Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid23 February 2007
Chanting “Fight the power, turn the page: Heather, Jerry, hear our rage!”, one hundred and fifty protesters marched from the Israeli consulate to a nearby Indigo Books and Music store in Toronto on Saturday afternoon. They were protesting Indigo’s majority shareholders’ support for Israeli Apartheid. The day of action was organized by the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA) as the culmination of the third annual Israeli Apartheid Week. Israeli Apartheid Week was a series of lectures held on campuses in Canada (Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa), the UK (Oxford, Cambridge), and the US (New York) to highlight Israel’s apartheid policies. Read more about Day of Action Against Indigo Books and Music Inc.
There are different kinds of angry. Jay Johnson-Castro has tears in his eyes when he thinks about Suzi Hazahza at the immigration prison of Haskell, Texas. But he’s not going to cry without doing something, so next week, Johnson-Castro will walk sixty miles from Abilene to Haskell and hold a vigil for the release of Suzi Hazahza and “anyone else” being mistreated for their desire to be American. “I’m almost in tears trying to tell you how angry I feel,” says Johnson-Castro via cell phone as he drives home to Del Rio, Texas on Tuesday evening following three weeks of border protests. Read more about Texas Independence Day Protest over Jailed Palestinian Family
Jonathan Pollak, an activist with Anarchists Against the Wall, was sentenced to three months in prison that will be activated if he is convicted of a similar charge again. Pollak was sentenced today after he was convicted together with 10 other activists for blocking a road in Tel Aviv in protest of the construction of the wall. He asked the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court to sentence him to jail time rather than community service or a suspended sentence, saying he has no intention to stop resisting the occupation. The ten other convicted activists were sentenced to 80 hours of community service. Read more about Israeli activist given three-month suspended sentence after anti-Wall protest
The 3rd annual Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) will take place in New York City from February 10-17 2007. It will be a week-long series of events organized by a coalition of different groups in the city and will feature lectures, film screenings, and cultural activities. Concurrent events are being held in Canada and the United Kingdom. “This week of events, being held in New York for the first time, adds to the growing international chorus of opposition to Israeli apartheid that includes voices of Palestinians, Israelis, South Africans, and many others who stand for justice,” says Ryvka Bar Zohar, an organizer of the week. Read more about Israeli Apartheid Week comes to New York City
We are a group of Jews in Britain from diverse backgrounds, occupations and affiliations who have in common a strong commitment to social justice and universal human rights. We come together in the belief that the broad spectrum of opinion among the Jewish population of this country is not reflected by those institutions which claim authority to represent the Jewish community as a whole. We further believe that individuals and groups within all communities should feel free to express their views on any issue of public concern without incurring accusations of disloyalty. Read more about A Time to Speak Out: Independent Jewish Voices
The Crown Prosecution Service have cited ‘lack of evidence’ as the reason for dropping their charges against Chris Osmond, a member of Brighton and Hove Palestine Solidarity Campaign who was arrested and charged with an offence under the Public Order Act at a peaceful demonstration against the Israel’s participation in the Davis Cup at Eastbourne on 22nd July 2006. Ann Hallan, a member of the Brighton and Hove Palestine Solidarity Campaign who was also at the demonstration commented today ‘The Crown Prosecution Service has seen sense at last. The arrest was going beyond the powers police have under the public order act - this was yet another example of the infringement of the right to protest.’ Read more about Prosecution of Brighton solidarity activist dropped
Today, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) called on the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to drop the 20-year old “L.A. 8” case following yet another defeat on the part of the Government in court. This comes as a result of a ruling made public on January 30, by Judge Einhorn, of the Los Angeles Immigration Court, executing an order to terminate the deportation proceedings against Khader Hamide and Michel Shehadeh. ADC is requesting that the DOJ and DHS no longer pursue this 20-year attempt that has repeatedly proven a failure when challenged in court. Read more about Immigration Court Terminates "L.A. 8" Case
Bedouin villages have been on the land since before the State of Israel was conceived. The Israeli government doesn’t recognise them and calls them illegal, and therefore they are not entitled to any infrastructure or services. The “illegal” villages lack even basic amenities such as running water and electricity. According to Yeela Raanan of the Regional Council for the Unrecognized Villages (RCUV), the elders have held receipts since the 1970s of payments made to Israel for plots of land in the town of Laquia. They lived on other people’s land in shacks and tents on the outskirts of the town, waiting for the land — which never came — to build homes for their families. Read more about Interview with Israeli activist Yeela Raanan
Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees3 February 2007
As we enter 2007, the Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees marks its fourth year of fighting against the deportation of Palestinian refugees from Canada. We have, since early 2003, been publicly organizing to reverse the efforts of Immigration Canada to deport Palestinian refugees and for them instead to be granted permanent residency in Canada. The year 2006 provided numerous examples of the arbitrariness and injustice with which Immigration Canada has treated the cases of the stateless Palestinian refugees in Canada. While two members of the Coalition received positive decisions on their applications for permanent residence on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, others were unjustly refused, and still more have been left in wait for years. Read more about Canada: Fight the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees
The Boycott Israeli Goods campaign is planning a mass picket of the depot on Saturday February 10th at 1pm in opposition to the sale of Israeli goods and in support of Palestinian farmers who are not able to market their goods internationally The aim is to draw attention to this company’s sale of flowers from occupied Palestinian land on Valentine’s day. We are asking the British public not to buy blood stained flowers for their loved ones this year. Carmel Agrexco is the largest importer of illegal settlement goods into the UK. The Valentine’s day period is one of their busiest as the company deals with large amounts of fresh flowers from Israel and the settlements. Read more about Campaigners to picket Israeli Company importing Valentine's Day Flowers
