SCOTTISH Friends of Palestine was formed in 1982 in response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and subsequent attacks on Palestinian refugee communities. 

The organisation enjoys support across the trade union movement and one of the founder members was the late Bill Speirs, former general secretary of the Scottish Trade Union Congress.

Although our activities have been restricted due to Covid-19, our committee has made use of online facilities to continue our work.

On October 24 we held an online conference looking at medical links between Scotland and Palestine, particularly with reference to cancer treatment.

This was a very informative event and it was particularly encouraging to hear about the work of British charity Medical Aid for Palestinians which is supported by a number of medical professionals based in Scotland.

The conference heard from Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) representatives who told us how the Covid-19 crisis is stretching health services in Gaza to the limit and the work MAP is doing to provide care and treatment to Palestinian people.

Scottish Friends of Palestine has also continued its efforts in support the provision of  balanced educational resources on Israel/Palestine into Scottish schools.

Back in 2015 we supported the development of an Israel and Palestine teaching resource produced by a group of education specialists.

These materials were quality assured by Education Scotland and were made available on the official website of Education Scotland called GLOW in March 2017. 

However two months later the resource was pulled from the website by Scottish government Education Secretary John Swinney.

The decision to remove the materials was taken by Swinney following lobbying pressure from Jewish and pro-Israeli groups. 

These groups had unsurprisingly claimed in consultations with Swinney that the materials could bring anti-semitism into the classroom.

This was despite the materials being supported in consultations with teachers, parents, pupils and academics.

Currently the materials are being hosted on the Educational Institute of Scotland website and it is to the credit of Scotland’s biggest teachers’ union that it has taken this step.

However the struggle goes on to have the materials officially recognised by the Scottish government as an official and balanced educational resource.

In addition to these health- and education-related issues, the situation of the Palestinian people gives serious cause for concern from a human rights perspective and this is an issue we have been discussing at our online meetings.

A recent report produced by three Israeli human rights groups has condemned the practice of the Israeli military forcibly entering Palestinian homes in the occupied territories, often in the middle of the night.

The report produced by Breaking the Silence, Yesh Din and Physicians for Human Rights Israel makes harrowing reading.

It includes testimonies of soldiers, doctors and Palestinian families.

It is very depressing to note that the report highlights that Israeli troops enter homes on average more than 250 times every month.

During these nasty and spiteful activities Israeli military forces map houses to use roofs for observation posts. 

They also look for money and generally turn houses upside down.

As Dr Jumana Milhem, a psychologist from the Physicians for Human Rights Israel, said: “This process of entering houses by the Israeli military involves the dehumanisation of a whole society. Its point is to break their human spirit.”

Currently the very capable secretary of Scottish Friends of Palestine, Hugh Humphries, is updating one of our main campaigning documents — 20 Questions on Palestine.

In the updated document Humphries sums up the dire human rights situation of the Palestinian people within Israel by highlighting the racist nation-state law passed in 2018.

This legislation states: “Israel is the historic homeland of the Jewish people and they have an exclusive right to national self-determination in it.”

As Humphries points out, this is an assault on the rights of non-Jewish residents of Israel. 

However it is also the case that the legislation removes Arabic as an official language in Israel and confines Palestinians to the status of second-class citizens with limited rights.

Therefore, given the drastic human rights abuses which are perpetrated on the Palestinian people, it is imperative that Scottish Friends of Palestine and like-minded organisations continue to campaign for justice and peace for the Palestinian people.

When we have our next meeting in January, I will be suggesting that we should be  prioritising the following areas of work —

• Continue our support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel. 

In supporting this campaign we would look to keep the pressure on Israel to meet its obligations under international law.

This would involve, among other things, withdrawal from the occupied territories and full equality for Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel.

• Continue in our campaign to ensure that balanced educational materials on Israel/Palestine are available to teachers and pupils in Scottish schools.

When the health situation allows, there should be a return to a sustained programme of public work via street stalls and stalls at trade union and community events to raise awareness of the situation of the Palestinian people.

• Support the work of organisations such as Medical Aid for Palestinians who are on the ground in the occupied territories providing healthcare.

In conclusion, the message of Scottish Friends of Palestine to the Palestinian people at Christmas is that we will continue to offer you all the support and solidarity we can in your struggle for peace and justice.

Arthur West is the chair of Scottish Friends of Palestine.