Report on Twinning Conference
Britain - Palestine Twinning Conference held in Bethlehem, Palestine - Easter 2006.

All other Conference and meeting reports

On this page; UK places represented / Palestinian Communities / Photos from the Conference / Full Conference report

Many more people than expected turned up demonstrating the interest in both the U.K. and amongst Palestinian communities for friendship links. The conference was attended by 30 British and other foreign people (this included some international volunteers)  and about 130 Palestinians.

UK Places represented; Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Camden, Hackney, Hull, Leeds, Luton, Nottingham, Oxford, Tower Hamlets, Wales (not sure where), York.
Apologies from, Exeter, Manchester, Reading, Swindon.

Palestinian places represented; Abu dis, Alasakreh, Aldawha, Alebadiah, Alkhader, Almeasara, Alwalageh, Ayda refugee camp, Bait fajar, Bait jalah, Bait sahour, Battir, Berzat, Bethany, Bethlahem, Dehasha refugee camp , Hebron, Jenin , Kofor neema, Nahalin, Om slmoneh, Taqua, Wad alnees, Wadi Fokin, Zatara.

If you read Arabic you may be interested in the report of the conference that was in Al-Quds newspaper in Palestine on 14th April - here is the link: Al-Quds article.

Full conference report

TALK BY MAYOR OF BETHLEHEM - Dr. Victor Battarsa
Welcomed us all and welcomed twinning initiatives

Upset at the recent approach by the British government, cutting of aid to the Palestinian people following the Hamas election victory - saw this as hypocrisy, following a model election proving Palestinian democracy. It is important to ask the mighty to recognise the rights of the weak, not vice versa. He asked us to demand that UN resolutions are implemented. Talked about the travel restrictions and the harassment that Palestinians receive - he sees the twinning movement as having "a vital role - to protest against the inhuman and intolerable treatment of our people.” The twinning movement offers " a candle of hope.”

TALK BY LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL MEMBER– Fouad Kokali

Pointed out that the Palestinians' problems started with Britain. The British Mandate was also an occupation. But our relationships now are important, while it is important for people to be realistic in looking at the problems involved.

Palestinians are getting collective punishment from Israel, and now the whole world is cutting aid, the whole world is taking part in that collective punishment.

The Palestinians have the right to live in freedom, dignity and peace.

He was previously Mayor of Beit Sahour and worked hard to build twinning relationships as he thinks that important. He is glad that more and more people are coming to build this sort of links and to see what is happening with their own eyes - he asked us to "take our voice back with you.”

TALK BY SALAH AYYAD, Abu Dis Camden Committee (Palestine)

Twinning is about "building bridges of understanding”, Frustration at the way that the European Union (in which Britain is a big player) has decided to cut aid to the Palestinians. Emphasised that the democracy of the Palestinian elections was exemplary, but it gave the answer that the West thought was wrong.

Friendship links help people to come and see what it's like on the ground in Palestine. They tell friends and acquaintances. And it creates a bridge between the two peoples. One result is that people coming here for twinning put pressure on their representatives in the UK. He talked about the support and solidarity that Abu Dis gets from Camden.

TALK BY KAMEL HAWWASH, Birmingham Ramallah Twinning Committee (UK)

Twinning work builds a long-term relationship between particular places and is complementary to the work of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign in Britain which campaigns on particular issues. Important that Palestinian partners are not under the illusion that there is lots of money involved - This twinning is about solidarity. We will organise visits and other activities. We won't come with conditions attached, but in relation to money, there is a practical issue - we do need accountability. Palestinians give hope and energy to the British with their resistance and their steadfastness.

TALK BY NANDITA DOWSON, Camden Abu Dis Friendship Association (UK)
The reasons for making links between Camden and Abu Dis - not about money, but about pressing for human rights and making as many people as possible in the UK aware of what is happening in Palestine. An account of the history and organisation of the twinning campaign in Camden showing how it is developing through the work of links groups (slides and photos will shortly be available on www.camdenabudis.net). Practical issues for twinning groups to deal with include issues of money and expectations on both sides, and the need to link people as widely as possible, making sure that it is not just one group at each end.

MORNING WORKSHOPS

ISSUES RAISED FOR DISCUSSION BY THE PALESTINIAN GROUPS

 The Main Goals of the Conference

To encourage relationships between the different places in Palestine and Britain

Suggestions:

· To establish a committee to represent Palestine to follow up the Friendship projects

· To establish another committee to co-ordinate the British and Palestinian representatives

· To have a media committee from the Palestinian side, and to open a website, just like the Twinning Palestine

· To encourage tourism not terror in Palestine

· To focus on the places which have been hardest hit by the Wall

· Linking criteria - We must try to match towns with similar profiles, i.e. Has a university, or Manchester matched with a city, not a town in the West Bank

· Every place in Palestine to send a leaflet or article about the situation and its infrastructure - societies, committees, schools etc. as well as the suffering from the occupation

· This connection/relationship is between people/human beings, not governments on both sides

· Make a central committee, made up of representatives from each city, which will in turn represent all the surrounding towns, through a similar committee system

· Establish a magazine as a voice piece for the committee, and the friendship activities

· Establish a non party political climate

ISSUES RAISED FOR DISCUSSION BY THE BRITISH GROUPS

· Specific information: How to get it: How to publicise it

· Determine UK ways into relevant organizations

· Determining local priorities

· Co-ordination with the PSC

· Cross referencing with local organizations to help co-ordination

· How cuts undermine NGOs' efficacy

· Statistics of the direct results of sanctions on Palestinians

· Who twins with who

· Financial responsibilities of twinning groups

· Links with the trade unions e.g. NUT - National Union of Teachers

· Should the NGOs give their money to the PA? (quickly dismissed as impractical)

· What are the next steps for the UK twinning groups?

· Lobby the EU and challenge the Israeli bias of funding

· Establish links to organizations with International links

· Dissemination of information in UK and Palestine (local news)

· Should there be a conference in the UK in the autumn?

· Standardisation of information to facilitate speedy dissemination

· Long term objectives of the twinning campaign

· Encouragement of the Holy Land Trust and other tour groups

· How to establish and expedite goods and money transfers

· Maintenance of websites and blogs

· Establish E mail list - Especially students

· Pen pals

· Feedback from Palestinians on the strengths and weaknesses of the twinning campaign

AFTERNOON WORKSHOPS

NOTES FROM THE NEW GROUPS

Tubas Jordan Valley / Brighton Battir / Luton

Tubas / Brighton

Brighton has already had a relationship with individuals in the Jordan Valley but has not yet (at date of conference) established twinning relationship. Brighton's Palestine solidarity group is already well established and has carried out many campaign in solidarity but just begun twinning project. Most notable campaign so far has been the campaign against Agrexo where the company was blockaded in Brighton in protest for profits from occupation. Agrexo took Brighton protesters to court but were unsuccessful. This is the type of activity hoped to be planned for in the future in coordination with friends in Tubas.

We had some discussion about what type of organisation is appropriate on both sides. Should the organisation be informal, should coordinators be elected, would a more formal organisation stifle more radical protest? No definitive model appeared to fit both Battir or Tubas or Luton / Brighton.

Battir / Luton

Contact had only be made 2 weeks before the conference one email exchanged Both the Luton group (at the moment about 20 largely RESPECT but also Labour and PSC) and Battir (now established committee of 15 representing all civic organisations in the village) are very enthusiastic about the potential for twinning and within 2 days of establishing a relationship have a strong trust and mutual understanding. The organising model set up in Battir seems to work very well for a village and has proved itself to organise visits to all civic organisations within the village.

The future

· planned repeat visit and return of Palestinians to Luton.

· Coordinated response on events

· Potential for establishing school email exchanges, books for library sports equipment for football team etc. as ways of building the political campaign in Luton

· Also requirement to spread word to other towns in UK to encourage twinning.

NOTES FROM THE DOUBLE TWINNING GROUPS

Birmingham/Oxford/Ramallah, Leeds/ (Exeter)/Hebron,

York/ (Preston)/(Dundee) / Nablus
I didn't actually take notes from the meeting about double twinning however from memory we decided that we would make them work where they already exist but will try to ensure that double twinning doesn't take place again.

We said that the local Palestine committee should decide on their needs and then share them with both British groups who will work together to make sure that work isn't repeated. We actually spent quite a bit of time discussing what twinning and friendship links are about etc.

NOTES FROM THE GROUP OF ESTABLISHED TWINNING GROUPS

Camden/ Abu Dis, Hackney/ Beit Surik

· Set up a regular newsletter for the different groups

· Video conferencing

· Involve UK Palestinian organizations and individuals in the Palestinian issues (does this mean in twinning activities?)

· Arrange joint activities (UK and Palestine ) on the same day

· More youth contact

· Volunteer workers from the US and UK - English teaching/medical etc.

· Fund raising for cultural exchanges

· Set up summer camps

· Campaign for the reinstatement of Palestinian funding

· Find effective ways of using the media

· More Palestinian contact

NOTES FROM TWO GROUPS OF REPRESENTATIVES FROM PLACES WITH NO TWINNING PARTNER (at least 12 different places)

Many groups wanting a twinning partner in Britain wanted a procedure for finding one. It was agreed that the twinning website contact would be useful, and it will be possible for people to put descriptions of their town or village on the website. Palestinian places wanting partners will get on with writing the descriptions and people in Britain will seek groups prepared to be new partners.

NOTES FROM THE PLENARY

· contact@twinningwithpalestine.net

· Set up a central committee in Palestine and the UK

· Places of most suffering most need twinning partners (specific issues) but others do as well

· Look for special features

· All villages seeking a twin to write something about their village and be able to upload it on the website - Particular situation, as well as cultural heritage etc.

· Twinning website to allow Palestinian places seeking partners to write about their village (etc.) and put this on website

· Newsletter (later)

· British people highlight Palestinian issue to E.U.

· More volunteers needed, as the situation is getting even worse  (one contact is www.telrumeidaproject.org)

· Other solidarity activities: 

o BIG - Boycott Israeli Goods - Both in UK and in Palestine

o Academic Boycott

o Call for arms embargo

MEETING OF BRITISH DELEGATES ON NEXT STEPS

Next steps are

· A meeting in Britain for twinning groups on 21st May 11 for 11.15

· A report of the conference to go to various places including Palestine News

· A conference in the autumn, and to see if each twinning group might be able to bring a Palestinian visitor from their partner place

· A twinning tour of Britain in the summer, to be organised from the 21st May meeting with a CD Rom presentation made jointly

· Another joint twinning visit to Palestine in the autumn, probably the October half term

Photos from the Conference

The Mayor of Bethlehem opens the Conference.

About 30 people from the UK attended together with 130 Palestinians.

After the opening speeches, workshops took place. These are photos of the Palestinian workshops to discuss what they felt twinning was or should be about.

The British workshop in action

Afterwards, the two groups came together to discuss their issues together.

Joint workshops were then held. One for established groups, one for new groups, and one for those towns looking for a twinning partner.

The day ended with a Palestinian dancing group performing for us all.

The reason twinning links are needed. This is the Apartheid or annexation wall outside Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem.

Note that it does not run around or beside the Zionist settlement in the distance, but annexes the farmland used by Palestinians.

From Al-Quds newspaper, Palestine, 14th April 2006 - www.alquds.com

Opening of the Palestine - Britain Twinning Conference in Bethlehem

Speakers appreciate the relationship between the two sides and condemn the policy of siege and starvation

Najib Farraj Bethlehem

The conference about friendship between Palestinian cities, villages and refugee camps and the cities and boroughs in Britain was held in Bethlehem on Thursday at a hall in the Paradise Hotel. It was organised by the Holy Land Trust based in Bethlehem in co-operation with the Friendship Association between Abu Dis in Palestine and Camden in Britain. It was attended by 12 delegations representing cities and boroughs from Britain and 12 delegations from Palestinian counties representing Pal cities, villages and refugee camps.

The conference was opened by people standing for one minute's silence for the souls of the martyrs and then the Palestinian national anthem was played Then Dr. Victor Batarsa, Mayor of Bethlehem, opened the conference. He welcomed to Bethlehem the guests who had come from Britain and the rest of those present, and said that the city and its surrounding areas and all its sons have pleasure in having this conference which expresses the depth of the friendship that links the peoples of Britain and Palestine. It also emphasises the level of the Palestinian people's will for friendship with the people of the world and also their belief in a just and permanent peace which should guarantee all the legitimate rights of this people, most prominent of which is the right of return, self-determination and the establishment of the independent Palestinian state with its capital in Jerusalem.

On his part, Fouad Kokali, a Fateh Member of the Legislative Council, emphasised the importance of establishing such relationships that represent among other things the solidarity of the British people with the Palestinian people who are suffering due to the policy of killing, starvation, demolition of houses and collective imprisonment. He condemned the policy of siege and starvation that has been taken by foreign countries against the Palestinian people following the recent election of the legislative council that produced the current Palestinian government. The elections took place in a democratic atmosphere - part of the social fabric of the Palestinians - in an absolutely honest way but stunned the whole world and made some governments headed by America and European countries cut the aid to the Palestinian people. Undoubtedly this step is shameful to its authors because it means that they are against the democracy that they themselves called for. The evident result is the collective punishment of the Palestinian people through starvation. He described the current situation as extremely dangerous and difficult because of this destructive policy.

After that, Salah Ayyad, from the management committee of the Abu Dis Camden Friendship Association gave a speech in which he explained the role of his management group in strengthening the relationship between the two sides and in organising this conference. The conference aims to establish strategic relationships firstly to make people aware of the Palestinian tragedy and also to work towards establishing joint projects that help in one way or the other to develop Palestinian society and its progress. He added that British institutions that are represented in this conference are keen to establish strong friendship relationships with the Palestinian side and by attending want to declare their solidarity and assistance to the Palestinian people and its government that is a result of democratic choice, and the aim is not to replace one with the other but to strengthen the understanding of the peaceful dealings of the authority irrespective of the side that formed the government.

Nandita Dowson from Britain, Chair of the Camden Abu Dis Friendship Association, gave a presentation explaining in detail the relationship between Camden and Abu Dis that has been going on for a number of years. She pointed out that this relationship between Camden and Abu Dis has resulted in different relationships to link various places in Palestine and Britain. She said that this development shows the level of the support of the British people for Palestinian rights and the importance of regaining these rights, emphasising that this support is gathering momentum in her country. The biggest proof of what she said was this conference where the British people are showing their enthusiasm for establishing friendship links with the Palestinians and twinning relationships between Palestinian villages, towns and refugee camps with their counterparts in Britain.

The last of the speakers was Dr. Kamel Hawwash, an exiled Palestinian, representative of the Palestinian community in Britain. He spoke about the nature of the partnership between Birmingham and Ramallah.

After that the participants in the conference brit and pals dispersed into various workshops and discussed the various subjects that the programme contained and it lasted until the evening hours.

Abdul Wahab Sabbah, co-ordinator of the Abu Dis part of the friendship relationship between this part of Jerusalem and Camden in Britain, a borough of London with a population of around 260 000, described the friendship relationships between the two sides, which have become very strong and specialised through establishing joint activities in different spheres - social, women, art, legal. These activities also include organising advanced English language courses in Abu Dis run by a lot of volunteers in Camden.

He explained that the conference came about as a result of a meeting between the Palestinian and the British sides around 7 months ago in Camden, London, where the two partners agreed to expand this relationship to include other towns from the two sides to establish friendship relationships that could develop into twinning relationships and establish joint projects - hence this conference where friendship relationships were established between 12 groups on each side. He said Jenin was linked with Tower Hamlets, Jenin refugee camp with Luton, Hebron with Leeds and Exeter, Beit Surik with Hackney and Beit Furik with South West London, Gaza with Manchester, Ramallah with Birmingham and Oxford, in addition to Beit Sahour, Nablus and El-Azzariyeh with 3 other cities and towns

He explained that the delegations that attended the conference represented all these places except for Gaza City delegation which was prevented by the Israeli occupation forces from coming to Bethlehem. These delegations were represented by establishment institutions and local councils of cities and towns. It is worth mentioning that the British delegations - numbered in tens - arrived in Palestine 5 days ago, will leave it 3 days from now and will go to various towns and refugee camps and cities where the friendship relationships have been established to learn about the environment, various projects and to learn more details about the nature of these places.

(There are a number of small errors of fact in the original which haven't been corrected in this translation )