Ameer Makhoul, Electronic Intifada, 21 June 2010

Photo Banksy painting on Israel apartheid wall.

Ameer Makhoul is a human rights defender, the director of the Arab nongovernmental organization network Ittijah, a leading voice of the Palestinian boycott, divestment and sanctions movement and a Palestinian citizen of Israel. He has been in Israeli detention since he was arrested from his family home in Haifa in the early morning hours of 6 May. Initially his arrest could not be reported under an Israeli gag order, and he was not allowed to see his lawyers for almost two weeks. Eventually charged with “espionage,” local and international human rights organizations have condemned Israel’s actions against him as politically-motivated persecution intended to crack down on organizing by Palestinian citizens within Israel and international solidarity. On the very day Makhoul was arrested, The Electronic Intifada published an article it had received from him days earlier, titled, “Israel’s repression of its Palestinian citizens unites us in struggle.” He wrote the following letter from Israeli detention on 30 May 2010:

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Robert Fisk Al Jazeera lundi 31 mai 2010.

Photo: ActiveStills Palestiniens à pied dans les montagnes.

Ce qui compte pour le pouvoir et les médias, ce n’est pas seulement d’avoir des relations étroites entre les journalistes et les dirigeants politiques, entre les éditeurs et les présidents. Ce ne sont pas seulement les relations parasitaires osmotiques entre des reporters supposés honnêtes et le réseau des pouvoirs qui s’étend entre la Maison-Blanche et le Département d’Etat et le Pentagone, entre Downing Street et le Foreign Office et le ministère de la Défense. Dans le contexte occidental, pour le pouvoir et les médias, ce qui compte, ce sont les mots – et l’usage des mots.

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oppose Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s visit May 31st Tadamon! statement

Photo: Palestinian students in Gaza sit beside names of fellow students killed during the Israeli bombardment during Operation Cast Lead in winter 08/09.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is planning to visit Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Ottawa on May 31st. The visit will be another step towards strengthening Canada’s support for Israeli apartheid, war crimes, and Israel’s long history of contempt for international law. Middle East solidarity collective Tadamon therefore calls upon all supporters of human rights and social justice to join us in protesting at 5pm May 31st in front of the Human Rights Monument in Ottawa against Benjamin Netanyahu’s presence in Canada.

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Elvis Costello statement May 2010.

Photo: Israeli apartheid wall winds through Palestinians lands.

It is after considerable contemplation that I have lately arrived at the decision that I must withdraw from the two performances scheduled in Israel on the 30th of June and the 1st of July.

One lives in hope that music is more than mere noise, filling up idle time, whether intending to elate or lament.

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Haaretz by Danna Harman and Amira Hass, May 18 2010.

Photo Door on stairway in Palestine.

Noam Chomsky has decided not to try to travel through the Allenby Bridge border crossing a second time. Instead, he will hold his scheduled lecture at Birzeit University by video conference from Amman. The lecture will also be broadcast live on Al Jazeera television.

Despite reports in the Israeli media that Israel would allow Chomsky to cross, the linguist discovered yesterday that there was no official guarantee of this. He told his hosts at Birzeit he felt the Israeli authorities were playing games. His daughter and friends, who are traveling with him, also said they prefer not to tire the 81-year-old with another fruitless journey.

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Eva Bartlett, Electronic Intifada, 14 May 2010

Photo: Strings on an oud highlighted by decorations on instrument.

Gaza City, occupied Gaza Strip – “Why are you rushing? Isn’t it nicer like this?” Mohammed Omer, oud (an oud is similar to a lute) teacher at the Gaza Music School, asks his student. Omer takes the oud and demonstrates, playing the song slowly, gracefully, with the ornamentations that are key to Arab music.

Mohammed Abu Suffiya, the 10-year-old student, has only been studying for six months but has already learned to read music and play a working rendition of a well-known song by Lebanese singer Fairouz.

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Commémoration du 62e anniversaire de la Nakba

Dimanche 16 mai 2010, midi à 16h
Parc Lafontaine
avenues Lafontaine et Rachel Est
à proximité du coin nord-ouest du parc
métro Mont-Royal ou Sherbrooke

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une sélection de documentaires au sujet de la Nakba et de ses conséquences.

Évocations de la Nakba (1948)
Deux séances de cinéma: 11-12 mai 2010
Cinéma du Parc – cinemaduparc.com
3575 av. du Parc

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Mai 2010. Lettre ouverte à Margaret Atwood de la part du collectif Tadamon! et Art Threat

Chère Madame Margaret Atwood,

Aujourd’hui, alors que les droits humains des palestiniens sont violés systématiquement et continuellement par le gouvernement israélien, nous vous lançons un appel au nom du collectif montréalais Tadamon! et Art Threat concernant votre visite prévue à Tel-Aviv.

Nous avons appris que le Prix Dan David vous a été offert par l’Université de Tel-Aviv pour votre travail littéraire exceptionnel. Tout d’abord, nous voulons reconnaître ouvertement votre travail exemplaire, non seulement pour l’excellence littéraire, mais aussi pour le message humaniste qu’il dépeint. Au-delà de la littérature, votre plaidoyer sincère pour la justice sociale, allant de la lutte pour la libération des femmes à la protection de l’environnement, a fait de vous un modèle international respecté et admiré de tous et toutes.

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photos from Artists Against Apartheid XII by Heri Rakotomalala.

Photo: Heri Rakotomalala. Performance by Palestinian poet Rafeef Ziadah.

Celebrated artists from Toronto and Montreal took the stage at the twelfth edition of Artists Against Apartheid at La Sala Rossa, performing socially conscious poetry and music for a packed room. Throughout the past years Artists Against Apartheid has grown in Montreal into a dynamic concert series, regularly attracting hundreds of people and featuring a diverse array of celebrated artists.

Artists Against Apartheid XII was the Montreal launch for Palestinian poet Rafeef Ziadah’s debut release Hadeel, a powerful album rooted in poetic reflections on the Palestinian struggle for liberation.

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