MAP'S CELEBRITY SUPPORT IN 2023
CEASEFIRE NOW CAMPAIGN
During the ongoing attacks on Gaza in October and November 2023, a number of artists and high-profile celebrities have stepped up to support our campaign for a ceasefire.
Artists include Juliet Stevenson, Maxine Peake, Lolly Adefope, Esther Manito, Nicola Coughlan, Jolyon Rubinstein and many more.
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WEST BANK FIELD TRIP WITH TOBIAS MENZIES
In February, 2023 we took British actor Tobias Menzies to visit our medical projects in the West Bank.
We visited Al Makassed hospital in East Jerusalem where he saw the Neo-natal and Emergency response unit. We saw the Palestinian Red Crescent Society headquarters in East Jerusalem where MAP supports the first responders and ambulance crews in times of crisis.
Tobias held a drama workshop for children aged 10-15 years old in the Old City of East Jerusalem at Al Saraya children's centre. He taught some drama and breathing techniques and then led the youth group in designing their own role plays to demonstrate a typical day in their life living in the Old City. This project works with young people in an after-school club to help support their mental health, build their resilience, and teach them life skills. The centre offers a safe space for children and teenagers to go after school and helps them develop coping mechanisms to help manage the ongoing stress and suffering they face living under military occupation. Children living in the Old City witness regular hostilities from soldiers and settlers, in addition to home demolitions.
Tobias also visited the MAP-funded burns unit and new breast cancer clinic in Rafidiya hospital in Nablus, and he was treated to a fantastic performance from the youth group at the Palestinian Circus School in Birzeit. MAP funds one of the Palestinian Circus School projects working with young people who have learning difficulties. This partnership is part of our mental health programme in the West Bank.
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EVERY PALESTINIAN CAMPAIGN
We believe Every Palestinian has an equal right to health and dignity. A number of influencers and celebrities have stepped up to show solidarity and support for our 'Every Palestinian' campaign. Celebrities involved include Maxine Peake, Amaka Okafor, Imran Yusuf, Abu Julia and many more.
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STANDING WITH GAZA DURING THE 2021 CRISIS
We are grateful for the incredible celebrity support in 2021 - particularly during the bombardment of Gaza and attacks in East Jerusalem in May.
We had an unprecedented amount of voices standing in solidarity with Palestinians, promoting our projects providing urgent medical aid on the ground in Gaza and the West Bank.
These voices included: Zendaya, Dua Lipa, Zara Larsson, Jameela Jamil, James Yammouni, Riz Ahmed, Tobias Menzies, Maxine Peake, Andreya Triana, Amaka Okafor, Neville Southall, Tez Ilyas, Imran Yusuf, Deborah Frances White, Caryl Churchill, Omar Sakr, 65 Degrees of static, Grace Blakely, Attika Choudary, The International Gaming Network and many more.
Ongoing celebrity support for MAP
Our celebrity ambassadors support MAP’s work and call for the right to health and dignity for Palestinians living as refugees or under occupation.
We work with celebrities across many industries including entertainment, comedy, journalism, film, music, and literature. They give up their time and talent to support us and raise awareness of the unique health issues and challenges faced by the Palestinian people living under conflict, occupation and displacement. We are thankful to all those who have helped us in our campaigns, events and lobbying in order to call for health and dignity for Palestinians.
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With conflicts continuing to worsen across the Middle East, the ongoing humanitarian crisis affecting Gaza risks being forgotten.
A group of artists and celebrities joined MAP to bring attention to some of the individual stories of Gaza’s residents, and supported our call for an end to years of blockade and conflict which continue to blight their lives. The campaign highlights the real life stories of individuals in Gaza who have serious challenges accessing the healthcare they need.
Supporters who supported this campaign included Bill Bailey, Camilla Rutherford, Yasmin Alibi-Brown, Bella Freud, and Juliet Stevenson.
The case studies detail stories of attacks on hospitals, medical personnel and individuals needing life-saving care. The almost 14 year blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt continues to stifle Gaza’s economy and prevents the import of the reconstruction materials needed to fully rebuild these healthcare centres, or the tens of thousands of homes also destroyed. The hidden scourge of chronic malnutrition threatens children’s lives, even basic medicines and medical disposables are at 'zero-stock' levels.
Gaza's suffering is a man-made disaster, which can and must be resolved through concerted political action. This is why MAP provides both direct medical relief inside Gaza, and campaigns for the lifting of the political impediments to Palestinian health.
In 2017, comedians Jeremy Hardy and Imran Yusuf took time out of their busy schedules to visit MAP projects in the West Bank.
We were heartbroken to hear of Jeremy Hardy's death in January 2019. Jeremy was a long-time friend of MAP, and vocal supporter of our mission to help ensure the rights to health and dignity of Palestinians. We are forever grateful for all the energy and time Jeremy lent to MAP, and his lifelong dedication to challenging injustice will continue to inspire us in our work. His wit and warmth will be missed by us all. Please find out more about his work with us and watch the film we made with him linked below.
Jeremy & Imran in Hebron Imran and the film team
Jeremy Hardy and Imran Yusuf visited our mobile health clinic in the Jordan Valley supporting Bedouin Palestinians living under occupation. MAP's mobile clinics visit 27 Bedouin communities across the Jordan Valley bringing Primary Health Care to some of the most vulnerable women and children in this region.
They also met a paramedic who explained the complicated journey Palestinians have to make if they need to visit one of the main hospitals in East Jerusalem for specialised treatment. In order to access Al Makassed hospital, ambulances have to do back-to-back transfers meaning patients have to spend time at the checkpoint transferring from a Palestinian ambulance to an Israeli registered ambulance. This can take from ten minutes to many hours and if the case is critical or life threatening, people can sometimes die at the checkpoint.
Jeremy quoted "It just highlights the brutality of the occupation in the way it just makes the ordinary, everyday life things that we take for granted impossible..."
To watch the full feature length documentary of Imran and Jeremy's trip to Palestine with MAP, please watch here.