Call to support the first major student union in Quebec or Canada to back
the international campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions on Israel…

Montreal May 2008: Across the world grassroots movements struggling in opposition to Israeli apartheid are marking the 60th year of the Palestinian Nakba (”catastrophe”) – 60 years of dispossession, ethnic cleansing and exile for Palestinians resulting from the creation of the state of Israel.

A grassroots response in opposition to Israeli apartheid is growing throughout the world sparked by an appeal launched by Palestinian civil-society organizations in 2005 for an international campaign directed at the government in Israel, a campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions. This critical campaign is modeled on a successful international campaign similar in nature that played a critical role in bringing an end to the apartheid regime in South Africa.

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Ahdaf Soueif discusses her work in advance of Beirut lecture…

Daily Star. by Laura Wilkinson. Friday, May 23, 2008. Photo: Palestinian boy in Gaza.

Giant sculptures of keys, 21,915 black balloons and wailing sirens – so far, commemorations of the 60th anniversary of the Nakba (the Palestinian Catastrophe) have unfolded across the region in the form of protest, art, dance and now – with the efforts of author, journalist and translator, Ahdaf Soueif – literature.

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With the Palestine Investment Conference (PIC) beginning tomorrow in Bethlehem and the celebrated reforms and development projects proposed last year by the Fayyad government, understanding development in Palestine is more important than ever. Both the PIC and the Fayyad development programs have already elicited severe criticism from Palestinian civil society, political opposition and local communities. Development or Normalisation? is the first report that examines in detail the economic and political implications of the most recent development schemes and the role international institutions have in shaping the development programme of the Fayyad government.

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Photo: Beirut from above.

A Tadamon! interview project aiming to highlight progressive voices from the ground in Lebanon on the ongoing conflict, voices independent from major political parties…

An interview with Nada Bakri, correspondent for the New York Times in Lebanon, who comments on the recent political deal reached in Doha, Qatar resulting in an official end to the recent political crisis in Lebanon. As Lebanese leaders have agreed on a power sharing agreement, people on the streets in Beirut remain skeptical that the recent agreement will result in long term stability as it reinforces the sectarian nature of Lebanese politics.

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Geneva: The economic and social situation of workers in the occupied Palestinian territories has deteriorated alarmingly, with the Gaza Strip the most severely affected, according to an International Labor Organization report published Thursday.

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Adam Hanieh. Socialist Project: the Bullet.

In July 2005, over 170 Palestinian organizations urged the world to adopt a campaign of boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) against Israel in the manner of South Africa Apartheid. This call was signed by all the main Palestinian trade union federations, as well as refugee, women and student organizations from across Palestine and the Arab world. It represented the broadest political statement in Palestinian history, precipitating a powerful global solidarity campaign that has grown dramatically over the last few years.

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A Tadamon! interview project aiming to highlight progressive voices from the ground in Lebanon on the ongoing conflict, voices independent from major political parties…

An interview with Lebanese political commentator and professor Karim Makdisi offering a critique on the recently signed political agreement on Lebanon’s future signed in Doha, Qatar as without long term substance. As media outlets across the world followed closely the most recent political conflict in Lebanon, seldom was the countries major economic crisis mentioned, with a national debt at around $45 billion, Lebanon maintains one of the highest per capita national debts in the world.

Neo-liberal economic policies adopted by successive movements after Lebanon’s 15 year civil-war have left the country in economic ruins. As the western-backed government and the Hezbollah-lead opposition battled for political power in Lebanon throughout recent months, both mainstream political movements seldom placed the growing poverty rates, crumbling economy and staggering emigration rates front and center.

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BEIRUT: Palestinian refugees across Lebanon staged rallies on Tuesday to mark the first anniversary of the conflict at the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp during which they stressed the need to reconstruct the camp and realize their right to return to their homeland.

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Photo Christian Minelli: Palestinian youth flash victory sign in southern Lebanon.

Marwahin: Hundreds of Palestinian refugees headed to Lebanon’s southern border with Israel on Wednesday marking 60 years since the creation of the Jewish state and exile from what was once Palestine. “We want to return to our country. We desperately miss our country’s soil,” said Mahmud Mahmoud, aged in his 70s, who was wearing a traditional Palestinian headdress.

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Photo from Artists Against Apartheid III in Montreal from photojournalist Ion Etxebarria.

Photos documenting the 3rd edition of Artists Against Apartheid in Montreal that brought together multiple artists, musicians, poets and performers as part of the global campaign struggling for Palestinian human rights through an international campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions on the Israeli government.

Artists Against Apartheid III attracted upwards of two-hundred people in Montreal to a lively concert crossing multiple musical styles from Jazz, to hip-hop, to folk. A cultural element to this international boycott campaign is growing in Montreal and internationally. This latest event in Montreal featured multiple musicians and artists from the celebrated hip-hop group Nomadic Massive and the roots, improvisational African Diaspora-driven Kalmunity Vibe Collective.

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