Hastings Jews for Justice host a free film and discussion evening

Richard Wistreich from Hastings Jews for Justice previews a film night at Stade Hall on Saturday 8 November.

Hastings Jews for Justice (HJJ) are hosting an open evening of short films and discussion about Gaza, Palestine and Israel at Stade Hall on Saturday 8 November, from 7 to 8.30 pm. Everyone in the local community is warmly invited to come along to ask questions, and to share their thoughts and feelings in a safe and friendly space.

Three short films will be shown that provide a variety of insights into the history and experience of the creation of Israel nearly 80 years ago. The films to be screened are:

Seven Jewish Children (15 minutes, directed by Omri Dayan, based on the play by Caryl Churchill
Return to al-Ma’in (31 minutes, a documentary from June 2025 by Forensic Architecture, and
A Cartography of Genocide (three minutes, from October 2025 by Forensic Architecture).

After the films, small discussion groups will explore the perspectives of:

Palestinian people who were driven off their land into massive refugee camps such as the Gaza strip, Lebanon, Syria and what is now the West Bank, and
the Jewish people who arrived from an antisemitic Europe with the conviction that Palestine was their promised land and sanctuary after the centuries of persecution that culminated in the Holocaust.

Jewish, not Zionist: recent events held by HJJ

Two recent events organised in Hastings and St Leonards by HJJ have shown the hunger of many local people, most of whom are not directly involved in activist groups, simply to share their feelings – often of helplessness in the face of the endless images of suffering – with like-minded strangers, and to meet local Jewish people who are similarly struggling with what has been happening. Those with Jewish heritage, some with direct family connections to the Holocaust, by no means all uncritically support Israel or its actions, especially everything that has followed from the country’s foundation, based as it was on the dispossession and oppression of the indigenous Palestinians and denial of their fundamental humanity.

During the festival of Sukkot – the Jewish ‘harvest festival’ – in the second week of October, HJJ members erected a sukkah (a semi-open hut traditionally decorated with branches and fruits) in the middle of town, and invited any passers-by to stop, share food and chat with members of the group about whatever they wished. Many people said how relieved and grateful they were to have the opportunity to talk in a non-confrontational way about what has been happening in Gaza, and to ask questions about the history of Israel and Palestine, the differences between Judaism and Zionism, and other matters – things which are very difficult to get your head around, especially if you only rely on what is put out by the media, or you are not otherwise ‘in the know’.

On 14 October, HJJ jointly organised a Concert for the People of Gaza at St John the Evangelist church in St Leonards to raise funds for Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP). The brilliant violinist, Max Baillie (who lives locally) brought three of his world-class musician friends together (all of whom gave their services for free) to play Beethoven’s intense and agonised late string quartet Opus 132.

Before the concert, Felicity Laurence spoke about Hastings Jews for Justice, and our message – shared by many Jews in Britain and around the world – that refers to the Holocaust: ‘Never Again – for Anybody’. She also talked about the almost inconceivable work of musicians in Gaza who have continued to make music with children throughout the past two years, gathering groups in the rubble to sing together, helping, if only for short periods, to enable them to celebrate their own humanity in the face of Israel’s determination to eradicate it.

Around 200 people came to St John’s, many of whom had rarely, if ever experienced a classical concert, let alone such an intensely demanding work, but the emotional intensity and fellow feeling generated by the musicians and audience was extraordinary. Many people were deeply moved, and again, so thankful to have the chance to share in a collective and supportive experience.

Between them, the two events raised more than £3,500 for MAP.

After two years of relentless destruction of human lives and homeland, and the infliction of unimaginable trauma on generations to come, it is understandable that many people ‒ in Gaza of course, but also in Israel and around the world – will have welcomed, however cautiously, the start of a ceasefire on 10 October. However, there are few who believe that this will mark any more than a fragile and tightly circumscribed pause in the decades-long sufferings of the Palestinian people.

Indeed, apart from the suspension of continual aerial bombardments, very little will improve for a long time yet, either for those in Gaza who have just about survived with their lives but almost nothing else, or for other Palestinians currently being ‘ethnically cleansed’ from the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Only by maintaining an intense spotlight on the Palestinian people and their struggle for freedom can we together push back against all the propaganda, the war-mongering, the governments (including, shamefully, our own) and the rich and powerful individuals who continue to support Israel in its denial to millions fundamental rights that they themselves enjoy: shelter, adequate food, education, health, security, equality and justice before the law, and the right to determine how they wish to live and be governed.

The best way to make real our desire to help the Palestinian people to bring about the changes they so desperately desire and deserve is for each of us to do what we can to become better informed through learning more about this horrendous period of modern history. And a good way to begin is in the open exchange of knowledge and views among all members of our community, in an atmosphere of mutually respectful listening and discussion.

The Hastings Jews for Justice film and discussion evening on 8 November aims to provide just such a forum, and we look forward to welcoming you, whatever your level of knowledge and experience and however you wish to take part.

The film night is at Stade Hall, Rock-a-Nore, Hastings on Saturday, 8 November, 7–8.30pm. Doors open at 6.30pm – tea and coffee will be available.
Entry is FREE, but booking in advance via Ticketlab is strongly recommended.
There will be a collection at the end for the people of Al Mawasi, Hastings’ twin town in Gaza.

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Posted 15:01 Friday, Oct 17, 2025 In: Campaigns