Edinburgh branch newsletter – July 2014

Letter to Scottish Govt, Stop the Wall, Sainsburys campaign ......
 
Edinburgh SPSC Branch Newsletter : July 2014

Here are more details and links below for your inf
ormation on how you can help and how you can get involved locally with the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign.  

Join us in our work on the streets of Edinburgh, come to our meetings, join our discussions. 

Here's what you can do ......
 
Saturday 5th July : Sainburys STOP! Campaign

Last month we had a surprise event with a 'flash-mob' style demo inside the Craigleith store of Sainsburys  
Watch the video on Facebook

This month it's back to normal and we will be holding our regular stalls outside several Sainsbury's stores this Saturday
5th July.
 We're collecting more signatures for letters to their management asking them not to trade with companies that are involved in Israel's illegal occupation and violations of international law and human rights.
 
We want Sainburys to stop trading with companies involved in Israel's settlements on stolen Palestinian land. Meet with us in this important BDS campaign which is part of the national Sainburys Campaign taking place all over the UK. There will also be a protest in London on 9th July at the company's AGM.

Information below is correct at time of going to press but please phone the contact for the stall you are thinking of joining to confirm the times of the stall.

Portobello : 12pm to 2pm
228 High Street
Portobello,
Contact: Margaret 07733 336 476

Newington : 12pm to 2pm
33-39 South Clerk Street, Newington.
Contact: Douglas 07724 875 829

Fountainbridge: 12pm to 2pm
Dundee Street, Fountainbridge.
Contact: Janet 07562 799 926

Bruntsfield: 12pm to 2pm
Bruntsfield Place,
Contact: Tom 07804 889 449

Leith: 12pm to 2pm
Bernard Street,
Leith
Contact: Angus 07702 408 815

Meadows : 12pm to 2pm
Middle Meadow Walk
Contact: Ian 07935 224 394
 
West Port: 2pm to 4pm
West Port,
Grassmarket
Contact: Frank 07847 440 692


Wednesday 9th July : Stop the Wall 2014

On July 9th it will be a decade since the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an advisory opinion entitled 'Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory'

This declared the Apartheid Wall in the West Bank illegal under international law. The Court was clear: it demanded the Wall to be torn down, sanctioned Palestinian rights and called upon the international community to enforce Israeli compliance.

Read more here Stop the Wall


Monday 14th July : Visit of Archbishop Atallah Hanna to Scotland

Atallah Hanna, the Archbishop of Sebastia from the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, will be touring Scotland from 14th to 20th July.  He is a passionate champion of Palestinian rights (see him speak, for example, on the Palestinian Right of Return

Events in Edinburgh include his arrival at Edinburgh Airport at 2135 on Monday 14th July and we will be organizing a reception party to welcome him.  He will also be giving a sermon (at a location to be determined) on Sunday 20th July.

During his tour he will also be visiting Stirling, Dundee and Glasgow; meeting representatives of the Scottish Government, local authorities that have adopted BDS(boycott, divestment and sanctions), leaders of Christian churches and other faiths, Palestinian groups; and addressing public meetings.

More information here: Archbishop Hanna's visit to Scotland
 

Thursday 24th July - 7.30pm: Divestment Meeting

Our monthly meetings on promoting divestment from Israel continue. The next is on Thursday 24th July at 7:30pm.

We will have chosen to open discussions with the Lothian Pension Fund which provides pensions for retired members of staff of local authorities in East Scotland and other public bodies.

They have investments in the likes of Veolia, G4S, Hewlett Packard and other companies complicit in Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory including companies that provide cement for the Apartheid Wall.

We meet as normal in St John's Church on the corner of Lothian Road and Princes Street (enter by Princes St door).


Open Letter to Humza Yousaf - Please give your endorsement

In conjunction with 'Friends of Al-Aqsa' and 'Palestinians in Scotland' we have written an open letter to Humza Yousaf, the Minister for External Affairs.

We call on the Scottish Government to make a clear and unambiguous statement condemning Israel’s ethnic cleansing of the people of Palestine.

We are also calling for the dismantling of the apartheid wall in line with the ICJ decision, and reaffirming FM Alex Salmond’s 2010 call for an end to business as usual with the State of Israel while it commits serious war crimes and, in the words of the UN Goldstone Commission, possible crimes against humanity.

Add your name to the letter here. Open Letter to Humzah Yousaf

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Make sure you read regular updates from the local branch here in Edinburgh.  Join our Facebook page.
Edinburgh SPSC

And bookmark the SPSC website. There will be more detailed information published regularly on our calendar of events plus new articles about Palestine and Israel. www.scottishpsc.org.uk

Best wishes

Edinburgh SPSC


“you can’t have normal relationships if you believe another country has been involved in what Israel has been involved in” 
(Alex Salmond on BBC Question Time, 2010)