Tickets are pay-what-you-can with a suggested minimum donation of £3.00 in order to help cover venue costs. There are some limited free tickets as well for people who will struggle to contribute this.

Free Palestine, free the world: Why anti-imperialism must be at the heart of our socialist politics

Join Bristol Apartheid-Free Zone and Bristol Transformed for an education series exploring anti-imperialist practice in the West; in particular, how we can effectively take action for Palestine in Britain today.

Over the last two years, through a community boycott campaign, BAFZ have been organising our city to stand in opposition to the genocide. They’ve done this through grassroots, door-to-door organising. With hundreds of active volunteers and 6000 local supporters, our city is now home to Europe’s largest grassroots boycott campaign.

This series explores some of the theories that underpin BAFZ’s work. We’ll explore the forces that give rise to ‘Israel’s’ apartheid and genocide in order to consider what effective Palestine solidarity work looks like in Western countries like Britain today.

This multi-session series grapples with some of the following questions:

How do theories of capitalism, imperialism and Zionism help us to engage in effective practices of solidarity? Why does organising Palestine solidarity on a class basis matter? How does BAFZ’s doorknocking and community boycott strategy fit with these theories?

This session will explore the root causes of genocide and apartheid in Palestine. Together we’ll explore the links between capitalism, Western imperialism, and Zionism. We’ll think through how these dynamics shape ‘Israel’s’ actions, and how they help us understand Britain’s role in the genocide. This will help us consider what effective solidarity work looks like in the West, and why the kind of work that BAFZ does might be a part of this strategy.

What to expect

A talk, followed by a discussion with inputs welcome from all attendees. Most of our events have somewhere between 10-30 attendees. We aim for every event to be accessible to everyone, regardless of any prior knowledge!

About Bristol Transformed

Bristol Transformed is a grassroots, volunteer-run, socialist education group. Bringing together activists, trade unionists, and everyone who wants to learn, we’re creating the space to discuss the most important issues facing us, equipping us with the skills and knowledge to transform Bristol and the world.

We run an annual festival of politics, arts and culture in May, and weekly events throughout the rest of the year. See all our events here.

Bristol Transformed is run by dozens of local people. Without new people coming in every year, we wouldn’t be able to maintain the same standard of political education events that you enjoy. If you’d be interested in joining us, sign up as a BT volunteer today and we’ll be in touch!