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D’abord quelques remarques terminologiques.

Pour éviter toute discussion juridique inopportune, nous proposons de parler de massacres de masse au XXème siècle plutôt que de génocides ou decrimes contre l’humanité. Ces deux derniers termes ont été l’objet de définitions juridiques après la seconde guerre mondiale, le terme "crime contre l’humanité" ayant été défini dans le cadre du procès de Nuremberg . S’il peut être intéressant d’avoir une intervention sur les aspects juridiques, cela ne nous semble pas ici le point le plus important.

>>Click here for actions you can take to support the struggle forPalestinian self-determination in the face of Israeli suppression – inboth Gaza and in the West Bank.

At the one-year anniversary of its brutal attack on Gaza, Israel andits allies continue to reveal their disregard for human life, freedomand dignity.

• After closing and controlling its borders, Israel brutally bombed and then invaded Gaza—leaving 1,417 Palestinians dead including 313 children and youth.

• Since the attack, which destroyed houses, wells, factories, schools, hospitals, police stations and other public buildings, the blockade has created conditions for genocide through contamination of water supplies due to white phosphorous, raw sewage pouring into the sea, and the prevention of food, medical, and other humanitarian supplies from entering Gaza. People living in Gaza are already feeling the terrible long term effects including a huge increase in birth defects and in cancers especially in children.

• As the siege and blockade of Gaza continues, Israel escalates its theft of land and home demolition in East Jerusalem—forcibly evicting or demolishing the homes of more than 600 Palestinian people in East Jerusalem and other parts of the West Bank this year, half of them children.

• Israel continues to build and police its Apartheid Wall as part of carving up and repressing the West Bank for purposes of military control, land theft and the control of Palestinian water supplies.

• And, inside of Israel, spearheaded by the Jewish National Fund, land and water theft continues, as Bedouins and solidarity activists resist the call for direct removal of the 70,000 Bedouin occupants from their land in the Negev.

Asa result, Israel has faced international condemnation. Its barbaricassault on Gaza was met with mass demonstrations across the globe. Itsbarbarity has inspired humanitarian efforts to break the siege, callsfor prosecution and the issuance of warrants for the arrest of Israeliwar criminals, and the breaking of diplomatic ties by Venezuela,Bolivia, and Mauritania.

To our ArabJewish Mizrahi sisters and brothers who suffer from racism within the Zionistspace of Palestine/Israel: We callon you to sign with us this appeal to the leaders of the world and inparticular to the governments of the Arab countries for the purpose of ending theblockade of Gaza and the oppression in the West Bank, … Appeal from Mizrahi/Arab-Jews in Palestine/Israel

As IJAN’s work in the United States has grown, so has interest in the network. In New York City, activists identifying with IJAN are working on events, demonstrations and in partnership with local Palestine solidarity and BDS organizations. NYC IJAN activists are also involved in national and international work.

On October 7, 2009, DC activists launched IJAN D.C. with an event, The Politics and Strategic Role of Jewish Anti-Zionist Organizing Within the Broader Struggle for Liberation, at the Emergence Community Arts Collective. The emerging DC chapter is interested in participation in BDS campaigns, in developing anti-Zionist Jewish discourse, labor organizing and forming a local study group. 

Then on October 25, 2009, there was a meeting of Jewish activists interested in IJAN in Atlanta, Georgia. Activists were interested in forming a loose network to do work in the name of IJAN and in lending IJAN’s name to local Palestine solidarity activities. Finally, there is interest in participation in IJAN from activists in New Orleans who are already involved in anti-Zionist Jewish activism.  

If you are interested in affiliating, collaborating or building with IJAN in the United States, please contact us at usa@ijsn.net.

The weekly vigils in front of the Israeli consulate building in Torontooffer opportunities to connect with the public on priority issues.Ongoing Israeli attacks on non-violent anti-Wall protesters, includingthe arrests of Mohammad Othman, Abdallah Abu Rahmah, and Jamal Juma’;,the continuing siege of Gaza, and the destruction of Palestinian homesin East Jerusalem have been a focus of handouts at recent vigils.

When Palestinian and Jewish queer activists protested a queer tourismconference in Tel Aviv back in mid-October, we handed out the jointstatement condemning the International Gay and Lesbian TravelAssociation (put together by Queers Against Israeli Apartheid inToronto (QuAIA), Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism (QUIT!), IJAN.and Queer BDS activists from Israel). Since late July 2009, theCoalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA), IJAN-Toronto, and othershave been demanding an end to the exhibit of the Dead Sea Scrolls atthe Royal Ontario Museum. The ROM is directly across the street fromthe Israeli consulate building, the location of the IJAN vigils. Whilewe haven’t been able to get the ROM to stop the show, it has beenuseful as a way to engage the public on the issues. We also stand as avisual counterpoint to the ROM’s obvious collusion with the IsraeliAntiquities Authority. When the ROM held a brief showing of TenCommandments, we responded with a few commandments of our own. The ROMhas denied any link with the Brand Israel campaign of Israeli ConsulGeneral Amir Gissin. However, they recently offered ROM members achance to enter a contest for a free trip to Israel. Hmmm.

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IJAN has a delegates from France and the U.S. – New York City, Twin Cities-Minnesota, and Chicago – participating in the Gaza Freedom March.

 In addition, IJAN Bay Area and Toronto are participating in local Gaza anniversary actions and marches in solidarity with the 50,000 Palestinians marching in Gaza on December 31st.

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In late October, members of IJAN-Toronto and Women in Solidarity with Palestine (WSP) travelled to Ottawa to meet with Libby Davies, New Democratic Party (NDP) Member of Parliament for Vancouver East, British Columbia. A primary purpose of our meeting was to thank Ms. Davies for her support of the IJAN-Canada petition addressed to the Canadian government, demanding a change in government policy regarding Palestine. We had featured the petition at the Friday vigils for several weeks, gathering more than 500 signatures. Ms. Davies read out the petition in parliament on three occasions, thereby enshrining it in the Hansard, the official parliamentary record.

From August 7 to August 14, 2009 Ms. Davies was part of a delegation to Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza. The purpose of their mission was to assess the humanitarian situation and to report back to the Canadian government and the people of Canada. In addition to Ms. Davies, the delegation included Richard Nadeau (Bloc Québécois), and Borys Wrzesnewskyj (Liberal Party), as well as three members from the organization Code Pink. Based on their experiences during the mission, they produced a report and made seven key recommendations to the Canadian government, urging implementation:

"To the Government of Canada and our fellow Members of Parliament, we ask that you consider and respond to our recommendations. We invite open and measured debate on our recommendations and urge take-up and progress on the issues contained in this report." Click here to read the full report and its recommendations, and then click on the hot link (in pink) in the first line.

We had a latke- and dreidle-filled dance party with fabulous music by DJs Ang and Mika and raised money for the Gaza Freedom March. Funds raised were split between the March and the One Democratic State Group.

Fierce IJAN t-shirts for sale! We have some fabulous IJAN screen-printed t-shirts which we are selling for $10. Let us know if you want one!

Bekah Wolf from the Palestine Solidarity Project (PSP) was hosted by IJAN Chicago and La Voz de los de Abajo. Bekah gave a talk about unarmed resistance happening within rural areas of the West Bank, and shared suggestions for how to support these struggles. Click here for a video of part of the talk. The lecture was followed by music by La Voz musicians, and we raised money to send back to the Palestine Solidarity Project.

PSP is a Palestinian project dedicated to opposing the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land through non-violent direct action. It was founded in the village of Beit Ommar in the Southern West Bank during the summer of 2006.