The Palestine Festival to open its doors in London

Palestinians in the UK are preparing to host the biggest exhibition of Palestinian culture, food, heritage and art to be held in the country in 2018 this weekend.

Organised by the Palestinian Forum in Britain, the Palestine Festival 2018 will bring together renowned Palestinian figures, artists and chefs with members of the public who are interested in indulging in and learning more about Palestinian heritage and culture.

The two-day event will be held in the British capital London and include a conference to examine the reality of the Palestinian community in Britain, how well it has integrated in to British society, the challenges it faces in society ion general and with respect to Brexit.

It will also discuss the hidden battle between the Zionist lobby and the solidarity groups in support of Palestinian rights.

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Regarding solidarity movement, MEMO columnist Dr Kamel Hawwash, who will be amongst those speaking at the conference, said: “There is an opportunity to organise ourselves in a lobby and have more ability to influence, as this country allows the establishment of lobbies.”

Adding that he feared that the UK would be heavily influenced by Washington’s policies and will follow US President Donald Trump’s policies regarding Israel after Brexit.

Dr. Ghada Karmi, who will also be speaking at the coference, added: “The idea of ​​a conference to discuss the Palestinian community in Britain is good, but this community needs to have a voice or a representation in municipalities or parliament.”

Events like this, she added, however help raise the community’s main concerns.

For his part, Chairman of the Organising Committee of the Palestinian Forum in Britain, Zaher Birawi, said: “The younger generation will have a major role to play in this conference, and in the process of defining the mechanisms for transferring experiences and how they can carry the mission on, because the older generation living in Britain is less able to integrate in to British society. The new generation must make tangible contributions regarding the political scene, so that we can consolidate the Palestinian narrative in Britain.”

Tickets for the Palestine Festival 2018 can be found here