The Hackney Beit Surik Friendship Forum

The village name "Bayt Surik", was first used by Roman people in ancient times and means the springs village.

Welcome to Saeda Al Jamal, a woman Maths student visiting Hackney as part of our contribution to International Women's Day - Detailed events listing

Next meeting with Stop the War - Monday 9th March 2009, 7.30pm in the downstairs room, Evin Café, Kingsland Road. London.

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An evening of discussion, as part of an International Women’s Day tour by women from the West Bank.

Speakers:

Saeda Jamal, Maths student, from Beit Surik

David Ash, Hackney Beit Surik Friendship Forum

Miriam Scharf, Stop the War and Tower Hamlets Jenin Friendship Association

We urgently need to raise £1,000 to pay for her air fare, etc. Many thanks to Hackney NUT for their support. If you wish to support this visit, please contact us for more information.

Next monthly meeting: Monday 6th April at 239 Stoke Newington Church Street, London. N16 9HP.

Bus route 393 runs outside, 73 and 476 buses stop at Stoke Newington Town Hall. We are opposite the paddling pool in Clissold Park.

Tel: 0207 254 7772.

Beit Surik is an agricultural community, where delicious bread is baked daily.

The women in Beit Surik still wear traditional Palestinian clothing. These photo's were taken in the local Women's Centre.

Next visit to Beit Surik (and organised tour of the West Bank) - November 2009

- Guardian letter 7th September 2007 - with links and photo's

How we came about.

In September 2005 a Twinning with Palestine conference was held in London and a decision made to create a Twinning with Palestine network.

Supporters of Palestine in Hackney decided to look for and build twinning or friendship links with a Palestinian community. Following the advice of friends and contacts we identified the little village of Beit Surik on the outskirts of Jerusalem as one we wished to visit.

In November 2005, four people (Wendy, Dot, Michael and David) toured the West Bank, visiting Tubas, Nablus, Jenin, the Jordan Valley, Ramallah and many communities divided by the wall. We then spent a week in Beit Surik hosted by local families.

The Hackney - Beit Surik Friendship Forum campaign, an independent group, aiming for charitable status, serves three purposes;

1) to build friendship or twinning links between our two communities.

2) to highlight the injustices faced by the Palestinian people, especially the discrimination they face from Zionist colonialists and their Apartheid wall

3) to send and receive delegations to and from our communities and report back on these visits.

In April 2006 and April 2007 further visits were made.

Currently we support the graduates book scheme, and two local Women's committee's by selling embroidered cushions and gifts.

A continuing objective is to raise £3,000 in to fund an internet cafe for local people, many of whom have sons and daughters working or living abroad. We would also like to raise money to buy chairs for the local Women's Centre, where adult literacy (mainly for women) and computer classes amongst many other activities are held.

If you wish to help us please contact us.

A poster from the boys school. The children represent the farming villages surrounded by the wall in this area North West of Jerusalem.