Who‘s coming to FiLIA?

[lanadelgrey]

I‘m starting to get excited.
Are there plans for a MN meetup?

As @GailBlancheViola says due diligence for thee but not for me.

There was a stand of LGB Labour women. No other political groups. It was not a Hyacynth Bucket lunch party at all.

I m sorry you didn’t attend @MurkyWeather2 , you would understand the sadness and how conflicting it is.

I am no SocFem, what happened around Palestine and the treatment of some attendees was definitely not ok and must be addressed, I m sure they are not perfect in many other aspects, but now that I have attended, I also know that women would lose from losing FiLiA.

The principle of Filia is a broad church.
The practice has cracks.
The foundations need to be rebuilt as quickly as possible.

I am sad that my memories of Brighton will not be as wonderful as my ones of Cardiff were.
Onwards and upwards.

I've seen the artwork in real life and it is truly beautiful, not a picture, but a huge/mini 3D Diorama, you can walk around it, looking at it from different angles, you can spot people you know. I don't wish to speak for the artist, but for me, the piece wasn't about KJK really, it was about every single woman that found her voice and new friends at Let Women Speak.

There was a stand of LGB Labour women. No other political groups. It was not a Hyacynth Bucket lunch party at all.

Why not other political groups? Isn't FiLiA for all women irespective of their political leanings?

I understand the sadness. I have friends in tears over it

It was one of the stalls, you had to apply to get a space.
Also, the Labour LGB group is not an official part of the Labour Party. Just a group of GC women members of Labour.
This to the best of my knowledge, I m not an organiser.

I am not saying that KJK should have been invited and I doubt she would attend anyway.

However, refusing to have a piece of artwork, that does indeed sound beautiful, being displayed because it includes an image of KJK is just petty, spiteful and extremely disrespectful to the artist who put time and effort into it.

To then allow virulent anti-semitic leaflets and a stall representing people who and whose organisation is virulently anti-semtic and proudly so to be at the event and promote that anti-semitism without sanction is what is so awful.

That the leadership/organisers won't allow the first but are blase about the second leaves the lasting impression that they are happy and comfortable with the promotion of anti-semitism, so just own it and then everyone knows where they stand and what they are supporting and funding.

I agree.

I agree too.

The figure of kjk was tiny. LWS enables any woman to speak. Proper, grassroots, no gatekeeping. TRAs have even spoken! It's free too.

Mind you, this has been a real shooting oneself in the foot moment because if they can notice a tiny figurine of Posie in a larger work, they should notice glaring antisemitism.

If it's true an older, disabled Jewish woman was forcibly wrapped in a Palestine flag organisers or security who witnessed it should report to police. How utterly terrifying that must have been (if true).

And I hope I misinterpreted a Pp saying talking about awful antisemitism was 'amplifying it'. We clearly need to talk about antisemitism more not less when Jewish schools need armed guards and Jewish children need to pretend not to be Jewish to get to school safely. Antisemitism has clearly been brushed under the carpet for far too long.

If the artwork was a montage of LWS
then it likely had Aja in it

the truth dawns !

I think we're all agreed that there was some room for improvement/lots for the FiLiA organisers to think about for the future. It's so easy to stand at the side criticising, deriding and trying to bring something down.

Whatwouldafeministdo yes, you are misrepresenting me, as you're fully aware. My point was that antisemitism is everywhere - you don' t need to go leafing through an obscure booklet to find it, and it's the 'everywhere' antisemitism that Jewish people are facing that needs to be called out and challenged.

And it is not true that anyone wrapped a Palestinian flag around the elderly Jewish woman. The young women holding the flag were trying to stand in front of her and the yellow ribbon that she was waving.

Aja is getting hideously attacked on X by the socfems and head girls for being black and standing up to antisemitism.

In the last week I've seen some of the most disgusting behaviour from women in years, possibly ever.

So does that mean Filia officially a Soc Fem feminist meeting?

I hadn't realised that.

I wonder if those of us who are not socialists but would also like to consider themselves part of the feminist movement are causing a similar classical liberal dilemma.

Not in my mind. And not for FiLIA.

I think those that weren't there, and getting their impressions mostly from social media/MN, don't quite understand the range, variety and mostly the ordinariness of the majority of women attending.

I think those that weren't there, and getting their impressions mostly from social media/MN, don't quite understand the range, variety and mostly the ordinariness of the majority of women attending.

I agree. All the focus has been on maybe 20 or so of the 2,500 women who attended. I'm not saying that the discussions about those women shouldn't happen, but there was so much more to it than that.

Aja is getting insulted by a few numpties.
She does not care.

It has to be said that the Downfall spoof picks up the whole 'drama' really well.

Most of the weekend was fab and funny.
Things will calm down.

The footage accurately (because it’s footage not recollection) shows the Jewish woman wearing a yellow ribbon not waving it. It also shows the young women surrounding her with the flag (not wrapping her in it) and a very aggressive woman in pink shouting “free free Palestine” just next to her whilst snapping her keffiyeh with several other women doing the same. The young women (mid to late 20’s) have written in their statement that it was one of them that went rushing to the stage in “solidarity” with the Keffiyehs wavers. They have also been telling everyone who will listen that although FiLiA subsidised their travel, accommodation and gave them their platform, it was their agenda to disrupt the event, kick out the zionists and ensure they wouldn’t be any there next year. On top of this they have made two death threats to English Feminists that I have seen in the last 24 hours. I won’t post them here, as you say there is so much antisemitic filth floating around there’s no need for me to amplify it.

I was there and the Jewish woman was waving a yellow ribbon. She appeared to get it out of her bag in retaliation to the Palestinian flags (she may have intended to get it out anyway, but that was my observation). I don't think anyone should post any footage because the elderly Jewish woman was wearing just a bra and pants at the time (unless they have her consent of course).

Yellow ribbons predate the state of Israel

Whether the elderly Jewish woman was wearing it or waving it - so fucking what it does not in any way excuse or justify the behaviour of the young anti semitic Palestinain flag wavers.

Are you really trying the old Look what she made me do trope here on a Feminist Board?

Yellow ribbons are a well known symbol for hostage release/bringing people home and have been for eons they are not and never have been a symbol for anything else.

I agree that the majority at Filia are just normal run of the mill types but I do think the socialist agenda has become more and more prevalent both from the message given and the choice of speakers.

The evils of capitalism came up in my than one of my sessions including the opening session on the Friday. I can't remember who the speaker was but she had a PowerPoint slide that showed the fundamental things that we should all be fighting. Capitalism was on the there along with the Patriarchy, VAWG and a forth item I can't remember.

There was an elderly Jewish woman on stage in her underwear?

Yup, that couple are quite exhibitionist
in an all female space
that theoretically had a no photography rule

Yes.

There was lots of unacceptable behaviour. The most generous interpretation is that the flag and ribbon wavers were standing up for what they believe in. Inflamed by women trying to match the flags and so on.

Neither the time nor place.