ALTHOUGH it seems like Netanyahu has shelved his annexation plans for now, the brief postponement is little cause for celebration. Palestinians already live under the oppressive rule of the Israeli government and have for decades suffered annexation after annexation.

But while global attention is on the issue it’s imperative to keep up that pressure and call for proper consequences proportionate to such flagrant breaches of international law. This weekend you can join an international rally with activists across the global south calling for just that, anti-annexation protests across Britain and emerge yourself in Palestinian culture at Palestine Expo.

Saturday July 4

Palestine Solidarity Campaign has called for a national day of action against annexation, with small socially distanced protests across the country. For a full list of locations and details go to: https://mstar.link/annexation.

At 1pm tune in for Palestine Expo, one of the largest celebrations of Palestinian art, culture and history in Europe. In recent years the event has attracted over 25,000 attendees and is an unmissable date in every pro-Palestinian activist’s diary. This year of course Expo has been moved online but will still feature an amazing host of speakers including Ilan Pappé and Diana Buttu, dabke performances and a virtual tour of Al Aqsa. Find the full schedule for the weekend here: https://www.palestineexpo.com/programme.

Join BDS’s international call for targeted sanctions, arms embargoes and legal challenges against Israel in a Global South online rally. Tune in from 2pm to hear from prominent anti-apartheid and pro-Palestinian activists in South Africa, South America and India: https://mstar.link/joinBDS.

Next up hear stories from people across the world who’ve been subjected to immigration detention by taking part in Refugee Tales 2020 from 9am. This unique project invites attendees to go on a solidarity walk while tuning in to a full day of talks, music events and readings of testimonies from detainees. Make sure to listen in at 7pm for a reading by Kurdish-Iranian journalist Behrouz Boochani, who was held in Australia’s notorious offshore detention centre on Manus Island for four years. To find the full list of events for today and tomorrow go to: https://www.refugeetales.org/thewalkof2020.

Sunday July 5

72 years ago on July 5, our public health service came into being in the aftermath of the second world war. This year the health service emerges from the worst health crisis in a generation that has seen almost the same number of people die from Covid-19 as civilian casualties during six years of war. To mark this day, the People’s Assembly are holding an online rally to demand better for the NHS and true health equality for all regardless of ethnicity or immigration status: https://mstar.link/6yearsofwar.

Monday July 6

Join Unison members in Tower Hamlets on a virtual picket line as they strike over moves by the council to fire thousands of essential staff and rehire them on inferior contracts. The online rally kicks off at 11.30am on Monday and Tuesday: https://mstar.link/picket.

With many more workplaces reopening from July 4 following the coronavirus lockdown, knowing your rights has never been more important. Imparting invaluable knowledge on the new legal situation for health and safety regulations join the Trade Union Coordinating Group and the Institute of Employment Rights and Hazards at 6pm: https://mstar.link/hazards.

Tuesday July 7

At 7pm join the People’s Assembly again, this time to discuss what role anti-war and anti-austerity activists can take in these unprecedented times of the pandemic and the seismic rise of Black Lives Matter movement. Register for the Zoom call at: https://mstar.link/BLMzoom.

Wednesday July 8

Engage with leading experts that will help you understand social justice issues and how pandemics disproportionately impact communities of colour, while empowering you to challenge the status quo with the National Youth Summit at 12pm and 4pm: https://mstar.link/NationalYouthSummit.

Thursday July 9

The TUC’s Organise festival kicks off today with a packed programme of discussions for any left activist from fighting the far right to achieving zero carbon in a fair and just way to organising for equality. You can find a full programme of the event, which spans over three days at: https://mstar.link/orgfest.

The time difference might make this one hard to catch but if you’re ready for a webinar at 11pm, I highly recommend you tune in for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement’s discussion with black and indigenous activists and scholars. The mighty BDS will hear about speakers’ struggles against racism and settler colonialism from Hawaii to Samoa, First Nations, Black America and Palestine: https://bdsmovement.net/global-uprising.

Friday July 10

After that heavy week of training sessions, protests and rallies, it’s time for something a little more creative with Poetry is Not a Luxury: Poems in Times of Crisis. Hosted by the Centre for Feminist Research at Goldsmiths this event looks at the importance of poetry in times of crisis as a means to document and resist. Poets and Goldsmiths graduate students Janel Pineda and Mackenzie Berry will read and respond to excerpts from Lorde’s Poetry is Not a Luxury, share their own poetry in conversation with this, and open the space for discussion. Tune in at 5pm: https://mstar.link/poetryluxury.