On 23rd of December 2013, Bethlehem Unwrapped festival opened with the unveiling of a 8m high life size replica of the separation wall that has been built by Israel in the West Bank. It has been constructed over 8
days in the church yard of St James' near Piccadilly Circus in central London in a bid to bring some reality of what it is like to live in Bethlehem in 2013.
days in the church yard of St James' near Piccadilly Circus in central London in a bid to bring some reality of what it is like to live in Bethlehem in 2013.
The Church address is at : St James' Piccadilly, 197 Piccadilly, London W1J 9LL. ( It's near Fortnum and Masons on Piccadilly) for the map location copy and paste the following link in your browser:
http://goo.gl/oiCsXh
The full programme of concerts, talks, events can be accessed HERE
The following letter was published in the Guardian on December 27th 2013
The full programme of concerts, talks, events can be accessed HERE
The following letter was published in the Guardian on December 27th 2013
'Today marks five years since the Israeli military launched a series of missile and ground attacks on Gaza, which Israel named ‘Operation Cast Lead’. According to the UN, 1,383 Palestinians died as a result. These fatalities include 333 children.
And what of the survivors? For the 1.7 million living in the tiny Gaza Strip, life has become increasingly desperate due to Israel’s ongoing blockade, backed by Egypt, and with no effective challenge from governments around the world. The blockade has brought electricity cuts of 16 hours a day, which means the only street lights visible to people at night have been those from Israel’s nearby towns. The electricity shortages have severely affected almost all
essential services, including health, water, sanitation and schooling. With waste plants not operating as a result, Palestinian children have been wading through freezing sewage to attend school.
The terrible floods in Gaza brought the promise of increased electricity supplies for a few weeks, but the international community must demand the electricity supply is constant and permanent.
This blockade has also resulted in unacceptable limits on personal freedom. Most Palestinians are prevented from travelling outside Gaza, an area of 139 sq miles: about the same size, but much more densely populated, as Newcastle.
It is deplorable for us to allow this on-going collective punishment against Palestinians in Gaza. We urge the UK government to take immediate action to bring about an end to the blockade on Gaza.'
Baroness Blackstone
Peter Bottomley MP
Richard Burden MP
Martin Caton MP
Katy Clark MP
Michael Connarty MP
Jeremy Corbyn MP
Alex Cunningham MP
Lord Dubs
Mark Durkan MP
Lord Dykes
John Hemming MP
Julian Huppert MP
Lord Hylton
Hugh Lanning, Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Lord Judd
Caroline Lucas MP
Sir Gerald Kaufman MP
George Mudie MP
Grahame Morris MP
Sandra Osborne MP
Lord Phillips of Sudbury
Rt Hon Dame Joan Ruddock MP
Andy Slaughter MP
Baroness Tonge
Yasmin Qureshi MP
David Ward MP
Mike Weir MP
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