ALLMEP Members Advocacy in London

Over the past two weeks, ALLMEP’s Policy Coordinator, Rachael Liss, was joined by peacebuilders Barak Talmor from the Arava Institute and Ibrahim Abu Ahmed from the Third Narrative in London for a series of high-level engagements with UK stakeholders. Many of these events were organized alongside ALLMEP’s close partner, Solutions Not Sides, who brought Barak and Ibrahim to London to speak to high school students about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Barak Talmor is an Israeli Jewish Environmental Peacebuilder and Project Manager of “Jumpstarting Hope in Gaza” at the Arava Institute that provides immediate water, sanitation, hygiene, and energy relief for Palestinians in Gaza. Ibrahim Abu Ahmed is a Palestinian political and peace activist from Nazareth, and is the co-founder of the viral podcast Unapologetic: The Third Narrative, bringing forward powerful stories and perspectives that challenge divisions and foster deeper understanding. For some events we were also joined by Ibrahim’s co-host, Amira Mohammed, a Palestinian consultant, peace activist, and storyteller from East Jerusalem.

Their first engagement was a parliamentary briefing in the House of Commons, for UK parliamentarians from across the political spectrum, hosted by Alex Sobel MP, where Ibrahim and Barak shared insights into their work and discussed how the UK can play an instrumental role in supporting peacebuilding and conflict resolution efforts in Israel-Palestine.

 

 

Later in the week, Barak and Ibrahim met with officials at the UK Foreign Office to discuss how the UK could support recovery and reconstruction efforts in the region. Their focus was on joint Israeli-Palestinian initiatives that address urgent humanitarian needs and rebuild both civic and physical infrastructure for sustainable recovery.

 

 

A significant moment came when Barak, Ibrahim, Rachael and John Lyndon, ALLMEP’s Executive Director, met privately with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to heard about the work being done on the ground to advocate for a ceasefire and hostage release deal, and to build a more peaceful, secure and just future for both Israelis and Palestinians. Right after the meeting, Starmer endorsed ALLMEP’s flagship advocacy campaign, the International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace, and committed to having Foreign Secretary David Lammy host an inaugural meeting in London to support civil society in the region (Read more about these commitments here).

 

 

That evening, Barak and Ibrahim delivered a talk at University College London on “Grassroots Activism for Conflict Resolution in Israel-Palestine” to students involved in the “Israel-Palestine-Initiative,” led by Professor Julie Norman.

 

 

Later that week, Barak, Ibrahim, and Amira participated in a Chatham House roundtable chaired by Yossi Mekelberg, where they offered concrete insights on “how to mobilize and support grassroots peace initiatives in Israel and Palestine”, and Rachael was able to highlight the role of the UK and other international governments in supporting this work.

 

 

Finally, at an event co-organised by ALLMEP and Yachad, Ibrahim spoke to Kingston Liberal Synagogue about his story and identity as a Palestinian citizen of Israel, as well as his and Amira’s vision for the “Third Narrative” to shift the narrative toward peace.