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Diocese of Leeds Justice and Peace Commission (1)

Tag: lpff

20 July – INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL FOR WOMENS’ CINEMA – IN GAZA!

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By Joe Burns, Commission member

Leeds Palestinian Film Festival  

We have been regular sponsors for a number of years of one of the film presentations at the Leeds Palestinian Film Festival (LPFF). More recently, this has been done under the banner of the SPARK programme, as these films attract a significantly younger audience than would be typical for events branded J&P.

The LPFF committee have decided to support a proposed International Film Festival for Women’s cinema – to take place in Gaza! They write:

“The festival organisers are defying the ongoing genocide with the strongest weapon they have – keeping Palestinian cultural expression alive, and especially the voices of women. They have already begun recruiting women to be trained to make films that will be showcased at their Festival this October.”

The Film festival committee have pledged to raise £10,000 towards the cost of the festival in Gaza. For more information on how you could support this please see the Leeds Palestinian Film festival website 

21 May – Conversations about Nonviolence

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By Carol Burns, Leeds Diocese Pax Christi

At a packed Wheeler Hall on Saturday 17th May, Mahmoud Zwahre, a Palestinian activist from the West Bank, currently a scholar at Coventry University, spoke both eloquently and passionately about his experience of non-violent – or ‘unarmed’ – resistance in the West Bank. He has been active in the area south of Bethlehem – and some of the areas featured in the recent Louis Theroux documentary. After a contribution from Andrew Rigby, Emeritus Professor of Peace Studies at Coventry University, there were buzz groups and then questions to the both of them.

IMG_3858 IMG_3855 Everyone in the audience was sympathetic to the injustices that are imposed on Palestinians by the Israeli Government. Consequently, the questions focussed on what we could do to show solidarity and what brings Palestinians Hope for the future, given the current circumstances.

Mahmoud thought the Israeli Government were surprised and concerned by the level of global support for Palestine since October 2023. He urged people in this country to keep demonstrating in large numbers. His main source of Hope is that, after 77 years since the creation of Israel and despite the slow erosion of Palestinian land, the Palestinians are still occupying some of it and still have a distinctive culture.

They both made the point that violence only leads to more violence. Equally, Mahmoud said that by using violence ‘you lose some of your humanity’.

Andrew was more cautious. In his view, nothing was going to change until the USA government decided that things should change – and with Trump as President it was very difficult to predict how events might change things on the ground.

IMG_3192 Mahmoud showed a short film which can be viewed on YouTube here 

This was a partnership event between SPARK Social Justice the Leeds Palestinian Film Festival.