Bill backing coexistence projects for Israelis and Palestinians submitted by LFI chair
Joan Ryan introduced a bill in parliament to promote civil society schemes to help bring Jews and Arabs together
Labour Friends of Israel chair Joan Ryan MP has introduced a bill to promote civil society projects benefiting both Israelis and Palestinians, after the UK government cut its “pitiful” £150,000 coexistence fund entirely.
In a speech in parliament on Wednesday, she said: “As the example of Northern Ireland taught us, any peace process needs a political dimension, an economic dimension and a civil society dimension. Coexistence projects that bring together Israelis and Palestinians… is that civil society dimension.”
Ryan, who recently travelled to the U.S to meet Congressmen Jeff Fortenberry and Joe Crowley, is hoping to persuade Washington, Brussels and London to help fund the International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace.
She said recent polls suggest that while the majority of Israelis and Palestinians still hope for a two-state solution, mistrust between the two groups are at near-record levels, with nine in ten Palestinians believing Israeli Jews to be untrustworthy.
Deriding the “pitiful” funding to Israeli-Palestinian coexistence projects, she described how £714 million had been spent on grassroots coexistence work in Northern Ireland over the past 30 years, and that this helped lead to peace.
Secretary of State for International Development Priti Patel MP will now consider whether to throw money at the Fund, a move supported by 56 Labour MPs and Sir Eric Pickles, the chairman of Conservative Friends of Israel.
It follows a tough week for Ryan, who was the subject of undercover filming by Al-Jazeera, which showed her in contact with Shai Masot, the Israeli embassy employee who sought to establish supposedly independent youth groups in the Labour party.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
- News
- UK News
- Joan Ryan
- LFI
- Israelis
- Israeli
- Palestine
- Israeli Jews
- israeli arabs
- Sir Eric Pickles
- Jeff Fortenberry
- Joe Crowley
- Northern Ireland
- International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace
- Secretary of State for International Development
- Priti Patel
- palestinians
- Labour Friends of Israel (LFI)
- Conservative Friends of Israel (cfi)
- Israel News
