The Peace Cycle

I am so thankful for The Peace Cycle and everything that I gained out of my experience. My experience with The Peace Cycle 2009 has opened my eyes in ways I wasn’t expecting; it was a life-changing experience.

I would like to say a special thanks to Laura Abraham who is the founder of The Peace Cycle, if it weren’t for her dedication and passion for the people of Palestine this trip wouldn’t have been possible. I would also like to thank Michael Awad & George Rishmawi from The Siraj Center, a non-governmental organization based in beit sahour, Palestine who made sure our journey through the west bank ran smoothly. They truly did an incredible job and I will never forget them. Oh and I cannot forget Rafat our guide in The West Bank, he is an incredible human being with a big heart and the trip wouldn’t have been so wonderful without him and then there’s Omar, our support driver who made sure all of us had a place to rest when needed..Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!

I encourage everyone to join The Peace Cycle 2010!!!

About The Peace Cycle

Brian Moran and Laura Abraham formed the Peace Cycle in 2003. 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.

Since 2004, the Peace Cycle has organised the following successful projects and events:

• The feature film “Cycle of Peace”: A film crew travelled with the 2004 cyclists and made a film of the whole amazing journey. The iconic British actress Julie Christie narrated the film, which has now been shown in many locations and is available from the Peace Cycle website.
• A young Oxford graduate who took part in 2004 was so moved by what she saw in Palestine that she decided she couldn’t leave. 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 London to Jerusalem Bike Ride 2006: Another group of 25 cyclists of many ages, backgrounds and nationalities cycled again from London to Jerusalem and continued our call for justice and peace. The second Peace Cycle reached Jerusalem on 15th September 2006 and was warmly greeted by our Patron Mordechai Vanunu.
• The Amman to Jerusalem Bike Ride 2008: Another group of Peace Cyclists took a message of solidarity to all those working for justice and peace in the region. The shorter journey enabled them to raise extra funds to help alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people, and more than £10,000 was raised and donated to the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians.
• The Peace Cycle to the European Parliament 2009: Peace Cyclists cycled from the UK and were joined by cyclists from many other countries of Europe. Together they cycled from the International Courts of Justice in The Hague, via Antwerp, to the European Parliament in Brussels. The Green Party hosted an official presentation by the Peace Cycle to MEPs and dignitaries, within Parliament, telling them of the real situation in Israel and Palestine that the Peace Cycle has witnessed over the years. The group took with them a petition signed by almost 20,000 Europeans, calling on the EU to suspend its Association Agreement with Israel until Israel respects Human Rights and International Law.

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. We always welcome new members and supporters from any background, nationality, culture or faith.

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.

For further general information about The Peace Cycle, please e-mail Laura Abraham on ThePeaceCycle@aol.com or visit www.thepeacecycle.com