Decisions must be overturned immediately

Canada right now is facing a real threat; it is not an external threat but an internal one. It has nothing to do with explosives or physical destruction but something more serious that that. The threat is from the current Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Honorable Jason Kenny, which poses a threat to the Canadian national democratic system. Checking the minister’s statements and decisions over the last two months have been disturbing and it shows that the current Minister of Citizenship and Immigration has a lack of respect for citizenship, democracy and the right of free speech.

The minister ‘s statement few weeks ago accusing the Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) events as being anti-Semitic and form a threat to the Jewish students on our campuses is a misleading statement. The events of the IAW that were organized in more than 40 cities worldwide were never meant to be against Jewish people but to criticize the actions of the Israeli apartheid state. A lot of the speakers and organizers of the week itself are Jewish themselves and they oppose the racist actions of the Israeli state. So whoever is trying to use this excuse of the week being anti-Semitic or spreading hatred against the Jewish people is a liar and using this to restrain people from criticizing Israel. So comments like this by the minister will not stop this week from happening and as Naomi Klein, a famous Canadian Jewish author, commented during the opening of the Israeli Apartheid Week in Toronto that “ Serious movements have serious enemies, all the attacks you are facing is a measure of the success of this movement”

Another shameful decision by the minister happened this week by ordering to cut the funding to the Settlement Service of the Canadian Arab Federation (CAF). The head of the Canadian Arab Federation, Khaled Mouammar, spoke loudly criticizing the government of Canada’s silence during the Israeli raid on Gaza that started in December and killed 1400 Palestinians within 3 weeks, and this started a war between Mouammar and the minister. The funding given was used by CAF for language lessons for newcomers and workshops to develop the necessary skills to successfully integrate into the Canadian society. I personally feel this is a disturbing action by minister because only new immigrants, as well as the whole society, will be affected by this decision not anyone else. The minister should not be allowed to punish a whole community just because they disagree with his or the governments actions, this is insane. It sounds to me this minister is sending a warning to other non-profit, anti-racist organizations not to criticize members of the Canadian government of they will face a similar destiny, which means suppressing our freedom of speech in this country.

Last but not least, the minister this week has banned British MP George Galloway from entering Canada. Galloway is scheduled to speak in four cities during a pan-Canadian speaking tour from March 30 to April 2. Due to Galloway’s views on the war in Afghanistan the minister is claiming that Galloway represents a “threat to national security”. I can not believe that this minister actually used this excuse; this is something we frequently heard it used by the previous American administration about anyone they disagreed with. The decision by the minister to ban Galloway is an attack on free speech and on the right to criticize our own government's foreign policy. If this minister had a referendum today to ask Canadians about the war in Afghanistan he will find that probably the majority oppose this war now. Why should we not oppose this war after seeing many Canadian soldiers being killed there this month alone? Canada does not allow anyone with a criminal record to enter it but to ban someone from entering the country for disagreeing with the Canadian foreign policy is shameful and a will be marked as a black day in the history of this nation.

I want to finish this by asking the people to take a stand against the actions of the minister. I believe that his decisions are racist and targeting specific group of people. Canada has been built on accepting all immigrants here disregarding their color or race and helps them in integrated in the society easily, but the decision of the minister will jeopardize this now. At the same time, trying to limit the freedom of speech of people in Canada now is something serious that all people should be aware of and should take a stand against it because this might affect any topic that the government is not in agreeing with. These decisions and actions are not welcomed here and should be overturned immediately.

The Fifth Annual Israeli Apartheid Week March 1 - 8, 2009

Mark your calendars - the 5th Annual Israeli Apartheid Week will take place across the globe from March 1-8, 2009!

First launched in Toronto in 2005, IAW has grown to become one of the most important global events in the Palestine solidarity calendar. Last year, more than 25 cities around the world participated in the week's activities, which also commemorated 60 years since the expulsion of the Palestinian people from their homes and land in 1947-1948. IAW 2008 was launched with a live broadcast from the South African township of Soweto by Palestinian leader and former member of the Israeli Knesset, Azmi Bishara.

This year, IAW occurs in the wake of Israel's barbaric assault against the people of Gaza. Lectures, films, and actions will make the point that these latest massacres further confirm the true nature of Israeli Apartheid. IAW 2009 will continue to build and strengthen the growing Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement at a global level.

Check their website to find all the information about the events at different cities www. apartheidweek.org/

You can check the trailer as well:

CBS "60 Minutes" segment "Time Running Out For A Two-State Solution?"

It is quite extraordinary that CBS broadcast a segment that openly addresses Israeli Apartheid and the treatment that the Palestinians receive under Israeli Occupation. Please make sure to watch it and distribute this segment. CBS should be thanked for broadcasting this.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/01/23/60minutes/main4749723.shtml?tag=topStory;topStoryHeadline

Stop the Massacre in Gaza

What is happening right now in Gaza is something that no human being should ever have to witness or accept. On December 27, 2008, Israel launched a series of air strikes and bombing on Gaza, killing more than 200 Palestinians within the first few hours. On January 3, 2008 the Israel Occupying Forces (IOF) started their land invasion on the Gaza strip. At the time I am writing this article, the total number of Palestinians killed by these unjust attacks has mounted to over 660, with over 2,800 wounded. On the other side, the Hamas and Palestinian fighters launched homemade short range rockets, causing the death of 10 Israelis and injuring around 30. This means that for every Israeli killed, there have been approximately 70 Palestinians killed by the IOF. It is ridiculous and shameful that no one is forcing Israel to stop their attack. A human being is still a human being, whether they are Palestinian or Israeli. It does not make sense that there is death on both sides, with the Palestinians having a death toll that is 70 times higher death numbers than that of the Israelis. This is not a matter of math equations and numbers; we are talking about humans and their lives. Each one of the people who died had a family, a life, stories and things to accomplish.

Because of the crisis in Gaza, on Saturday, January 3, 2008 more than 10 000 marched in the streets of downtown Toronto opposing the terrorist attacks by the IOF on Gaza. People from everywhere in the province gathered at Yonge & Dundas, and marched first to the Israeli consulate, then to the American consulate, shouting to end the occupation of Palestine and stop the attacks on Gaza. This number of demonstrators should be a sign for the Canadian government to hear the people and take action against Israel. The Canadian government should call for a fair immediate cease-fire from both sides, and the lifting of the siege on Gaza to allow the delivery of aid, medicine, etc. Canada should pressure Israel to allow free access for international humanitarian organizations, journalists and diplomats, which has been blocked. I really felt like throwing up when I read the statement made by the Minister of Foreign Affairs about the situation in Gaza, in which the blame was placed upon the Palestinians.

People are blaming the Palestinians and Hamas for firing home made short-distance rockets into the Israeli cities close by Gaza, but what do you expect them to do in response to the destructive Israeli bombing on Gaza? The recent “cease-fire” between Hamas and Israel, which ended in early November, resulted in a decrease in missile fire into Israel but the situation in Gaza only got worse. During the cease-fire, Israel had a blockade on Gaza and restricted anything from moving in or out of the strip. They restricted the amount of fuel flowing in to less than 15% of the required amount, limiting electricity access to a maximum of 5-7 hours daily. By limiting the amount of fuel flowing into the strip, they paralyzed life in Gaza, as even hospitals could not operate properly without any electricity or fuel for an electricity generator. Even the United Nations (UN) has suffered because of the Israeli occupying regime, as the Israelis restricted their supplies, leaving the UN with no food supplies for many days. I am laying most of the blame upon Israel for the deaths of the Palestinians and the Israelis too, because their actions led the Palestinians to fire their rockets.
There is a verse in a Bob Dylan song which says, "When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose." This can be applied to the situation faced by the Palestinians: faced with terrible conditions as a result of the Israeli occupation, they are firing rockets knowing that they will not damage Israel, but they have nothing more to lose.

Last month, General Assembly President Father Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann prescribed that the only way for the international community to deal with Israel would be through “boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS)," similar to those enacted against South Africa two decades ago. This is a non-violent campaign to pressure Israel to stop its violations and end its occupation. It is time for the international community to take action and work on solving the conflict, because the Palestinians have been suffering for the last 60 years due to occupation. I am not writing this article to force people to have sympathy for the Palestinians, I am writing it so you can sit down and think about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and take an action to help in ending the Israeli occupation.


This article was published in "The Silhouette" newspaper on January 9th, 2009. The editor changed the title to "Israel-Palestine" and changed the Israel Occupying Forces (IOF)term to Israel Defence Forces (IDF)at some sections on the website version but not the paper version.
http://thesil.ca/?p=1847
This article was published in "The Frontline" newspaper as well. This is the Social Sciences Society's newspaper.

‘Change’ we need

After 8 years of the Bush administration being in power, it has become obvious that they have failed in many different aspects - one being the Israeli- Palestinian conflict. There was never any reason to expect anything great out of this administration with respect to the Palestinian- Israeli conflict, however, not only did nothing positive arise, it was actually quite the contrary; this administration made the Palestinian situation even worse, as they increased their financial and military support to Israel, hence giving Israel the power to do whatever they please. I believe that this conflict will be resolved only when there is an un-biased America, and International support for both sides; therefore the Americans will have to stop aiding the Israelis.

It has also become apparent that Barack Obama will do nothing to change the situation either, as he will be caught up in the Bush administration's mistakes. For example, Obama must end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and take care of the economic crisis. With all of these factors, it seems logical that Obama’s administration will, at least for the first while, keep the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the back of their minds. With Obama strongly supported by the Jewish vote, with a whopping 78% of the Jewish people supporting him, his support base will want to see him doing something for the Israeli side. Additionally, another factor that is beneficial to the Israelis, yet detrimental to the Palestinians, is Obama’s choice in selecting Rahm Emanuel, a well-known vocal pro-Israeli politician who volunteered and served in the Israeli defence force during the Gulf War, as his Chief Of Staff.. In looking at these factors, I worry that this administration will not offer balanced policies in regard to the Palestinian- Israeli situation. I am hopeful that at least if Obama’s administration will be busy with other issues that need resolving, they will not have time to screw up the situation even more.

Moving now to the actual regional conflict; the situation between the Palestinians and Israelis is again heating up. Firing started again at the beginning of November after a 5 month truce between both sides. Gaza is again suffering because of these raids and blockade. The food that is usually supplied to the strip by the United Nations (UN) was depleted since the Israelis maintained a blockade for more than two weeks. Israel is also blocking fuel from entering the strip, which is causing people to be without any electricity and heat - all food that Palestinians had in fridges has gone bad already.

The UN’s new human-rights chief has called for the Israelis to immediately end their blockade of the Gaza strip. The surprising and sad thing is that this came as a shock to the Israeli government. I really do not understand how this came as a surprise to the Israeli government, since they are killing people by not allowing food or fuel in the strip. Obviously the UN has to do something, regardless of the unfortunate fact that they are losing their power on an international level. It seems that Amnesty International and other humanitarian groups are begging Israel to stop the blockade and firing, and begging the Palestinians to stop missile fire.

Since the fights started, damage has progressed on both fronts; however, it is unequally occurring. Since the truce was broken between both sides, ONE ISRAELI solider was wounded and more than SEVENTEEN Palestinians were killed. I really do not see this as a fair fight between two sides, and unfortunately the death tolls and damage on the Palestinian side support my argument.

As in any conflict between two sides, you will hear each side blaming the other for the situation. After reading a lot about what is going on over there, I am finding it very difficult to determine who started the conflict since both sides are blaming one another with full responsibility. In my eyes I see no relevance in who initiated the conflict. For example, if you were a 20 year old person and got hit by a 5 year old child, even if you were powerful enough to destroy the child, it would not be appropriate to attack back. After generations of being stripped of their power, the Palestinians are comparable to a child against a strong power. At the end of the day, a life is a life despite its background, it does not matter if the life is a Palestinian or Israeli, both deserve equal representation on the world front. It is sad and depressing to see the difference in the treatment of a death on one side compared to the other

In the end, it is the job of the world leaders and the United Nations to see a catastrophe such as this, and to demand a ceasefire when one side, no matter who is at fault, is being so brutally attacked. The evidence is present: 1 wounded opposed to more than 17 killed, and half of the food supply being cut, which will inevitably lead to many more deaths. Something must be done.

Under Fire

I honestly don’t know where I should start from in regard to the Palestinian-Israeli issue, especially due to the many developments and issues that have been occurring recently. We now have the issue of using the term “Israeli Apartheid” right here on campus. Gaza has been under siege and attacks for more than a month and the Israeli settlements have been targeted with rockets launched from Gaza. Israel deputy defence minister has threatened the people in Gaza with genocide. These are just a few things that have been happening lately in the area that I believe need to be regarded with some serious thought.

To begin, I want to send a very clear message to any university or any student union that stopping any group from using specific terms against the actions of the any government won’t help in hiding the truth. Students at a university level are smarter than that, and they are willing to go out and seek the truth by themselves. After the whole fuss that we faced here at McMaster I believe that many students have personally researched to find out if the term “apartheid” is being used properly or not. I am sure that after researching this topic for themselves many students may agree that the government of Israel could indeed be considered an “apartheid” government. I would even think that more students would believe that a stronger term against the action of the Israeli government should be used. I am glad to see that our student union is working hard to solve the issue on our campus by explaining exactly what has happened and what decision they are taking regarding this topic.

The term “apartheid” was used against the actions of the Israeli government and not against the Israeli people. It was not used against them based on their religion or race. So the term was not targeted against any person specifically but targeted instead at the actions of the Israeli government. Jimmy Carter’s famous book that was published two years ago, called “Palestine: Peace not Apartheid,” claims that the actions of the Israeli government do indeed make it an apartheid state. The famous South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu himself has accused Israel of practicing apartheid in its policies towards the Palestinians. He stated after a visit to the Holy Land that he was "very deeply distressed, it reminded me so much of what happened to us black people in South Africa". If you want to read more you check it about his visit on the BBC’s website.

The “holocaust” is engaged with very tragic feelings towards the Jewish community, and to any human being who treasures the lives of others and does not believe in the death of any other human being. On Thursday February the 28^th the BBC website stated that the Israeli deputy defence minister, Matan Vilani, has threatened the people in Gaza with a “shoah”, the Hebrew word for the Nazi holocaust. Seriously, what do you want me to say about an official government that is declaring to the world and the Palestinians in Gaza a very public genocide? Is that an acceptable reply for the home made rockets fired from Gaza that in essence are replying to the siege the city has been under for more than a month? I was disappointed at not seeing the international community more infuriated and opposing to the Israeli official’s use of the term “holocaust” against the Palestinians.

Because of the siege that the Israeli occupying forces have placed on Gaza since mid January, not allowing food, medicine, electricity and many other basic life necessities from getting to Gaza, many Palestinians have died. More than 90 people died in February because of the Israeli attacks, and that is so much more than the Israelis that died because of the rockets launched at the settlements. Since Wednesday February 27^th, 123 Palestinians died in Gaza, plus 350 injured, because of the continuous Israeli attacks on Gaza. At the same time there are Israeli soldiers and settlers that are dieing because of the rockets launched from Gaza. The international community needs to take quick action in severly recommending that both sides have a truce because the numbers will have increased already by the time you are reading this article.

Unfortunately we don’t have many free people or free governments in this world anymore because when a Palestinian committed a suicide attack killing one Israeli settler earlier in February I found out that so many countries including Canada condemned it. I personally condemned it also as this action will not move the peace process forward. But what I find ridiculous is that this attack happened weeks after the siege that has been placed on the Gaza region, and the many attacks committed against the Palestinian civilians did not receive the sympathy of the same number of governments condemning the actions of the Israeli government and it’s military.

I want to conclude by showing my deep sympathy to all of the people in the Gaza and Israel regions that have been and continue to be affected by this situation. The Israeli government and army need to alleviate the siege on Gaza, while the Palestinian resistant movements need to stop their rocket attacks against the Israeli settlements. Until we see both sides working to improve this situation, the peace process will not move along in the direction of true resolution that it should be moving towards.

* Finally my articles are being published again in The Silhouette. This article was published in V.78, No.21 for Thursday March 6, 2008 *

New developments from Palestine

Few developments had been happening lately in regards to the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. The biggest difference is that the United States decided finally to try to give a chance to supporting new peace negotiations. Since been elected, George W. Bush didn't pay attention to this conflict, but rather decided to take one side against the other.

At the end of last November George W. Bush invited the Palestinians, Israelis and many other countries to the Annapolis Peace Summit. The idea was to have one day meetings to decide on starting the peace negotiations that were to take place a few months after this conference. Earlier in January George W. Bush had a visit to the Middle East region, as he visited Palestine and some of the other countries in the region.

There are few obligations on both sides to be done so a real peace deal can be reached. The international community is demanding both sides agree to their obligations. The Israelis for this time being must retreat back behind the lines of the 1967 war, which means Israel has to respect the resolutions made by the United Nations (UN).

The Israeli settlements are an obstacle always in this peace negotiation. The International Court of Justice and many other countries regard all Israeli settlements in the occupied territories as illegal, citing provisions in the Geneva Conventions which forbid the forced transfer of populations into lands seized in war. Even Bush said that those settlements are an obstacle for peace between Palestinians and Israelis. The only hope in regards to this is that the office of Israeli Prime Minister had announced again that they will be removing some of the smaller and newer settlements. The problem is that every single Israeli Prime Minister promises this but they never actually go through with it.

The apartheid wall that is being built on the Palestinian region is one of the main problems in the meantime. This apartheid wall runs over 650 km (400 miles) inside the West Bank, which breaks up the Palestinian territory. The wall is 8 meters high, twice the height of the former Berlin wall. The wall is another violation of Human Rights restricting and hindering the Palestinian movement around their own territory. This wall is affecting the Palestinians in so many ways that in 2004 the International Court of Justice declared that the wall is illegal and ordered Israel to stop the construction of this wall but until this moment Israel has not complied. Palestinian villages and cities are divided because of this wall and more check points have been implemented. People are only allowed to pass by those check points for very short periods during the day.

Another thing both sides need to really find a solution to is the “Right of Return” of the Palestinian refugees who were expelled from Palestine either in 1948 or 1967 or their families that were born outside Palestine. When you want to talk about the right of return you get to talk about what kind of state solution they will agree on, will it be a two-state solution or one state solution. I remember last November I attended a lecture by an Israeli journalist on campus and he mentioned about how he believes Israel wants to have its own Jewish state structure. They allow any Jewish person who never lived in Palestine or Israel or had any relation to the area to move and live in Israel, but at same time Palestinians who are originally from the region are not allowed to go back yet. So a key to solve this conflict is actually to agree on something in regard to those Palestinian refugees.

As any conflict there must be initiative from both sides to settle down on an agreement. The Palestinians who are resisting against the occupation shouldn’t perform any kind of resistance actions behind the 1967 boarder line. For the last many months the Palestinians had stopped any kind of resistance attacks outside the region, so they should keep it that way and work on solving this conflict.

So through Annapolis what did both sides accomplish? First, they call for negotiations over “all core issues without exception”, that includes all the topics I mentioned earlier. Second, both parties accepted the US decision to serve as a monitor, a role that until now Israel had kept to itself. Third, both parties agreed on implementing the road’s map obligation for each party. But Annapolis failed to deal with some of the major remaining obstacles.

Palestinians are obliged to do everything to bring violence under control. As for Israel, what is expected are not concessions, but rather to meet the obligations imposed by UN resolutions, international law and previous agreements? I believe that Canada and the international community should be fair and monitor and help out to find a final resolution for this conflict.

But in the mean time Israel should stop its attack on Gaza strip. Gaza had been living in the dark since Sunday, January 20^th, when the power plan ran out of fuel and was shut down due to the tightened siege forced by the Israeli army. This will be having a catastrophic effect on 1.5 million residents of Gaza, who are already suffering chronic shortages of fuel, medicine and some basic food things. I’m not going to give you details about the situation over here now, but I encourage you to check it out for yourself and find out how bad it is. With acts like this done by the Israeli government how will peace negotiations be resumed? That’s a question left for everyone to think about.

22/1/2008

* This article was banned from being published in The Silhouette, increasing the number of articles banned for me this year to two. The McMaster Social Sciences Society published it in their newspaper, The Frontline. *

A reminder or Israeli atrocities against the Palestinian people

It was very interesting to read that a student complained about what was published in the silhouette and how the silhouette can publish such an article about the Massacre of Jenin. Well, in response, we would like to ask, what happened to freedom of speech and freedom of expression? If something does not appeal to you, it does not necessarily imply that it is incorrect or is a “pervasion of facts”. The silhouette has given students of McMaster great opportunity and space to openly debate issues that affect our lives in way or another.

The Jenin massacre was committed by the Israeli army and resulted in the deaths of many Palestinian refugees. Some may deny the massacre but “A British forensic expert who has gained access to the West Bank city of Jenin says evidence points to a massacre by Israeli forces” (BBC April 18, 2002). If one were to Google the words ‘Jenin Massacre’ and look up the images, you will see horrific sights of dead civilian men, women and children which under no circumstances should be justified even if it was a direct response to homicide bombers which were supposedly traced to Jenin. Response by the Israeli army should never come at the cost of the innocent civilians including toddlers and babies in Jenin. No matter how little or how many died in the Massacre; it is still a crime against humanity committed by the Israeli army.

It was claimed in a previous article that Israel has a code of conduct; however, the Israeli army does not abide by any of it. Everyday, Palestinians are humiliated by the Israelis every time a Palestinian crosses a checkpoint. We would like to ask what is the Israeli code of conduct is, when an Israeli soldier himself once said in a documentary “Whoever comes close wants to make trouble, we break them” then states “What do we mean by break them? We let them suffer”. Moreover, to show the brutality of the Israeli army, CBS have released a clip showing the abuse of a Palestinian boy by the Israeli soldiers. (YouTube: Israeli police beating Palestinian).

Apart from these isolated incidents of violation of human rights, lets not forget the Apartheid wall that runs over 650 km (400 miles) inside the West Bank, which breaks up the Palestinian territory. The wall is 8 meters high, twice the height of the former Berlin wall. The wall is another violation of Human Rights restricting and hindering the Palestinian movement around their own territory. This is a great opportunity to bring up this issue since this week marks the International Week of Action against the Apartheid Wall. Many events are happening around the globe to educate people on this topic. This wall is affecting the Palestinians in so many ways that in 2004 the International Court of Justice declared that the wall is ILLEGAL, and ordered Israel to stop the construction of this wall but until this moment Israel did not comply. Palestinians villages and cities are divided because of this wall and more construction points were implemented. People are only allowed to pass by those check points for 20 minutes in the morning, 15 in the afternoon and only another 20 minutes in the evening. Not only do the Palestinians have to go through the difficulty of getting through to the other side but get humiliated by the Israeli soldiers in the process.

At the end, some may not agree to what we have to say, but the ignorance must end. The information stated about is true and easily accessible. People must stop being oblivious to the atrocities committed by the Israeli army against the Palestinian people. We would like people to be more educated about this topic and try to seek the truth which will only reaffirm what we are trying to prove and raise awareness about it.

Basel Jarrad & Zahraa Al Khalisi
12/11/2007

PS. This article was banned from being published in The Silhouette. The reason was that the editor will not allow any articles about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to be published. Soon we will take off this ban and will make sure to allow those articles!!