LONDON // It was a quintessentially British scene: 40 or so adults and children out for a Sunday morning hike, chatting happily as they strode across the magnificent scenery of England's Peak District.
Almost perversely, though, what brought this disparate group of people together on a recent summer's day was their mutual concern over the miseries being suffered by the Palestinian people.
The weekend walk was a fund-raising event organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, an organisation formed just over a quarter of a century ago. The stated aim of the group was, and still is, to counter what it calls Zionist propaganda by providing people in Britain with a better understanding of the fate of Palestinians in the occupied territories, in the diaspora and within Israel itself.
It is not an easy task. The group has three full-time staff members working in a small office in central London and, apart from very limited funding from the trade unions, is financed entirely by donations.
But, according to Jenny Najar, 36, who became the group's first full-time director 18 months ago, progress is being made.
"When I was a student, the word Palestinian was synonymous with terrorism," she said. "Now, there seems to be much more understanding in Britain of the situation of Palestinians.
"People you meet are now interested in the historical wrongs that have been inflicted on Palestinians and the way they are being treated today by Israel. We still have a long way to go, but at least people are much more ready to listen to us these days."
Mrs Najar, who is English and owes her Arabic surname to a Palestinian she fell in love with and married after meeting him at a PSC rally, first became interested in the Palestinian territories as a theology student at university.
She went on a backpacking trip to the Holy Land and found herself appalled at the treatment being meted out to locals in the occupied territories.
Later, she went on to teach English in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon and to work with an anti-land mine charity in Iraq.
"I survived a suicide bombing in Baghdad," she recalled, "so it makes me smile when people come up to me at demonstrations and accuse me of supporting suicide bombers. I tell them that that's the very last thing I support ? and for very good reason."
The PSC has three basic goals - to support self-determination for Palestinians, though it advocates neither a one- nor two-state solution; to press for the end of the occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza; and to campaign for the right of return for Palestinians.
With about 3,000 members, the group also tries to highlight the plight of Palestinians spending their lives in the camps of Lebanon and of the way Palestinians in Israel are treated as second-class citizens.
Formed 26 years ago, the group became almost moribund after the 1993 Oslo Accords appeared to provide the basis of a solution to one of the most intractable problems.
"Oslo, of course, proved a false dawn," Mrs Najar said, "and the PSC and other groups realised that there was still an awful lot to be done after the second intifada in 2000.
"There have been setbacks: 9/11 did our cause no good at all, for instance. But similar groups to ourselves have been springing up, including Jewish organisations. We have a lot of contact with Jews for Justice for Palestinians, for example."
PSC is now hoping to expand its activities, but is limited by a lack of funds. "Our immediate aim is to get a communications officer," Mrs Najar said. "Not only can we not cope with the volume of e-mails we receive, but we also need to be much more active in our press relations.
"It can be disheartening when you see the way the pro-Israeli media machine swings into action when anything happens. Our resources are so limited that we have no chance of matching it.
"The bulldozer attack in Jerusalem last week, for instance, was dreadful, of course. But when something like that happens and three Israelis are killed, it gets front-page treatment. When three Palestinians are killed, it gets not a mention."
Things, though, are changing slowly. At least, as Mrs Najar accepted, the BBC mentioned at the end of its TV and radio reports on the bulldozer rampage that, so far this year, 29 Israelis had been killed as a result of Palestinian violence, whereas about 400 Palestinians had died because of Israeli attacks.
Supporters of the PSC, which has about 40 autonomous chapters, know there is still some way to go. But every little helps - even if it means tramping across the hills of an English beauty spot on a summer's weekend.
@Email:dsapsted@thenational.ae
SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
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Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
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German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
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Date Started: September 2018
Founders: Walid and Karim Dib
Based: Abu Dhabi
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
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Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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