NOVANEWS
John Nicholson explains why our readers should take action against the Jewish National Fund
The Jewish National Fund was set up in London over a hundred years ago explicitly in order to settle Jewish people in homes in Palestine. It is a registered charity and gives the impression that it is just involved in planting trees and supplying water.
Instead the JNF has been responsible for destroying Palestinian villages, displacing and dispersing those who lived there, establishing forests and parks with non-indigenous trees over the remains – to prevent return of the Palestinian people who have been removed, then building new housing for settlers and diverting water to these new arrivals – at the same time as assisting in the eviction of urban Palestinians and transfer of their houses to settlers and the repeated destruction of Bedouin villages in the Naqab (Negev) desert.
A growing number of MPs in the Westminster Parliament, led by Jeremy Corbyn and Gerald Kaufman, have signed up to an “Early Day Motion” (EDM) opposed to these activities by a purported charity. The EDM calls for the JNF’s charitable status to be terminated. Since the EDM was launched Cameron has taken his name off the list of “Patrons” (Blair and Brown are of course still listed…..) and we are hoping to use the short time that remains for the EDM to increase the number of MPs still further. The Green Party in England and Wales recently voted at their Conference in support, following the Green Party in Scotland’s earlier move in this direction.
I would therefore be very pleased if you could circulate this to all your contacts for them to press their own local constituency MPs. With thanks in anticipation.
To make this very easy, there is an extremely simple method for everyone to contact their MP directly – a website which sends the appropriate personal message for them (whether the MP is in favour or not yet signed up). This is www.coordin8.org.uk – you just go to it, choose the “Stop the JNF” campaign icon, put in your postcode, and send the message off (you can of course put your own addition or amendment to the message).
While you are there, you can also choose the “Welcome to Palestine” campaign icon and encourage all MPs to support the right of people to fly into Israel with the explicit intention of visiting friends in Palestine. This initiative takes place on April 15th, and hundreds of visitors are expected to be flying into Tel Aviv on that day.
Thanks again and best of luck in all your own campaigns.