Author Archives: Diana Safieh

Briefing to the 8782nd session of the Security Council, May 27, 2021

Posted on June 1, 2021 by Diana Safieh

Posted May 31, 2021 by Rashid Khalidi in MR Online. The events of the last few weeks have provoked worldwide recognition of realities on the ground in Occupied Palestine, realities of systemic discrimination, of oppression, and of settler colonialism. People have responded to … Continue reading →

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Israel, Palestine, and Law

Posted on May 26, 2021 by Diana Safieh

Balfour Project statement, 26 May 2021 Equal rights under the law are the foundation stone of all democracies. Israel views itself as a democracy. But many in Israel and around the world, including in Britain, were dismayed by the Knesset’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Annexation, Balfour Project viewpoint, Britain's current role, Current Positions, News, Recognition | Comments Off

Why the rule of law matters – Rt Hon Baroness Hale of Richmond

Posted on May 26, 2021 by Diana Safieh

Speaking at the Balfour Project online 2-day conference “Israel/Palestine: in search of the rule of law” on 25/26 May 2021. Click here to view the other speakers at the conference. Sir Vincent Fean: Good day, everybody. And welcome to our … Continue reading →

Posted in Britain's current role, Past | Comments Off

Conference conclusion with Lord Alderdice and Andrew Whitley

Posted on May 26, 2021 by Diana Safieh

Speaking at the Balfour Project online 2-day conference “Israel/Palestine: in search of the rule of law” on 25/26 May 2021. Click here to view the other speakers at the conference.

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Parliamentary panel – Jack Straw, Wayne David MP, Layla Moran MP, Joanna Cherry QC MP, moderated by Lord Alderdice

Posted on May 26, 2021 by Diana Safieh

Speaking at the Balfour Project online 2-day conference “Israel/Palestine: in search of the rule of law” on 25/26 May 2021. Click here to view the other speakers at the conference. Lord Alderdice: Wayne David is Member of Parliament for Caerphilly … Continue reading →

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Can international law prevail in Israel/Palestine, and if so, how? The role of the UK – Rt Hon Jack Straw

Posted on May 26, 2021 by Diana Safieh

Speaking at the Balfour Project online 2-day conference “Israel/Palestine: in search of the rule of law” on 25/26 May 2021. Click here to view the other speakers at the conference. Andrew Whitley: I would like to now introduce Lord Alderdice, … Continue reading →

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4 case studies from Issam Younis, Hagit Ofran, Sahar Francis & Nada Kiswanson

Posted on May 26, 2021 by Diana Safieh

Speaking at the Balfour Project online 2-day conference “Israel/Palestine: in search of the rule of law” on 25/26 May 2021. Click here to view the other speakers at the conference. Michael Lynk: And I think it is now my happy … Continue reading →

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International Law: indispensable in the search for a just Middle East peace – Prof Michael Lynk

Posted on May 26, 2021 by Diana Safieh

Speaking at the Balfour Project online 2-day conference “Israel/Palestine: in search of the rule of law” on 25/26 May 2021. Click here to view the other speakers at the conference. Andrew Whitley: Good afternoon and welcome, everyone. My name is … Continue reading →

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A rights-based approach – Zaha Hassan & The dual legal system – Michael Sfard

Posted on May 26, 2021 by Diana Safieh

Speaking at the Balfour Project online 2-day conference “Israel/Palestine: in search of the rule of law” on 25/26 May 2021. Click here to view the other speakers at the conference. Dominic Grieve QC: Good afternoon. We are now going to … Continue reading →

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Israel/Palestine: recent developments at the ICJ and ICC – Philippe Sands QC

Posted on May 26, 2021 by Diana Safieh

Speaking at the Balfour Project online 2-day conference “Israel/Palestine: in search of the rule of law” on 25/26 May 2021. Click here to view the other speakers at the conference. Dominic Grieve QC: Now it’s my great pleasure to introduce … Continue reading →

Posted in Britain's current role, Past | Comments Off

Essays on Equality, Rights and Responsibilities

Posted on May 22, 2021 by Diana Safieh

Posted in Annexation, Britain's current role, Current Positions, News, Recognition, USA, Zionism Debate | Comments Off

Israel, Palestine and International Law

Posted on May 21, 2021 by Diana Safieh

Sir Vincent Fean, Chair of the Balfour Project Trustees and former Consul-General in Jerusalem, and Professor Adam Sutcliffe, Professor of European History at King’s College, London, and member of the steering group, Independent Jewish Voices, have issued the following statement … Continue reading →

Posted in Balfour Project viewpoint, News, Recognition | Comments Off

Israeli-Palestinian peace relies on this essential truth being grasped

Posted on May 18, 2021 by Diana Safieh

This piece, by John McHugo, a Balfour Project Trustee and head of its Fellowship Programme, was published by The Independent. As the dust settles on the latest Israel/Palestinian conflict, and the blood of innocents and perpetrators dries indifferently, the great fear is … Continue reading →

Posted in Britain's current role, News | Comments Off

Israel-Palestine: in search of the rule of law by Sir Vincent Fean in the Arab Digest

Posted on May 18, 2021 by Diana Safieh

Written by Sir Vincent Fean for the Arab Digest Just when you think it can’t get any worse – it does. Déjà vu, only worse. It is the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, as I used to describe it in my time as … Continue reading →

Posted in Balfour Project viewpoint, Britain's current role, News | Comments Off

Bishop Christopher Chessun, Balfour Project Patron, in Jerusalem

Posted on May 17, 2021 by Diana Safieh

Posted in Balfour Project viewpoint, News | Comments Off

Shameless: Ministers are now attacking our public authorities for respecting human rights in Israel and Palestine

Posted on May 17, 2021 by Diana Safieh

By Richard Burden There was a time when some politicians would argue that human rights were nothing to do with business; that it was perfectly legitimate for UK companies to profit from trade with regimes overseas however badly those regimes … Continue reading →

Posted in Balfour Project viewpoint, News | Comments Off

Sir Vincent Fean on Sky News, 14 May 2021

Posted on May 14, 2021 by Diana Safieh

Posted in Balfour Project viewpoint, Current Positions, News, Recognition, Recordings | Comments Off

Sir Vincent Fean, Chair of Balfour Project, on BBC, 12 May 2021

Posted on May 12, 2021 by Diana Safieh

Posted in Balfour Project viewpoint, Britain's current role, News, Recognition, Recordings | Comments Off

Instagram Censoring

Posted on May 10, 2021 by Diana Safieh

I have received reports that some Instagram users in Jerusalem are facing censorship, presumably by Instagram itself, which is owned by Facebook. Palestinians have reported that recently, when they write Instagram messages about the wave of evictions of Palestinian families … Continue reading →

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UK-European statement condemns Israeli settlements, East Jerusalem evictions

Posted on May 8, 2021 by Diana Safieh

The Governments of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK issued this statement on Israeli settlements on May 6. We urge the Government of Israel to reverse its decision to advance the construction of 540 settlement units in the Har … Continue reading →

Posted in Annexation, Britain's current role, Current Positions, News | Comments Off

Cross Party Group on Palestine/Israel Upholding International Law, advocating Equal Rights and Palestinian national self-determination in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

Posted on May 8, 2021 by Diana Safieh

2021 Action Plan Goal Build broad, Cross-Party support in Parliament for British Government action to advance equal rights between Israelis and Palestinians, contributing to ending the Occupation of 1967. There is urgency: Israel’s political leadership is opposed to (and systematically … Continue reading →

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Nadia Hijab on Moving Beyond Statehood Debates and on to How We Get There

Posted on May 6, 2021 by Diana Safieh

Nadia Hijab is co-founder and President of Al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network, the transnational Palestinian think tank. She is a writer, public speaker and media commentator. Her first book, Womanpower: The Arab debate on women at work was published by … Continue reading →

Posted in Past, Recordings | Comments Off

‘Experiment and Adventure’: Balfour Defends his Declaration

Posted on May 6, 2021 by Diana Safieh

House of Lords, 21 June 1922 By William M Mathew Contents PART IPART IIPART III PART I On 21 June 1922, following his elevation to the peerage a few weeks earlier, Arthur Balfour – now the Earl of Balfour … Continue reading →

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Foreign Secretary statement on Palestinian elections

Posted on May 4, 2021 by Diana Safieh

A statement from the Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, on the postponement of elections in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said: It is disappointing that elections in the Occupied Palestinian Territories have been postponed. The Palestinian people should … Continue reading →

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John Lyndon – Northern Ireland & Israel/Palestine: what two differing paradigms can teach us about conflict resolution

Posted on April 29, 2021 by Diana Safieh

John Lyndon is the Executive Director of the Alliance for Middle East Peace (ALLMEP), the largest network of peacebuilding NGOs in Israel/Palestine. He brings with him over a decade of experience leading NGOs concerned with conflict resolution and international development, … Continue reading →

Posted in Past, Recordings | Comments Off

UK backs Palestinian elections, including in Jerusalem, at UN Security Council

Posted on April 26, 2021 by Diana Safieh

Excerpt of Statement by British Ambassador Jonathan Allen at the Security Council briefing on the Middle East on 23 April 2021 Mr President, following elections held in Israel on 24 March, we look forward to working with a new Israeli … Continue reading →

Posted in Current Positions, News, Recognition | Comments Off

53 years of military occupation: incitement and Palestinian school textbooks

Posted on April 22, 2021 by Diana Safieh

What is more likely to incite violence? Military occupation for 53 years. Over 650,000 Israelis in illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian West Bank, including East Jerusalem 12,000 new settler housing units approved by the Israeli Government in 2020, plus … Continue reading →

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British activists and charities condemn PM statement

Posted on April 16, 2021 by Diana Safieh

UK charities statement on the Prime Minister’s comments on the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation – 14 April 2021 We condemn the Prime Minister’s statement on the ICC’s investigation into alleged gravecrimes committed in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). This … Continue reading →

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Palestinian envoy to UK criticises PM on ICC

Posted on April 16, 2021 by Diana Safieh

The head of the Palestinian mission to the United Kingdom, Husam Zomlot, has made the following statement: The announcement by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a letter to the Conservative Friends of Israel that the UK opposes the International … Continue reading →

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Prime Minister Boris Johnson Confirms UK Opposition to ICC Investigation into war crimes in Palestine

Posted on April 16, 2021 by Diana Safieh

The Balfour Project read with sadness and dismay the concluding words in the Prime Minister’s letter to the Conservative Friends of Israel of 9 April 2021. These words assert that “Palestine is not a sovereign State” and that the investigation … Continue reading →

Posted in Britain's current role, Current Positions, Letters, News | Comments Off

Statement by European Parliamentarians for Israeli-Palestinian Equality

Posted on April 6, 2021 by Diana Safieh

We, the undersigned, share our deep concern at the threat of illegal Israeli annexation of any part of the occupied Palestinian West Bank. Unilateral annexation is a grave breach of international law, and a further obstacle to achieving equal rights … Continue reading →

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‘Biased changes’ in GCSE textbooks on Middle East history

Posted on April 6, 2021 by Diana Safieh

A group of academics, the British Committee for the Universities of Palestine, has uncovered what it describes as bias that has been introduced into British GCSE textbooks on Middle East history. BRICUP found hundreds of changes in two books published … Continue reading →

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Statement by European Parliamentarians for Israeli-Palestinian Equality

Posted on March 29, 2021 by Diana Safieh

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The Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism

Posted on March 29, 2021 by Diana Safieh

The Balfour Project opposes all forms of racism, bigotry and discrimination, including antisemitism. We commend the recent Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism; one year in the making, by international scholars in antisemitism and related fields from Europe, the USA, Canada and … Continue reading →

Posted in Current Positions, News, Zionism Debate | Comments Off

ANTISEMITISM: a defining moment

Posted on March 27, 2021 by Diana Safieh

Julia Bard looks at the Jerusalem Declaration and assesses its potential to re-set the political dial Published in the Jewish Socialist, 3 August 2021. I know they said there would be no exams this year, but here’s a question just … Continue reading →

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Rev Dr Munther Isaac – Christian Zionism as Imperial Theology

Posted on March 24, 2021 by Diana Safieh

Thank you all for joining us. I’m privileged to speak to you and address this really important and relevant topic of Christian Zionism as an imperial theology. The impact and influence of Christian Zionism have been manifested, especially in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Zionism, Evangelicals and Christian Zionism, Misc, Nakba, Past, Recordings, USA, Zionism Debate | Comments Off

The last day in the life of Milad Salama

Posted on March 22, 2021 by Diana Safieh

By Nathan Thrall, published in The New York Review, 19 March 2021. One man’s quest to find his son lays bare the reality of Palestinian life under Israeli rule. This article, from the New York Review of Books, explains the … Continue reading →

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Palestinian peace must rest on international law

Posted on March 16, 2021 by Diana Safieh

By Mary Robinson, published in The Financial Times on 15 March 2021. ICC decision to investigate Hamas and Israel has implications for both sides. BP Trustee, author and international lawyer John McHugo writes: For far too long, political leaders have shied … Continue reading →

Posted in Annexation, News, Recognition | Comments Off

Raja Shehadeh on Britain and Palestine, a family history

Posted on March 3, 2021 by Diana Safieh

A live online talk in March 2021. Raja Shehadeh is a lawyer and writer and the founder of the pioneering Palestinian human rights organisation Al Haq. Shehadeh is the author of several acclaimed books published by Profile Books including the … Continue reading →

Posted in Mandate Period, Past, Recordings | Comments Off

Working towards a two-state solution

Posted on March 2, 2021 by Diana Safieh

Introduction to UK Government statement to the UN Security Council of 26 February 2021 The latest statement by the UK to the UN Security Council, at its regular meeting on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict on 26 February, deserves attention – for … Continue reading →

Posted in Current Positions, News | Comments Off

Patron Baroness Warsi

Posted on March 1, 2021 by Diana Safieh

Sayeeda Hussain Warsi is a British lawyer, politician and member of the House of Lords who served as co-Chairwoman of the Conservative Party from 2010 to 2012. She served in Cameron–Clegg coalition, first as the Minister without portfolio between 2010 … Continue reading →

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Patron Rabbi Danny Rich

Posted on March 1, 2021 by Diana Safieh

Rabbi Danny Rich is a free-lance Jewish educator, having been the Senior Rabbi and Chief Executive of Liberal Judaism from 2005 to 2020 and, prior to this, serving as rabbi to Kingston Liberal Synagogue for nearly two decades. Rabbi Rich … Continue reading →

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Israel/Palestine: in search of the rule of law

Posted on March 1, 2021 by Diana Safieh

More info to follow. Click here to reserve your free place.

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Requesting the UK government’s urgent intervention against the dispossession and forcible transfer of Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan, East Jerusalem

Posted on March 1, 2021 by Diana Safieh

Letter from Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights to Rt Hon James Cleverly MP, Minister of State fo rthe Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

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India, Palestine and the Balfour Declaration

Posted on February 25, 2021 by Diana Safieh

How the Zionists hitched a ride on the Imperialist bandwagon By William M Mathew It was fundamental folly to annex Palestine out of persistent anxieties over imperial, notably Indian, security, while at the same pursuing therein a policy of Zionist … Continue reading →

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Bedouins in Area C

Posted on February 23, 2021 by Diana Safieh

By Adam Abdalla, Jordan Jones, Stav Salpeter Our aim is twofold. Firstly, we raise awareness of the situation of the Bedouin communities living in Area C, who are structurally sidelined both due to the occupation and within the Palestinian society. … Continue reading →

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IHRA Report Project

Posted on February 23, 2021 by Diana Safieh

By Gilang Al Ghifari Lukman, Jack Walton, Martha Scott-Cracknell, Omar Sharif, Sarah Chaya Smith In this project, we explore the controversial issues surrounding the effects of the IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) working definition of antisemitism — in particular issues of … Continue reading →

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Israel-Palestine in Schools in the UK

Posted on February 23, 2021 by Diana Safieh

By Aimée-Stephanie Reid, Haneen Zeglam, Sam Lytton Cobbold Click here to download the report.

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Alumni Fellows Projects

Posted on February 23, 2021 by Diana Safieh

2023/24 projects Antisemitism Handbook by Toby Kunin, Elah Cohen, and Sylvie Maxwell Macdonald “A Social Media War: Palestine and Israel” A-Level and GCSE workshops by Taya Amit, Lara Arekat, Haneen Khano and Emma Todres ‘My Past, our Future’ podcast by … Continue reading →

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Author Archives: Diana Safieh

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