To register for this event please click here.
Screening will start at 12:00 Noon US EDT; 7:00 PM Palestine Time, 18 minutes, English. The film screening will be followed by Q&A discussion with Sir Vincent Fean, a British diplomat, and John McHugo, a British historian.
About the Film
Britain in Palestine 1917-1948 investigates the contradictory promises and actions which defined British Mandatory rule in Palestine and laid the groundwork for the Nakba (the catastrophe) and the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. The roots of the contemporary social, political, economic, and environmental landscape of Palestine and Israel can be traced back to this period, making it essential viewing for understanding Britain’s legacy in the region and the situation on the ground today.
Sir Vincent Fean
Sir Vincent Fean is member of the British Diplomatic Service (DS) 1975-2014, his last post was as Consul-General, Jerusalem (2010-14). Before Jerusalem, he was Ambassador to Libya, and previously High Commissioner to Malta.
Vincent advocates equal rights for Israelis and Palestinians, and British Government recognition of the state of Palestine alongside Israel on pre-June 1967 lines. He is the Vice Chair of Trustees of the Balfour Project.
John McHugo
John McHugo believes passionately that the history of the modern Arab world and Islam are grotesquely misunderstood in Britain and the USA, and has taken on the task of trying to explain to a Western audience how we came to the catastrophic mess in which we find ourselves today. He is the author of A Concise History of the Arabs, Syria: A Recent History, and A Concise History of Sunnis and Shi'is. He has also published on the legal interpretation of UNSCR 242, the British and French Mandates in the Middle East, and the Jewish Egyptian nationalist James Sanua (Ya'qub Sanu'). Before taking early retirement to concentrate on research and writing, he was a partner in a City of London law firm and had worked on international boundary disputes in the Middle East. He entered the law after a degree in Arabic and research at Oxford and the American University in Cairo in Islamic studies. He is a trustee of the Balfour Project.