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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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