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Archived Articles for December 2004 December 29, 2004 Coming January 4 : "Pragmatic Helpfulness: What's Needed from Canada in the Middle East" - Case Study: The Neirab Palestinian Refugee Camp in Syria - A special presentation sponsored by Friends of Sabeel. For details see our Events Page December 28, 2004 OSAMA SALEH Palestinian Refugee wins Federal Court victory! Update from the Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees The Federal Court of Canada has issued a ruling directing Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to re-evaluate their decision to deport Osama Saleh, due to the "risk of persecution, torture and cruel & unusual punishment", which he would face if deported from Canada to the Israeli military occupation of the West Bank. The positive Federal Court decision opens the door for Osama Saleh to win his struggle for STATUS in Canada, as now Immigration Canada has been directed to review his case. December 27, 2004 Activists are always looking for new ways to raise awareness. Canpalnet-Calgary recently tried a different approach. December 26, 2004 These Interesting and informative links have been added to our permanent Links page: Under "Recommended Reading": Uri Davis: Apartheid Israel and the Jewish National Fund of Canada Download PDF FromOccupiedPalestine.org An independent online journal and resource archive of the Israel-Palestine conflict. The creators of the site are Halifax based writer and photographer, Jon Elmer and Valerie Zink a history student at Dalhousie University. Jews for a Just Peace An organization of Jews living in Vancouver, BC, Canada whose purpose is to build support in our community for a fair and just solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. December 24, 2004 MedMon/Felton: Rock rolls over to kiss up to Israel The idea that Palestinians are equally responsible for the violence is so dishonest and perverse that only the historically ignorant or politically corrupt could defend it. In Rock’s case, and Paul Martin’s government as whole, both criteria apply. G&M: Palestinians at the table Does it make any sense to have a Middle East peace conference without Israel at the table? Just such a conference will be held in London early next year. DailyTimes/Avnery: The mountain and the mouse The army will leave the Palestinian towns ‘for 72 hours’ for the elections. Between roadblock and checkpoint, between one ‘targeted liquidation’ and the next, Palestinian democracy will flourish for three days December 23, 2004 Gaza Strip Military Occupation - Canadian Government Complicity MP3 Audio - CKUT: Indymedia: Listen to an interview with Mohamed Omar, an independent Palestinian journalist based in Rafah refugee camp of the southern Gaza Strip. The interview focuses on the Canadian government's relationship to the internationally condemned Israeli military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. CBC: Abbas says Sharon's talk of annexing settlements could sabotage peace talks Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's hope of annexing West Bank settlements and keeping all of Jerusalem under a final peace deal is a disaster that could torpedo efforts to restart peace talks, interim Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said Friday. December 22, 2004 Globe and Mail: Canada to put own stamp on peace process, Cotler says "Democracy is perhaps the best guarantee of peace, because as studies have shown, democracies don't make war against each other," Mr. Cotler told reporters. However, his deceptively simple message is being delivered in a region where democracy is in short supply, human rights come under frequent attack and the fight against terrorism often involves the use of torture. December 19, 2004 Sling Shot Hip Hop - The Palestinian Lyrical front. An exciting, eye-opener trailer for a film - 11 mb - well worth the dowload or you can view it online. The first rappers of Gaza - "We are the black people of the Middle East" Réghaï: Anti-Arab/Muslim hate flows unchecked and unreported in Canada It took some 10 months for the Toronto Globe and Mail to catch up with what the Jewish Tribune published on January 9, 2004 regarding at least 6 "Israel supporters in Cabinet" even though it is important for the public to know that there is a possibility of undue influence on foreign policy by a lobby working from within Cabinet...Another ignored item relates to [Israeli] terrorism.. December 18, 2004 TorStar/Lynda Hurst: Behind Canada's Mideast shift Has `even-handed' Canada swung to Israel's side? Surprise No vote at U.N. signals marked change December 17, 2004 Zmag: An Interview in Nablus On Nov 29 2004 -while in the West Bank as a human rights activist- I was granted an impromptu interview with a leader and spokesperson for the AAMB in the Nablus region, a centre of resistance to the Israeli occupation. The subject of the interview (referred to only as AA here) was born in a local refugee camp. With his weapon at his side and a translator, AA agreed to answer any questions. What followed was a revealing discussion that broke through a number of stereotypes and left some much larger questions unanswered. December 16, 2004 Correspondence between Canpalnet-Ottawa's Linda Belanger and Pierre Pettrigrew, Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs, re Canada's position after ICJ ruling on Israel's Apartheid Wall You speak of Palestinian terrorism but not of Israeli state terrorism. The situation is well summarized by Shamai Leibowitz an Orthodox Jew Israeli human rights lawyer in Tel Aviv: "As a young soldier serving in the Israeli army, I was ordered to commit grave human rights violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. A Christmas Story from Amman, Jordan Sabawi: My Palestinian Diary Part XVII I guess I’m not lucky enough to escape the Christmas jingles after all. The spirit of Christmas has invaded Amman’s cafes, shops, and even offices and schools. December 15. 2004 ACTION ALERT CBC's Neil MacDonald under attack from B'Nai Brith Please read the articles at the links below and, if you agree that Neil MacDonald's reporting is valuable, please send a note of support/appreciation to the CBC: letters@cbc.ca national@cbc.ca MacDonald: Defining 'terrorism' is harder than you'd think Defining terrorism, especially post-9/11, practically guarantees a public lambasting from somebody. The term has been appropriated by governments, movements and zealots, all of which vigilantly seek to ensure that only their definition carries legitimacy. B'nai Brith: ‘Drop’ TV reporter for anti-Israel bias, CBC urged “Neil Macdonald has crossed all journalistic lines with his accusation that Israel is guilty of war crimes because it defends itself against terrorism,” said an outraged Frank Dimant, executive vice president of B’nai Brith Canada. “Implicit in his comments is the outrageous suggestion that Jewish civilians living in the West Bank and Gaza may be legitimate targets for terrorism.” December 13, 2004 Ha'aretz: Hitching a ride on the magic carpet An intensive campaign to secure official political and legal recognition of Jews from Arab lands as refugees has been going on for the past three years.The campaign's proponents hope their efforts will prevent conferral of what is called a "right of return" on Palestinians, and reduce the size of the compensation Israel is liable to be asked to pay in exchange for Palestinian property appropriated by the state guardian of "lost" assets. A few months ago Dr. Avi Becker, secretary-general of the World Jewish Congress, and Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents, persuaded Prof. Irwin Cotler, a member of Canada's parliament and an expert on international law, to join their campaign. December 12, 2004 Letter from Linda Belanger in support of SPHR to P. Davenport, President Western University - with responses from university administration and student council and background newspaper articles. It is a well publicized fact that B'nai Brith has launched a campaign to silence views that are critical of Israel on University Campuses. The accusations that SHPR's material is racist and offensive is just a tactic to attempt to shut them down. I am familiar with SPHR's material. It is produced in Montreal for member groups across Canada and I've seen much of it here in Ottawa. It is only offensive and disturbing because the facts are so horrible. December 11, 2004 MedMon: York University's Zionist Star Chamber fails to intimidate student, professor When last I wrote about Daniel Freeman-Maloy on July 8, he had just been banned from the York University campus for three years for using a megaphone. You read that right. DFAIT: CANADA CELEBRATES INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS DAY Note: Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew speaks of Human Rights Day but, just one day after the United Nation's International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinians, the Canadian government reversed its decades old policy and joined the United States, Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Australia in voting against two UN Resolutions supporting Palestinian rights. Letter to Mr. Pettigrew December 9, 2004 Electronic Intifada: Ain el Hilweh in the heart of Montreal Ali Abunimah, Live from Palestine: What was so shocking and moving about the situation Ayoubs find themselves in, in their church basement room in Montreal, is how reminiscent it is of the conditions they fled in Lebanon's Ain el Hilweh refugee camp. The little room was like so many refugee homes I have visited in Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine. December 8, 2004 Sabawi: My Palestinian Diary - Part XVI - On Charity and Human Contact How do you restore someone’s humanity? How can you reach out to a people that time has forgotten? When it comes to the millions of Palestinian refugees, the answer is simple: you take the time to listen to their stories. December 6, 2004 TorStar/McQuaig: Canada Missteps at the U.N. We know we're a rich and privileged people, but we like the image of ourselves as friends of the world's downtrodden and powerless. But Martin's government made a move last week — in the name of the "new multilateralism" — that signalled a shift in the opposite direction, a move that will certainly be felt as a blow by one of the world's powerless and long-suffering peoples. BC Federation of Labour passes motion against the Apartheid Wall Mohammed Chelali and Ehud Yaniv, delegates from the BC Teachers Federation, spoke in favour of the resolution against the Wall which subsequently passed with only one vote against it. Read Resolution in PDF format (requires free Adobe Reader) December 5, 2004 SPHR: All for one and one for all Today, all Canadian branches of Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) stand together in the face of ignorance and discrimination that was directed towards its campus group based at the University of Western Ontario (UWO). SPHR has recently obtained documents that implicate the Israel Action Committee (IAC) at UWO in the initiation of a discriminatory campaign of misinformation against our representative branch. IMOPA: In case you missed it, our Mideast policy has shifted Last Tuesday morning, in a room in the Centre Block of Parliament, a group of senior government officials held an urgent, last-minute meeting to decide how Canada should vote on three United Nations resolutions regarding Israel. Air Force One was already en route to Ottawa, and the government was running out of time. In that closed-door meeting, without any public debate, Canada significantly shifted its Mideast policy. The reasons for that shift are as interesting as the shift itself. December 3, 2004 Stateless&Deported: IRB asks irrelevant and insensitive questions Some IRB members have taken a hostile attitude towards several of the Palestinian refugees, as exemplified by a decision rendered by IRB member Jeannine Beaubien-Duque, who concludes in one case that “the deplorable living conditions of the camp, the high rate of unemployment and religious fanaticism mean that many young men in their [sic] thousands volunteer to take part in martyr operations.”[68] In an another case, while discussing the persecution suffered by a Palestinian refugee from the West Bank, IRB member Jeaninne Beaubien-Duque asked the claimant about his opinion of the Oslo Accords;[69] a rather irrelevant question two years after their failure, and one clearly irrelevant to the refugee claim itself. Read more... Réghaï: Letter to PM re Canada's Vote at the U.N. Recent polls conducted for Canadian Jewish groups found that an "overwhelming majority of Canadians want the federal government to remain neutral in the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians." This shows that the lobbyists for Israel, whether within or outside of cabinet, do not represent the will of the Canadian people. December 2, 2004 Globe and Mail: Ottawa assails Israel's UN foes UN Ambassador Allan Rock Tuesday delivered a scathing denunciation of the General Assembly's resolutions isolating and attacking Israel, confirming a shift in Canada's approach to the Middle East. "AS DELIVERED” STATEMENT BY AMBASSADOR ALLAN ROCK PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF CANADA TO THE UNITED NATIONS TO THE 59th SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY ON ITEM 37: THE QUESTION OF PALESTINE |
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