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On August 17th 2018, Prominent Lawyers were proud to be sponsors of Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN). Thank you to the organisation for allowing us to be part of this momentous event, and to Marcelle Mansour OAM for sharing the below:
“The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN) held its annual fundraising dinner on Friday, August 17, 2018, at the Grand Royale Lounge in Granville, Sydney; Prominent Lawyers – directed by Principal Mr. Anthony Bazouni – were delighted to sponsor APAN Annual Fundraising Dinner 2018. For this support is a symbol of the commitment, activities and ongoing efforts of Prominent Lawyers towards the Australian society as advocates of peace and equality, and standing by those who are longing for justice.
APAN was honored to host in Australia the co-founders of Military Court Watch, visiting guests Australian Lawyer Gerard Horton, and Palestinian head of the Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counseling, Salwa Duaibis; to talk about their work in the cruel regime of the Israeli military courts.
The event was attended by many Federal and State Members of Parliament. The MPs of the New South Wales State attended; The Hon. Craig Laundy MP; Minister for small and family business, the workplace and deregulation, Susan Raye Templeman Labor MP for Macquarie, The Hon. Shaoquett Moslemane, MLC, Member of the Legislative Council & Opposition Whip, David Shoebridge, MLC Member of the Legislative Council & the Greens, Lee Rhiannon Senator for the Greens, Julia Finn for Granville for the Labor Party, and Lori Ferguson former MP.
A large number of diverse Australian societies came to support the event; includes A/ Prof Jake Lynch- University of Sydney- Chair of the Department of Peace and Conflict, Emeritus Professor Stuart Rees AM Peace and Conflict Studies, A/ Prof Peter Slezak, School of Humanities & Languages UNSW, Prof. Dr. Paul Tabar- Institute for Migration Studies Lebanese American University Beirut, Honorary A/Prof Ahmad Shboul, Arabic & Semitic Studies University of Sydney, Sydney Lawyer Anthony Bazouni; Principal & Managing Partner at Prominent Lawyers, leaders of various faith including Bishop George Browning, APAN president, and Fr Aziz Abwe from the Antiochian Orthodox Church. Mr. Eddie Zananiri, Spokesman of the Australian Palestinians and a strong advocate for Palestinian Rights, leaders of community organizations, community activists, media representatives, artists, writers, and friends.
Dr. George Hatoum made a welcoming introduction and both Dr. Farah Fayyad and Laila Aishan [were hosts on the night]. The program included several speeches; the first of which was the Aboriginal woman activist Daphne Simmons, who expressed her solidarity with the Palestinian people, for the similarity in the issue of displacement and occupation suffered by both sides. This was followed by the speech of APAN president, Bishop George Browning who has been a frequent visitor to Palestine and host of Palestinian leaders in Australia. Browning stated that Israel had no right to continue the expansion of illegal settlements because that was a flagrant violation of international law. “We need to make sure that all Australians understand the injustices of the people of Palestine.” He said. Susan Templeton gave a bold talk explaining her full understanding and support for the Palestinian cause.
Gerard Horton; a former Sydney lawyer who moved to Israel 10 years ago and co-founded Military Court Watch to help protect Palestinian children jailed by the Israeli authorities, said that in the 10 years he spent in East Jerusalem, has worsened much more as it was before, especially with the expansion of settlements. This was followed by the Palestinian Human Rights Advocate Salwa Duaibis, who focused on the mistreatment of children in Palestine and the overwhelming reality of life in the occupied territories. The way the Israeli army targets Palestinian children and young people, and their lives in prisons, as well as the gender-specific effects of human rights violations resulting from the prolonged occupation. Palestinian Writer Olfat Mahmoud who is currently visiting from Ramallah spoke about her recent book entitled Tears of Tarshiha, describing the horrible conditions of occupation in the homeland.
The Entertainment program included live music by Metri Elias with Claude Eid, Helena Kraidiah, Jabra Tarazi with Gilbert El-Chami, Tarab music by Sayed FaresTableh Corner Performance, Turath Group Dabka Performance, and the roving magician.
Finally, Raffle Draw and auction were conducted by APAN Treasurer Nasser Mashni. The event included various types of culture, heritage, and arts. A number of authors presented their local production of books, including writers Randa Abdel Fattah, Suzanne Wahab, Daniel Mirza Hani Elturk, and Others. It is worth mentioning here that the Visual Artist and Poet Marcelle Mansour – the Writer of these lines – presented some paintings of her brand new Digital Art exhibition. Marcelle’s main painting accompanied by her poem titled Hope out of Patience was donated for auction and was bought by Dr. Farah Fayyad.
APAN event concluded with a great success in making its largest fundraising. Thanks to the organizing committee and the cooperation of the team and all contributors and supporters of justice of Palestinian cause in the hope of ending the Israeli occupation and achieving a legitimate return.”
