On the Precipice
Our Fight and British Friends of Israel were both formed in response to the pogrom of 7.10, to show solidarity with Israel, and to challenge anti-Semitism. Thursday, November 21st sees their first public meeting. Join them to discuss why it has never been more urgent to stand with Israel.
Public Meeting
On Thursday, 21st November, 2024, Our Fight will be holding its first public meeting, discussing why standing for civilisation means standing with Israel.
The meeting runs from 7pm to 8.45pm, followed by a drinks reception until 10.30pm.
The meeting will also be broadcast live.
Our speakers will be Allison Pearson and Mick Hume, with Our Fight founder Mark Birbeck in the chair.
We are partnering with British Friends of Israel who established the October Declaration. The event will also be a satellite of this year's Battle of Ideas festival.
Read on for more details of the meeting, speaker biographies and tickets (including an Our Fight discount code).
We look forward to seeing you there.
On the Precipice
To murder and kidnap civilians in the Kibbutzim of southern Israel was barbaric. Barbaric too, was to hunt, torture, burn, and kill young festival-goers as the sun rose over Nova.
But to chant and dance and set off flares outside the Israeli embassy in London just a day after the pogrom is surely barbarism of another kind.
And as the year since 7.10 has unfolded we have seen values that we thought were the bedrock of our civilisation, dissipating by the day. Whatever empathy Israel earned in the shadow of the pogrom has been displaced with the shouting down of memorial services, ripping down and defacing of hostage posters, jeering and booing whilst Eden Golan sang of friends murdered at Nova, desecration of a memorial in Brighton, and more. Much more.
In Israel the struggle is yet more stark.
Israel is faced with existential threats from all sides, battling Islamism on many fronts. Yet the West either looks away or actively hampers Israel's efforts. Governments such as those of the American and British demanded Israel stayed out of Rafah (exactly where Hamas leader Sinwar was found and executed), issued arms embargoes, and continually pushed back against Israel doing anything more than waiting for Hamas and Qatar to provide their terms.
None of these world powers recognise that Israel is fighting for its own survival. And they are too cowardly to acknowledge that Israel's fight against Islamism is our fight, too.
So we are on the edge of a precipice. Israel wages an existential fight alone, against Islamism in the Middle East. And in the West we have an existential fight to hold onto humanity's gains in the face of those who are so embarrassed by civilisation they would see its destruction, and in that endeavour see these same Islamists as their allies.
Join us on Thursday, November 21st, to hear from Allison Pearson and Mick Hume, both inspiring speakers who have made the arguments for civilisation and for Israel, in print and in practice.
This event is organised by Our Fight, a campaign that was established to challenge anti-Semitism and to stand with Israel. We are pleased to be partnering with the British Friends of Israel and that the event is a satellite of the Battle of Ideas festival.
Speakers
Allison Pearson
Allison Pearson is an award-winning journalist, columnist and the chief interviewer of the Daily Telegraph. Allison’s debut novel, I Don’t Know How She Does It, became an international bestseller which was translated into 32 languages. It was also made into a film starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Pierce Brosnan.
Allison is co-presenter with fellow Telegraph columnist Liam Halligan of the much renowned Planet Normal podcast featuring ‘news and views from beyond the bubble’.
After the Hamas massacres of 7.10, Allison felt helpless as she watched opinion turn with indecent haste against Jews. She became a co-founder of British Friends of Israel. The group drew up the October Declaration, which supports Israel’s right to defend herself, and attracted more than 80,000 signatures.
Follow Allison on X: AllisonPearson
Mick Hume
Mick Hume is an English journalist, editor and author based in London. These days he writes for The European Conservative, Spiked, The Daily Mail, and The Sun.
He is the author of, among other things, Revolting! How the Establishment are Undermining Democracy and What They’re Afraid Of and Trigger Warning: is the Fear of Being Offensive Killing Free Speech?, both published by Harper Collins.
Mick was the launch editor of Living Marxism magazine (deceased) from 1988, and the launch editor of Spiked Online from 2001. He was a columnist for The Times (London) for 10 years. He worked in communications for Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party (2019) and for Reform UK in the 2024 General Election.
Mark Birbeck (Chair)
Mark Birbeck and a number of concerned individuals founded Our Fight in the shadow of the 7.10 pogrom. They were shocked at the lack of empathy for Jews and Israelis in the days and weeks that followed 7.10, and realised a new organisation was needed – one aimed at convincing non-Jews that anti-Semitism is the most significant issue of our time.
In the year since 7.10, the campaign has organised protests and counter-protests, challenging boycotts, arms embargoes, curbs on free speech, and amnesia around the role of Hamas.
Mark has spoken about the work of the campaign, on the Academy of Ideas podcast, Andrew Doyle’s Free Speech Nation, Andrew Gold’s Heretics podcast, spiked podcast Last Orders, Ben Kentish on LBC, and NTD. He has also written on some of these issues for spiked.
Buy Tickets
For security reasons the location will not be made available until after your ticket is purchased. To help with your planning, assume that the venue is in North West London.
Please bring ID to the event, and allow plenty of time for security checks, including bag searches. (Even better–don't bring a bag.)
A cafe and bar is available at the venue before the meeting, so there will be no problem arriving early.
If you are on one of the Our Fight, British Friends of Israel or Battle of Ideas mailing-lists, then please check recent emails for a promo code which can be applied in the Eventbrite form.
Click through below to buy your ticket.
