Palestine Expo to take place in London despite cancellation fear

LONDON - 4 July 2017: Doubts initially emerged as to whether the event would go ahead after the UK's local government minister, Sajid Javid, whose department controls the QEII Centre, had warned he was "minded" to cancel the event. Javid's intervention came amid claims by various Jewish and pro-Israel groups that FOA had previously praised Hamas and Hezbollah, two groups proscribed in the UK.

Lawyers representing the Jewish Human Rights Watch (JHRW), an Israeli lobby group based in Britain, accused the pro-Palestine campaign group and its co-organiser, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, of supporting "Jew hate."

Palestine Expo is Europe’s largest social, cultural and entertainment event on Palestine.
The organizers, Friends of Al-Aqsa, wrote to the department complaining about the proposed ban and despite the best efforts of Britain’s pro-Israel lobby, the organizers were told by the British government that it is “content to let the event proceed.” A spokesperson for the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) advised the chairman of Friends of Al-Aqsa of the decision.

The organizers promise to provide a Palestinian social, cultural and entertainment event of a kind not seen before. Palestinians and their supporters from Jewish, Christian and Muslim faith backgrounds, as well as varied political perspectives, will be taking part.
The two day event’s program includes; learning the art of Palestinian cooking with a live kitchen! The kitchen will be purpose built for the Expo food court and will have live cooking from the renowned Palestinian chef and author of Palestine on a Plate - Joudie Kalla, the public will have the opportunity to prepare authentic Palestinian dishes from an expert.

There will also be evening of comedy with Aamer Rahman, music by Palestinian children’s group Fatafeat and spoken word performances. As well as discussions and workshops by a number of key groups in the field, such as Tariq Ramadan, Ben White, Dave Randall – Faithless guitarist and producer who will discuss his book ‘Sound System: The Political Power of Music, among others.

The Expo will have interactive zone that uses digital technology to bring learning to life! The sensory room will take you back to 1948, marking the start of your journey through the floor. Walking around the rest of the floor, you will enter a virtual reality experience exploring Palestinian history. Art installations and informal talks make the interactive zone a unique experience.

Another section that the organizers are relying to attract visitors is the Knowledge village, where people will get the chance to learn the traditional Dabka dance and enjoy the children's cinema. Plus there will be a dramatic storytelling of the Prophets of Palestine.

Visitors will also get to have their picture taken at a photo booth with a backdrop of Palestine as well as a selection of props and Palestinian outfits and a visit to a virtual Al-Aqsa with a chance to learn all about its history. People can even get creative in the arts and crafts area – where they can make their own badges and T-shirts.

Egyptian author and translator Ahdaf Soueif will hold a book signing in the Expo. She is, a cofounder of the Palestine Festival of Literature (PalFest) and co-editor of the anthology 'This is not a Border: Reportage and Reflection from the Palestine Festival of Literature', her most important literary works are authoring the bestselling novel The Map of Love, and translating (from Arabic into English) Mourid Barghouti’s prominent memoire ' I Saw Ramallah' that was published in 2004.

Tickets for the event cost £20 (LE 460) each and 1,800 had been sold on the first few days and the organizers are expecting the event to attract about 10,000 people.