Anger at the Bar

Participants in a rally held last week at the Bar Association voiced their fervent support for the Palestinian struggle, Mona El-Nahhas attended
Representatives from across the political spectrum expressed their solidarity (photo: Ayman Ibrahim)
Representatives from political parties, professional syndicates, trade unions and anti- Zionist civil committees gathered at the Bar Association's headquarters on 7 February to discuss what steps can be taken to help the Palestinian people.
In an often rowdy meeting, the strengthening of Arab unity, the provision of financial aid to the Palestinians under occupation alongside a boycott of Israeli and American products and the adoption of well-organised initiatives were all steps that were recommended and considered during the rally.
Speakers were frequently interrupted by anti-Israeli slogans. Attempts to restore discipline in the hall were in vain. Participants were so provoked as to be barely capable of controlling their anger. Chairman of the Bar Association Sameh Ashour was keen to stress that slogans should express a unified stance, instead of fragmenting into Islamist, rightist and leftist factions.
People held photos of the Al-Aqsa mosque and of 30-year-old Palestinian martyr Wafaa Idris, the first female suicide bomber, who died in an attack in Jerusalem on 27 January.
Hamed Mahmoud, deputy secretary- general of the Nasserist Party, said, "Palestine will not be liberated by slogans. Arab unity and well-organised initiatives are the only two means towards restoring the occupied territories to the Palestinians." Mahmoud also called for the cancellation of existing peace treaties with Israel and the suspension of peace negotiations with it. "We have been holding peace negotiations for years and nothing has taken place," he said.
"What was taken by force will be restored only by force", said Ashour, quoting late President Gamal Abdel-Nasser's famous words. "Israel does not want peace. What it wants is an Arab surrender. They [Israelis] want the Arabs to give them Palestine, and then they will turn towards Iraq, Egypt and other Arab states to fulfil their expansionist dreams", he said, his voice brimming over with anger. Ashour views the current Arab role in supporting the Palestinian struggle as "insufficient." He announced that the Bar Association will not abandon Palestine, noting that this rally is just the beginning.
The two-hour rally called for the organisation of an extensive campaign for sending food and medicine to the blockaded Palestinian people. Participants urged the need to call upon the Egyptian government, the Arab League and all relevant international bodies to open a Red Cross centre in Rafah, on the Egyptian-Israeli border, in order to facilitate the entry of food and medicine into Palestine.
Renowned actress Mohsena Tawfiq, a representative of the Popular Committee for the Support of the Palestinian Intifada, called for the severance of all relations with Israel, the dismissal of the Israeli ambassador from Egypt and the abolition of all "Arab-Zionist" peace treaties. Tawfiq asserted that the activities of the committee will continue and called upon participants to join it.
Since its formation in 2001, the committee, which boasts 15 branches in Egypt, has organised eight aid campaigns from Cairo to the occupied territories.
The Pharmaceutical Syndicate's Ahmed Ragheb said, "If the Arab people are not allowed to take an effective stance in confronting the American-Israeli alliance, then the least we could do is to boycott American and Israeli commodities."
The seminar called for a 15-minute work stoppage on a date that is yet to be announced in order to express solidarity with the Palestinians and express Arab rejection of the Israeli-American "alliance."
The seminar recommended that a legal defence panel be formed to defend those who are subjected to legal measures for supporting the Palestinian struggle. The legal council will attempt to abolish the military order which bans the collection of financial donations.
Wahid Abdel-Maguid, member of the liberal Wafd Party's higher committee, said that financial support is the least "we could offer the Palestinian Intifada so long as we are not allowed to take part in military action."
The seminar called for collecting signatures and submitting them to the UN secretary-general as a means of pushing for the provision of some form of international protection to the Palestinians. Participants agreed that the application of the UN General Assembly's resolution regarding the right of return of Palestinian refugees to their land and conducting an international investigation on Israeli crimes committed against Palestinians were also priorities.
Ahmed Herek, deputy chairman of the General Federation of the Egyptian Trade Unions, asserted that Arab workers have vowed to direct a "severe blow" against American interests in the region. Herektold participants that the blow comes in the form of a strategy formulated by the Egyptian Federation in coordination with its Palestinian counterpart. The Egyptian Federation, following the example of all civil society organisations in Egypt, has refrained from conducting any form of normalised relations with Israel.
Palestinian writer Hanan Awan thanked the participants for their honourable stance in support of Palestine, vowing that the Palestinian struggle will never stop. "Your voice lends us strength and encouragement. I am sure we will meet soon in Jerusalem, the capital of the Palestinian state," she said amidst applause.
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