FROME welcomes inspirational speaker, Sally Azzam, to the Frome Festival on Friday 8th July, when she will be introducing two short films – Liwan and My Neighbourhood – hosted by Frome Friends of Palestine.
Sally comes from Nazareth, in the northern part of what is now the State of Israel. She moved to Bristol last year with her husband and their children.
“Liwan (directed by Doris Hakim) tells the story of a how Sally and her co-founders established a cultural café in Nazareth’s old market, where Israeli State ‘development’ projects were obliterating the Palestinian businesses and culture,” says the group. “Liwan became the vibrant focus of art, music, food and community resistance, inspiring other businesses to reopen.”
Sally said, “I always had this dream of building a community in Palestine where people would cooperate on a joint vision, but at the same time respect our differences in other areas. Setting up Liwan was my form of resistance.”
Israeli historian, Ilan Pape, has described the Palestinians in Israel as ‘the Forgotten Palestinians’. Sally adds, “Whilst many British people know about the Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, few realise that there is also a large Palestinian minority remaining within the State of Israel.
“We make up more than 20% of Israel’s citizens! Yet the Israeli State systematically denies us equal rights with Jewish Israelis and our lives are very segregated. As a child, I did not even understand that I was a Palestinian, or know about our history or the Nakba (when 800,000 Palestinians were expelled in 1948, and the State of Israel was established on Palestinian land). The Israeli state forbids this to be taught in schools or discussed anywhere and my parents were too frightened to tell me about it at home. But I always felt there was something wrong!”
Sally now work with Amos Trust in its community Building team. She will be cycling in the Big Ride for Palestine in July
The other film, My Neighbourhood, tells the story of a young boy Mohammed el Kurd whose family home in the Sheik Jarrah district of Jerusalem was taken over by Israeli settlers. Mohammed has since become an influential writer and journalist who this year addressed the United Nations.
Palestinian themed food will be available from 6.30pm, followed by the films and talk from 7.30pm at Holy Trinity Church Hall, Frome, BA11 3DE.
Tickets available from: https://fromefestival.co.uk/event/?eventid=347
