Divest From Israeli Apartheid conference: a great start

83 people registered over the weekend of October 19th and 20th in Edinburgh for the Divest from Israeli Apartheid conference. Photos and full report to follow. Scottish Friends of Israel ("your local supporters of illegal occupation, colonialism and apartheid") had lobbied the venue to have the event cancelled but, as usual, they were rebuffed. Speakers from the US, Canada and Norway shared their experiences of a variety of divestment campaigns that have been successful; Scots and other conference particpants discussed how the lessons of these campaigns could be bets applied in their own countries. Scottish participants agreed on an interim coordination structure to share the information that will be necessary to initiate and sustain a dynamic campaign in Scotland to get institutions here to divest from Israeli apartheid.

From left, Peter MacDonald of Iona Community, Scotland; Anna Baltzer of US Campaign to End the Occupation; Ingvild Skogvold of Norwegian People's Aid; Yaffa Jarrar of Students against Israeli Apartheid at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada; Rab Paterson (Chair) of Midlothian Trades Council.

Some of the participants at the end of the final session on Sunday.

To receive a full report of the conference when it is ready and to be kept informed of future progress, email divest@scottishpsc.org.uk