Arab Community Conference in London: From Relief Work to Political Influence
The "Arab London" platform in Britain organized on Sunday the Arab Community Conference, which held its first session under the title "Loyalty to the Friends of Palestine," in the capital London, with the aim of unifying ranks and building an active presence that goes beyond charitable work toward organized and influential political action regarding the Palestinian cause. The conference was opened by the editor-in-chief of Arab London Platform, journalist Mohammed Amin, who confirmed that the community faces intertwined challenges, from the rise of the far right to the consequences of the aggression on Gaza and integration problems, stressing the need to coordinate efforts and set a unified vision that activates the potential of Arabs in Britain.
In his speech during the opening session, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Kingdom, Husam Zomlot, pointed out that about one billion pounds of donations from Arab and Muslim communities in Britain are directed annually to relief work, while less than 1% is allocated to strategic work. He said: “We are bleeding and we need bandages, but it is not acceptable to be content with dressing the wounds. We must uproot the causes of the bleeding from their roots.”
Zomlot added that Palestinian communities abroad have donated more than four billion dollars to support matters related to Palestine, which makes them among the most generous communities in the world relative to their number, yet the contribution to what is known as “strategic work” does not exceed 45 million dollars annually, which is equivalent to only three dollars per person per year.
Strategic work refers to efforts aimed at ending the Israeli occupation, achieving liberation, and putting an end to suffering, foremost among them the narrative battle that seeks to reclaim the Palestinian narrative from distortion and falsification, as some media platforms such as “Arab London” do.
This also includes the legal track, where activists affirm that international law and legitimacy stand on the side of the Palestinian cause, but this same law has often been used as a weapon to shut down Palestinian institutions on flimsy legal grounds, despite the presence of prominent Palestinian legal experts capable of turning the equation around.
Source: Al-Araby Al-Jadeed (link)