The Young Fabians have a proud record of international work, including taking political delegations abroad. No other youth organisation on the left has offered a comparable programme in recent years.

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The world continues to watch with awe and anxiety as countries throughout the Middle East are throwing off the burdens of suppression and dictatorship.  As Colonel Gaddafi’s Lybia has become a regime of the past, the consequences of the Arab Spring are yet hard to predict.  The momentous changes in the region are already changing the dynamics of the Arab-Israeli conflict. 

Throughout 2011, the Young Fabians Middle East Programme has looked at this oldest and most complex of conflicts through a range of different angles. At several panel discussions throughout the year, we have discussed Gaza’s future after the revolution in Egypt, pondered about the role of international stakeholders in the region and debated the challenge of dealing with Iran.

The highlight of the programme was a delegation to Israel and Palestine, on which 12 Young Fabian members went in early September. For one week, we met with NGOs, politicians and campaigners for both sides.  This pamphlet brings together their impressions and experiences and the lessons each delegate has drawn from this trip. We hope to encourage more people to learn, and try to visit the region themselves as it seeks to replace conflict with peace. 

“Understanding the Middle East conflict – reflections from a Young Fabian Delegation” will be launched tonight at 7pm in the Thatcher Room in Portcullis House. Guestspeakers are John Woodcock MP (Chair, LFI), Richard Burden MP (Vice-Chair, Labour Friends of Palestine), Toby Greene (BICOM) and Shazia Yamin (member of the delegation). Please email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it if you would like to attend. 

The goal of the Middle Eastern Programme is to broaden the knowledge and perception of Young Fabian members and supporters of this most difficult and challenging region. As Egypt attempts to join the league of democracies, we will observe and debate what these fundamental change to the status quo means for the political landscape of the entire region and what their impact is on the fragile and stalled peace process.