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Sahar Francis – human rights defender comes to spBR
We are so excited to welcome Sahar Francis to the Palestine Voices tent as part of our Palestinian Prisoners theme. Over 25 years years she has fearlessly advocated for Palestinian Prisoners and she will tell us about her work on Saturday.
During her long career, Sahar worked closely with the UN Special Procedures system and appeared as a witness in front of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza War – Goldstone, and the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
She makes clear, in the video below, when speaking in Ireland recently that unless we bring pressure to support Palestinian prisoners, the terrible conditions they endure will be exported elsewhere. If ever there was a timely warning of the links between the Israeli occupation regime in Palestine and the rise of fascism and silencing of protest elsewhere, this is it.
Welcome to our Palestinian guests
As we have mentioned in a previous blog we will be zooming with Mahmoud on Saturday afternoon. We are now really pleased to say more about our other guests.
Umm Jabr
The programme schedule is here
Nihad Wahdan (known as “Umm Jabr”): She was sentenced for 21 years; which were then reduced to three years and prohibition of travel for 21 years. She began formal political and social activities through the Student Youth Movement in 1984. She is a mother of nine children and she has also worked on progressive legal and social change, including advocating for a woman’s right.
Qutaiba Musallam: from the village of Talfet near Nablus. He spent a total of 33 years of his life in prison. He was imprisoned four times. The latest arrest , in 2000, resulted in him being for 37 years . He was released in 2025 in the prisoner exchange that took place in January 2025 after 24.5 years. He is married and has 5 children and 11 grandchildren.
On his photo in the slideshow above to the left of him is a quite from one of hs novels:
Prison does not confine a body; it liberates a soul.
Anas Abu Srour: we focused on Anas in our newsletter when he was arrested in 2024; at this time his child was three months old. Anas, executive director of Aida Youth Centre, will talk to us about the impact on him personally but also wider social impacts of the imprisonment drive by the occupation forces.
Sahar Francis: We are so lucky to be able to welcome Sahar. She is a Palestinian lawyer and human rights defender, with long expertise in international humanitarian law, international human rights law and international criminal law. She previously worked in Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association for the last 27 years, defending Palestinian political prisoners under the Israeli occupation.
During her long career, Francis worked closely with the UN Special Procedures system and appeared as a witness in front of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza War – Goldstone, and the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Francis received numerous awards for her work, including the 7th “ Alicia Salcedo” award of Equality of the Oviedo Bar Association on 2024.
Heba Muraisi: Many of us in Sheffield travelled to Newhall Prison late in 2025 and early this year as Heba’s hunger strike lengthened into dangerous territory. One of the Filton 25, Heba was arrested on November 19th 2024 on allegations of being connected to the Filton action . She was held on remand until released in February 2026 after widespread support and activism. She faces trial later this year.
Heba will talk to use about imprisonment as a tool for silencing resistance.
‘3-3 Palestine’ at small park BIG RUN
A World Cup antidote
10 years of small park BIG RUN (spBR) is an incredible achievement. The event has grown every year in its reach and the variety of ways to be involved, although it is increasingly sobering how urgently events like this are needed.
3-3 Palestine at SPBR 2026
It is with a lot of pride that we bring a football element to spBR for a 3rd year. In 2024 we brought a football related stall to the park and a football lantern was carried round continuously for 24 hours by a relay team of grassroots footballers. This year, as last year, we are bringing the stall plus running the 3-3 Palestine activity again. 3-3 Palestine is admittedly a bit of a whimsical name. Its origin was, in an echo of the ‘Free, Free Palestine’ chant, wanting to shout ‘Palestine’ every time I heard the football scoreline ‘3-3’. But its message is deadly serious….we will come on to that.
3-3 Palestine provides a quick burst of football fun – accessible to all – as part of the spBR route around Meersbrook Park. We will have a mini football course set up at the top of the big hill, with 3 key football skills – passing and moving, dribbling and shooting. The idea is that you complete each skill 3 times (hence the 3-3) and you get rewarded with a badge and a certificate. You can sign up at the start of the run or at the activity itself, for a suggested donation of £2 upwards (all going into the two charities supported by spBR; Sheffield Palestine Cultural Exchange and Sheffield Palestine Women’s Scholarship Fund). Last year we had over 70 sign-ups from toddlers upwards and so much great feedback, especially from non-footballers who just enjoyed having a go!
Back at the start line we will have the football stall with a display outlining what the connections are between football and Palestine Solidarity and this is the weightier part of the offering.
Athleticide
Among the many atrocities committed by Israel on the Palestinian people is the crime of athleticide. This is part of the wider attack on Palestinian culture as a way of attempting to erase the history and identity of a people. As well as its significance in wellbeing, social structure and building bonds between people, sport can form an incredibly significant part of a nation’s identity by providing visibility on the global stage, the opportunity to achieve status in competition, a display of national symbols like the flag, source of national pride etc.
The athleticide statistics are horrifying with the Palestine Football Association estimating that at least 1,008 sportspeople have been killed and nearly 300 sports facilities have been destroyed in Gaza by Israel since October 2023. In addition are debilitating injuries, psychological trauma, the disruption of sports programmes, careers, and aspirations.
The World Cup
With the FIFA Men’s Football World Cup having kicked off on 11 June, the contrasts between the spectacle that FIFA is portraying and the grim experience of football in Palestine could not be starker
This is why it becomes even more important to seize moments when football is in the public’s consciousness and use football as a relatable tool to illustrate what is happening in Palestine. And what we can do.
The Palestine Coalition held an alternative World Cup Opening Ceremony on Weds 10 June at Lowfield Park. We gathered round the big flag and were joined by local families. We chanted, spoke about boycott and read out the names of 136 Palestinian footballers who have been killed by Israel since October 2023 followed by a minutes silence. The local children contributed much to the event, reading out poetry and playing under the flag as the adults lifted it. It was both a reflective and uplifting event, illustrating the joy of play and togetherness which sport can bring.
What we can do
We really hope you will take part in 3-3 Palestine at spBR as a way to help raise funds on the day and for the joy of engaging in sport. But there are ways of using football as a campaigning tool too which we hope this will inspire you to do as well.
You can read the materials we will have on display to deepen your knowledge of athleticide and of football in Palestine.
You can support campaign calls for FIFA to ban the Israeli FA and for games involving Israeli teams to be stopped.
There are numerous boycott actions you can take – from the main sponsors of the FIFA World Cup such as McDonalds and Coca-Cola to sports companies such as Puma who signed a four-year sponsorship deal with Israeli football club Maccabi Tel Aviv.
You can make regular visits to the Red Card Sheffield linktree where you will find updated news items and actions related to Palestine and football – better still, join the Red Card Sheffield Announcement WhatsApp group to be alerted when there are actions to be taken.
Visit https://linktr.ee/redcardsheffield to get started and come and say hello at the 3-3 Palestine Stall at spBR – we look forward to seeing you there!
Spotlight on Palestine Voices Tent
The Palestine Voices Tent this year is dedicated to Palestinian people who have been imprisoned. Imprisonment by the Zionist state is often arbitrary and always without justification, is used as a tool to silence resistance, split families and isolate individuals. Recently, the Knesset passed a new law that will put Palestinian people in prison at grave risk of execution.
One person we will be really pleased to welcome is Mahmoud Masheyech. Mahmoud, a nurse, was in prison for two years because of a facebook post . All his facebook was then removed as it so angered the Israeli state. Mahmoud will talk to us about his experience, but you can see from these pictures and videos the great relief of his release and the immense violence of his arrest.
You can read more about the Red Ribbon Campaign in Sheffield in support of Palestinian prisoners here. Find out more about the Palestine Voices Tent here
Look back in wonder – 2022-2025
A look back in wonder 2018-2021
Sumud runners!
It is sobering to think that as we undertook various distances for the Virtual Palestine Marathon, raising over £4k, these brave runners in Palestine, have little of the food or comforts we associate with long distance running. You can follow them on instagram
Palestine Marathon: we run for justice, we run in solidarity
As we heard over Easter weekend that the Palestine Marathon had once again been cancelled due to the occupation, runners from Sheffield, who are raising funds towards the costs of putting on small park BIG RUN, will not be deflected from taking part in the virtual Palestine Marathon that starts from Rother Valley Country Park on April 18th.
The following day, 19th April, together with Sheffield Palestine Cultural Exchange and cinema Palestino, we will be showing Freedom to Run, at the Showroom on, at 6pm , that tells the story of Glaswegian marathon runners whose eyes were opened to the occupation when they took part in the Palestine Marathon in 2017.
The virtual marathon, similar to the small park BIG RUN DIY event, is a commitment wherever you are to justice and solidarity. We will be joined , virtually, by runners from all across the UK and the World in a single statement :
Justice for Palestinian people and end to occupation and Apartheid.
The Palestine Marathon, which should be taking place in Bethlehem requires, two circuits of the city – the presence of the Apartheid Wall limiting the length of a single route. The event has its roots in the Right to Movement and nothing symbolises more than this physical restriction.
A Right to Movement runner is someone who doesn’t wait for their human rights, but claims them by running with , as or for those deprived of their rights – and tell the world about it though pictures, videos and stories. It’s activism through sport and storytelling (from https://www.facebook.com/righttomovement.org/)
The virtual marathon is a truly international, global expression of solidarity:
