The Hackney Beit Surik Friendship Forum

Next meeting - 23rd November 2008 at 239 Stoke Newington Church Street, London. N16 9HP. Tel: 0207 254 7772.

Two Palestinian farmers visiting England as part of the Twinning networks speaking tour will be speaking about the environment. This is a good opportunity to buy Xmas gifts and support the local Women's Committee's.

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

Considerable destruction has taken place of farmlands in Palestine to build Israel's Apartheid wall.

Sewage from a nearby settlement flows untreated onto the farmlands of Beit Surik. Photo 1 - before the barrier went up, Photo 2 - After, they can build a wall to separate people, but not treat sewage!

Next visit to Beit Surik (and organised tour of the West Bank) - April 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.

Our objective is to raise £3,000 in 2008 / 09 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.