarity with Palestinians. 

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/308206

The UK government’s response to the petition so far, via the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, includes the following:

“Israel is a close friend and the people of Israel deserve to live free from the scourge of terrorism and anti-Semitic incitement, which gravely undermine the prospects for a two-state solution.”

It is astounding that after so many years of flouting international law and scores of grave human rights abuses including war crimes, the UK government is still proud to call Israel “a close friend”.  It is Israeli action on illegal settlement building, the construction of the separation wall, the apartheid nature of resource allocation and access, home demolitions, intermittent war, and perpetual occupation and siege that have undermined any prospect of a two-state solution.  It is our responsibility to hold our government to account for such brazen propaganda and lies. 

The international community, including the UK government and countries neighbouring Palestine in the Middle East, have a moral responsibility towards the people of Palestine and should not leave them alone facing Covid-19 and its challenges.  However, the root cause of these problems must be the focus, and that is Israeli occupation and apartheid.   

Gaza – the statistics

The siege of Gaza began in 2007, imprisoning 1.8 million Palestinians in a 25 mile strip of land.

It is one of the most densely populated places in the world, with 5000 people per square kilometre (source).

The unemployment rate in Gaza now stands at 49% (source).

35% of Gaza’s farmland and 85% of its fishing waters are totally or partially inaccessible due to Israeli military measures (source).

54% of Gazans are food insecure and over 75% are aid recipients (source).

81% of children in Gaza struggle academically due to conflict-related stress, and 54% of children have no hope for a better future (source).

Israel imposes sweeping restrictions on the movement of people and goods into and out of the Gaza Strip. A general travel ban excludes only what Israel calls “exceptional humanitarian cases,” meaning mostly medical patients and their companions, as well as prominent businesspersons who can obtain permits. In the first nine months of 2019, the army denied or failed to respond in a timely manner to 34% of permit applications from Palestinians with scheduled medical appointments outside Gaza, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The rejection or delay rate for applications for those injured in demonstrations along the fences separating Israel and Gaza is 82% (source).

Divestment Campaign Update

Divestment is one of the three pillars of the Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel.  Earlier this year the Gaudie (University of Aberdeen student) newspaper broke news that the University of Aberdeen was taking initial steps to divest from Northern Trust, which invests in companies complicit in Israeli human rights abuses. In August, in another campus success, it was announced that Manchester University had divested £5million from Caterpillar and other complicit companies. 

Time to Divest campaigns to stop Scottish local authority pension funds investing in companies involved in Israel’s illegal occupation and in the torture, oppression and dispossession of Palestinians. A freedom of information request submitted by Aberdeen Greens revealed that North East Scotland Pension Fund (NESPF) has £15million invested in arms companies, many of which are complicit in Israeli war crimes. These include Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems and Glenrothes-based Raytheon. Visit the Time to Divest website to find out what you can do.

Locally, Aberdeen SPSC is part of a coalition of local activist groups (including Aberdeen Greens and Aberdeen and District CND) which are campaigning for NESPF to divest from companies closely linked with driving global warming and committing human rights abuses. If you would like to get involved, contact us on aberdeen@scottishpsc.org.uk.

Further disgrace for lawyer previously fined for attack on Aberdeen activist:

More evidence of sordid activities of the pro-Israel lobby in Scotland

Two years ago, Scottish lawyer Matthew Berlow faced disciplinary action by the Law Society of Scotland over attacks directed against an SPSC activist in Aberdeen. The Law Society of Scotland ruled that Berlow had used “derogatory language” which was “damaging to the reputation of both the profession as a whole and of the individual solicitor concerned”, and his defence was also criticised as “derogatory and aggressive”. The report recommended that the Professional Conduct Sub Committee uphold a complaint of unsatisfactory professional conduct, and Berlow was subsequently fined £1750(1).

This month has seen reports of yet more disciplinary action against Berlow, relating to yet another attack on SPSC. A Law Society investigation has revealed he conspired in a plot to smear SPSC by falsely accusing them of a fake graffiti attack at his home. Despite knowing the attack to be non-existent, Berlow publically attributed it to SPSC. Following an investigation of the incident, the Law Society ruled that Berlow’s conduct “fell below the standard expected of a reputable and competent solicitor” and “risked bringing the profession into disrepute.”(2)  Berlow now faces further disciplinary action. We hope this is commensurate with the gravity of the offence - fabricating a crime to frame citizens is a serious matter.

These are just a few examples of a deliberate strategy by the pro-Israel lobby in Scotland, a strategy based on spurious personal attacks on those who campaign for Palestinian rights with an aim of undermining support for Palestine by any means.(3)

As a prominent member of the Scottish ‘Friends of Israel’ organisation, Berlow is a staunchly uncritical defender of Israel’s history of war crimes. In 2009, he spoke publically(4) in support of Israel’s ‘Operation Cast Lead’, a 22-day military onslaught on the besieged Gaza Strip that resulted in the deaths of 1400 (mainly civilian) Palestinians. A subsequent UN report found Israel guilty of using disproportionate force, deliberately targeting civilians and destroying civilian infrastructure, and using people as human shields. The report concluded that Israel had committed potential war crimes and possible crimes against humanity during the offensive.(5)

Unsurprisingly, Berlow took a similar stance during Israel’s 2014 repeat attack on Gaza. ‘Operation Protective Edge’ caused the deaths of more than 2,000 Palestinian (including more than 500 children) and left more than 10,000 people injured. Once again, civilians and family homes were deliberately targeted(6). In one notorious incident, Israeli forces fired missiles that killed four young boys from a single family as they played soccer on a Gaza City beach(7). Several Scottish local authorities flew the Palestinian flag during Israel’s prolonged assault to show support for those under murderous attack – an act of solidarity vehemently resisted by Berlow and others through public protest.(8) 

This latest ridiculously convoluted “graffiti” plot exposed by the Law Society shows the depths to which apologists for Israel’s crimes will sink to undermine the Palestinian cause. Recognising that they have no moral or legal argument to make, they must resort to ever more desperate tactics to shut down criticism of Israel.

Despite the best efforts of Berlow and others who work to shut down criticism of Israel and undermine support of Palestinian rights, SPSC continues our campaigning. This has never been more important. The arrival and spread of COVID 19 in the Gaza Strip will have a catastrophic effect on the existing humanitarian crisis there. Experts have warned that a significant outbreak in Gaza, home to some 2 million Palestinians, could be catastrophic because of the fragile state health sector, weakened by years of restrictive blockade and persistent military assaults.(9)

1 https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/16997231.diversity-training-jewish-lawyer-called-pro-palestinian-campaigners-scummy-racists/

2 https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/asa-winstanley/pro-israel-lawyer-faked-graffiti-attack

3 https://www.scottishpsc.org.uk/complicity/berlow-is-part-of-a-much-wider-dirty-tricks-campaign

4 https://www.thefreelibrary.com/THE+RIGHT+TO+HIT+BACK%3B+Matthew+Berlow,+38,+is+a+Jewish+lawyer+in...-a0191865220

5 https://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/12session/A-HRC-12-48.pdf

6 https://www.amnesty.org.uk/gaza-operation-protective-edge

7 https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/child-footballers-killed-israel-get-no-justice

8 https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13174021.council-stands-by-d ecision-to-fly-palestine-flag-despite-criticism/

9 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/coronavirus-gaza-healthcare-workers-system-hospitals-quarantine-b415984.html

Aberdeen SPSC – About Us

Aberdeen SPSC has been campaigning for justice for Palestine since 2010, primarily focused on joining the Palestinian civil society call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel.  Past activities have included campaigns against the likes of Wood Group, Co-op, Sainsbury’s and Barclays Banks, as well as organising solidarity delegations to Gaza and the West Bank. The branch is part of the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign. 

Best wishes,

The SPSC Aberdeen Team

We’d love to hear from you!

Get in touch to learn how you can take part, leave a suggestion or a helpful donation.