It's taken me a few days to summon up the strength to write something, anything, about the horror in Gaza.I just couldn't bring myself to look at the images of this latest war. As rockets from Palestinian militants in Gaza continue to fly into Israel and Israel continues to strike hard
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Settlers killed in Palestine—echoes of another colonialism
The killing of three Jewish teenagers from a West Bank settlement in Palestine brought to mind another colonialism—that of North America. As the Europeans swarmed across the Americas, the Native people found themselves overwhelmed. Sometimes they fought to keep the intruders out, but inevitably they found themselves outmatched by superior
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: A View from Gaza: This Is a Brutal Attack, Not a “Military Operation”
Israel’s ongoing military offensive in Gaza, is “collective punishment” and “a brutal attack against all Palestinian people,” says physician, human rights activist and Director of Gaza Projects for the Middle East Children’s Alliance, Dr. Mona El-Farra. The post A View from Gaza: This Is a Brutal Attack, Not a “Military
Continue readingFatah and Hamas reconcile … finally
Family quarrels can be nasty affairs, and the seven-year tiff between Fatah and Hamas has been no exception. In the 2006 Palestinian parliamentary elections, Hamas won a decisive majority in the parliament, much to the chagrin of the then ruling PLO-affiliated Fatah party. Encouraged by Israel, the U.S., and western
Continue readingArt Threat: Mars at Sunrise is a Cinematic Tone Poem
In times of stress we turn to torn fragments of ourselves and worship them as if they were whole nations (From Mars at Sunrise). Mars at Sunrise (2014) is director Jessica Habie’s first feature. Billed as “A story of a war waged on imagination,” the film tells the story of Khaled,
Continue readingwmtc: ny times letters on the movement against israeli apartheid
The New York Times recently ran a heavy dose of letters in support of the movement against Israeli apartheid, many of them written by Jewish North Americans. Philip Weiss of Mondoweiss suggests the Times is seeking to balance two recent articles it ran about the boycott, divest, sanction (BDS) movement.
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Palestinian legislator Ahmad Tibi slams Harper’s postion on Israel as "unbalanced" and "right of Likud": why Tibi gets it right
Ahmad Tibi, the Palestinian legislator who walked out of Stephen Harper’s Knesset speech said in an interview with CBC’s Evan Solomon that Harper’s views on Israel were “unbalanced” and “right of Likud.” Sounds pretty accurate. Harper’s views are indeed extreme even by some Israeli standards and certainly more extreme than
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Why Arab-Israeli politician protested Harper’s speech to the Knesset
by: Obert Madondo “When you are controlling, discriminating, confiscating, occupying lands from one side and putting them in the corner without any basic rights, you are by this way ruling and committing apartheid in the occupied Palestinian Territories.” The words of Arab-Israeli legislator Ahmad Tibi as he explained to the CBC
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Voice for the exiled: the powerful and moving poetry of Susan Abulhawa
If you’re considering a gift for anyone in the new year I strongly recommend a wonderful poetry collection entitled My Voice Sought the Wind by Susan Abulhawa. Susan Abulhawa is a Palestinian-American writer and activist. Her highly acclaimed novel Mornings in Jenin has been translated into 32 languages since it
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: ACTION: Illegal Israeli Settlement Goods Sold at London Drugs
SodaStream boycott informational picket Saturday, Dec. 21, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. London Drugs, Broadway @ Cambie, Vancouver Below is a notice of an important event happening on Saturday in Vancouver. If something is labelled as “Made in Israel” but is really made in an illegal Israeli settlement in the West
Continue readingSong of the Watermelon: National Post Letter
Should any readers take a look inside today’s National Post, they might find a letter of mine defending Canada’s United Church and its boycott of goods from Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land. Click here to read my letter and scroll down to the heading “… or is it just?”
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Israeli ‘master of disinformation’ Danny Ayalon takes a hit: hasbara fantasies exposed in new video
Lara Sawalha and Dana Dajani take on the hasbara revisionism of Danny Ayalon in a video that sets the record straight. Some bio information on Lara Sawalha – here – and Dana Dajani – here.
Continue readingSong of the Watermelon: Vancouver Sun Letter
A letter of mine in the Vancouver Sun today, this one about the “Disappearing Palestine” ads on public transit here in the city. I try to defend the ads against the absurd charge that they target Jews. Click here to read it. Filed under: Ethnicity, Letters to the Editor, Middle
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Calls by Jewish groups for removal of Translink ‘Disappearing Palestine’ ads is an attack on free speech
Beneath left: Martha Roth of the Palestine Awareness Coalition An ad appearing on a dozen or more Vancouver buses and in the City Center SkyTrain station has been the target of criticism by some Jewish groups. The four-panel ad shows a map of Israel over the last six decades –
Continue readingSong of the Watermelon: An Open Letter to TransLink Regarding the “Disappearing Palestine” Ads
Dear TransLink: I am writing to express my wholehearted support for your decision to display the pro-Palestinian transit ads recently unveiled at the Vancouver City Centre Skytrain station and on several buses. The ads offer an important perspective that needs to be heard as part of any informed debate on
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Four Pictures Worth Many Thousand Words
A Vancouver group is targeting the public conscience with an ad campaign to show what has happened to the Palestinian homeland. Unless you’re a Zionist, it’s a pretty disturbing but accurate depiction of how the Palestinians are being erased from their homeland. The point is, it’s not over yet. The
Continue readingThe U.S. war against democracy in the Middle East
The CIA’s recent public admission that it masterminded the 1953 military coup against Iran’s democratically elected government reminded me once again of the fickle U.S. support for democracy in the Middle East. American involvement was well-known—books have been written about it—but the publishing of previously classified documents by the U.S.
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Nigel Kennedy ‘apartheid’ reference to be censored by BBC: Palestine Strings at the Proms
On August 8 the BBC Proms featured the Palestine Strings in company with world renowned violinist, Nigel Kennedy, and members of his Orchestra of Life. Palestine Strings is made up of seventeen young Palestinians ranging in age from 12 to 23 who study at the Edward Said National Conservatory
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Alice Walker Disinvited By Top US University Over Israel Criticism
The University of Michigan has disinvited Pulitzer-prize winning African-American author Alice Walker as punishment for her progressive views on Israel. The post Alice Walker Disinvited By Top US University Over Israel Criticism appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.
Continue readingwmtc: my journey to palestinian solidarity and the myth of the self-hating jew, part 3 and final
Part 1 here. Part 2 here. By now it should be clear that my abandonment of my ties to Israel, and my support for the liberation of Palestine, are not based on denial of my Jewish heritage or on anti-Semitism. This is a political issue, and a moral one. Jewish
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