28 July 2022

Convivencia for Just Peace in Palestine: A Public Launch

Join us for the public launch of the Convivencia Alliance – a new initiative to help bring a just peace in the Middle East. Register here to join the public event.

WHEN: Sunday, 8 May 2022, 14:00 – 16:00 BST

WHERE: P21 Gallery, 21 Chalton Street, London, NW1 1JD

About this event

You are invited to register for the public launch of the Convivencia Alliance – a new initiative to help bring a just peace in the Middle East will launch next month, invoking the periods of mutual co-existence enjoyed by the three monotheistic faiths in medieval Spain and the Ottoman Empire.

The launch event will begin at 14:00 GMT. For those who cannot attend in person, we shall be streaming the event live to Facebook and YouTube. Convivencia is a cross-faith, international initiative for a just peace in the Middle East that seeks to substitute the current militarised ‘solutions’ based on racist oppression, brute force, denial of rights and colonial dispossession with an approach predicated on shared values and commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Convivencia initiative extends to people of all faiths and none who are committed to these values. Instead of dividing people, this approach unites them in a search for a just peace based on equality for all in Palestine/Israel. It hopes to draw on the concept of justice that is central to all three monotheistic faiths aiming to create a political system that combines equality, justice and universal human rights in order to deliver peace, democracy and the rule of law.

The intention follows the original Palestine Liberation Organisation programme, towards building a shared political community through a process of decolonisation, beginning with Palestine. This requires an end to Zionism, apartheid and occupation, and building a just and democratic civic society in the whole of Palestine.Convivencia also rejects the prevailing ‘Inter-faith’ dialogue that is driven by a Zionist agenda, silencing any discussion of Palestinian rights. This ‘coexistence’ is dishonest and undermines the core values of the three faiths. In addition, Israeli-Palestinian normalisation projects, sponsored by Western governments, legitimise Apartheid. All these practices collude with racism and must be opposed through a genuine anti-racist agenda, namely: a just co-existence based on decolonisation.

“The ever-increasing weaponisation of alleged anti-Semitism in support of apartheid aims to divide communities along racial and religious lines. This trope underpins the continuation of a system of racial domination. We must unite to challenge such tropes by showing how a shared history of peaceful coexistence can inspire a new order based on justice and human rights”, said the convenors of Convivencia.

The initiative is due to be launched on 8 May at the P21 Gallery, 21-27 Chalton street, London NW1 1JD, at 14:00 GMT.For more information or comment please contact:

Haim Bresheeth +44 7971 431242
Mr. Massoud Shadjareh +44 7958 522196, or
Reverend Stephen Sizer +44 7970 789549

The speakers include:

Mr. Awad Abd Al-Fattah, (One Democratic State, Palestine)
Prof. Haim Bresheeth (Jewish Network for Palestine)
Prof. Jeff Halper (ICAHD Israel)
Mr Rifat Odeh Kassis, (Kairos Palestine, Jerusalem)
Mr. Massoud Shadjareh (Islamic Human Rights Commission)
Reverend Dr. Stephen Sizer
Ms. Naomi Wimborne Idrissi
Prof. Ramón Grosfoguel (University of California, Berkeley)

If you intend to partake in person, please register here. Only register if you are sure you are able to be at the Launch, as space is limited – please be aware that the P21 Gallery offers a limited number of seats. If you are unable to register, please use the online streaming, which will be available on: Facebook, YouTube and IHRC.TV.