Our July 2009 bulletin highlights the plight of political prisoners and prisoners of war.Prisons are an integral part of state systems, and are used to takepolitical leaders and activists from our movements, and control andweaken populations, communities and mass movements that challenge theviolence of States or the arrangements of power within society. Prisonis used to … Prisoner Support
IJAN’sfounders recently returned from a five-city speaking tour in Germany, The Netherlands and Scotland, and from a trip to Lebanon with an international IJAN organizerfrom France.In meeting halls in Glasgow, Edinburgh,Dundee, Berlin,Frankfurt, and Amsterdamthey shared IJAN’s anti-Zionist framework within the tradition of liberatorypolitics and struggles, our strategic role, and our campaigns and work. Thepurpose was … Reflections from Speaking and Organizing Tour
En tant qu’associations juives attachées aux droits des peuples et en tant que citoyens mobilisés pour l’égalité, la justice et la liberté, nous ne pouvons pas supporter :
Parce que tous les autres moyens d’action, si utiles soient-ils (condamnations verbales, interventions auprès des élus et des gouvernements, témoignages, pétitions…) ne suffisent pas à faire plier l’Etat d’Israël, nos deux associations, l’Union Juive Française pour la Paix et le Réseau International Juif Antisioniste appellent à participer activement à la
Boycott Désinvestissement Sanctions jusqu’à la fin de l’occupation
et jusqu’à ce qu’Israël respecte le droit international
Cette campagne, initiée par une énorme coalition d’organisations de la société civile palestinienne et soutenue par les réfugiés palestiniens, les Palestiniens d’Israël et la minorité juive anticolonialiste israélienne, commence à porter ses fruits : ainsi la société Véolia est en train de se retirer de la construction du tramway reliant Jérusalem aux colonies israéliennes.
Aujourd’hui, des mobilisations se développent contre la vente de produits israéliens dans des grandes surfaces et contre le projet de Georges Frêche, président du Conseil Régional de la région Languedoc Roussillon, de transformer le port de Sète en tête de pont pour la vente en Europe des produits agricoles issus des colonies israéliennes
Les « plans de paix » cyniques, version Netanyahou, Kadima ou Parti travailliste, ça suffit !
Nous ne tolérerons pas qu’Israël écrase le peuple palestinien et menace par sa politique belliqueuse la paix dans le monde !
N’oublions pas les horreurs perpétrées à Gaza, exigeons la levée immédiate du blocus : face à la lâcheté des autorités politiques, un sursaut moral et politique de la société civile s’impose.
Le boycott de l’Afrique du Sud avait contribué à mettre fin au régime d’apartheid : aujourd’hui cette politique est nécessaire et possible contre Israël
Paris le 7 Juillet 2009
Union Juive Française pour la Paix (UJFP) International Jewish Anti-zionist Network (IJAN)
21 ter rue Voltaire 75011 PARIS Email : europe@ijsn.net
Téléphone : 06 61 33 48 22 – Email : contact@ujfp.org
Site : www.ujfp.org
In May 2007 the U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution to convenethe Durban Review Conference. Since that time, and unknown to many, ormost, at least 17 Zionist organizations had been "monitoring andprotesting" the Durban Review Conference. With enormous planning andlobbying, Zionists and others who were committed to minimizing theimpact of NGOs were extremely successful in … 2009 World Conference Against Racism
On June 5, 2009, Reuven Abergel, gave an eye-opening lecture at NeveShalom/Wahat al-Salam (a cooperative village of Jews and PalestinianArabs of Israeli citizenship) to a group of North American university students from Caldwell, Idaho.
The Israel Review Conference took place in Geneva on 18 – 19 April, two days before the United Nations’ Durban Review Conference,intended as an opportunity to examine the progress made inimplementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA)adopted by the World Conference Against Racism (2001) and strengthenits recommendations. The Israel Review Conference was … IJAN Co-sponsors the Israel Review Conference
The exhibit is a violation of international law!
TheDead Sea Scrolls, confiscated from East Jerusalemduring Israel’s 1967military invasion and occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, are inToronto, on exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). The (ROM) agreedto host a six-month exhibit of the DeadSea Scrolls, in co-operation with the Israel Antiquities Authority(IAA),scheduled from June 27, 2009 through January 3, 2010.
The move is part of Israel consul general Amir Gissin’s official"Brand Israel" campaignthat attempts to ‘rebrand’ apartheid Israel beyond its systematicrepression of the Palestinianpeople. The aim of the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s Brand Israel campaign is to shift the attention awayfrom Israel’s continuingviolations of internationalhumanitarian law by presenting a more ‘benign’ vision of Israel to a Canadian public growing increasinglywary of Israel’swar-crimes and apartheid policies towards the Palestinians.
Since 1967, hundreds of thousandsof precious artifacts have been illegally removed by the Israeli AntiquitiesAuthority, Israeli soldiers, and illegally operating antiquities dealers fromthe occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. Theseremovals of the joint culturalheritage of the region are in direct contravention of at leastfour international conventions or protocols on the treatment of illegallyobtained cultural goods.
Thebulk of the artifacts were excavated from Qumran in the West Bank, between 1947and 1956 by the PalestineArchaeological Museumin a joint expedition with the Department of Antiquities of Jordan and theEcole Biblique Francaise. The Scrolls were displayed at the Palestine ArchaeologicalMuseum (the RockefellerMuseum) in East Jerusalem until 1967,when the Israeli military occupied East Jerusalemand looted the artifacts.
We Call on Canada to Cancel the Show!
The ROMwas approached by members of the Palestinian community and concerned citizens, buthas refused to make public the documents it claims prove the legality of theexhibit. It has also refused to seek a UNESCO opinion on the matter.
Womenin Solidarity with Palestine (WSP) and IJAN-Toronto have been holding ourregular weekly vigils in front of the Israeli Consulate building, directlyacross the street from the ROM.Since mid-April, we have distributed handouts detailing the theft of the DeadSea Scrolls from Palestine,with a call to boycott the exhibit and to write letters to the ROM demandingthat the exhibition be shut down.
Inlight of the ROM’s absolute disregard for the concerns of Canada’s Palestinian community andthose of its supporters, the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA), WomenIn Solidarity With Palestine, and IJAN-Toronto have launched a weekly picket,to be held at the same location as the weekly vigils. The Friday evening vigilscontinue, from 5-6pm, followed by the picket, from 6-7.
Thefirst picket took place on Friday, July 10, following the vigil. Both were verywell attended and featured spirited chants, bold placards, and a large mixedcrowd of solidarity activists and supporters. The handout distributed to thepublic asks for their help in protesting the ROM’s failure to comply withinternational law and its ethical obligations by:
We arehoping to sustain the pickets until such time as the exhibit comes down.
In themeantime, we are engaging with the public every Friday evening, from 5 till 7o’clock, distributing information about the theft of the Dead Sea Scrolls andopening opportunities to talk with people about Palestine and Israeli apartheid.
Broughtto you by
The InternationalJewish Anti-Zionist Network, Toronto(IJAN-TO)
For more information:Canada@IJSN.net
Also se: www.ijsn.net & www.nion.ca
IndependentJewish Voices Canada (IJV), an anti-Occupation organization, decided atits first annual general meeting (12-14 June 09) to come out in supportof Palestinian Civil Society’s call for Boycott, Divestment, andSanctions (BDS) against the Israeli state. Though the group includes anumber of Zionists [1], the motion passed and marks the first time anational Jewish organization anywhere has taken up this position. [2] Prior to the AGM, the Vancouver and then Toronto’sbranch of IJV decided to embrace BDS. The resolution states, in part,that IJV will “support the Palestinian call for a campaign of boycott,divestment and sanctions until Israel meets its obligation to recognizethe Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and complies withthe precepts of international law, including the right of Palestinianrefugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UNresolution 194.”
Cindyand Craig Corrie, and writer and feminist, Judy Rebick, one of theeight Jewish women who occupied the Israeli Consulate in January, gavethe keynote speeches that opened the meeting. Workshops included“Challenging Islamophobia,” “Israeland the Arms Trade: Canadian Complicity,” and a panel focused on waysthat IJV can better support its allies. Speakers on the panel includedMohammed Boudjenane, the Executive Director of the Canadian ArabFederation, Bob Lovelace of the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation, MarionPollack from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, and Margaret Parsonsof the African Canadian Legal Clinic.
Inaddition to the BDS declaration, an emergency resolution in support ofthe beleaguered York Conference Mapping Models for Statehood and Pathsfor Peace, which was being attacked by the usual suspects: the CanadaIsrael Committee, the JDL, and the Canada Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy.
Independent Jewish Voices formed in March of 2008 at a conference held in Toronto.
Thisyear’s Pride march was marked by intense pressure from pro-Zionistforces to keep Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (QuAIA) fromparticipating. Pro-Israel groups were already hopping mad when theGrand Marshall of the Pride Parade, El-Farouk Khaki, gave openingremarks at a 23 May event put on by QuAIA. A story in the National Postnot long after [1] claimed that Pride had banned the group, despite thefact that QuAIA had yet to put in its application to march. BetweenFrank Dimant of B’Nai Brith – who claimed the group was “hijacking” thegay agenda – and Bernie Farber of the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) –saying despite its political roots, Pride was “about fun” – a lot ofpressure was put on the organizers of this large and overly corporateevent to keep QuAIA out. Rumours of threats to funding were rife.However, despite persistent complaints from Zionists, Pride Toronto didnot cave in. Executive director, Tracey Sandilands, stated clearlybefore the event: “We are not going to ban anybody from the parade.”
QuAIA,marching together with Women in Solidarity with Palestine (WSP),gathered 180 women and trans folk for the Dyke March and over 200 forthe contingent on Pride day. With large colourful banners and lots ofspirit, the group was met with lots of cheering and support. The sloganthat QuAIA chose as a message was “I’m Out Against Israeli Apartheid,”focusing on the difficulties people run into when they dare speak upabout the actions of the Israeli regime. Other messages included “WeStand in Solidarity with Queers in Palestine”and “Anti-Zionism is Not Antisemitism.” Also marching with QuAIA andWSP were some of the organizers from the Simon Nkoli Anti-ApartheidCommittee (SNAAC), and a group of “Nice Jewish Boys Against IsraeliApartheid.” As the group moved down Yonge, many onlookers joined inwith the chants of “Free Free Palestine” and “From Iraq to Palestine: Occupation is a Crime.”
Themarching was not without incident, however. At the Dyke march a womanholding a banner was accosted by someone, who attempted to pull thecloth from her hands violently. As the group waited to march on Sunday,they were hounded by a couple of women carrying huge Israeli flags,chanting “Down with Hamas.” Another woman, who stood and filmed thecontingent at length, was asked to stop. She kept answering by saying“This is Canada.”A glimpse at her blog [2] gives you a sense of who she really is: aChristian Zionist with a soft spot for the JDL. A little later, one ofthe videographers in the contingent had her camera smashed by a touriststaying in the area, who was angered by the presence of any criticismof the Israeli state. As the QuAIA and WSP contingent went down Yonge Street,a bottle was thrown from the second story of a building. Two peoplewere slightly injured. For the most part, however, it was a successfulweekend that began with Toronto’s first ever Trans March. For more information on QuAIA: www.quaia.org.
Sue Goldstein, 6 July 2009, Toronto
Note: This report originally published online @ Linchpin, the online site for Common Cause, an Ontario anarchist group. http://linchpin.ca/
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