'˜I had a pizza with Yasser Arafat' - Jo wants locals to learn Arabic

Jo Bird was speaking at a lunchtime event at the Holywell Trust on Friday where she spoke of her first hand experiences of her visits to Palestine and founding a co-operative which helps farmers sell their olive oil.

“I learned Arabic in the Middle East,” revealed Jo. “I just thought it would be great if a few people in Derry learned in Arabic especially with the arrival of Syrian refugees.”

She explained how her mother’s family were refugees from Prussia who fled and came to England, where she grew up.

In 2001 she was invited to go along with friends who were taking part in peaceful protests in the West Bank.

“That move changed my life,” said Jo. “It was at the cutting edge of global politics. The situation brought out the best in some people, and the worst in others.”

She recalled how in Ramallah a curfew had been imposed which forbid people moving around during specified hours.

“There was a symbolic protest where we lay down in the road in front of the tank,” she said,

“At that time we were invited to Yasser Arafat’s compound and he ordered pizza in for us. At one point when we tried to take food to an area of Bethlehem we were shot at by protestors. A friend of mine was taken to hospital for two weeks after that.”

Following her experiences Jo tried to return to her day job - but she missed dealing with human rights and life and death issues.

“I had met Palestinian farmers who were looking for a market for their products,” she revealed. “It’s not just a product, for us it is a message in a bottle.”

Jo was since been involved in helping to arrange the sponsorship of hundreds of news olive trees.

Not in our name

Jewish voice for just peace

Jo Bird is a member of Jewish Voice for Just Peace. The group are Jewish people in Ireland who support the Palestinian struggle for human rights and justice - a struggle that resonates with the Irish journey towards peace. They oppose the ‘cynical deployment’ of the anti Semitic label and the history of the oppression of the Jewish people, to silence those who legitimately criticise Israel.