The speakers were:

• Ratherford Mwaruta, CCIVS President and activist.
• Dr Husam S. Zomlot, Ambassador of Palestine to the United Kingdom and academic engaged in the Palestinian cause.
• Mona Shtaya, Campaigns and Partnerships Manager at Digital Action and expert on digital activism.
• Alaa Amro, European Studies postgraduate, volunteer at the International Secretariat of SCI in Antwerp and activist.
• Adli Daana, Executive Director of the Palestinian Centre for Media, Research and Development and longtime activist.
• Sami Huraini, a human rights defender and part of the ‘Youth of Sumud’ organisation.
• Paul Winter, Deputy Chair for Volunteer Action for Peace UK and longtime volunteer in international volunteering projects.

Around 80 participants joined us to hear about how we can stand in solidarity with Palestine, with many people asking questions about how they can better support Palestinians in these trying times. CCIVS President Ratherford opened the discussion and introduced our speakers. He then invited us to have a minute of silence for all those that have lost their lives in the genocide in Palestine.

It was eye-opening to see the apartheid and genocide that have been happening in Palestine for years, as pointed out to us by Adli Daana, who reminded us that this genocide was not an isolated incident, but the result of many years of oppression, apartheid and inhumane acts done unto the Palestinian people, legitimised by Western powers. In his presentation, he reminded us that this has been happening since 1917, and walked us through the history of what Palestine was and what it is today.

This was further expanded on by Mona, who told us about the way technology is used to oppress Palestinian people and censor their voices, which was only worsened by the most recent genocide. She called the digital component of the genocide ‘AI-facilitated genocide’. Mona told us that since 2015, Israel has established the ‘Israeli Cyber Unit’, which is a unit to censor and take down Palestinian content, especially in the Arabic language. From account suspension, to ‘shadowbanning’ – which is a way for your content to not be shown to your audience, without you knowing – Israel has done its best to silence Palestinian voices.

Unfortunately, this silencing is also done by Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, which was found to heavily moderate Palestinian content and barely supervise any Israeli hate speech against Palestinians. Sadly, this all leads to Palestinian people not being able to exercise their right to free speech.

However, Palestinian activists have remained strong and found ways to make their voices heard. Dr. Husam S. Zomlot is a testament to Palestinian resistance and resilience. He was born in a refugee camp in Gaza and has spent all his life speaking up for the Palestinian people. He recalled gathering university students to volunteer in Gaza, where they camped for a week, cleaning streets, planting trees and working together for a free Palestine in the future.

Volunteering in or for Palestine is not just about the work you do on the ground or in solidarity, it is realising that what is happening in Palestine amounts to an insult on the entire humanity. – Dr. Husam S. Zomlot

To him volunteering is very closely linked to the Palestinian mindset, remembering how when Israel would shut down schools, people mobilised in secret and teachers taught on a voluntary basis in hidden places, even risking arrest. For today, he speaks of the staggering numbers of people killed in the genocide, and of the reality of displacement, injury and constant trauma by those living in Gaza.

The Ambassador talked about international solidarity and how heartening it is to see so much solidarity, especially in the West. For Dr. Husam, Palestine is now the epicentre of international solidarity, with student encampments and demonstrations, among other things, as proof of this. He ended with the message that It’s up to the people of the world to pressure their governments to take action to end the apartheid and stop genocide.

Palestinians everywhere are raising their voice against the genocide, and our very own Alaa Amro, Project Volunteer at the International Secretariat, gave us an inspiring presentation of perseverance and resilience both under occupation and in Europe, where she continues to speak up for Palestine.

Apartheid is a daily reality for Alaa and her family, who told us about her experience in the West Bank. With many restrictions and permits required to cross over to Jerusalem for example, there was no freedom of movement and it was very difficult for her to even visit the city.

Additionally, she showed us that being a Palestinian worker in occupied territories comes with its many restrictions and dehumanising procedures. Because of the current genocide however, the checkpoints to occupied territories are now totally closed, and her brother and family have not even been able to work for months.

Alaa decided to study European Studies in Glasgow University, where she always connected her field of study to Palestine, by looking at European countries’ policies on Palestine and Israel. She is a part of an ‘academic fight for Palestine’ as she calls it, a fight to raise awareness of and end the apartheid and racism.

Now, she’s wrapping up her year volunteering as an ESC in the International Secretariat Office of SCI in Antwerp, Belgium. She has contributed to various projects in the IS and has even organised two film festivals for Palestine, in Brussels and Amsterdam.

She is also an active member of the No More War SCI working group, and uses any opportunity to speak up for Palestine and raise awareness. She reiterates the importance of an immediate ceasefire and for international solidarity, so that the genocide and the apartheid can end.

Sami, the event speaker who lives in Palestine, tells us about the situation in the West Bank and how it’s worsened ever since the genocide, and the disappointing silence of the international community. He recalls the various violations of international law committed against Palestinians, and the daily struggle of his family against Israeli occupation of Palestinian land. He has been actively resisting and raising awareness against the occupation. He concludes that people in Palestine need international solidarity and pressure on the government to stop the occupation.

Our last speaker, Paul Winter, highlighted how all these experiences illustrate issues of racism and apartheid. Paul points out the responsibility Westerners share in this situation. He calls for participants to join international volunteering projects, to travel to other countries and break barriers and stereotypes, and challenge racism.

Paul then proceeds to walk us through the various international definitions of apartheid and genocide, and how these are all happening in Gaza, in violation of international law. He highlights the importance of an immediate and sustainable ceasefire, and for all detainees and hostages to be released, with the UN Peacekeeping Force possibly being the best solution at this point. He ends with a call for recognising the state of Palestine and restoring peace.

International solidarity is crucial in times like these, and it’s very important that we all unite against the genocide and apartheid in Palestine. If you want to be practical, you can donate to aid the victims of the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Your support is crucial in providing relief to those affected by this massive humanitarian crisis. https://ccivs.org/donate/

Last but not least, you can download the Palestine Solidarity Action document providing guidance to how individuals and organisations can implement and join diverse actions, here: https://ccivs.org/peace…/palestine-solidarity/resources/

We want to thank all our speakers for sharing their knowledge and experience with us in this powerful event. If you missed it, you can watch it here.

This article was wirtten by Albanoi Retkoceri, the Communication Volunteer at the IS.