BOYCOTT ISRAELI WINES
June 7th 2008 Picket, BC Liquor Store, 1520 Commercial Dr., Vancouver
On this 60th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba, the Israeli government has announced plans to “rebrand” its 60 years of dispossession and ethnic cleansing. Here in B.C., the focus of this “rebranding” is the promotion of wines under an Israeli label in B.C. liquor stores, which are now carrying products from the Galil Mountain Winery, the Golan Heights Winery and the Dalton Winery.… Read more
The following letter was sent to the Georgia Straight on Feb. 15, 2008.
It might interest your readers to know that the “new-generation Israeli wines” that Jurgen Gothe was promoting (Feb. 14/08) are literally fruit from the vines of Israeli occupation. We recently sent a letter to the BC Liquor Distribution Branch on this very subject which they have responded to claiming this matter is not under their “jurisdiction” and they offer products on a commercial demand basis.… Read more
“‘The land of Israel has been producing wines for 5,000 years’, said Norman Gladstone, Principal of International Cellars Inc. ‘In the last thirty years, the wine industry in Israel has adopted modern technology leading to higher quality wines which have burst onto the international scene. We are pleased and honoured to bring Israel’s top wineries to British Columbia.'”
With these words, the news release issued by the Canada-Israel Committee on Dec 20, 2007 announced the introduction of these wines to the Canadian province of B.C.… Read more
A statement of direction by the CPA, Voice of Palestine, and other supporting groups
With the fighting over the mirage “Authority” in Gaza winding down, the Palestinian people are once again faced with the only two alternatives currently available to them, either supporting the non-secular movement Hamas or the new collaborationist Fateh-controlled government. (Neither choice will bring the Palestinian people the future they so desperately need and deserve, and have sacrificed so much for over the years.)… Read more
By Hanna Kawas, a Bethlehemite and a descendant of the First Christians
Mr. Stephen Harper
I am a Christian Palestinian who, like the rest of my people, has been denied by your friends in Israel for the past thirty-nine years to go back home and live in my hometown Bethlehem (where we still have our own property).
My family, relatives, friends and the whole population of Bethlehem are enduring the most repressive and discriminatory regime the town has ever experienced and that includes the hated Roman (western) occupation of the city 2000 years ago.… Read more
The Canada Palestine Association, Vancouver (www.cpavancouver.org) and the Palestine Community Centre of B.C. (www.palestinecommunitycentre.com) issued the following statement on June 24, 2006.
It has come to our attention that the World Peace Forum (WPF) is regrettably associating with supporters of Israeli war crimes against the Palestinian people. Following are examples of support given to Israel by the individuals in question. Peace without justice or peace without principles is of no use to the oppressed peoples of the world.… Read more
Stephen Harper Prime Minister of Canada
Mr. Prime Minister:
On March 10, 2006, the Canadian representative at the UN voted against a motion calling on Israel to allow all Palestinian refugee women and children to return to their homes. The UN Economic and Social Council adopted the South African-sponsored resolution by a vote of 41-2, with only Canada and the United States voting against it.… Read more
Phil Fontaine, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations
Dear Chief Fontaine:
Since we submitted our open letter to you on Feb. 23, 2006, we have received more endorsers to the letter. Due to the large number of organizations in particular that we received in the last week, we feel we are obliged to update you with the complete and final endorsers list.… Read more
We call on our community, as we did in our Position Paper on Canadian Elections 2004, to vote for candidates who are interested in serving humanity and the people’s interest at home and abroad, and not to give any backing to those who are benefiting materially from the Israeli lobby in Canada. We call on our community and our Canadian supporters to defeat all those who are in the current Canadian Cabinet including the Prime Minister, who are complicit in supporting, maintaining and covering up for Israeli occupation, atrocities and war crimes.… Read more
The Executive Committee
British Columbia Teachers’ Federation
100 – 550 West 6th Avenue,Vancouver, B.C. V5Z 4P2
Dear Executive Committee Members:
We have become increasingly concerned by recent actions on the part of the BCTF executive regarding the Palestinian/Israeli issue. While the campaign for Divestment from Israel is gaining momentum in Canada, the latest being 20 Québec groups who recently called for a boycott of Israel, including the Québec union of CEGEP teachers, you seem to have fallen on the side of injustice and reaction.… Read more
