Alan Hart
Press Release
Alan Hart – Palestine and Israel - No Law, No Peace
In an address to SIHRG at the Law Society Hall on 28th January, Alan Hart, the former ITN and BBC Panorama correspondent and author of Zionism: The Real Enemy of the Jews, presented the facts which, he said, invite the conclusion that Israel has been a criminal state since its unilateral declaration of existence - "actually in defiance of the will of the organised international community" - in 1948 and its creation by Zionist terrorism and ethnic cleansing.
He argued that unless the Zionist (“not Jewish”) state is called and held to account for its crimes, the Palestine problem, which he described as “the cancer at the heart of international affairs”, will consume us all, not just the Arabs and Jews of the region.
He also spoke about the key to understanding - knowledge of the difference between Judaism and Zionism. "When you know the difference", he said, "you can understand why it is perfectly possible to be passionately anti-Zionist (opposed to Zionism’s colonial enterprise) without being in any way, shape or form anti-Semitic; and why it is wrong to blame all Jews everywhere for the crimes of the hardcore Zionist few in Israel."
Inspired by the address of Alan Hart SIHRG resolved to devote proceeds of its UN training event to supporting Palestinian and Israeli human rights lawyers
SIHRG UN Training Event:
The United Nations Human Rights Enforcement Machinery
Wednesday 11 February, 2pm - 6pm
The Fetter Room, The Law Society Hall, 113 Chancery Lane WC2A 1PL
Dr Nazila Ghanea, of Oxford University, will deliver an introductory course on the United Nations Human Rights Machinery, how it operates, promotes and protects human rights. Dr Ghanea, who has acted as delegation member and expert at UN conferences, will discuss in turn the various organs of UN human rights machinery, from the Convention Against Torture to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, before focussing on the Charter based bodies including the Human Rights Council. Smita Shah, a barrister at Garden Court Chambers, will assist. The event will close with an assessment of the effectiveness of the UN machinery and proposals for reform. SIHRG, in collaboration with the Law Society, are pleased to hold this ever relevant course which will be followed by an advanced course later this year.
4 CPD points can be claimed for this training event, which costs £75 for a qualified lawyer and £40 for trainees and students. Discounts are available for SIHRG members. For more information and an online booking form, please go to www.sihrg.org.
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