Stop Israel's Wars: Boycott Chapters / Indigo

WHEN: 1pm-2:30pm, Saturday, January 17
WHERE: Chapters (Rideau and Sussex).

As the Israeli Occupation passes its 40th year, with increasing brutality and the unflinching support of the Canadian government, it's integral for all Canadians who believe in justice and peace in the Middle East to take a stand. The boycott campaign against Chapters has picked up steam across Canada and has become a regular event in many cities. NION (Not in Our Name - Jewish Voices Opposing Zionism) hopes to renew this as a regular event in Ottawa as well – holding a two-hour boycott every other Saturday outside the Chapters/Indigo on Rideau.

NION and CanPalNet-Ottawa would like to call on all those passionate about peace and justice in Israel/Palestine to join us to picket Chapters/Indigo for the support its majority shareholders give to the Israeli occupation (please see below for more details). Let us join together in solidarity to oppose occupation and apartheid and take a stand for justice, peace and human rights!

WHY BOYCOTT CHAPTERS / INDIGO?

The key reason for this boycott is that Heather Reisman and Gerry Schwartz, the majority shareholders of Chapters/Indigo, started and contribute over $3 million/year to the Heseg Foundation, a charity which supports 'lone soldiers' who come from other countries to fight Israel's wars. On the Heseg board are army and air force chiefs of staff, the former head of Israeli intelligence (Mossad), and Maj. General Doren Almog who has been accused of war crimes by Britain for his role in bombing civilians.

This concern for young mercenaries from around the world is in marked contrast to the lack of support that Heseg gives to the hundreds of Palestinian child prisoners languishing in Israeli military prisons.

For more information about the boycott campaign see:
1) "Why Do We Ask the Indigo CEO to Support Peace, Not War?"
2) http://caiaweb.org/indigoboycott

OPPOSE ISRAEL'S WARS

As a group of Jews who are vehemently opposed to the atrocities being carried out in our name, we urge you to join us in standing in solidarity with our Palestinian brothers and sisters. We urge you to join NION Ottawa in opposing Chapters' support of the occupation through the Heseg Foundation.

Organized by Not In Our Name – Jewish Voices Against Israel's Wars and Canada Palestine Support Network - Ottawa.

Weekend of Protests Against the Attack on Gaza

Stop Israel’s Massacre: Mass Rallies Featuring Jeff Halper, Israeli Peace Activist
WHEN: Rally at 1pm, Sunday January 18, 2009. March at 1:30pm
WHERE: Parliament Hill, Ottawa

Stop Israel’s Massacre: Stop Canadian Complicity
Rally against the Canadian government’s unconditional support for Israel’s wars.
WHEN: Monday 19 January at 12:00pm
WHERE: 125 Sussex, Foreign Affairs Ministry

Featuring Jeff Halper, Co-founder of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions; the only Israeli on the Free Gaza flotilla that broke the Gaza Siege; and a Nobel Peace Prize nominee. For more on Jeff’s work visit: www.icahd.org

Over 1000 people in Gaza have been killed since Israel’s massacre began, including 300 children. Join us this Sunday to demand that the Canadian government call for an immediate halt to Israel's attacks, an end to the siege of Gaza, and the immediate delivery of humanitarian aid!

ORGANIZED BY: The Association of Palestinian Arab Canadians (APAC), Independent Jewish Voices (IJV - Canada) and the Ottawa Palestine Solidarity Network (OPSN).

The ongoing Ottawa demonstrations are supported by: Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA-Carleton), Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR Ottawa), Not In Our Name: Jewish Voices Opposing Zionism (NION), Canadian Peace Alliance, Ottawa Peace Assembly, NOWAR-PAIX, Rassemblement outaouais contre la guerre, the Coalition of Arab Canadian Professionals and Community Associations (CAPCA), and others.

For more information contact: nion.ottawa - at - gmail.com. For ongoing pan-Canadian event listings against Israel’s war on Gaza visit the website of the Canadian Peace Alliance at: http://acp-cpa.ca/en/GazaEvents.html

Stay tuned for upcoming Palestine solidarity events in Ottawa at www.ottawapalestine.blogspot.com.

JEFF HALPER, ISRAELI PEACE ACTIVIST TO TOUR CANADA IN JANUARY: WILL THE NEW YEAR USHER IN PEACE OR APARTHEID?

Israeli Jew. Humanitarian. Journalist. Author. Academic. Human Rights Activist. Nobel Peace Prize nominee Jeff Halper has been on the front lines of organizing for peace in Israel for almost 30 years. He was the only Israeli aboard the Free Gaza flotilla that broke the Gaza siege, Aug. 23, 2008. His first hand account of whether Israel is moving to peace or apartheid will be the subject of a seven city cross-Canada tour that kicks off in Halifax on January 12, 2009.

Halper is known internationally for his work as a co-founder of the Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions and for his passionate commitment to non-violent, political strategies to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Halper will visit Halifax (January 12-13), Montreal (January 14-17), Ottawa (January 18-19), Toronto and Hamilton (January 20-23), Winnipeg (January 24-26) and Vancouver (January 27-29) during his tour, and will speak with student groups, churches, trade unions, grassroots community organizers and Aboriginal activists.

“I can no more passively witness my government’s destruction of another people than I can watch the Occupation destroy the moral fabric of my own country,” Halper wrote in an August 5, 2008 article, as he prepared to sail as part of a delegation aimed at ending the siege of Gaza. “To do so would violate my commitment to human rights, the very essence of prophetic Jewish religion, culture and morals, without which Israel is no longer Jewish but an empty, if powerful, Sparta.”

His tour is sponsored by Independent Jewish Voices (Canada), a network of 18 Jewish groups as well as individuals Jews from across Canada who are opposed to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.

OTTAWA EVENTS

Sun, Jan 18, 7pm, "Israel/Palestine: Towards Peace or Apartheid?"

Marion Hall Auditorium, University of Ottawa, Main Campus,

Mon., Jan. 19, 2pm, "Reframing the Israel/Palestine Conflict" 

Room 256 S. of the Senate in Centre Block of Parliament. $10 fee,

Mon., Jan. 19, 8pm "Palestine: From Apartheid to Warehousing" 

Kailash Mital Theatre (formerly Alumni Theatre), Southam Hall, Carleton University.

Ottawa Contact: Diana Ralph, ijv@magma.ca

For information on the pan-Canadian tour, visit Independent Jewish Voices (Canada).

STOP ISRAEL’S MASSACRE IN GAZA! END THE SIEGE NOW!

WHEN: 1pm, Saturday January 10, 2009

WHERE: Parliament Hill, Ottawa

This Saturday will be the largest international day of protest so far against Isreal's ongoing massacre in Gaza. In addition to Ottawa, protests are already planned for Calgary, Fredericton, Montreal, Saskatoon, Toronto, and Vancouver. As the Israeli ground, air and sea assault continues on the civilian population of Gaza – we need to continue mobilizing against these war crimes. At least 540 Palestinians have been killed and thousands injured in the single largest massacre in Gaza since Israel illegally occupied the area in 1967.

These latest war crimes occur in the context of official Canadian complicity with Israel's illegal siege, bombardment and starvation of the civilian population in Gaza. We must denounce the Canadian government's ongoing and unconditional support of Israel, now more than ever.

Last Saturday, thousands demonstrated across Canada and around the world, including 5,000 in Ottawa in the largest Palestine solidarity demonstrations in decades. This coming Saturday, people across the globe will return to the streets in internationally coordinated demonstrations against the Israeli onslaught.

Join us this Saturday to demand that the Canadian government call for an immediate halt to Israel's attacks, an end to the siege of Gaza, and the immediate delivery of humanitarian aid!

ORGANIZED BY: The Association of Palestinian Arab Canadians (APAC), Independent Jewish Voices (IJV - Canada) and the Ottawa Palestine Solidarity Network (OPSN).

SUPPORTED BY: Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA-Carleton), Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR Ottawa), Not In Our Name: Jewish Voices Opposing Zionism (NION), NOWAR-PAIX, Rassemblement outaouais contre la guerre, and the Ottawa Peace Assembly.

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Ottawa and Pan-Canadian demonstrations supported by: Independent Jewish Voices (IJV), the Association of Palestinian Arab Canadians (APAC), the Ottawa Palestine Solidarity Network, Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA-Carleton), Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR Ottawa), Not In Our Name: Jewish Voices Opposing Zionism (NION), Canadian Peace Alliance, Ottawa Peace Assembly, NOWAR-PAIX, Rassemblement outaouais contre la guerre,

the Coalition of Arab Canadian Professionals and Community Associations (CAPCA), Palestine House, the Canadian Arab Federation, Women in Solidarity with Palestine (WSP), the Muslim Association of Hamilton, the International Jewish anti-Zionist Network - Toronto, the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid, Students Against Israeli Apartheid (Toronto), Yosher – Jewish Social Justice Network, Canadian Druze Society, Canadian Syrian Cultural Club, Al Huda, Islamic Relief, Union Steel Workers, Canadian Union of Public Employee (Ontario), Canadian Union of Postal Workers, the Toronto Coalition to Stop the War, Educators for Peace and Justice, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, Adala – Arab Justice Committee, Al-Awda - Vancouver, Boycott Israeli Apartheid Campaign, Canadian Shia Muslims Organization, Near East Cultural and Educational Foundation, Canadian Arab Federation – National, Canada Palestine Association - Vancouver, Canadians Against War, Canadian Islamic Congress BC, Canadian Muslim Union, Canpalnet, Canadian Forum for Justice and Peace in Sri Lanka, Code Pink Women for Peace (BC chapter), Indigenous Action Movement, Jews for a Just Peace - Vancouver, Steel Workers – Toronto Area Council, No One Is Illegal-Vancouver, Palestinian Islamic League – Canada, Salaam -Vancouver, Siraat Collective, Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights – University of British Columbia, Saskatoon Peace Coalition, Fredericton Peace Coalition, StopWar Coalition, Somali Canadian Diaspora Alliance, Bayan – Canada, Bengali Student Association, McMaster Muslims for Peace and Justice, Arab Students Association at Ryerson University, Worker to Worker Canada Cuba Solidarity Network, Muslim Canadian Federation – Vancouver, Students for a Democratic Society (UBC), Science for Peace, The Organizing Centre for Social and Economic Justice, Vancouver Socialist Forum, Canada-Palestine Support Network (Winnipeg), Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) and Tadamon! Montreal.

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Please send further organizational endorsements to: nion.ottawa - at - gmail.com

For updated pan-Canadian event listings visit the website of the Canadian Peace Alliance at: http://acp-cpa.ca/en/GazaEvents.html

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Ottawa Palestine Solidarity Network (OPSN)

The OPSN is Ottawa's city-wide coalition of unions, faith groups, students, and community organizations, uniting to demand peace and justice in the middle east and an end to Canadian complicity in humanitarian abuses.

My Name is Rachel Corrie: Controversial Play makes debut in Canada's Capital

'The scariest thing for non-Jewish Americans in talking about Palestinian self-determination is the fear of being or sounding anti-Semitic.' - Rachel Corrie

Vision Theatre presents to the Ottawa stage for the first time a play which has become a hot-topic debate in regards to opposing views about the Israeli Occupation of Palestinian land.

My Name is Rachel Corrie premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in London, England during the spring of 2005, to sell-out houses and rave reviews. Despite the success and accolades, theatres in New York, Florida and Toronto cancelled productions or declined to produce it after publicly announcing their intentions to do so.

My Name is Rachel Corrie is a play without a playwright, edited from he emails and journals of Rachel Corrie, a young peace activist. An American who went to aid Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, Rachel died at the age of 23, killed by an Israeli bulldozer while attempting to stop the demolition of a Palestinian home. Following her journey from a young girl with big ideas in Olympia, Washington, to joining a group of international peace activists in Rafah, to her untimely
death it is a deeply moving personal testimony that exposes us to the inner thoughts of a young woman driven by boundless curiosity and a keen sense of justice. Rachel's writings are woven together by the actor Alan Rickman and Guardian journalist Katherine Viner to share with us her perspective on the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis, and her observations of the people caught in this political conflict. It's scary. It's beautiful. It's controversial. This timely
and powerful piece of theatre is sure to inspire discussion and debate. Come and see it for yourself...

My Name is Rachel Corrie, taken from the writings of Rachel Corrie and edited by Alan Rickman and Katherine Viner, features Sarah McVie as Rachel Corrie and is directed by Paul Griffin. Set & Lighting Designer is Lynn Cox, Sound Designer is Jon Carter and Stage Manager is Natalie Giselle.

My Name is Rachel Corrie runs September 10 - 20, 2008 at the Arts Court Theatre at 8pm. No performances on Sundays & Mondays. Tickets are $25 for Adults and $20 for Students & Seniors at the Arts Court Box Office, 613-564-7240.

Special panels organized by Independent Jewish Voices in association with Vision Theatre will take place following the performance on September 10, 11, 16, 17.

'Here is a play where the real dialogue begins when the curtain comes down. MY NAME IS RACHEL CORRIE is theater that not only stirs our hearts but sticks in our heads.' - Newsweek

www.visiontheatre.ca

Post Performance Panels organized by
Independent Jewish Voices
in association with Vision Theatre

September 10
'Those who dare to put themselves on the line for justice in Palestine'
(Colin Stuart, Ehab Lotayuf, Maxime Brunet)

September 11
'Conditions on the ground in the Occupied Territories'
(Bill Skidmore, Samah Sabawi, Corey Balsam)

September 16
'Jews woriking for justice in solidarity with Palestinians'
(Arthur Milner, Diana Ralph)

September 17
'Working for Peace: What you can do'
(Ben Saifer, Marjorie Robertson, Bahija Reghai)

Canadian Complicity Undermining Peace in the Middle East

Canada has become one of the strongest supporters of Israel's violations of international law, with Prime Minister Harper infamously calling extensive bombing of Lebanese civilians in 2006 a “measured response”. The minority Conservative government made Canada the first in the world to cut off funding to the democratically elected government of Palestine in 2006. The Harper government has also taken an unbalanced approach to the Middle East with its unquestioning support of Israeli militarism at key United Nations votes.

In addition, the Harper government has been a key supporter of Israeli and US sabre-rattling against Iran. This, despite the fact that Iran is not pursuing nuclear weapons, and the US and Israel already possess such weapons and have repeatedly threatened to attack Iran.

Israel @ 60: No Time to Celebrate

In 2008 Israel is celebrating the 60^th anniversary of its “founding” in 1948. Palestinians and allies around the world are saying this is NO TIME TO CELEBRATE!

Palestinian Civil Society organizations issued a statement in March 2008 calling on civil society around the world to Boycott the “Israel at 60” Celebrations, and to instead focus on the Sixty Years of Dispossession and Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine.

In May 2008, Israel celebrated the birth of a Jewish state but disavowed any responsibility for the destruction of the Palestinian homeland and the forced displacement and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, what Palestinians call the Nakba, or Catastrophe. More than half of the indigenous Palestinian population living in Palestine (an estimated 1.3 million people) was displaced by Zionist militias and the State of Israel between the end of 1947 and early 1949.

According to the Palestinian Appeal to International Civil Society:

"Israel at 60 is a state that continues to deny Palestinian refugees their UN-sanctioned right to return to their homes and receive compensation, simply because they are “non-Jews”. It still illegally occupies Palestinian and other Arab lands, in violation of numerous UN resolutions. It persists in its blatant denial of fundamental Palestinian human rights, in contravention of international humanitarian law and human rights conventions. It still subjects its own Palestinian citizens to a system of institutionalized discrimination, strongly reminiscent of the defunct apartheid regime in South Africa. And Israel gets away with all this, thanks to the unprecedented immunity granted to it by the unlimited and munificent US and European economic, diplomatic, political, and academic support."