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HUNDREDS of cyclists set off today on a four-day, 120-mile ride from Bristol to London to raise funds for a children’s park in Gaza.
The Big Ride for Palestine is an annual event that seeks to highlight the abuses of Palestinians’ human rights, particularly those in Gaza following Israel’s 11-day military onslaught on the besieged coastal strip in May.
This year, it is also raising funds to build a children’s park in the Gaza town of Rafah, an initiative by the Middle East Children’s Alliance aimed at fostering a safe place for traumatised children.
The marathon ride will end at Mile End Park in east London on August 1, after Tower Hamlets council reversed its refusal to the participants access to the park in 2019.
Council officials were found to have rejected the organisers’ application to use the park on the basis that their references to the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians might violate the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of anti-semitism.
Palestine Solidarity Campaign director Ben Jamal said he was “delighted” that the council has welcomed the event back this year.
“The Big Ride is a wonderful initiative that combines a love of cycling with raising awareness of the oppression of the Palestinian people,” Mr Jamal added.
