Britain hosts the 18th annual Palestine Festival
The Palestinian Forum in Britain (PFB) hosted on the 22nd of October its annual Palestine Festival with a variety of events and activities.
The events included performances by multiple famous singers including Humood Elkhuder, Lowkey, Kefah Zreeqy and Waheeb Nasan, in addition to Yasmin El Sham band and MEK band for Dabke.
The festival also included a Palestinian market, which sold traditional Palestinian ingredients such as Maramia and Zaatar, Palestinian thobes, and Palestinian food. Furthermore, there was a solidarity exhibition.
The festival took place at Byron Hall, where the doors opened at 2 pm, and a kid’s program simultaneously took place between 3-5 pm. The food offered at the market was a range of staple Palestinian dishes such as Kibbeh, Wara’ Enab, and Kunafah. One stall had an array of traditionally embroidered garments on display, and another stall, called Key Modesty, sold pastel-colored abayas.
The program commenced at 4pm, it was presented by Yaman Hmaidan, a young Palestinian residing in London. The chairman of the Palestinian Forum in Britain, Zaher Birawi was the first to take to the stage. He began his speech by thanking the attendees and highlighting that this annual festival has taken place annually for “14 consecutive years''. Zaher addressed the former prime minister and the future prime minister in the UK regarding the intentions to move Britain’s embassy to Jerusalem, and insisted that “Jerusalem, the capital of Palestine, is a red line that should not be crossed”
Richard Boyd Barrett, the Irish Member of the Parliament, gave a speech as well. Barrett stated in his speech that "there will be no justice in the Middle East and in Palestine until all Palestinian refugees from Lebanon, from Syria, from across the world have the right to return to Palestine". In his speech, he stressed that "anybody who opposes racism, anybody who opposes oppression, anybody who opposes discrimination mostly stands with the Palestinian People against the Israeli state”.
The PFB also presented honorable awards for supporters of Palestine. Those awarded were Richard Boyd Barrett MP, Shaima Dallali the suspended president of the NUS due to her views on Palestine, Dr. Dawud Abdullah the director of Middle East Monitor, Prof. Kamil Hawash the Chair of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, and the lawyer and activist Al Tayyeb Ali.
After a short break, the concert commenced with MEK group for Dabke who gave an exquisite authentic performance, and with a musical performance by Kefah Zreeqy followed by Humood El Khuder who concluded with his popular song "Be yourself".
Over 5,000 people attended the event, and it was clear from the substantial, enthusiastic crowds that the event was a success. (ILKHA)