Reykjavík Grapevine - 01.08.2014, Blaðsíða 18

18
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 11 — 2014
Politics | Solidarity
The Israel-Palestine conflict has in the past few weeks yet
again spiralled out of control, having already claimed the
lives of over one thousand Palestinians and 43 Israeli sol-
diers—and the death toll is steadily rising. As aid organiza-
tions such as UNICEF and Amnesty International present
reports of violence against civilians and children, foreign
doctors testify that Israeli armed forces are using flechette
shells, which violate international humanitarian law. Ice-
landers volunteering on the West Bank have also reported
that they were fired at with automatic weapons while at-
tending a peaceful march outside Jerusalem.
The international community has been
pulled into the conflict, with heated
protests taking place from Norway to
France, while the United States reiter-
ates its support of Israel’s right to defend
itself—every attempt to find a solution
and end the violence by the UN Secu-
rity Council curtailed. Amidst concerns
of growing anti-Semitism in Europe,
several states such as South Africa and
Brazil have taken the drastic step of sev-
ering diplomatic relations with Israel and
withdrawing their ambassadors.
While several Western countries are
divided on the subject, Iceland and its
people are for the most part united in
their support of the Palestinian cause.
Iceland was for instance the first West-
ern nation to acknowledge Palestine as
an independent and sovereign state. Re-
cently, Iceland’s UN representative Gréta
Gunnarsdóttir condemned Israel’s occu-
pation of the West Bank and Gaza, while
Foreign Minister Gunnar Bragi Sveins-
son pledged 6,000,000 ISK (50,000 USD)
to relief efforts in Gaza, and Prime Min-
ister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson
sent Israel’s PM, Benjamin Netanyahu, a
critical letter concerning the recent Pal-
estinian civilian death toll. Every one of
these acts has received popular support.
One of the biggest proponents of the
Palestinian cause in Iceland is the Ice-
land-Palestine Association. The organ-
isation may only have 1,000 registered
members, but during recent protests
they gathered 1,700 supporters and then
3,000 people to demonstrate the occupa-
tion, which Sveinn points out is the big-
gest of such rallies in Europe, per capita,
with almost 1% of the population show-
ing up to support the cause.
The association was founded in 1987,
and Sveinn has been its chair since ’91.
He says it is his responsibility as a good
Christian to not sit idly by, but rather to
take a stance on the matter, as Palestin-
ians are landlocked and their country is
occupied by Israel, in spite of internation-
al laws.
The association’s mission is to work
for a peaceful and just solution based on
international law and the resolutions
of the UN, as well as ensure the right of
Palestinian refugees to return to their
homeland. To reach these goals, the as-
sociation works with local politicians,
organises protests and rallies, as well as
benefit concerts and fundraising rallies.
The proceeds of these all go directly to
organisations in Palestine, as the associa-
tion doesn’t have any upkeep costs of its
own.
What organisations do your
funds go to?
We started to support Palestinian medi-
cal relief around the time of the first
Intifada (1987-1993). Since then, we’ve
expanded our support to multiple or-
ganisations. In 2009, we started a project
with [prosthetic maker] Össur founder
Össur Kristinsson, wherein we sup-
ply prosthetic limbs to Palestinians. In
2010, we began the María fund, named
after a nurse from Blönduós and one of
our biggest supporters, María M. Mag-
nússdóttir. Through this fund, we sup-
port an organisation called Aisha, which
gives advice, support and counselling to
women, similar to the Icelandic organ-
isation Stígamót. We also support a num-
ber of causes that work with children
and families, as well as mental health
programmes. I’ve visited these organisa-
tions personally and seen how they work.
You’ve been to Palestine more
than a dozen times, what do you
do when you go?
I visit old friends as well as oversee the
projects we are supporting through our
partners in Palestine. In my last trip
when I went to the ALPC, the Artificial
Limbs and Polio Centre, I met with peo-
ple that had received artificial legs from
us, some of whom were still wearing the
original batch we made in May 2009.
I don’t go there to do the work I do in
Iceland, as a GP, or perform field surgery,
but being a doctor opens a lot of doors for
me to see hospitals and clinics, and evalu-
ate the situation. I also visit sister organ-
isations of volunteers who are doing im-
portant work in showing solidarity with
the people of Palestine.
Does your association send any
other people to Palestine?
No, although we’ve wanted to, we haven’t
been able to find any doctors willing to
go from Iceland. I am though in the pro-
cess of organising a trip for a specialist
orthopentic doctor to go to Gaza right
now to what we can do, but they don’t
really need normal doctors there, they
have plenty of those—what is needed is to
come down there and show the Palestin-
ians that they don’t stand alone, that we
care, and to report on it as a doctor.
They do need drugs, medicine and
medical equipment, and I always bring
such materials needed to make artificial
legs with me when I go, but the impor-
tant thing is for people to see the situation
with their own eyes and the oppression
the occupation carries with it. We have to
let our colleagues know that we are ready
to stand by their side and help them how-
ever we can.
It seems like the cause has a wide
support base in Iceland. Has it al-
ways been like that?
Yes, I believe so. I think Iceland has a
very deep sense of solidarity for those
who are oppressed—they want to root
for David and not
Goliath. There have
been many instanc-
es where we have
seen big imperialist
powers attempting
to crush a poor na-
tion—such as during
the Vietnam War—
where the Icelandic
nation has firmly stood by the underdog.
Israel is a nuclear state armed with tanks,
ships, the finest attack helicopters and
fighter jets, but Palestine doesn’t have
any of that.
After the fact, everyone in the West
would talk about the Vietnam War being
a mistake, but during it, the big media,
politicians and papers such as Morgun-
blaðið supported it, even if the people
didn’t. But I felt right from the beginning
that it was very different with the Israel-
Palestine conflict, that Palestine enjoys
majority support from Icelanders. There
are very few politicians or papers today
that would defend Israeli policies and ac-
tions in occupied Palestine.
How are the people of Iceland
trying to help Palestinians in
need?
The best thing they can do is to use their
imagination, because there are so many
ways they can help, especially today
when getting one’s opinion heard is so
easy. People for instance join our asso-
ciation, help raise funds for relief efforts,
work on the internet and get others inter-
ested in the cause, including diplomats
and politicians that have international
pull.
The people of Palestine always
say they don’t want our humanitar-
ian aid, but freedom for themselves, but
of course, the humanitarian aid is also
needed as the situation is absolutely hor-
rible. There is very limited clean water
and electricity, medicine is scarce and
several hospitals have
been damaged or de-
stroyed in air strikes.
My colleagues are
working there, day
and night and day, but
the situation is disas-
trous, and they need
more help.
Our demands, and
what we’ve been working on has had the
same message for so long that we can still
use the signs we made years ago: “stop
the bloodbath,” “down with the occupa-
tion,” “free Palestine” and “international
protection.” That’s all we care about, not
politics, but the people of Palestine and
making a real change.
Why Iceland-
Palestine?
Sveinn Rúnar Hauksson, chair of
the Iceland-Palestine Association, on
the conflict and the cause he defends
Words by Tómas Gabríel Benjamin
Photo by Matthew Eisman
“I think Iceland has a
very deep sense of soli-
darity for those who are
oppressed—they want
to root for David and
not Goliath.”
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