May 23, 2010 statement from Queers Against Israeli Apartheid

Photo: Israeli apartheid wall cutting through Palestinian territories.

For the first time in its 30-year history, Pride Toronto has banned an LGBT community group from the parade. The board of directors voted on Friday to ban the words ‘Israeli Apartheid’ from any Pride events, including the Pride parade, dyke march, and trans march – directly targeting the group Queers Against Israeli Apartheid.

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Bil’in case continues at the Quebec Court of Appeal in Montreal

on June 3rd: support activities organized to support of Bil’in’s struggle in Palestine!

9h30: Appeal at the Quebec Court of Appeal
Courtroom Pierre-Basile-Mignault
100 Notre Dame East
metro Champ-de-Mars
Montreal, Quebec

19h : Conference with villagers from Bil’in and Israeli lawyer
Georges-Vanier Cultural Center
2450 Workman
Lionel-Groulx metro

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May 2010 Open letter to Margaret Atwood from Tadamon! collective and Art Threat

Dear Ms. Margaret Atwood,

Today, as systematic human rights violations continue to be committed by the Israeli government against the Palestinian people, we are appealing to you on behalf of the Montreal-based collective Tadamon! and Art Threat concerning your planned visit to Tel Aviv.

We have learned that you have been offered the Dan David Prize from the Tel Aviv University for your outstanding literary work. First, we want to openly recognize your work, renowned not only for literary excellence but also for the humanistic message it portrays. Beyond literature your sincere advocacy for social justice, from the struggle for women’s liberation to environmental protection, has made you an international role model who people respect and admire.

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David Heap London Free Press March 2010.

Photo: Israeli apartheid wall from above cutting through Palestinian lands.

Yves Engler’s new book raises important issues at the centre of debates in this country and about which we all need to become better informed.

The title refers to the conditions Israel imposes on Palestinians, which some say amount to the crime of apartheid, as defined by the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid.

Obviously, not everyone agrees with this interpretation, and the point is one that can give rise to a healthy debate.

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Hour March 2010 by Stefan Christoff.

Photo: Israeli apartheid wall cutting through Palestinian lands.

Yves Engler’s new book, Canada and Israel: Building Apartheid, is a stunning examination of the history of Canada-Israel relations and a key read for anyone interested in Canadian foreign policy of all political stripes.

Engler’s commitment to critiquing injustices linked to Canadian government and corporate policy is applied here to Canada-Israel relations and works within a broader critique of Canada’s national narrative as a force for peace in the world. He unravels the image of Canada as a broker of peace in the Middle East through well-researched details and outlines a historical thread that links successive Canadian governments to the suppression of Palestinian human rights and self-determination.

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Canadian Union of Postal Workers letter to Canada Post, April 2010

Photo: Palestinian children mourn the dead in Gaza, January 2009.

Moya Greene
President and Chief Executive Officer
Canada Post Corporation
2701 Riverside Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0B1

I am writing to you on the eve of Canada Post issuing a joint stamp with Israel.

A recent article in Canada Stamp Detail said “Canada Post will issue the stamp “to celebrate Canada’s strong bilateral relationship with Israel – a friendship that spans six decades and is marked by shared values, common interests and strong political, economic, cultural and social ties.”

While CUPW is glad to see Canada Post taking on new and innovative ways to sell stamps, we are somewhat concerned that Canada Post is launching a stamp with Israel on the basis of “shared values”.

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photos from Artists Against Apartheid XII by Heri Rakotomalala.

Photo: Heri Rakotomalala. Performance by Palestinian poet Rafeef Ziadah.

Celebrated artists from Toronto and Montreal took the stage at the twelfth edition of Artists Against Apartheid at La Sala Rossa, performing socially conscious poetry and music for a packed room. Throughout the past years Artists Against Apartheid has grown in Montreal into a dynamic concert series, regularly attracting hundreds of people and featuring a diverse array of celebrated artists.

Artists Against Apartheid XII was the Montreal launch for Palestinian poet Rafeef Ziadah’s debut release Hadeel, a powerful album rooted in poetic reflections on the Palestinian struggle for liberation.

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Avril 2010 Le Courrier Emmanuel Dror

Photo: Claudia Espinosa. Musicienne Rebecca Foon à Artistes Anti Apartheid.

En octobre 2009, une soixantaine d’artistes européens, principalement des Français mais aussi l’Anglais Gilad Atzmon ou le Suisse Michel Bühler, réclamaient la levée du blocus de Gaza. Fin février 2010, ce sont 500 artistes de la seule ville de Montréal au Québec qui ont signé un appel pour appuyer la «campagne internationale de boycott, désinvestissement et sanctions» menée au Canada par la Coalition contre l’Apartheid israélien (basée à Toronto).

Pour mesurer cet élan, nous avons contacté l’un des initiateurs québécois de cet appel, Stefan Christoff, pianiste, photographe et militant associatif à Montréal. Stefan Christoff explique que, dans cette ville, «les communautés artistiques et militantes ont toujours été proches l’une de l’autre. De nombreux artistes sont issus des quartiers pauvres de Montréal, où de jeunes étudiants cohabitent avec les classes défavorisées, ouvrières ou immigrées. Dans ces quartiers, les lieux de rencontre sont des lieux de débats, mais aussi des lieux de création artistique où se tissent des liens qui durent».

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Artists speak out on Israeli Apartheid: in their own words

Photo: Iraqi hip-hop artist Yassin Alsalman, Narcicyst.

Hundreds of Montreal artists have united in solidarity with Palestine, launching a public declaration this February signed by 500 artists from the city. Artists in Montreal from diverse disciplines, from dancers to poets, musicians to filmmakers, have issued the first major statement by artists in a major North American city backing the global boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign in opposition to policies of apartheid practiced by the Israeli state against the Palestinian people.

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rabble.ca Stefan Christoff, April 2010

Photo: Matthew Cassel Due to the siege, routine injuries have been difficult to treat.

Thousands across Gaza live with severe injuries: youth war amputees, mothers severely burned by phosphorus bombs, countless Palestinians coping with physiological wounds, all injuries stemming from the disaster wrought on Gaza by the Israeli military assault in the winter of 2008/2009.

And war injuries remain a consistent reality in 2010.

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