What is the Peace Cycle?
 

The Peace Cycle was formed in 2003 by Brian Moran and Laura Abraham. Both had followed the situation in Israel and Palestine for years and were appalled by the injustice the Palestinian people have endured for so long. Prior to meeting, they had both resolved that year to do something positive to raise awareness of this injustice, and by a fateful coincidence had separately decided to organise bike rides for peace. But after hearing about each other’s almost identical plans through the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, they arranged to meet in London in Spring 2003, and agreed to join forces to organise the first ever London to Jerusalem Bike Ride.

 

The first Peace Cycle in 2004 was an amazing event. Twenty-five cyclists from 10 different countries rode together from the UK through France, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Jordan, Israel and Palestine. As they travelled they were joined by many more people, some cycling for just a day and some staying with them for the whole journey. The youngest participant was 12 and the oldest was 60, and the group consisted of men and women from different cultures and faiths, including Muslims, Christians and Jews.

 

After an epic cycle ride through Europe sharing their message with everyone they met, the Peace Cyclists rode through the Occupied West Bank and received an astounding welcome from the Palestinian people, including an official meeting with President Yasser Arafat at his Ramallah Headquarters. On 28th September 2004 the cyclists rode into Jerusalem and their journey came to an end, but every person who took part vowed that their work for justice and peace would continue. The experiences of the event would stay with them and the memories of the people they met would not fade - so much so in fact, that not all the cyclists went home. A young Oxford graduate who had cycled all the way from London to Jerusalem was so moved by what she had seen that she decided to stay in Palestine. So the Peace Cycle raised the funds needed for her to stay in the West Bank for a further year, and in that time she set up many projects to help and support the Palestinian people and in particular, women and children suffering as a result of the occupation.

 

The Peace Cycle story continued. When hearing about such an extraordinary event being planned, a film crew had decided to travel with the cyclists and a feature-length film of the Peace Cycle was made. The iconic British actress Julie Christie narrated the film, “Cycle of Peace”, which has now been shown in many locations and is available from the Peace Cycle website.

 

The cyclists had met hundreds of people on their journey, and had been seen by thousands more. In every place they passed through their message was heard loud and clear – peace can only come through justice, and the people of Israel and Palestine can never have real peace until there is an end to the injustice of Israel’s illegal occupation of the Palestinian people.

 

The first Peace Cycle had been such an incredible event that those involved felt it could not end there, especially when the people of Palestine asked when cyclists would return to visit them again. So work began to organise a second journey, and many of those who took part as cyclists in 2004 got involved in organising the next ride. After carefully planning a slightly different route to include new destinations and meet even more people, another group of Peace Cyclists travelled from London to Jerusalem with the same message; justice and equality for all people is the only way to peace. The second Peace Cycle reached Jerusalem on 15th September 2006 and was warmly greeted by our Patron Mordechai Vanunu. (For more information about Mordechai Vanunu see his website: http://www.serve.com/vanunu).

 

The second group of cyclists were again from many different backgrounds, nationalities, ages and faiths. They cycled together to Jerusalem with one united voice, and again they awoke the consciences and touched the hearts of thousands of people on the way.

 

In 2005 the Peace Cycle was registered as a non-profit making company with four non-salaried directors: Laura Abraham, Brian Moran, Rajab Chamlakh and Mohammad Qawasmi.

Peace Cycle events are organised by committees of volunteers, each committee being formed especially to plan and organise each event that takes place. The Peace Cycle is proud to be a grassroots, independent organisation made up of people who share a passion for justice and a vision for peace.

 

Aims of the Peace Cycle

What the Peace Cycle aims to do is raise people’s awareness of the real and often misrepresented situation in Palestine and Israel, in particular:

·         Israel’s illegal occupation of internationally recognised Palestinian land, and the illegal confiscation of land and demolition of Palestinian homes to make way for unlawful settlement building and development;

·         The apartheid system of separation reinforced by the illegal barrier wall/fence, roadblocks, checkpoints, and the closure of roads and population centres;

·         Israel’s policy of collective punishment of the Palestinian people, of extra-judicial assassinations, and by unlawfully holding elected representatives and political prisoners, including women and children;

·         Israel’s continuing defiance of international law, UN resolutions and the Geneva Convention.

The Peace Cycle works to publicise this intolerable and rapidly worsening situation, and demand justice for the Palestinian people who wish to live peacefully in a viable and independent Palestinian state.

We aim to show solidarity with the people of Palestine and support their struggle for peace and self-determination. We echo their call for the UN to send a peacekeeping force to the area and for the governments of the world to increase pressure on Israel to withdraw to internationally recognised borders. We encourage people from all over the world to take part in peaceful campaigns and demonstrations to demand an end to the cycle of violence and call for a cycle of peace in the Middle East.

Our aims and objectives are summarised in the statement below.

The Peace Cycle Mission Statement

1. To encourage people from all over the world to take part in a peaceful campaign to bring an end to the cycle of violence and begin a cycle of peace in the Middle East.

2. To raise public awareness of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and how it affects the lives of the people in the region, and to call for an end to this occupation as stipulated in United Nations Resolution 242.

3. To show solidarity with those who continue to live in fear and turmoil as a result of the occupation and in particular, to call for justice for the Palestinian people as being the only way to a lasting peace for all people in Israel and Palestine.

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

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