About

Viva Palestina UK; a lifeline from Britain to Gaza

The upcoming international convoy to Gaza departs from London on 5 December.

Read messages of support on the national Viva Palestina website.

About me

I am a political activist, trade unionist and media worker from London.

I recently lost my baby son, Josef, who died of an infection whilst being born. Losing my son made me think about all the mothers losing babies as a result of British and US imperialist policy in Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan (to name just three).

I hope that in going to Gaza, I will be able to make some small contribution towards the welfare of the mothers and children who are suffering so unnecessarily there. Their children are as precious to them as ours are to us, yet they are portrayed by the corporate media as mere expendable statistics.

Currently, there are books circulating amongst Israeli soldiers, written by zionist rabbis, justifying the killing of Palestinian babies as a ‘righteous act’. One t-shirt on sale to soldiers returning from last year’s attack on Gaza showed a picture of a pregnant Palestinian woman with a target on her belly. The words underneath read ‘1 shot, 2 kills’.

The war crimes committed by Israel in the last attack on Gaza were well documented. What is less talked about is that the siege of Gaza – an illegal and barbaric act of collective punishment, which is itself a war crime – started well before that and continues to this day.

As well as delivering much-needed aid, I hope that I will be able to take with me messages of support and solidarity from friends, colleagues and comrades to let the people of Palestine know that they have friends among the British people, even while British corporations, government and media are busy arming Israel and excusing its war crimes.

We hope to cross into Gaza via the Rafah Crossing in Egypt on 27 December, the anniversary of the launch of last year’s bombardment by Israel.

Please subscribe for updates from this site, forward the donations link to your friends, follow me on Twitter, join my Facebook group and invite your friends to join too. The more attention there is on the convoy as it travels, the less likely it is that the Egyptian authorities will try to hold it up when it gets to Rafah, so TELL EVERYONE!