Tony Greenstein | 30 May 2016 | Post Views:

Sign & Share the Petition Against These
Racist Zionist Bigots Who Have Sent Hate Mail to a Young Girl
Just
when I thought that the defenders of Apartheid Israel and racist Zionists couldn’t go any lower along comes the affair
of Leanne Muhamad.  Leanne, who is a 15
year old school girl, a British Palestinian whose relatives are still in Gaza,
spoke impassionately at the Speak Out challenge run by the Jack Petchey
Foundation about her experiences.  For a
15 year old girl it was a magnificent speech. 
It clearly came from the heart. 
She described how her baby cousin had died of heart problems in Gaza
because of Israel’s Nazi style blockade of the territory.
The main challenge seems to be how to avoid being censored by the Jack Petchey Foundation
Leanne
spoke of her hopes and dreams and spoke of how terrorism had no religion.  Watch it and see for yourself.  The audience enthusiastically applauded her
and she won this particular stage.  But
then the censors moved in.  A
particularly racist Zionist @EdgarDavidson81 complained.  The Jewish Chronicle, which is edited by the cold-war
-hawk and apologist for pro-Israel anti-Semites, former Daily Express editor
Stephen  Pollard, stepped into the fray.
They should add a rider – ‘as long as you don’t offend racists and Zionists’
Leanne
has been deluged with hate mail from Zionists as a result.  Please sign the petition below and share with others so that
the Jack Petchey Foundation and Wansted
High School know that the overwhelming majority of British people reject Zionist
censorship.
If the lies above are to be believed, the video of Leanne’s speech was removed from the Jack Petchey site in order to protect her!
Leanne should go onto the finals of the speaking
competition as was originally intended before the censors stepped in.

No
to Zionist and Racists’ Censorship – Yes to Free Speech on Palestine

Leanne Receiving her Award – This Didn’t Happen as the Jack Petchie Foundation has deleted it from its website – all in her interests as they said today

Sign the Petition in support of Leanne

Can anyone think of anything else to add?  ‘Don’t annoy any Zios?’
Leanne
Muhamad of Wansted High School won the “Speak out” challenge after
giving an impressive performance to enthusiastic applause. However one day
later, following complaints from the racist anti-Palestinian blogger @EdgarDavidson81
to the Speakers Trust (the charity that trains the students to take part in the
Speak Out Challenge) the Jack Petchey Foundation and Wanstead High School, the
judging panel have now decided “unanimously” against sending Leanne Mohamad
through to the final rounds of the competition.
Leanne Muhamad
Julie
Holness, CEO of the Speakers Trust, alleged that Ms Mohamad had breached 
“two fundamental rules that are made
explicit during the training
”. 
She said: 
There are two fundamental rules that are made explicit during the
training: the speech must have a positive and uplifting message – in fact this
is one of the core terms of the agreement with the Jack Petchey Foundation
[and] a speaker should never inflame or offend the audience or insult others
and this, by definition, means that propaganda is ruled out absolutely from the
outset.’

Given
that the so-called “two fundamantal rules” are not written as Ms
Holness shared them – and also were taken out of context – it is not stated
anywhere about an “uplifting message” nor is it stated anywhere about
insulting others” nor any reference to “propaganda” in the
topics recommended: Topics (note not rules) should be presented in a
positive/constructive manner even if the subject is of a more serious or
hard-hitting nature.
How
Leanne was supposed to raise the death of her baby cousin who was trapped in
Gaza and lacked basic medical aid due to the Apartheid blockade, positive and
uplifting is macabre. She did manage to make it a part of her plea for peace
and his passing has since been used against her in a cruel and malign fashion.
This young person is still a minor and her cousin’s death has been very
upsetting and yet there are those who believe it is acceptable to slaughter
thousands of children, imprison thousands more and in Britain at least censor a
young person from speaking out about it in an event designed specifically for
young people to speak out!
However
controversial the subject, speakers are warned never to offend the audience.
Given that the audience gave her a standing ovation and rousing standing
ovation at that – there was no signal of offence reported or given, and given
that she asked for Birds of Peace instead of Bombs and an uplifting message to
free her people; as well as summarizing the traumatic past from which she at
her young age has escaped; there is nothing to offend a normal audience, and
nowhere is the term “others’ mentioned. Also given that the speech was
previously, marked voted on and won in another heat – by another panel of
judges, and coached by teachers from Speakers Trust – all with no comments or
remarks about its eligibility – as there was no offence and they thought it was
constructive and positive – it is curious that a new panel voted against it,
effectively silencing and deleting the previous panel’s decision and also
silencing a schoolgirl’s story and plea for peace and freedom.

This
petition will be delivered to:
  • Trudy Kilcullen – Chief Executive Officer
    Jack Petchey Foundation
  • Councillor Wanstead Council
    sheila bain
  • Bob Hamlyn
    Wanstead Highschool, london

UPDATED: The Jewish Chronicle
erroneously reported that “Following complaints by blogger Edgar Davidson to
the Speakers Trust” the decision was taken not to put her through to the grand
finals. They had already taken the decision to censor her.
A British Palestinian school girl, Leanne Mohamad of Wanstead
High School, won the “Speak Out” challenge after giving this impressive
performance to enthusiastic applause. But a day later, Speakers Trust
decided Leanne will no longer be sent through to the grand final of the public
speaking competition. It seems that giving a personal account of the Nakba and
a plea for an end to discrimination against Palestinians is not acceptable in the
UK in 2016.

Competition organisers Speakers Trust have removed the video
from their website, Speak Out Challenge, and their YouTube channel.
Copy below.

The Speak Out challenge is described thus: “In each one-day workshop,
students take part in games and exercises to encourage them to think on their
feet in a fun, interactive and safe environment. The day culminates in a ‘Speak
Out’ speech contest where students can speak on any topic they feel strongly
about ­– using only their voices, their words and their passion. Notes are not
allowed; they must use the techniques from the training.”

The Free Speech on Israel network object to the undue influence that
was imposed on Speakers Trust; 15 year old Leanne Mohamad should have been
allowed to go through to the final.

Posted in

Tony Greenstein

Leave a Comment





This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.