Facebook share Share on TwitterRSS feed

Innovative Minds © 2014. All Rights Reserved. www.inminds.co.uk

[Other]

Life Changing Visit to Palestine


inminds
29 March 2011

On 21st February Merton PSC invited Karen Mitchell, a partner at Thompsons Solicitors, to share her journey from having 'no background knowledge of Palestine' before her life-changing visit to Palestine in 2008, to now being elected to the Executive Committee of Palestinian Solidarity Campaign. Full video of her presentation and question-answer session is provided below.

"I am Karen Mitchell, I'm a lawyer with Thompsons. We are the largest firm of lawyers representing trade unionists through out the country. And it was part of my job as a partner with Thompsons that I was invited by the south-east region TUC to accompany a delegation of fire-fighters to Palestine. Now at that stage, it was 2008, I had no background knowledge of Palestine other than there was trouble there. So I went with an open mind. What I saw there, and I'm going to share with you my slides, and as I've hinted at, changed my perception, my life, and my commitment and dedication to Palestine. And its important that I share this with you because anyone that has seen this, and experiences that, comes back changed. So I'm firmly of the view that as many people as possible in trade union delegations should be sent to Palestine because when you see an apartheid state in action you have to come back and do things.."

What followed was a moving account of how the Israeli occupation shatters any semblance of life for Palestinians.



Karen Mitchell - "Going to Palestine and seeing for yourself what happens there undoubtedly changes your life."

Karen Mitchell ended her talk with a passionate plea for local PSC branches to link up to local trade unions to create the needed momentum to build a movement to end apartheid:

"The trade union movement are now coming aboard, make no mistake about it, the victory at the trade union conference this year was amazing. There was not one single union that voted against boycott divestment and sanctions which is significant from previous years because there had been the trade union friends of Israel - they had been lobbying and lobbying and they are powerful. This year they were utterly defeated. So my plea to you is that we are going to be asking more and more of our branches to link up to trade union branches. We want delegations to go out Palestine, because make no mistake about it - you send 10 trade unionists out to Palestine to see what I witnessed they will come back like I came back infused, determined to do something and it will add to the momentum of what you have all been doing for years. So please when you have any activities we will supply you with local trade union branches and if you can get them involved it will be excellent because you are building the momentum to make this movement the biggest movement that we need.. it happened with South Africa, apartheid was defeated, make no mistake about it this is an apartheid state and if we are not careful the Palestinians will be wiped out, no mistake about it!"


Karen Mitchell shares her visit to Palestine through her slides

Her talk was followed by 15 minutes of questions and answers. In the qa session Karen Mitchell revealed details of how the TUC victory had been achieved and its origins link back to this trade union delegation of fire-fighters to Palestine:

"This delegation also resulted in the first of many motions that were put, that lead up to the final victory. The Fire Brigades Union(FBU) lead the massive onslaught on raising Palestine because simply they had seen and had been there, so they were able to then take it to their conference who then pushed it through in the TUC. And believe me, that first victory really opened my eyes because the Fire Brigades Union, and the Public Service Trade Union (UNISON), and Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) - the 3 unions that lead on Palestine, all 3 of them had government intervention as to why they should back track on the motions they were backing and the 3 of them - UNISON, PCS, and the FBU refused to stand down, so they lead the way for the massive victory that followed because they wouldn't be moved on it. But the shenanigans that went on behind the scenes to get them to dampen down the motions shouldn't be underestimated either.."

It should be mentioned that due to this unfair pressure from the government the final motion that the TUC passed in 2009, whilst remaining a landmark victory, was in fact watered down with reference to the boycott of Israeli consumer goods being altogether removed from the motion and an opt out clause added in (UCU request) to allow individual unions room to back track. The motion called for the boycott of goods from the Israeli settlements, and an end to arms sales to Israel, and for a campaign for disinvestment by companies associated with the occupation or the building of the separation wall. The TUC motion of 2010 also, disappointingly, stopped short of a full boycott of Israeli goods.



Video: Karen Mitchell - Life Changing Visit to Palestine


  • Duration: 48 mins
  • 00:00 Karen Mitchell - talk
  • 33:00 Question and Answer session



Source: inminds.com


Also Of Interest

Page URL: http://www.inminds.co.uk/article.php?id=10509
Support Us
If you agree with our work then please support us.

Give one time donation:

Setup monthly donation:
INMINDS Facebook Live Feed
Latest Video's
Latest News..
[all-by date]
[all-by category]
[all-by modify date]
INMINDS Twitter Feed
Boycott Israel Campaign
Featured Video's
You need Flash player 8+ and JavaScript enabled to view this video.
Why boycott Israel on Campus[1:50:05]
12 London universities discuss need for BDS on campuses. Speakers include Rafeef Ziadeh, Ilan Pappe, Karma Nabulsi & Mike Cushman
Love Letters to Gaza[31:08]
A unique theatrical event using personal messages of love, support and hope from people of all ages and all walks of life to the people of Gaza.
John Pilger[7:55]
journalist and documentary maker
Antiwar Mass Assembly 8 Oct 2011
Julian Assange[7:07]
founder of WikiLeaks
Antiwar Mass Assembly 8 Oct 2011
Lauren Booth, Sami Ramadani & Yvonne Ridley[6:28]
Reading the names of the dead
Antiwar Mass Assembly 8 Oct 2011
George Galloway[6:39]
Antiwar Mass Assembly 8 Oct 2011
Jemima Khan[8:42]
Antiwar Mass Assembly 8 Oct 2011
Why Boycott Marks & Spencer 2011?[23:29]
Demo outside M&S Oxford Street(24 Sept 2011)
Sean Clinton[4:59]
Israeli Blood Diamonds Campaign
Al Quds Day rally, Trafalgar Square (31 Aug 2011)
Lauren Booth[5:24]
Al Quds Day rally, Trafalgar Square (31 Aug 2011)
Lauren Booth - Prayer for Gaza[2:46]
Al Quds Day rally, Trafalgar Square (31 Aug 2011)
Benny Morris - Historian or Racist?[34:07]
Activists oppose visit of racist Israeli historian Benny Morris who justifies ethnic cleansing and genocide.
Is Israel applying apartheid?[2:12:56]
Speakers: Yael Kahn, Jody McIntyre and Ghada Karmi (5 May 2011)
Karen Mitchell[48:27]
Partner at Thompsons Solicitors
Life changing visit to Palestine in 2008 (21 Feb 2011)
Ramzy Baroud[1:59:32]
Editor-in-chief of the Palestine Chronicle
"My Father Was A Freedom Fighter - Gaza's Untold Story" (25 Mar 2011)
Women United in the Intifada[2:31:36]
Speakers: Lizzie Cocker, Ewa Jasiewcz, Alaa Kassim, Yvonney Ridley, Isis Amlak, Sukant Chandan, Ramzy Baroud (14 Mar 2011)
George Galloway[1:01:48]
Solidarity with the Middle-East Revolution, support the people - oppose US/UK intervention (SOAS, 11 Mar 2011)
Omar Barghouti[55:08]
BDS Movement co-founder
"Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions" book launch (7 Mar 2011)
Shir Hever[1:49:09]
Alternative Information Centre
The Political Economy of Israel's Occupation, Kings College London (17 Feb 2011)
Why academic boycott of Israel[1:29:37]
Speakers: Mohammed Abuabdou(PSCABI), Mike Cushman(BRICUP), Jodey McIntyre(activist) (8 Feb 2011)
Dashed Hopes - Gaza Blockade[1:23:08]
Mohammed-Ali Abu Najela (Oxfam), Andrea Becker (MAP), Ewa Jasiewicz (Free Gaza Movement) (1 Feb 2011)
Jordan Valley: Apartheid[1:17:12]
Sarah Cobham(Brighton Jordan Valley Solidarity), Chris Osmond (Corporate Watch) (House of Commons, 1 Feb 2011)
Dump Veolia Demo[7:00]
Protesting at settlement supporter Veolia's sponsership of exhibit at the Natural History Museum (23 Oct 2010)
Boycott Israeli Dates [1/2][9:11]
Are you financing Israels brutal occupation this Ramadan?
Boycott Israeli Dates [2/2][9:05]
Are you financing Israels brutal occupation this Ramadan?
Lee Jasper [1/2][10:13]
[4 of 8] Genocide Memorial Day 2010 Session One, 17-1-2010
Lee Jasper [2/2][9:51]
[5 of 8] Genocide Memorial Day 2010 Session One, 17-1-2010
One Oppressor One Bullet[8:11]
Imam Achmad Cassiem, veteran of the armed struggle against apartheid in South Africa, speaks at the StW rally (London, 19 Feb 2005)
Salwa Alenat [1/2][9:56]
KavLaOved (Workers Rights hotline)
[1 of 8] Israel's Occupation - Abuse of Palestinian Workers (LSE 19 Nov 2009)
Salwa Alenat [2/2][8:57]
KavLaOved (Workers Rights hotline)
[2 of 8] Israel's Occupation - Abuse of Palestinian Workers (LSE 19 Nov 2009)
For Anwar [1of2][10:01]
Carmel Agrexco Valentines Action 7 Feb 2009
For Anwar [2of2][9:56]
Carmel Agrexco Valentines Action 7 Feb 2009
big
[all videos (over 200)..]
Featured MP3 Podcast

"1763 in the Ohio river valley you got Lord Jeffrey Amherst committing to written order an instruction to his subordinate Henry Bouquet, having been defeated by Pontiac Ottawa confederacy in the field. The order essentially says that they have been defeated militarily and is therefore necessary for Amherst forces to request a peace, to sue for peace from Pontiacs people. He instructs Bouquet to convene a parlay with the Indian leadership for that purpose. And as is the custom, as is common courtesy among native populations as was known to the Brits at that time, it would be necessary for those who requested the council to give gifts to those requested to attend. Make those gifts, Amherst says, items taken from a smallpox infirmary in order, I'm going to quote directly now, this isn't a paraphrase: 'in order that we may extirpate this execrable race'. Now key is on this last word, had he said that we might eradicate the opposing combatants, their military capacity, their warriors.. what ever term he wanted to use, it would have been biological warefare. But he didn't say anything about that, he said the 'race'. His intent was to use biological means, to use disease, quite explicitly so, to eradicate an entire population group. And Bouquet was also kind enough to commit to writing in his response the next day, I have done as instructed, dispersing three blankets, two handkerchiefs and sundry other items, hopefully, he says, they will have the desired result. They did.. the lowest estimate of the number of people who died of smallpox as a result of that little gesture of friendship and goodwill is a 100,000!"
American Indian scholar, activist in the struggle for liberation of Indigenous Peoples in America
On the publication of the book 'A Little Matter of Genocide: Holocaust and Denial in the Americas, 1492 to the Present', 1997 [29min / 10Mb]
[need flash]

[all podcasts..]
Newsletter
To subscribe
enter your email:

COPY VERIFICATION CODEcopy this code —>
Feedback
If you wish to comment on this page:

(all fields optional)



COPY VERIFICATION CODEcopy this code —>
The opinions expressed on this site, unless otherwise stated, are those of the authors.
All logos & trademarks are the property of their respective owners and their use is covered under 'fair use' policy.
Copyright © 1998-2012 Innovative Minds www.inminds.com All Rights Reserved.
The opinions expressed on this site, unless otherwise stated, are those of the authors.
All logos & trademarks are the property of their respective owners and their use is covered under 'fair use' policy.
Copyright © 1998-2012 Innovative Minds www.inminds.com All Rights Reserved.