Democratic Palestine : 38 (ص 28)
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- عنوان
- Democratic Palestine : 38 (ص 28)
- المحتوى
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Palestine Congress in Hamburg
Palestine Congress in Hamburg
From March 2nd to 4th, an inter-
national congress on Palestine was held
in Hamburg, Federal Republic of Ger-
many (FRG). Several hundred people
participated from the FRG, GDR,
Italy, Holland, Denmark, France,
Austria and other European countries.
There was a broad range of guest
speakers qualified to represent the
Palestinian cause and the intifada.
These included representatives from
the Union of Palestinian Women’s
Committees in the West Bank, the
Popular Committee for Health Ser-
vices(West Bank), the Sons of the Vil-
lage(Nazareth), and the Committee for
the Defense of Arab Land, as well as
a Palestinian lawyer from Jerusalem, a
former political prisoner and a PNC
member. The democratic forces in
Israel and the anti-Zionist position
among Jews was well represented by
an Israeli woman who works at the
Alternative Information Center,Jerusa-
lem,and members of the Return group
in London.
Over 800 people participated in
the opening session where speakers
ores
discussed different aspects of the inti-
fada, the situation of Palestinians in
Israel and the impact of the intifada on
Israeli society. The second day of the
congress was devoted to working group
discussions on the following topics: the
intifada’s popular committees, repres-
sion and political prisoners, women in
the. intifada, the Palestinians in Israel
and the intifada’s impact on Israel.
The congress concluded with a plenary
discussion of solidarity work with the
intifada, including past experience,
problems arid proposals for concrete
support initiatives.
Many participants at the congress
linked the struggle of progressive
forces in Western Europe with the
Palestinian struggle, and felt that the
congress opened new avenues for coor-
dination in solidarity work as well as
international discussions. The Friends
of the Palestinian People group in
Hamburg took initiative to convene
this congress based on the desire to
strengthen the coordination between
groups working in solidarity with the
intifada. The congress was being pre-
pared as the changes in Eastern
Europe were happening, creating new
conditions for anti-imperialist work in
Western Europe and worldwide. The
congress was held on the premise that
international solidarity is more impor-
tant than ever if the progressive forces
are to face the consequences of these
changes, particularly the revival of
national chauvinism in the FRG, and
capitalism’s new opportunities for
exploitation. In this situation, broad
international discussions are needed to
strengthen solidarity based on a com-
mon understanding of the concrete
conditions under which various move-
ments struggle.
Principles of solidarity
Uri Davis of Return addressed the
congress at the final session, emphasiz-
ing unity in the struggle for freedom
and for spreading the truth. He point-
ed out that the resistance to occupa-
tion and the anti-Zionist left in Israel
are in a process of building a new
Palestine, based on justice and equal-
ity. He also noted that the congress
had been criticized by some forces in
the FRG for inviting representatives of - هو جزء من
- Democratic Palestine : 38
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