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Articles for April 2004
See Also: January, February, March, 2004 April 28, 2004 5th
International
Sabeel Conference
The 5th International Sabeel Conference, which is now over, was attended by 500 delegates from 31 countries. Over 100 stayed on to attend the 5-day Post-Conference Program, and the Board of International Friends of Sabeel planned future strategy in a 2-day meeting. Sabeel
is a Palestinian Christian liberation institute that strives for peace
and justice through non-violence and reconciliation. The Chairman
of Canadian Friends of Sabeel (CFOS) is Father Robert Assaly of
St.
Thomas the Apostle Church in Ottawa. CFOS has a chapter in Ottawa
which is chaired by Father John Bridges of St. Paul's Anglican Church
of
Kanata. Canadian Friends of Sabeel works to promote a more
accurate
awareness of the conditions under which Palestinians live.
April 25, 2004 Why
Did Bush
Take My Job?
April 25, 2004 - Letter: It's time for the world to put pressure on Israel. April 24, 2004 Alexa
McDonough,
Monia Mazigh attend WIB vigil
April 15, 2004 No
right of
return, Bush tells Palestinian refugees
Colonialism
is alive and well
Letter to the White House The Sykes-Picot Agreement of 16 May 1916 left Palestine under the colonial jurisdiction of Great Britain. In November 1917, British Foreign Secretary, Arthur James Balfour, wrote to Zionist leader Lord Rothshild, what later became known as the Balfour Declaration, that "His Majesty's Government view with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people…it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine." Fast forward to April 2004, you, Mr. President, the new "His Majesty," conspire with alleged war criminal Ariel Sharon, and dissect the remaining swatches of Palestine as if you owned it! Just like colonialist Balfour wrote in 1919 (quoted by Doreen Ingrams in Seeds of Conflict, p.73): "In Palestine we do not propose even to go through the form of consulting the wishes of the present inhabitants of the country (the Palestinians)...the four great powers are committed to Zionism. And Zionism, be it right or wrong, good or bad, is rooted in age-long traditions, in present needs, in future hopes, of far profounder import than the desires and prejudices of the 700,000 Arabs who now inhibit that ancient land." Different time, same crime: arrogant colonialist white supremacy, and I shall spare you no diatribe. More... April 13, 2004 The
Etiology
of Hate
If Canada is serious about building peace then that peace must be built on justice -- not only in Canada but everywhere. Canada prides itself on its multiculturalism. Jews, Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims are a vibrant part of the Canadian multicultural mosaic. Canada must treat all of its citizens well. If Canada tilts its support unjustly in the international arena then those Canadians with cultural ties to a slighted region are bound to be upset. If Canada wishes to sow accord domestically then it must practice morally-guided policies abroad. What applies to Canada, applies equally to all nations and regions seeking peaceful co-existence. People guided by moral principles must speak out against those who prey on weaker people. A society’s ethics can be gauged by how it treats its weaker members. Jews are the dominant power in the Middle East. How they wield this power will do much to shape how their neighbors regard and interact with them. People who point guns at others will tend to have guns pointed back. Who
has the bigger gun today might not always have the biggest gun
tomorrow.
The history of the Middle East bears this out. More...
April 12, 2004 Words
Hurt
but Tanks Kill: Putting accusations of anti-Semitism in context
Reports of anti-Semitic acts such as spray painting of buildings and desecration of a graveyard in Toronto are given national coverage. Discussions of growing anti-Semitism abound. While the recent attack on a Jewish primary school in Montreal is serious and deplorable, a similar crime at a Pickering, Ontario mosque was relegated to page A 12 of the Globe and Mail. This situation is mirrored on the international scene where suicide bombings generate full media coverage and statements of condemnation from our elected officials while the daily deaths of Palestinians, including women and children are reported casually in passing, as if insignificant. More... See Also: Caretaker’s Son Accused In Anti-Semitic Spree April
10, 2004 -Reader
Letter:
UNWRA
forced to stop delivering food aid to Gaza Alberta Arab News article: April 7, 2004 - Police find allegation of promoting hatred is unsubstantiated Update
from
Alberta Reader: April 2,
2004 Linda
Leibovitz ******************* B’NAI
BRITH CANADA CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION OF ALBERTA ARAB NEWS Alberta Arab News - denies "willfully promoting hate against Jews"; defends Felton articles
April 6, 2004 UNRWA
Suspends
Emergency Food Aid in Gaza
Efforts to persuade the Israeli authorities to lift the restriction on the transport of UNRWA’s empty food containers out of Gaza have so far failed, forcing the Agency to suspend the delivery into Gaza of 11,000 tons of food from AshdodPort to avoid a bottleneck which would result in prohibitive costs. Under normal circumstances, UNRWA delivers some 250 tons of food aid per day in Gaza alone...More... A Google search reveals that this Press Release was picked up by the Jerusalem Post, two financial news sites: Trading Charts and The Financial Times UK (Subscription required), The BBC Online, the Irish Anti-War website, Craig's List, San Francisco, and sites established for this type of news, such as Electronic Intifada - but not in any North American news outlet. Canpalnet-Ottawa will be informing the Canadian government and Toronto Star media critic, Antonia Zerbisias, about this callous oversight. April 5, 2004 The Blind By Oussama El-Mohtar "There are none so blind as those who cannot see." From “Butterflies Are Free” by Leonard Gershe I want to thank Nidal Rashed for bringing this quote to my attention. It appears in the signature line of her email messages. The significance is that Nidal lost her sight a few years ago, but not her vision. She can still see and distinguish right from wrong, cause from effect. Many who are still blessed with their eyesight cannot make those distinctions or they choose not to. Among them is our esteemed Minister of Foreign Affairs, and our esteemed Prime Minister, particularly when it comes to Israel and the Palestinian tragedy. More... April 4, 2004 Israel is not fighting a war on terror, but is conducting a terrorist war By: Yahya Abdul Rahman* Armed resistance against a brutal and illegal military occupation is not terrorism, but is the human right of those living under occupation. In fact, as reported in Ha'aretz Ha'aretz on April 1: "The European Parliament on Thursday compared injuries to Palestinians by Israeli military action to "acts of terror," and further called for a suspension of the Israel-EU Association Agreement, should Israel persist with its policy of assassinations." When Ariel Sharon says he will continue his "war on terror" he is hitching his wagon with that of US President George W. Bush who is using his stated "war on terror" as a pre-text to continue America's ongoing attempts at imposing global hegemony to make the world into America's image. In fact, as the record clearly shows, Sharon has his own long and bloody record of spreading terror against the Palestinian people. We will not forget Qibya , we will not forget Sabra & Shatila, and we will not forget Jenin. More... April 3, 2004 Al-Jazeera
deserves spot on our TV dial - Would make for diverse discourse
A campaign by a couple of Jewish lobby groups to keep Al-Jazeera out of Canada, for fear that the channel will add to a reported rise in anti-Semitism here, seems to be succeeding. A decision was first expected on its carriage last fall. Then it was to come in December. Then in January. Then ... then ... More... Peace
by piece
Re: McMaster Middle East Clubs Make Peace, March 31. Just when things were looking extremely bleak on the Israeli-Palestinian front, we hear the good news about a pro-Israeli campus club at McMaster University extending "an olive branch to a Palestinian student group that they have been clashing with for months" by a fundraising event that will split the proceeds between Israeli and Palestinian aid groups. While this may be one small step for the McMaster students, one may hope that it will eventually become a giant step for peace in the Middle East. More...
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