Montreal-based organisations and individuals united last week to express their solidarity with the people of Lebanon and Gaza. Demonstrations, a human chains, a 24-hour vigil, speeches, letter-writing, emailing, petition-signing, fundraising and more played a role in this important beginning of a movement to bring an end to the present Israeli aggression in Lebanon and Palestine. Montreal photographer Darren Ell was present to capture some of these important developments in international solidarity. On July 22nd , people in over 30 cities from a dozen countries marched in solidarity with the people of Lebanon and Gaza. In Montreal over 20 organizations and thousands of individuals combined forces to demand an end to Israeli crimes. The demonstration was led by a gigantic Lebanese flag. Read more about Photostory: Montreal Mobilizes Against Israeli Attacks
Jamal Juma’ is a busy man. As coordinator of PENGON, the organization spearheading the campaign to stop the construction of the Israeli Wall rapidly surrounding the future Palestinian ‘state’, he is constantly scrambling to reach as many people as he can, independent journalists and heads of state alike. If Mahmoud Abbas and the United Nations have publicly condemned the wall, it’s in no small part due to PENGON’s meetings with them. Diplomacy aside, however, troubling facts continue to appear on the ground across the West Bank which do not bode well for peace. Darren Ell writes following a trip to the West Bank. Read more about The World's Largest Open Air Prison
The following photo essay is about some of the people “whose names you will never know,” but whose work is essential to the success of the Palestinian struggle. For one year, I attended a large number of the many events organized by Palestinian solidarity groups in Montreal, Canada. Darren Ell writes for EI. Read more about Essay: A year in the life of Montreal's Palestinian solidarity movement
Above: Cover of The New Intifada. Buy this book on Amazon.com
Since returning from my November 2002 trip to Palestine, I’ve been reading an illuminating new book on the Israel/Palestine conflict: The New Intifada: Resisting Israel’s Apartheid. Its essays reveal just how seriously the mainstream media has misrepresented the conflict. I recall that in 2000 we heard how former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak was the Palestinians’ best chance for peace and how Arafat ruined it all by turning down Israel’s magnanimous concessions at Camp David. Quite a different story arises in Sara Roy’s essay. Darren Ell writes from Montreal, Canada. Read more about We Are Here; They Are There
The Israeli army has destroyed over 350 homes and damaged 500 in the Rafah neighborhoods of Gaza, along the Egyptian border. The following photo reportage on the destruction of homes in the Block O and Block J neighborhoods of Rafah was made by Canadian photographer Darren Ell in November 2002. Read more about Photostory: Home demolitions in Rafah (part 1 of 2)
I am home now, sitting comfortably in the quiet of my office, but the deafening machine gun fire, explosions, and anxious faces of the inhabitants of Block O in the southern Gazan city of Rafah are still with me. Now I feel compelled to keep my promises to people and tell the world what I saw. Darren Ell reports. Read more about The background music in Rafah
