Tag Archives: Gaza

THOUSANDS of people from all over Ireland attended a protest against the US military use of Shannon Airport this afternoon. From early in the afternoon Gardai closed off the main road to and from the airport, but entry and departure was faciliated by alternative routes. This evening Shannon Airport released a statement which said that access had been maintained throughout the afternoon and operations were not affected. Earlier this year protestors had staged a sit down protest which blocked all traffic from entering or leaving for a period of time, but Gardai were prepared today, and the same issues did not arise, despite a huge number of protestors attending. From early in the afternoon there were cars and buses parked all over Drumgeely, such was the attendance. Some residents were understandably put out at the inconvenience caused by the huge numbers taking over all available parking spaces in a part of the town where there are many older people. Protestors …

Two lobby groups who want an end to the war in Gaza have pledged to continue their “Banners on the Bridge” demonstrations over the coming months. Members of East Clare for Palestine and Nenagh Friends for Palestine waved flags and shouted slogans such as “Free Palestine”, “Ceasefire Now” on both sides of Killaloe Bridge on Friday. This third demonstration was part of a nationwide protest at bridges to encourage more people to come out in support of Palestine. While Carol McNamara, Scariff, welcomed the government’s decision to recognise a two-state solution, she stressed this was not enough as it needed to introduce boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) measures akin to what happened to South Africa under apartheid in the eighties. “We are here to show solidarity with people in Gaza. A lot of these vigils are being filmed and are being and are going back to people in Gaza who are facing starvation on a massive scale,” she said. “There …

Clare Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign Clare (IPSC) is organising another opportunity to catch a free screening of the film GAZA, this time at the Miltown Malbay Community Centre on Tuesday, March 5 at 8pm. The film which was released in 2019, was directed and produced by two Irish men, Andrew McConnell and Garry Keane. GAZA describes the unique world, rich with eloquent and resilient characters, offering us an inspiring portrait of a people, living with hope and leading meaningful lives against the rubble of perennial conflict between 2014 and 2018. The award–winning film has real value as a compassionate human document, showing ordinary people who courageously have to keep going, somehow, in what then seemed like the grimmest of conditions, in a world where there is a “wall between the people of Gaza and life itself”. The directors bring us a revealing film showing the common frustration at living an abnormal life, under siege. You will meet, amongst others, a young …

The Courthouse Gallery in Ennistymon will host a screening of the documentary Gaza this Friday, December 15, at 8pm. The film, released in 2019, was directed and produced by Irish men Andrew McConnell and Garry Keane. The award–winning film documents the real lives of people living in Gaza, showing how ordinary people courageously have to keep going in the grimmest of conditions, in a world where there is a “wall between the people of Gaza and life itself”. The film features, amongst others, a young cellist, a young rapper, a theatre director, a fisherman and his son, a taxi driver and an ambulance driver as they share their stories, daily experiences and their hopes for the future. Simple aspirations, which people living in Ireland might take for granted, are quashed on a daily basis. Wildcard Distribution, who own the screening rights to the film, have waived the license fees for these charity screenings and welcome people to arrange more screenings. …

Historian Dr Tomás Mac Conmara writes about his time in Palestine considering recent events in Gaza. Over recent weeks, as events in Gaza unfolded, I listened carefully to the words of many. Words of Israelis. Words of Palestinians. Media words. Words of an American President. Words of European leaders and of course, words of those in political leadership in Ireland. All these words are important. Words matter and words spoken at such times matter intensely. Words form stories and stories form narratives. Narratives form impressions. When unchallenged, they can sometimes become the truth. For much of the western media, events in Gaza commenced on 7th October. This of course is not the case. In 2011, after many years of instinctive support for the Palestinian cause, I made the decision to travel there. I had read many books and studied the history of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Yet I still understood little. I have always lived according to the principle …

The Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, under the chairmanship of Deputy Pat Breen, will convene tomorrow (Wednesday) to discuss the current situation in Gaza. Mr Raji Sourani, director of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, will appear before the Committee. Mr Sourani is a prominent human rights lawyer from Gaza, and has been working for human rights in the region since 1977. He will provide committee members with an update of the current situation in Gaza, and will discuss issues of accountability for violations of international law in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “The Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade has a deep interest in the situation in Gaza and committee members are keen to ensure that Ireland continues to make a positive contribution to what is a very challenging situation,” the Clare Fine Gael TD said. “This meeting affords us a valuable opportunity to receive a first hand account of the current situation in Gaza, whose inhabitants face many difficulties …

THE recent boycott of Israeli goods by Kinvara businesses has been a catalyst for change elsewhere and was a welcome show of solidarity with the people of Gaza, according to the Palestinian Ambassador to Ireland, Ahmad Abdelrazek. His Excellency Mr Abdelrazek was in the South Galway village with his wife, Rania Abdullah, on Friday to acknowledge the collective action taken by the pharmacy, retailers, restaurants, cafés and salons there, in response to the bombardment of Gaza last month. The boycott was the brainchild of John Griffin, Frank Naughton and Vicky Donnelly, who guided the couple around the village during their short visit, introducing them to business people and members of the community. His Excellency Mr Abdelrazek was welcomed by those who met him and even gave an impromptu address to the busy Kinvara Farmers’ Market. In an interview with The Clare Champion, the ambassador stated that people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank were aware of the move …

THE Clare branch of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign will have a public meeting next Tuesday with guest speaker Smadar Lavie. Ms Lavie is from Israel and is an anthropologist, professor and author whose mother’s family are Jewish Arabs from Yemen, while her fahter’s people are Jews from Lithuania. She is an ardent activist against racism towards Palestinians and Jews of Arab descent in Israel. Based at the University of California Berkeley, she has written or co-authored four books. Speaking in advance of her visit to Clare, Ms Lavie said that Israeli society is quite fractured between Jews of European descent, called Ashkenazi Jews, and Jews of Middle Eastern descent, or Mizrahi Jews. “Fifty per cent of the population are Jews from the Muslim and Arab world, from the margin of the Ottoman Empire, like Bulgaria or Turkey or the former Yugoslavia. Only 30% are Jews from Europe. However there are less than one per cent women professors who are of Mizrahi …