The Association France Palestine Solidarité was very sad to learn of the death of Bernard Ravenel.

Bernard Ravenel was from 2001 to 2009 the first president of the Association France Palestine Solidarité, a position he assumed at the end of the merger process between the Association Médicale Franco-Palestinienne and France Palestine, which led to the birth of the AFPS. He also chaired the Platform of French NGOs for Palestine from 2001 to 2011. He was one of the organisers of the Russell Tribunal for Palestine. A companion in struggle and a great friend of Palestine is leaving today. It is also a great loss for our association of which he has always been an active member.

Historian, long committed to international solidarity and to the right of peoples to self-determination, Bernard Ravenel was a man of conviction. He gave us the details of his political commitment through a fascinating History of the PSU, of which he was also a founding member, and was particularly close to his heart.

He wrote one of his last books on the resistance led by the Palestinian people and the strength of non-violent struggle. He also denounced with great strength the military cooperation with the State of Israel, and recalled that the denuclearisation of the Middle East would also require the renunciation to nuclear weapons by Israel. Deeply attached to international law, he fought against any form of impunity and was particularly committed on sanctions to ensure respect for the law.

Bernard Ravenel was a man of unity, a quality that Bertrand Heilbronn, current President of Association France Palestine Solidarité, praises today: "Bernard Ravenel has always acted so that solidarity with the Palestinian people mobilizes as widely as possible the French society, in the diversity of its associations, unions and political parties. This remains one of the essential threads of our association. »

To Sylviane de Wangen, his partner, his son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren, to Laurent and Eric, and to all those who were his friends, we send our deepest condolences.

At a time when Palestine and the Palestinian people are being subjected to a policy of unprecedented violence by the State of Israel, the struggles led by Bernard Ravenel remind us of the absolute necessity of international solidarity, as an integral part of the future of our own society.

The Executive board of AFPS, January 16th, 2023

Photo by @Gérard Truffandier