Second Hustings For Prospective MPs
Candidates take part in Palestine debate
On the first full day of the election campaign, three of Hammersmith's parliamentary candidates took a break from local issues to debate an often contentious international one: Palestine.
In an event organised by the west London branch of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), Andy Slaughter MP (Lab), Merlene Emerson (LibDems) and Rollo Miles (Green Party) were invited to give their own personal views on the issue. Shaun Bailey (Con) was also invited but declined to attend, to the clear disappointment of the organisers.
Introducing the debate, the group's chairman, Salim Alam, said the PSC was self-funding, was non-party political and included members from all sides of the political spectrum. He said the group had seen a large increase in its membership after Israel's assault on Gaza in 2008-9, but added: “We are not anti-Israeli. Our objection is to the way the Israeli state treats the Palestinians. We support those Israelis who want a just and peaceful solution in Israel/Palestine.”
Andy Slaughter MP is a member of the Britain-Palestine All-Party Parliamentary Group. “This is one of my key interests in politics and was before I got into politics,” he said. He said he had visited the region three times, including a trip immediately after the Gaza war and a follow-up trip just a few weeks ago. “The first time we went, there was a great degree of trauma but also hope. People felt the world would have to take notice. But largely, other than talking and promising, the international community hasn't taken notice. This time I felt there was a feeling of: 'What has to happen for the world to sit up and take notice?'”
He said Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem were all living under increasingly difficult circumstances: “One of the effects of the (Israeli) siege is to hide what is happening in Gaza from the world - anything that is needed is not being allowed in. The situation in the West Bank is just as serious. Israel is undermining a Palestinian state. The settlements are not just villages here and there, they are at key locations, controlling water rights - they prevent the possibility of a Palestinian state. Now, there is the systematic eviction from Jerusalem of Palestinian families in the most brutal and calculated way. The situation appears to be getting worse rather than better,” he said.
Merlene Emerson conceded that she was “no authority” on the Palestinian issue but that her work as a community mediator and experience in conflict resolution were relevant. She offered the LibDem Party view saying that after the Gaza war her party had called for a British/EU arms embargo on Israel and an international tribunal for war crimes to try suspects on both the Israeli and the Palestinian side. However, her approach was mainly conciliatory: “We call for a two-state solution. For those who are pro-Israeli, we try and discern between what is Jewish and what is Israeli. There are many Israeli and Jewish groups that are working for peace and we do need to engage. I would like to consider Israel's point of view: they feel under siege.” Regarding peace talks between the two sides she said: “It's important to go into mediation without preconditions, we have to allow the dialogue to start without preconditions.”
Rollo Miles for the Green Party agreed with the two-state solution but offered a more radical approach: “I believe that peace in Palestine is key to peace in the Middle East. I believe the way the Palestinians are being treated by the Israelis..... some say they live in ghettoes but I would go further: the Israelis are running some of the biggest concentration camps in the world. There is no food, no medicine, the kids can't get new shoes, it's deplorable. The (separation) wall needs to be torn down. Mediation has not worked and now we need to take a firm hand. My heart goes out to the Palestinians in the camps and the refugees,” he said.
Slaughter suggested the Tories were not committed to the Middle East issue: “We cannot get anybody from the Conservative Party to go to Palestine,” he said. But the other two candidates criticised the Labour government's own record on the issue. “Andy is linked to a government that, at the last war, did not call for an arms embargo and is happy to trade with Israel,” said Miles. “It's appalling the way the Palestinians are treated. I would recall ambassadors, I would not trade with them. The bullied have turned into the bullies. After 60 years, there has been talk, talk, talk, while the Palestinians are suffering. The main parties have failed to help the Palestinians over the past 60 years – maybe it's now time for the other parties to try.” Emerson added: “Although we have a sympathetic MP, I would question whether the Government holds the same opinions. We haven't heard about (David) Miliband going to Gaza himself.”
Slaughter defended the Foreign Secretary but conceded that his party's government had been slow to call for a ceasefire over Israel's bombing of Lebanon in 2006: “In defence of David Miliband, there was a clear condemnation of the (Gaza) invasion. That was a change from the deplorable attitude over the invasion of Lebanon, when there wasn't an immediate call for a ceasefire,” he said. “If I am re-elected, I will continue to visit the region and continue to exert pressure on the Government. I agree that the only solution is coercion.”
Israelis say they face daily rocket bombardment from the Palestinians in Gaza and that arms are being smuggled into the coastal strip through tunnels from Egypt. Slaughter said it was a question he was often asked to justify: “We spoke with Hamas when we were in Gaza recently. We brought up the issue of rocket fire but this is not an even situation,” he said.
The Green Party candidate, meanwhile, said it was difficult for him to reconcile his anti-war views with his views on Palestinian rocket fire: “We are a peaceful party and don't believe in war. But my view......if I was a Palestinian living in a cage with nothing and I could make some kind of rocket to bring attention, I would possibly fire that rocket. One Israeli gets shot and Israel responds with massive air raids. I do understand why the Palestinians fire these rockets,” he said.
Several lobby groups – including the PSC and Jews For Justice For Palestinians (JFJFP) - have called for a boycott of settlement goods and for divestment from companies which profit from Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory. There have also been calls for a suspension of Israel's privileged trading status with the EU and all three candidates said they supported these calls. “The LibDems have a policy on this and I have my own personal convictions to add to this,” said Merlene Emerson. Miles added: “We need to get straight to the point. I think we should boycott Israeli products - this is what Europe can do. If Europe said: 'We're not buying your produce,' I think Israel would listen. I'm hoping you will now consider voting for other parties.”
Some members of the audience also highlighted the issue of more than 20 young British students who have been given prison sentences for reportedly minor offences committed during the London protests against the Gaza war. According to the Stop The War Coalition, there were 119 arrests after the protests outside the Israeli embassy, during which bottles and stones were thrown and a coffee shop was attacked. Seventy-eight protesters were charged, most with violent disorder and more than 20 have so far been jailed for between eight months and two and half years. “I am concerned that two students at a Hammersmith college where I am a governor, were arrested and one is serving 18 months for something quite minor. These are being treated as quasi-terrorist offences,” said Slaughter.
As well as the absence of Shaun Bailey, there were no other members of the Conservative Party present to offer their ideas and views. Slaughter alleged there were financial reasons behind the Conservative absence: “The Conservative Party in Hammersmith has received money from the Conservative Friends of Israel. We should be worried about that,” he said.
However, when asked why Bailey did not attend, and to respond to Slaughter's claim about funding, his spokesperson said: “Shaun has already given his reasons for not attending the meeting last night and he stands by his decision. Shaun's campaign has not received donations from the Conservative Friends of Israel or any other group representing Israeli interests. There have also been no donations from any groups representing Palestinian interests.
“Images from last night's 'debate' show the candidates sitting behind a table with a large banner displaying the words 'Palestine Solidarity' on the front of it. No matter how valid the concerns presented may have been, last night's event was not a debate as it is not possible to have one without at least two sides present. Shaun is looking forward to hearing the concerns of local members of the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign at a meeting that has been scheduled for later this month.”
Yasmine Estaphanos
April 8 , 2010
