Our branch’s public forum titled “Roadmap or Roadblock: The Struggle for a Free Palestine” was very successful, attracting more than two dozen people, including five who had never been to a Socialist Alliance event before. It was the first of our monthly outreach meetings, which will focus on a topical issue and feature invited speakers. We hope the meetings will not only raise the Alliance’s general profile, but also help us strengthen our links with other progressive groups and activists in the local area.
The meeting was addressed by Palestinian activist and local Greens candidate Bashir Sawalha, long-time Palestine solidarity activist and Socialist Alliance member Bernie Rosen, and local Palestinian activist Rihab Charida who presents “The Palestinian Report” on TV Channel 31. Charida is also an Alliance member. Bashir, who was jailed in Israel for participating in the first Intifada, outlined the history of the Palestinian struggle and argued that the best solution to the conflict was a democratic secular state for all Palestinians and Israelis.
Rihab outlined how the “roadmap for peace” did not address any of the real issues facing the Palestinian people, in particular the right of return for Palestinian refugees. The “roadmap”, she argued, would in fact entrench Israel’s military domination of the region and the “bantustanisation” of Palestine.
Bernie discussed the nature of Zionism and argued that the horrors that Jewish people had suffered last century could not be fixed at the expense of the Palestinian people.
The next Canterbury-Bankstown public forum, on July 24, titled “ Do we live in a police state?” will focus on racial profiling, the new “terror” laws and attacks on civil liberties in NSW, and how we can campaign against them. For more information phone Kim on (02) 9793 2188 or 0439 454 375.