Hawzah News Agency- The event was held on the eve of the anniversary of the Nakba on 15 May - when 750,000 Palestinians were driven from their homes by Zionist militias to pave the way for the creation of Israel in 1948.
Speakers included the Israeli ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely, and the British Minister for Defence Procurement and Industries, Maria Eagle, and it was reported that Nigel Farage, leader of the British Reform Party, and comedian Jimmy Carr were also in attendance.
“Israel is committing genocide and apartheid. Inviting Israeli representatives, guests, British politicians to celebrate these crimes openly enables them to continue'', the letter read.
The letter, jointly organised by Energy Embargo for Palestine (EEFP), Artists for Palestine, and White Kite Collective, was sent amid mounting staff anger in the aftermath of the event and reiterated their calls for an apology from management.
In addition to an apology, the letter demanded the museum disclose the approval process for the event.
An anonymous worker told MEE that the event was “really disturbing” and that “a lot of members of staff, especially Muslim members, felt really unsafe” in the aftermath.
The letter also condemned the 10-year £50m partnership between the museum and British Petroleum (BP), which has a lecture theatre in their name at the museum.
It noted BP’s role in Israel’s war on Gaza, with the company’s Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline accounting for 30 percent of Israel’s oil imports, which an Energy Embargo for Palestine report revealed are used to fuel Israeli tanks and military infrastructure powering its assault on the territory.
“The British Museum cannot allow both Israel and BP to use the status of the Museum as a venerated public institution to construct a veneer of legitimacy for its activities'', the letter said.
In a report released in June, UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese named BP as one of the corporations involved in "the transformation of Israel's economy of occupation to an economy of genocide".
Source: MIDDLE EAST EYE
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