cross-Canada speaking tour: June 5-22, 2009.

featuring:
Mohammed Khatib.
Popular Committee Against the Wall, Bil’in, Occupied Palestine

Emily Schaeffer.
Israeli lawyer representing the village of Bil’in

Bil’in, a Palestinian village in the West Bank, has become an internationally celebrated symbol of Palestinian popular resistance to the ongoing construction of the Israeli apartheid wall and settlements on their land. Since 2005, villagers have led weekly protests, with the active participation from both Israeli and international solidarity activists, in opposition to illegal Israeli colonization and annexation of Palestinian land.

In June 2009, Mohamed Khatib of Bil’in’s Popular Committee Against the Wall and Emily Schaeffer, an Israeli lawyer representing the village of Bil’in, will be embarking on a tour of 11 Canadian cities to speak on Bil’in and the historic court case scheduled to be heard in Montreal in late June 2009.

The village has filed a lawsuit in Quebec Superior Court against Green Park International and Green Mount International, two companies registered in Quebec. The companies are accused of illegally constructing residential and other buildings on the village’s lands. According to the lawsuit, the lands of Bil’in are subject to the rules and obligations of international law because the West Bank is currently under Israeli military occupation.

Bil’in’s case against the construction of settlements on their land is based on the provisions of the Geneva Convention, which prohibit an occupying power from transferring its civilian population into territory that it has occupied as a result of war. The case against Green Park and Green Mount seeks an immediate order from the Canadian court that it end its illegal activities.

check out the itinerary to see when the tour will be visiting your city!

* Halifax

FRIDAY JUNE 5th
panel discussion, 7pm
Room 105, Weldon Law Building
Dalhousie University
6061 University Avenue
Halifax, Nova Scotia

* Fredericton

SATURDAY JUNE 6th
panel discussion, 7pm
Renaissance College
University of New Brunswick
811 Charlotte St.,
Fredericton, New Brunswick

* Vancouver

SUNDAY JUNE 7th
panel discussion
with Carol Martin: Nis’ga, Gitnyow, Native 2010 Resistance
6pm-8pm
Room 1700, SFU Harbour Centre
Simon Fraser University
515 West Hastings
suggested donation $10-$25
no one will be turned away for lack of funds

MONDAY JUNE 8th
7pm – 9pm: lecture
9pm – 10pm: reception
with Carol Martin: Nis’ga, Gitnyow, Native 2010 Resistance
Vancouver Unitarian Church
949 West 49th Avenue
suggested donation: $10-$25
no one will be turned away for lack of funds
childcare available on-site

* Victoria

TUESDAY JUNE 9th
B.C. Government and Service Employees’ Union Hall
2994 Douglas St.
Victoria, B.C.

* Edmonton

WEDNESDAY JUNE 10th
panel discussion, 7pm
Strathcona Baptist Church
8318 104th street

* Moncton
presentation at Canadian Union of Postal Workers conference

* Toronto

SATURDAY JUNE 13th
panel discussion, 7pm
Trinity St Paul’s United Church
427 Bloor Street West
Toronto, Ontario
suggested donation $10

* Ottawa

TUESDAY JUNE 16th
panel discussion, 7:30pm
1140 Desmarais Building
University of Ottawa
55 Laurier Ave.

* Quebec City

MERCREDI 17 JUIN
panel discussion, 7pm
Centre Mgr-Bouffard
680, rue Raoul-Jobin, Salle 304
Quartier Saint-Sauveur
proche de l’arrêt du 802

* Sherbrooke

THURSDAY JUNE 18th
panel discussion, 8pm
Centre communautaire
187 rue Laurier
Sherbrooke, Quebec

* Montreal

FRIDAY JUNE 19
panel discussion, 7pm
De Seve Cinema, Concordia University
1400 de Maisonneuve Blvd.

tour organizers
Solidarity for Human Rights (SPHR)
Tadamon!
Young Jews for Social Justice

national sponsors
Canadian Friends of Sabeel
Near East Cultural and Educational Foundation of Canada
Canadian Union of Postal Workers

national endorsers
Adala – Canadian Arab Justice Committee, Vancouver
Boycott Israeli Apartheid Campaign, Vancouver
Canadian Arab Federation
Canadian Friends Service Committee
Canadian Voice of Women for Peace
Canada-Palestine Association
CanPalNet
Christian Peacemaker Teams, Canada
CKUT Radio, Montreal
Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid, Victoria
Coalition for Justice and Peace in Palestine, Quebec
Collectif anarchiste La Nuit (UCL)
Concerned Transit Operators, B.C.
Co-op Radio, Vancouver
Fredericton Palestine Solidarity
Fredericton Islamic Association
Halifax Peace Coalition
Human Rights Committee, Vancouver
Independent Jewish Voices Canada
Jews for Just Peace, Vancouver
KAIROS Canada
Lawyers Against the War
Masjid Al-Salaam, Vancouver
No One Is Illegal, Vancouver
Outlook Magazine
Pakistan Action Network, Vancouver
Palestine Solidarity Society, Halifax
Palestine Solidarity Network, Edmonton
Palestinian and Jewish Unity (PAJU), Montreal
Public Service Alliance of Canada, B.C. region
Regroupement autonome des jeunes (RAJ)
Science for Peace, Canada
SFPIRG
Social Justice Committee of the Unitarian Church of Vancouver
StopWar, Vancouver
UBC Colour Connected
United Jewish People’s Order (UJPO)
Vancouver District Labour Council
Vancouver Muslims
Vancouver Quaker Meeting
Vancouver Socialist Forum
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, Canadian Section
World Peace Forum

for more information contact: canadatour(at)bilin-village.org

for more info on Bil’in and the Bil’in case please visit: www.bilin-village.org