World renowned historian to speak at Hastings Palestine event

The Hastings and Rye Palestine Solidarity Campaign (HRPSC) will host an online event next Wednesday 20 January discussing the issue of Palestinian expulsion. Set to speak at the event are historian Ilan Pappé and author Ghana Karmi. The HRPSC issued the following  preview.

The meeting, open and free to all members of the public, will take place on 20 January and the speakers include Pappé as well as academic and author Ghada Karmi for the talk titled: Expulsion without Return? The Palestinian Experience.

The one-hour discussion, hosted by HRPSC Chair Katy Colley, will ask what form has expulsion taken historically and what it looks like today, as well as asking what return would mean for the 7 million Palestinian refugees around the world.

Katy said: ‘We’re honoured to be hosting these important academics who have done so much to bring understanding and enlightenment to this subject. Despite all the constrictions of lockdown we are finding that we are still able to reach a great many in our community through our online events. I’m certain that this talk will shed light on some of the vital issues regarding the framing of the Israel/Palestine narrative, as well as bring a deeper awareness of the Palestinian experience.’

Ghada Karmi

In 1948 Ghada and her family were forced to flee their home in Jerusalem during the Nakba, or ‘catastrophe’, brought about by the creation of the state of Israel, when 720,000 Palestinians were expelled by Israeli forces. The family moved to England where Ghada was brought up.

She worked for many years as a doctor, specialising in the health of refugees and migrants, and later held a number of academic posts in Middle Eastern politics and culture. In 2005 Ghada returned to Palestine as a consultant to the Palestinian Authority where she gained some insight into the troubles Palestinians faced in their homeland, as well as the intrinsic difficulties of governance under occupation.

Ilan Pappé is a history professor at the University of Exeter and Director of the European Centre for Palestine Studies. He was born and brought up in Haifa, Israel, and is one of the most prominent historians challenging the historical narrative of Israel’s creation.

Ilan Pappé

Basing his work on extensive archival research, Ilan argues that far from leaving of their own accord, Palestinians were ‘ethnically cleansed’ between 1947 and 1949, with over 400 Palestinian villages deliberately destroyed, civilians massacred and around a million men, women, and children expelled from their homes at gunpoint. Today, many argue that expulsion is a live, ongoing policy of the Israeli state, supported by the judiciary, military and settler organisations.

For more information of the event on 20 January at 7pm go here.

To join HRPSC, please register your interest by emailing info@hastingspalestinecampaign.org

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