Tag Archive for Palestine

Iara Lee: Smuggled Footage exposes Gaza Flotilla Attack

July 16, 2010 David Parker No comments

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Photo: Michael Yeong-ung Yang

CKDU Interviews Iara Lee

Length: 28 minutes

Format: MP3, 128 kbps

Filesize: 28 Megabytes

Israel’s deadly raid on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla killed 9 passengers and left many more wounded in the early hours of May 31st. Over 700 activists aboard the flotilla were held captive for three days following the attack. Israel released a trickle of video footage and photos during that time. Some recordings were later revealed to be misleadingly edited, to prove an allegedly violent ship attacked the Israeli army.

Most of the footage aboard the ship was confiscated by the Israeli Defense Forces. However, one filmmaker managed to smuggle out three tiny SD cards that carried one hour of footage from the Mavi Marmara boat.

Iara Lee, New York based Korean-Brazilian filmmaker, was aboard the ship with her film crew. Since being released and deported from Israel, she has testified in front of the United Nations. Her footage was shared on the internet, and received one million hits over the weekend following the attack. It has helped establish the facts of what happened during the attack, including over 30 shots fired by the Israeli army, some at almost point blank range.

On June 22, CKDU 88.1FM had the chance to catch up with Iara Lee over skype, to discuss her experience of the attack, the purpose of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, and what the next steps are for the international, Palestinian-led movement to end the Gaza Blockade.

To see more of Iara Lee’s work, visit Cultures of Resistance. This interview was originally aired on CKDU 88.1FM in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

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Israeli Refusenik speaks in Halifax

April 6, 2010 David Parker No comments

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Click here to listen: [mp3, 21 MB, Variable kbps]

Amir Locker-Biletzki is a former soldier in the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF). In 2002, he co-founded the ‘Courage to Refuse’ campaign. By refusing to perform his reservist work during the height of the 2nd intifada, he subsequently served jail time, and inspired other to refuse to serve in the IDF, a movement now known as ‘Refuseniks’.

Amir spoke with CKDU before his public presentation in Halifax, on Tuesday, April 6th, at the University of King’s College.

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Goldstone Report condemns Israel of Crimes Against Humanity

November 5, 2009 Moustafa Youssef No comments

White Phosphorus shells fall on a UN school converted into shelter, Jabalya/Gaza, January 2009<br /> Picture: AP

White Phosphorus shells fall on a UN school converted into shelter, Jabalya/Gaza, January 2009
Picture: AP

See Report

“We came to the conclusion on the basis of the facts we found that there was strong evidence to establish that numerous serious violations of international law — both humanitarian law and human rights law — were committed by Israel during the military operations in Gaza. The mission concluded that actions [amounting] to war crimes, and in some respects crimes against humanity, were committed by the Israeli Defense Forces.“ – Judge Richard Goldstone

The United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict was created by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) during the Gaza War to investigate possible Israeli violations of international law against the Palestinian people. The President of the UNHRC appointed Jewish Zionist judge Richard Goldstone, former judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa and former Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, to head the Mission. The report was approved by UNHRC on October 16th 2009.

Israel fully rejected cooperating with the Mission and consequently denied access to witnesses and members of the Palestinian authority in the Occupied West Bank. The report noted that the Mission “…enjoyed the support and cooperation of the Palestinian Authority and of the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations.”

The Gaza authorities reported 1,444 Palestinian casualties (The Israeli government reported 1,114 casualties); a third of whom which were believed to be women and children.

30. …The data provided by non-governmental sources on the percentage of civilians among those killed are generally consistent and raise very serious concerns about the way Israel conducted the military operations in Gaza.
…65. The economy, employment opportunities and family livelihoods were already severely affected by the blockade when the Israeli offensive began. Insufficient supply of fuel for electricity generation had a negative impact on industrial activity, on the operation of hospitals, on water supply to households and on sewage treatment. Import restrictions and the ban on all exports from Gaza affected the industrial sector and agricultural production. Unemployment levels and the percentage of the population living in poverty and deep poverty were rising.

The Israeli government has rejected the report. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that he will not allow Israelis to be prosecuted at the International Criminal Court. The US State Department said the conclusions of the Goldstone report were ‘unfair to Israel’ and will more likely object to the recommendation that Israeli actions be referred to the International Criminal Court.

On Tuesday, the US House of Representatives voted 344 to 36 in favor of a non-binding resolution calling on President Obama and Senator Clinton, “to oppose unequivocally any endorsement or further consideration” of the Goldstone Report, which was found “irredeemably biased”.

The UN General Assembly is expected to discuss the Goldstone report this Wednesday.

Further readings:
So that the Goldstone Report Does not Get Buried at the Security Council
“Israeli War Crimes Were Daily And Too Numerous To Count”

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Israel approves construction of more settlements in West Bank

September 10, 2009 Moustafa Youssef One comment

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has authorized the construction of 455 housing units in the West Bank. This has become the first approved construction project since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to power in March.

It comes despite US pressure to freeze settlement construction. Palestinian authorities have suspended peace talks with Israel until there is a complete freeze of settlement construction in the Occupied Territorities.

Close to half a million Jews live in more than 100 illegal settlements built since Israel’s 1967 occupation of the West Bank and Arab East Jerusalem. The settlements are illegal under a unanimous judgement of the world court, including the US justice system.

Colonization of Palestinian Land since 46

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Netanyahu reacts to organ harvesting charge

August 26, 2009 Moustafa Youssef No comments

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded official condemnation of an article in Sweden’s popular Newspaper Aftonbladet that suggested that Israeli Defence Forces were killing Palestinians they captured in the occupied Palestinian territories to harvest their organs. The article, published Monday, also implied a link between the recent arrest in the US of an American Jew for illicit organ trafficking. Palestinian news agency Ma’an published a report titled, ”Disappearances, Holding Bodies, Organ Theft- Intertwined Crimes” over the weekend backing the same organ harvesting allegations. Many Arab newspapers also publicized the story.

A spokesman from the Israeli interior ministry said it was freezing the issue of entry visas to Swedish journalists. The newspaper commented on its story on Sunday noting that although there is no evidence of any organ theft, the story deserved publication because of the serious issues it raised. The Swedish foreign minister is expected to pay a visit to Israel soon but has already noted that he will not be apologizing for the article.

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Halifax rallies behind Gaza

January 17, 2009 David Parker No comments

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For the full 12 minute audio report, click here.

Citizens around the world are taking to the streets in opposition to the recent Israeli military invasion of Gaza.  Grassroots movements have mobilized people in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America, acting together on co-ordinated international days of action.

In Canada, cities across the country organized their own rallies, marches, and demonstrations, including Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Halifax, and other cities, some demonstrations numbering in the tens of thousands of participants.

Since December 27, 2008, over 1100 Palestinians have been killed and approximately 5000 have been wounded, the majority civilians.

In Halifax last week, rallies on Friday and Saturday drew a combined 300 demonstrators out on the streets, denouncing the on-going occupation of Palestine and the gross escalation of Israeli violence that has drawn the world’s attention.

For many Palestinian Canadians in the crowd, the killing in Gaza hits very close to home. Many members of the crowd had family in Gaza, and were worried for the safety of their loved ones.

This audio report features interviews with local Palestinians, and visiting Israeli Jewish peace activist Jeff Halper.

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