Greens on Gaza

Israel invades Gaza: Mixed response in Barnet & Camden

Bullet point summary of the Green Party's policies on the Middle East

-Unlike Labour, our leadership campaigned to Stop the War in Iraq and Free Palestine

-Currently reviewing our energy policy to reduce dependence on oil and gas

-International policy for Boycotts, Divestment & Sanctions in solidarity with the cause

-Very much about long term peace and anti-nuclear

-Supportive of rights for all indigenous nations from Catalonia to Scotland

-Clear that anti-semitism is not tolerated but criticising Israel is not necessarily anti-semitic.

-The Federation of Young European Greens includes people from Israel and the Arab World

-For more information about the Young Greens international work, contact Paul Scott Cohen

-Ryan is working on an emergency motion to Green Party annual conference, in Birmingham.

I do not know how much you know about Gaza but because of the high birth and death rate, the vast majority of the population is aged under 30.  The world "nabka" means disaster in Arabic and Nabka Day ( يوم النكبة Yawm an-Nakba), 15 May, on Israel's Independence Day, marks the time where Gazan's grandparents were expelled from villages to clear land for the state of Israel.

  The London Green Party can ignore this at their peril, but as the London Assembly elections approach we need to find well-organised activists like London Pal-Socs and take action to include them in the Green Party.  White-dominated issues like divestment from fossil fuels are not going to attract them.

The challenge for the London Young Greens is to find a clear narrative that shows why these issues of injustice and climate change are intertwined and are best solved by one party.  As much as we would love to focus on local housing campaigns, they are a lost cause at this time as activists go and get involved in demonstrating against Israel's bombing and ground invasion of Gaza.  Only in this campaign can they form grassroots groups, gain skills, and increase confidence as campaigners.  Then when it dies down they will have more time for elections and local campaigns.

The writer is a member of the London Young Greens, stood twice as a Barnet Green Party candidate in West Hendon, and used to represent 30,000 Jewish students at plenery sessions of the Board of Deputies of British Jews