Speaking tour by author of ‘Gaza: when the sky rained white fire’
On December 27, 2008, Israel launched Operation Cast Lead, a massive, 22-day military assault on the Gaza Strip. The ferocity of the attack was unprecedented in the almost seven decades of Zionist dispossession of Palestinians, killing some 1,400 Palestinians, most of them civilians. Human Rights Watch accused the Israeli military of "wanton destruction". The UN reported over 6,000 homes destroyed or severely damaged, more than 20,000 made homeless, the economy shattered yet again. 18 schools were destroyed and miles of water and sewage pipes severely damaged.
Unspeakable 
Israeli crimes against the Palestinians of Gaza did not start in 2008; seven years earlier, for example, Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent Chris Hedges wrote from Israeli occupied Rafah Refugee Camp in Gaza how he “watched soldiers entice children like mice into a trap and murder them for sport”.
The crimes have continued till today; Israeli military forces attack Palestinian fishing vessels to coop them up in a three nautical mile fishing zone; Israel shells, bombs and shoots at will; the regime in Israel and the dictatorship in Egypt cooperate to enforce the brutal siege. The British Government sells Israel parts for the drones that hover over Gaza, selecting targets for assassination and firing missiles to kill Palestinians.
Musheir El-Farra is from Gaza, a leading figure in Sheffield Palestine Solidarity Campaign. He is speaking at meetings across Scotland about his book, first person accounts from families in Gaza about what they endured during Israel's invasion and massacre during Operation Cast Lead. He has written a powerful book that deserves to be widely read and discussed.
- "...a human story, told with deep integrity by a son of Gaza. It is a story that cries out for justice." Clare Short
- "This book is one crucial and highly significant part...of the struggle for truth and justice for Gaza." Ilan Pappẻ
Speaking tour schedule:
Friday 25 October Musselburgh 2.00pm QMU Campus, Room 50
Friday 25 October Kirkcaldy 7.00pm Kirkcaldy Old Kirk Hendry Road KY2 5JJ
Sunday 27 October Edinburgh 4.15pm at Edinburgh Independent Radical Book Fair
Out of the Blue, 30-38 Dalmeny Street EH6 8RG
Monday 28 October Glasgow 7.30pm STUC 333 Woodlands Rd G3 6NG
Tuesday 29 October Stirling 7.30pm Burgh Coffee House, 4 King Street FK8 1AY
Wednesday 30 October Dundee 7.30pm Tower Building Room T9, Perth Road
Thursday 31 October Aberdeen 7.00pm Bookends, Butchart Centre, University Rd
Friday 1 November Forres 7.30pm Tolbooth, High Street IV36 1NX
Saturday 2 November Rothesay 2.00pm The Pavillion, 45 Argyle Street PA20 0AX