Down at Palestine Place*

Anshel Pfeffer of Haaretz paid a visit to Palestine Place in London:

Palestine Place’s founding statement talks of “the ethnic cleansing of Palestine” and Israel’s “attempts to drown out the voices of millions across the world calling for an end to its racist programme of Zionism.” Its activists pledge fidelity to the BDS principles of an end to the 1967 occupation, equal rights for Israel’s Palestinian citizens and the right of return for Palestinian refugees. They claim to be against Zionism, not anti-Israel, though throughout the rooms there are maps of Palestine on which Israel has ceased to exist.
…..
One of the activists at Palestine Place says, “It’s useful for us that London is now seen as the hub for the boycott movement and we’re satisfied that it’s brought up in Israeli discourse, but we are not anti-Israel or anti-Semitic. Saying that this has any part of our strategy is ridiculous.”

Well, that’s a relief.

There’s been a lot a chatter at Harry’s Place about non-violently confronting the professional Israel haters at every opportunity. So how about some Harry’s Place readers moseying down to Palestine Place, accepting their open invitation to visit and respectfully engaging with them?

Among other things, you might ask why a Palestine Place is a more urgent project than a Syria Place. The situation in Palestine and Israel is far from ideal, but at least hundreds of people are not being slaughtered there every week.

They may or may not throw you out, but at least you’ll have punctured their bubble of smugness and self-righteousness.

*Someone should write some sardonic new lyrics to the tune of Freddy Cannon’s “Palisades Park”:

Update: Abu Faris contributes the requested lyrics:

To the tune of “Palisades Park”:

Last night I was out of my face
At this cool place called Palestine Place
I bought some incense and pot pouri
Like they say they wanted

I took a workshop on shoot-to-kill
How it was alright to want to thrill
At the exploding human bomb, liberating

My heart was flyin’ up like a rocket ship
Down like a roller coaster
My mind was loosened
By slogans and workshopsand stuff and hash

We ate and ate at a vegan soul food stand
We jigged around to some Arab hip-hop band
That sang songs of praise for Hamas and Islamic Jihad
In the tunnels of Gaza

You’ll never know how great it is too fight
For BDS and against the wall, we might
push it over, via video link live from Palestine Place

REPEAT LAST TWO STANZAS

Down at Palestine Place

FADE

You know it’s Palestine Place
Down at Palestine Place