By John and Elizabeth Beeching
October 7, 2003
Hon. Bill Graham Minister of Foreign Affairs
House of Commons Ottawa,
Ontario, K1A 0A6
Mr. Bill Graham,
I was shocked to learn at a meeting October 4, 2003 that over 94,000 volunteer have gone to Israel to join their armed forces according to the Jewish Western Bulletin A link on the web site indicates that 278 or 3% are Canadians.… Read more
Official Opening: October 4, 2003
Video Clip of Speech by Former MP Svend Robinson at Opening: https://www.facebook.com/321244785055051/videos/711267499874285
By Hanna Kawas
Larry Campbell
Mayor of Vancouver
Dear Mr. Mayor:
We received your invitation to participate in the nomination process for the 2003 Cultural Harmony awards; we regret that we will not be able to participate due to our opposition to one of the signatories on the invitation, Mr. Erwin Nest, Chair of Special Advisory Committee on Cultural Communities.
Mr.… Read more
By Gary Keenan, published in the Vancouver Sun, Tuesday, September 23, 2003 in reply to “Forget about peace until Arafat and Sharon are out of the way, Norman Spector, September 19th, 2003.”
Arafat’s fate should rest in Palestinian hands
Columnist Norman Spector neglected to mention the extremely important fact that Yasser Arafat is the democratically elected leader of Palestinians in the occupied territories.… Read more
By Gary Keenan, in reply to the Calgary Sun article “Realities of Israeli oppression rarely aired in North America”
Kudos to Bill Kaufmann for his insightful commentary on Israel’s brutal occupation of Palestinian lands. (“Realities of Israeli oppression rarely aired in North America,” Sept. 1.) Kaufmann’s reference to the fact those who criticize Israel’s policies are frequently and unjustly accused of being anti- Semitic by Israel’s supporters brings to mind the wise words of Uri Avnery, renowned Jewish Israeli journalist and former member of the Knesset:
“The Sharon government is a giant laboratory for the growing of the anti-Semitism virus.… Read more
Statement by Canada Palestine Association and Arab Palestine Association
Recently, in an article titled “Still much on CJC’s Plate”, the chair of the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC), Pacific Region, Nisson Goldman was quoted as saying:
“Congress has done a good job of meeting with the leadership of the Palestinian and Muslim communities in British Columbia, he said, though he regrets that more members of those communities have not attended some of the events organized to bring them together with Jewish British Columbians.”… Read more
By Gary Keenan. The following letter was published in Vancouver’s Georgia Straight, in the May 30-June 5 2003 issue, in reply to “Letter to editor from Cam Small”, May 22-29 2003
Dear editor:
Of the many reliable sources that refute Cam Small’s assertion that “there has never been any evidence to suggest that [Palestinian] noncombatants are being targeted [by Israeli soldiers]”, I quote from an article by Chris Hedges (former bureau chief for the Dallas Morning News in Jerusalem and Middle East bureau chief for the New York Times), who witnessed children being shot and killed by Israeli soldiers in the occupied Gaza Strip: “Children have been shot in other conflicts I have covered…but I have never before watched soldiers entice children like mice into a trap and murder them for sport.”… Read more
By Hanna Kawas (in response to Elias Tuma)*
We are witnessing a calculated campaign of highly publicized attacks on the Palestinian Right of Return (ROR), aimed at confusing, demoralizing, terrorizing (physically and politically) and frustrating the Palestinian refugees and people with the sole purpose of forcing them to abrogate this right. It started with the Camp David “generous offer” and continued with Palestinian advocates such as Sari Nusaybeh, pushing to drop the ROR if Israel met other conditions, as if we are in a Bazaar, and as if what is on the line is vegetables to be traded and not inalienable rights for human beings.… Read more
By Dr. Rafeh Hulays. The following letter was published in Vancouver’s Westender, in the April 24-30, 2003 issue, in response to “Taking issue with ISM activists”, letters published in the Westender (April 17-23, 2003 issue)
Alan Switzer’s venomous criticism of International Solidarity Movement (ISM) activists is a classic example of attacking the messenger. He would actually have us believe that those who put their lives at risk to protect Palestinian civilians victimized daily under Israel’s illegal military occupation are somehow anti-Semitic (an irony considering that Arabs are Semites) and advocates of the “final solution.”… Read more
