apartheid

REELThursdays: Sleepless in Gaza…and Jerusalem

May 13, 2010 By Sarah Leave a Comment

Name: Sleepless in Gaza…and Jerusalem
Year: 2010
Duration: Appx. 30 mins. per episode

If you haven’t heard of this show, please do yourself a favor and watch at least one episode. Sleepless in Gaza…and Jerusalem is a reality-style show shot exclusively in Occupied Palestine and broadcast exclusively on the show’s YouTube Channel. They began shooting on March 1st, 2010 and plan to do 90 shows in 90 days (currently, they are on episode 73). Every episode is shot, edited, translated (when necessary), and uploaded onto YouTube on the same day!

From their channel:

Sleepless in Gaza…and Jerusalem is a video diary about young Palestinian women, Muslim and Christian, living in Gaza, Jerusalem and the rest of The West Bank. We will make 90 films in 90 days, non-stop, no scripts and no intervention! The idea here is to show you the real life of Palestinians through the daily activities of the Sleepless Girls!…..The intention of this series is neither rant nor rhetoric. It is rather an opportunity for those who do not live in Palestine to grasp how real people live out their daily lives, precisely because their lives are stories that journalists are too often told by their editors to think of almost dismissively as human interest and almost necessarily conflict driven.

You can watch the series at the following link:

Sleepless in Gaza….and Jerusalem

Martyred at the Buffer Zone

April 28, 2010 By Sarah Leave a Comment

The Gaza Freedom March may have passed, but Palestinians in Gaza continue to march for their freedom on a daily basis. They are protesting the illegal, Israeli buffer zone, pretty much every day now. This buffer zone stretches across approximately 300 metres and annexes Palestinians’ land used for agriculture, work, and most importantly, homes. The IDF illegally imposes this buffer zone along the Israeli border in Gaza and claims to reserve the right to shoot at anyone who breaches this arbitrarily annexed land.

For the past months, Palestinians in Gaza, joined by many international activists, have been peacefully and non-violently resisting the buffer zone in what has become almost daily protests at the border. The protests are modeled after the long-standing weekly protests in Ni’lin and Bil’in in the West Bank.

Today, a young man, Ahmed Deeb, 21-years-old, was shot by IDF soldiers with what is called a “dum-dum” bullet, which basically explodes inside your body, on impact. Ahmed was hit in the leg and the bullet severed his femoral artery. He lost a lot of blood and was later pronounced dead at the hospital. Ahmed is the latest of too many martyrs who have been killed by the occupation forces. For more information, please visit: http://palsolidarity.org/2010/04/12163

[youtube w1gY4dxqifA]

This incident marks the latest in the cruel and extreme response the IDF exhibits when faced with peaceful, non-violent protesters fighting for the right to live, work, and play on their own land. In the past month alone, 19 Palestinian and international activists and demonstrators have been injured by live ammunition. Three were shot just in the past 5 days. This is more than just some tear gas, which demonstrators have grown accustomed to. These are live bullets, shot at demonstrators, with the intention of injuring them! Why? Because they were throwing rocks, according to soldiers. Rocks vs. Bullets…guess who wins?

Bianca Zimmit, an international activist from Malta, was also shot just days ago, while demonstrating at the buffer zone. she sums up the situation best when she says, “We were holding Palestinian flags on Palestinian land.” Here is her own footage of her getting shot. For more on her story, you can visit Max Ajl’s blog: http://www.maxajl.com/?p=3489

[youtube b__rZ3yjlW8]

These incidences have been escalating over the past months and it’s becoming very clear that non-violent, peaceful resistance is the “Achilles heel” of the Israeli occupation. Palestinians and internationals alike, neither have let this violent response stop them from what continuing the struggle for the liberation of Palestine. Most, if not all, of them plan to return to the next demo, as soon as they are back on their feet. They are not afraid of bullets, they are not afraid of the IDF, they are not even afraid of death, because they know that whatever happens, they’re on the right side of history. Whatever happens, they’re fighting for freedom, justice, and the liberation of an occupied people. And nothing can shake that determination…not even the possibility of death.

We pray for the God’s love and mercy to shower the martyrs and their families, both in this life and in the hereafter. And we pray for Palestine to live and breathe the freedom she has only dreamed of. Ameen.

For more information and to stay up-to-date on the Buffer Zone marches in Gaza, please visit GFM’s Buffer Zone page.

Also, if you have not yet done so, please consider joining the GFM mailing list for email updates and action alerts.

16-year old boy shot dead by Israeli snipers

March 20, 2010 By Piece of Mind Leave a Comment

Village of Iraq Burin and Bacha settlement in background.

Latest News, Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, March 20th, 2010

This afternoon the Israeli military killed 16-year old Mohammad Qadus from Iraq Burin, a village south of Nablus, with a live round on his heart. A second youth, Asaud Qadus, 19 years old, was critically injured after being shot in the head. Mohammad was trying to carry Asaud to safety when he was hit.

Today, just as every Saturday in the last few weeks, settlers from the settlement of Bracha attacked the village of Iraq Burin. The community of around 600 people has lost over 100 dunum to the settlers who claim more land.

Eyewitnesses report that today the number of settlers and Israeli military was unusually high. At around noon, settlers and soldiers invaded the village.

People stepped out of their homes to defend their village and a struggle ensued. The military took up positions with several jeeps at strategic points and chased the youth in the streets of Iraq Burin.

They shot tear gas, sound grenades and life ammunition randomly at homes and people. Asaud Qadus was shot by live ammunition in the head. Young Mohammad ran to carry the injured youth to safety but was himself targeted in the heart by live ammunition.

Medics and ambulances were prevented from entering the small community. Only after a long time both youth were allowed to be carried out of the village and to a hospital in private cars. Mohammad was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital in Nablus while Asaud is still in critical condition.

Two people were arrested but no further details are known about them yet.

Shoot-to-kill policy

Mohammad was the latest victim shot while protesting since Bassem Abu Rahmah, 31, was killed by a high velocity tear gas canister in Bi’lin last April. His death comes only two weeks after Ehab Barghouti, a 14-year-old boy from Nabi Saleh village near Ramallah was shot in the head with a rubber-coated steel bullet by the Israeli military on 5 March 2010. He is still in critical condition.

Killing children with live ammunition is not an accident, It is a crime. Of the 16 people killed by the Israeli military in connection with anti-Wall protests since 2002, half were under the age of 18.

The pattern of killings related to anti-Wall protests shows that the occupation forces engage in killings cycles: during a wave of killings in 2004/2005 8 were killed, then again between July 2008/ April 2009 6 were killed. This is very likely just the start of yet another wave of killings.

This systematic criminal policy against our people is a war crime and supports the settlers in stealing Palestinian land. Israel will continue with its shoot-to-kill policy against our children and youth until the international community starts to hold it accountable for its crimes.

Source: http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2206.shtml

Israeli Apartheid Week Gaining Ground (VIDEO)

March 4, 2010 By Sarah Leave a Comment

This week marks the Sixth Annual Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) which is taking place across the globe in over 40 cities. Since it was first launched in 2005, IAW has grown to become one of the most important global events in the Palestine solidarity calendar. IAW 2010 takes place following a year of incredible successes for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement on the global level. Lectures, films, and actions will highlight some of theses successes along with the many injustices that continue to make BDS so crucial in the battle to end Israeli Apartheid.

Along with the growing support for IAW, there has also been a large, growing opposition from the “other side”. IAW is largely a campus-based event taking place on college and university campuses around the world. Last year saw the first real backlash in opposition from university officials who made numerous attempts to shut down the week-long events and to demonize the student organizers. This year the opposition movement has grown even further to include members of Parliament and even Toronto School’s Director of Education, who have come out and condemned even the use of the word “apartheid” claiming it incites hatred and anti-semitism.

I think when the opposition becomes so desperate as to you use the crux of anti-semitism to validate their arguments, this is when we know we are on the right side. Unfortunately, in today’s political climate, this term is being used to paint those of us who stand for equality and justice with a broad stroke of the brush. In my opinion, it’s this term (anti-semitism) that is hateful, not the term “apartheid”.

Let’s be clear about something: what is taking place in the Occupied Palestinian Territories today and for the past 60 years is indeed apartheid and anyone who denies this fact is completely delusional or ignorant of what this term really means. Even South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu used the term to describe Israel’s actions, as did Israel’s own Ehud Barak. So let’s take a look at the United Nations’ definition of the crime of apartheid (as stated in 1973, describing the apartheid regime in South Africa) and decide for ourselves whether or not this applies to Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in the occupied territories:

“inhuman acts committed for the purpose of establishing and maintaining domination by one racial group of persons over any other racial group of persons and systematically oppressing them”.

Sounds like Israel’s actions perfectly fit the bill of this definition…

Below is an episode from Al Jazeera’s hard-hitting program “Inside Story” which focuses specifically on Israeli Apartheid Week, the Boycott-Divestment-Sanctions (BDS) movement, and the implications they have for the racist apartheid regime of Israel.

[youtube 7Ac1SnQfOfw Al Jazeera’s Inside Story – Israeli Apartheid Week]

“Killing the Indian in the Child”

February 13, 2010 By Sarah 1 Comment

Last night we attended a REEL Activism event at Bloor St. United Church where we watched a short film and heard a talk/discussion with activist Margaret Sumadh, member of Christian Peacemaker Teams, about the impact of Canadian residential schools on Aboriginal survivors. Being an American-born citizen who only moved to Canada just over one year ago, there’s so much of this country’s history that I’m completely unaware of. I must say, having only recently learned about this dark legacy of Canada’s not-so-distant past, I was shocked, angered, and appalled at what I saw and heard last night; these feelings were multiplied by the fact that in the audience with us were survivors and children of survivors of these awful schools, meant to “kill the Indian in the child.”

The Canadian Indian residential school system, founded in the 19th century, was created for the sole purpose of forcing the assimilation of the Aboriginal (First Nations) peoples into western, “civilized” Canadian society. Basically, this system of schools, which was jointly-controlled by the churches and the federal government, believed that indigenous children needed to be “civilized” in order to assimilate into modern, western, Canadian society. They aimed to achieve this goal by forcibly taking young children (as young as 6 years old) from their homes and placing them in residential schools until they were at least 16 years of age; supposedly, they were to return to their homes during the summers, but many didn’t see their families for years at a time.

The children in these schools were forced to learn English, dress like their Canadian counterparts, and convert to Christianity. They were prohibited from speaking their native languages and subjected to corporal punishment if they spoke anything other than English and French or were caught practicing non-Christian faiths; ultimately leading to the cultural genocide of an entire people. Students were also forced into manual labour in order to maintain the already severely underfunded facilities.

During the 1950’s there were 76 residential schools in all but three provinces in Canada. By 1969, the federal government had taken sole control of the residential school system, and by the 1990’s it was finally revealed that several students were subjected to severe physical, mental, and sexual abuse by teachers and other school officials. The last residential school in Canada was finally closed down in 1996. Several court cases led to monetary payments to survivors from the federal government, and in 2008 the Canadian government issued a formal apology to the survivors, their families, and the entire First Nations community. But was this apology too little too late?

Of course it was! An entire people’s culture, traditions, their very identity was stolen from them, wiped away from their mental history books! That doesn’t even include the hundreds of children who died while enrolled in these schools. When these young children were sent back home after they’d been “civilized” they were like strangers in their own homes. They had been changed into completely different people with no connections to their families, their culture, or their heritage. They had lost all ability to speak their native language, no doubt breaking the communication and traditional knowledge sharing between parents and their children. These residential schools had ultimately broken the very fabric of their society, and purposely so.

Thomas Moore before and after residential school

Tom Torlino before and after residential school

Furthermore, these schools also had grave psychological effects on the Native youth. At these schools, from a very tender age, children were taught that their native culture and identity was inferior and not worth preserving. They were told they were a dirty, uncivilized, backwards people and that in order to function in society they had to denounce everything they knew to be true about themselves and adopt a new, bright, forward-thinking identity, ie: European/Western way of life. Youth ultimately were taught to resent their culture and heritage and to embrace the European outlook, culture and belief system.

Today, Aboriginal people want recognition of what was done to their communities as a result of the residential school system. They have asked for and received official apologies from the Anglican, United, and Catholic churches in Canada, which operated the residential schools. But there is still a long and painful road ahead before the First Nations people receive the reparations and justice they deserve and so badly need. Unfortunately, this information (like much of North America’s dirty past) is not taught in public schools, so it’s completely absent from peoples’ consciousness. Nor is this given anywhere near the amount of necessary media attention it deserves; but then again, what important social and political topics are?

But the truth of the matter is that the issue of genocide of the Aboriginal people is not something that happened in the past and is now over; no, these people are still fighting and will continue to fight for their land rights, their sovereignty, and their natural resources which to this day, are still being stolen, polluted, or in one way or another, colonized for Euro-Canadian imperialistic gains.

To learn more about this untold story of the genocide of the Aboriginal peoples, please visit Hidden From History: The Canadian Holocaust.

Below is the trailer of a full-length award-winning documentary on the planned extermination and genocide of the Aboriginal people by the churches and state in Canada. The film is told through the eyes of survivors of this genocide, and a former minister who tried to hold his church accountable for its crimes. The full-length film can be seen here: Unrepentant.

[youtube j8HB5cbKHDU Unrepentant]

Tomorrow, February 14th in Toronto, we will be marching in the 5th Annual Rally for our Missing Sisters in solidarity with and to commemorate the over 500 Indigenous women who have been murdered or gone missing over the past 30 years. We’re demonstrating against the complicity of the state in the ongoing genocide of Indigenous women and the impunity of state institutions and actors (police, RCMP, coroners’ offices and the courts) that prevents justice for all Indigenous Peoples. Stay tuned for a report and pictures from that event!

Finally, the REEL Activism event that took place last night is a monthly event put on by the church. Next month’s REEL Activism will feature yours truly in a Report back from the Gaza Freedom March in Cairo. The event announcement can be seen here: Gaza Freedom March: A REEL Activism Event. I will be creating and showing a short film about the events that took place in Cairo and give a talk about the political implications of the movement. Stay tuned for more info on that as well!

Obama on Palestine: A Tale of Two Speeches (VIDEO)

January 31, 2010 By Sarah 2 Comments

This is a ~~brief~~ somewhat lengthy synopsis of how Barack Obama handled the issue of Palestine during two speeches he gave last week: The State of the Union address on Jan. 27 and a town-hall meeting in Tampa on Jan. 28.

The State of the Union address

The energy was in the air once again on Wednesday night, as America’s first black president gave yet another historic speech: the State of the Union address, his first one ever (honestly, last year’s doesn’t count; he was barely president for less than a month!). Tensions were high as many Americans were reminded once again of where exactly the country stands in regards to the issues that affect them and their families the most: the economy, health care, ~~one two~~ three full-fledged wars in the middle-east. So I sat down to watch the State of the Union, for the first time on the other side of the border, in Canada. I caught it on the White House’s website, which had a convenient little Facebook app right on the page so users could send out instant updates about their reactions to the speech…I don’t have to tell you that I used that thing to it’s full capacity 🙂

So what was in this oh-so-historic, can’t-be-missed address? Well, aside from the redundant references to the mess that he inherited when getting into office, the wonderful job he’s done in killing more “terrorists” than Bush did in 2008 (his words, not mine), and the fact that he’s not really interested in punishing the banks but more interested in “protecting the economy” (whatever that means), Obama and his two wingmen, Biden and Pelosi, made it very clear that this entire sham of a speech was just one big performance for the masses. If you watched the 70-minute speech, it was very hard to ignore the obviously staged laughter, applause, laughter, applause, applause, applause, laughter…it was like clock-work. Honestly, it felt like everything was one big inside joke for all those in attendance; well, except for the supreme court justices seated right up at the front. They didn’t laugh at or clap for anything; probably because they’re under a lot of heat for their recent decision to overturn a ban on direct corporate spending on campaigns….yep, as of now, corporations officially have the same freedoms afforded to individual persons in that sense. So say hello to the new sponsor of Candidate A’s 2012 election campaign: Lockheed Martin and Candidate B’s election campaign: The Rand Coporation!

All I got from the speech was more wars, America has to be #1 (at what, we don’t really know), and a cruel reminder of all the broken campaign promises made by Obama in the run-up to his election:

Repeal the Patriot Act? Nope
Close Guantanamo? Nope
Post all new legislation online for 5 days before its acted upon? Nope
Pull all soldiers out of Iraq? Note even close.

There’s many more, but I don’t want to ~~bore~~ anger you even more. Now let’s get to the good stuff: Palestine! What did Mr. Commander-in-Chief have to say about the most blatantly neglected issue over this past year? First, let me explain why exactly I’m interested in hearing his input on this issue. Last year when Israel was bombing the hell out of Gaza for over three weeks straight, newly elected president, Barack Obama, surprisingly had NOTHING to say on the matter! Surprising because if any one is going to say something about anything, it’s his eloquent majesty himself. So this was infuriating as is. In his own defence, he claimed that since technically he hadn’t taken office yet, he didn’t feel it was appropriate to make an official statement on the issue so as not to “confuse” the country…uhh yeah, ok?!?!

So Wednesday night was like a movie premier for me, with popcorn and all! He ran through the usual (or expected) suspects: Iran? – check… Haiti? – check… “Terrorists”? – check… even “Don’t ask, don’t tell” – check…. Palestine? ***silence***. Absolutely nothing! Not even a single breath about Palestine, Gaza, or any of the atrocities being committed in the region for not just the past year, but decades and decades. He didn’t even talk about Afghanistan! or even Pakistan! That can only mean one of two things: 1) either he’s afraid to talk about them because of how obviously wrong his policies are in regards to those issues, or 2) he’s failing so badly in all three areas, he deemed it better not to even mention them, hoping the American people would just magically think they don’t exist anymore. And I don’t doubt that a major chunk of the public actually did fall into that group.

So there you have it, Obama’s first and historic State of the Union was just a large farce meant to satiate the appetite of the public by telling them what they wanted to hear, while at the same time sparing them the details of the not-so-honorable actions committed in their name around the world. Cindy Sheehan’s synopsis of the night explains it perfectly:

It’s not the real state of the union–it’s another 75 MINUTE INFO-MERCIAL FOR THE EMPIRE–APPLAUSE–APPLAUSE–APPLAUSE—Nancy wear your lavender–Joe you wear a blue-striped tie and Barry, you wear a red striped tie—pretend that we’re one with the Robbed Class.

The Town-Hall meeting in Tampa, FL

The very next day at the University of Tampa in Florida, Obama and VP Biden hosted a town-hall meeting in which they announced a new recovery act for the building of a nationwide high-speed rail system, meant to “create jobs and transform travel in America.” So you can understand why it was so shocking and unexpected when University of South Florida student, Laila Abdelaziz (who actually volunteered for Obama during his campaign) stood up and asked him a question on the US’ stance on human rights. Obama was most likely expecting questions about job creation or even the health-care bill, but instead what he got was:

Last night you spoke in your State of the Union address you spoke of America’s support for human rights. Then, why have we not condemned Israel and Egypt’s human rights violations against the occupied Palestinian people? And yet we continue supporting them financially with billions of dollars from our tax dollars?

Wow! Excellent question, Laila! I couldn’t even imagine what B.O. would have to say to this. He surely must have had a perfectly pre-planned answer to this that he keeps in his mind’s back pocket for when the need arises, right? Check for yourself:

[youtube DJ3rqAoahAw Obama town hall human rights question]

Let me allow you to digest that a little before getting into this…First of all, did you see how long it took him to finally begin to answer the question? He’s here talking about being courteous and pointing out someone’s Mardi Gras beads??? Are you kidding me? That’s the oldest trick in the book, invented by 6 year olds…Just stall the questioner by diverting his attention away from the issue, so you can collect your thoughts and formulate the perfect lie. I’ve never ever seen him stumble like that before; so much so that I thought it was impossible to catch Barry off his game for even a second. Laila clearly proved me wrong!

Then when he actually starts to answer the question, he comes up with an absurd statement like this:

The Middle East is obviously an issue that has plagued the region for centuries…

What?!? The Middle East is an issue that has plagued the Middle East (the region)? Does this even make sense? And for centuries?!? Does this man even hear what he’s saying? This absolute nonsense is what you get when Barry is kept away from his teleprompter for too long.

He then goes on to provide the same, polished, formulated statement on the US’ unwavering support for “Israel’s security, and helping them secure themselves in what is a really hostile region.”

But the best part is when he “acknowledges” the plight of the Palestinians in his answer. Apparently, the reason that it is important for us to pay attention to the plight of the Palestinians is “…because it is not good for our security, and it is not good for Israel’s security if you’ve got millions of individuals who feel hopeless, who don’t have an opportunity to get an education, or get a job…” That’s why it’s important to pay attention to Palestine! Man, why didn’t I think of that? Here I am thinking we should pay attention to their plight because they are an oppressed, occupied people with no home, no land, no shelter, or a single iota of basic human rights for the past 61 years, at least (not centuries, Mr. President).

Of course he then had to make a half-hearted mention of the “two-state solution” and how he’s working tirelessly on that. FYI: this so-called “solution” is a complete mockery of Palestinians’ rights and freedoms…but that’s a whole other issue.

Now, onto the “compromises” that both sides have to make in order to make this “solution” work:

Palestine: renounce violence AND recognize Israel
Israel: acknowledge…legitimate…grievances…and interests of the Palestinians

Ok sure, I see now. So basically Palestinians (who apparently live in “territories” by the way…see the effective use of language?) have “grievances” which should be filed with their occupier. You know, like when you have an issue at your job, you file a complaint or a grievance! That’s what he has reduced their plight, their human rights concerns, their very existence to: just mere grievances!

How unbelievably grotesque and undermining of an answer! Wait, was that even an answer? Let’s look at Laila’s question one more time: “Then, why have we not condemned Israel and Egypt’s human rights violations against the occupied Palestinian people?”

Oh I get it. It’s because they haven’t filed a “grievance”…