Palestine bloc @ protest against Canada military role in Libya via Échec à la guerre
commemorate Palestinian Land Day & Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions global action
Freedom for Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Oman, Algeria & occupied Palestine!
BDS Quebec, a coalition of several trade unions, community organizations, and solidarity groups, is calling people in Quebec to commemorate Palestinian land day in joining a global day of action for Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign in support of the Palestinian peoples right to self-determination, freedom and dignity.
Palestinian Land Day commemorates March 30th, 1976 when Israeli military forces shot and killed six young Palestinian citizens of Israel. These brave youth were among thousands protesting the Israeli government’s expropriation of Palestinian land to build new Jewish-only colonies and expand existing ones. Today, Land Day symbolizes Palestinian resistance to Israel’s ongoing land expropriation, colonization, occupation and apartheid.
Tadamon letter: Hudson’s Bay Company/Canada Israel Committee AHAVA release
Bonnie Brooks
President and CEO, the Bay
Hudson’s Bay Company
hbc.communications@hbc.com
11 March 2011
Dear Ms. Brooks,
The purpose of this letter is to take issue with the content of a statement that you issued on 13 January 2011 referring to the decision of the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) to withdraw AHAVA brand skincare products temporarily from its store shelves. Available documentation indicates that the statement was “jointly issued” by you, the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto and the Canada Israel Committee (CIC). [1]
We are a grassroots collective based in Montreal working to advance social justice and improved conditions (economic, social, political) for the peoples of the Middle East. We give particular attention to the condition of Palestinians living in Israel/Palestine. In supporting Palestinians in their struggle for liberation and justice, we also support the call from Palestinian civil society organizations to advance a strategy of boycott, divestment and sanctions against the state of Israel until it complies with international law. We take issue with your “jointly issued” statement because it indicates that on the matter in question – the sale of AHAVA brand products at Bay stores – HBC chose to act with disregard for international law and principles of human rights. Further, in openly aligning itself with two organizations that engage in political advocacy in the interests of Israel, HBC is being blatantly one-sided on the Palestine-Israel question and, troublingly, choosing the side of apologetics for apartheid. We urge HBC to issue a retraction.
This year, Israeli Apartheid Week is taking place in more than forty cities around the world, from Ottawa to Johannesburg. Even after seven years, the event remains controversial, not least because of its name. This controversy makes Israeli Apartheid Week even more important because it focuses attention on Israel’s actions and policies. With this in mind, we have put together a week of powerful, informative, and even fun events, to educate people about Palestine, and hopefully stir them into action.
evening of spoken-word & poetry during Israeli Apartheid Week 2011 in Montreal.
Photo Palestinian girl plays under Palestinian flag in protest against Israeli occupation.
Montreal will join over 50 other cities around the world in kicking off the 7th annual Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW), which runs from March 8th until March 15th, 2011. Events will be taking place at UQAM, Concordia, and McGill universities, as well as other locations. This year, organizers of this international week of events are celebrating the inspiring revolutions happening throughout the Arab world as a sign that justice may be within reach, even for the Palestinians.
Look for the contingent with Palestinian flags and the BDS banner.
Bring your own flags, signs, and noisemakers!
Spotlight on Filmmaker John Greyson brings together sex, penguins & Elton John
Photo ActiveStills Palestinian youth in Sheikh Jarrah against colonies in Jerusalem.
The recent public exposure of a large number of documents related to the U.S.-sponsored “peace process” between Israel and Palestinian officials provides hard evidence, if any was needed, not only of readiness on the part of unrepresentative Palestinian “negotiators” to concede basic Palestinian rights, but also of Israel’s rejectionism and unwillingness to negotiate even an unjust and unsustainable peace. The leaked documents also reveal the arm-twisting employed by international “peace brokers” to compel – unelected — Palestinian officials to serve Israel’s expansionist and colonial agenda through the surrender of UN-sanctioned rights of the Palestinian people. It is now clearer than ever that the so-called negotiations were never based on principles of international law and human rights and never promoted just peace.
A week of conferences, workshops, film screenings, demonstrations, and cultural events to raise awareness around the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israeli apartheid.
