Anti-JNF petition attracts 2270 signatures
In the summer of 2004, the SPSC organised a petition to the Scottish Parliament opposing the charitable status of JNF UK, a fundraising organisation closely linked to the Jewish National Fund in Israel. In addition to paper signatures, an e-petition was posted on the Scottish Parliament's web site. This included a message board, which attracted a lively debate on the issue. The comments can still be read.
The petition was presented to the Parliament in October, where it was received very favourably by the Petitions Committee.
Report on petitions committee proceedings
They passed the petition to the Communities Committee, which is considering the reform of charity law in Scotland. In a meeting in November, they agreed to take our concerns regarding this organization into account in their deliberations on the new Charities Bill.
Report on Communities Committee proceedings
Prominent signatories included:
Professor Hillary Rose, well known sociologist and co-originator of the campaign for academic sanctions against Israel. Hillary participated in our event on Israel's academic boycott of Palestinian education in March 2003.
Dr Uri Davis, Jewish Palestinian anthropologist, the author of Apartheid Israel and associate author with Walter Lehn of The Jewish National Fund (Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1988), the only critical history of the JNF in English. Dr Davis spoke in Scotland in May 2004 and has recently prepared a research report on the British Park, funded by JNF UK.