Two events below. --- On Wed, 12/31/08, Khaled Mouammar <benwa...@rogers.com> wrote:
(please forward far and wide) DEMONSTRATE AGAINST THE ISRAELI ASSAULT ON GAZA! *WHEN: 2pm on Saturday January 3rd, 2009 *WHERE: Yonge-Dundas Square, Toronto (buses leave Palestine House 1:15pm sharp) Join in demonstrating against the latest Israeli assault on the people of Gaza. At least 400 Palestinians have been killed and at least 1600 have been injured in the on-going assault on the Gaza Strip that began on Saturday. This is the single largest massacre in Gaza since Israel illegally occupied the area in 1967. The numbers of dead are mounting, especially as the already limited medical supplies are running out due to the brutal siege of Gaza since 2005. While the Western media reports that the raids targeted Hamas 'operatives,' the dead include women, children and men in all areas of life in Gaza. "Operation Cast Lead" has echoes of previous Israeli raids into Gaza that have been characterized by indiscriminate attacks on civilian population centers, mass detentions, violent house demolitions and other forms of collective punishment. Such actions need to be strongly and unconditionally condemned. This attack comes just days after the so-called 'ceasefire' between Hamas and Israel expired. During this alleged ceasefire, Israel continued to impose its brutal siege on Gaza, restricting the flow of aid, medical supplies, fuel and other necessities of life into the territory. For the past two years Gaza has been undergoing the daily violence of a wide-ranging humanitarian catastrophe triggered by severely reduced access to energy, food, and medicines. In effect, Gaza is the world's largest open air prison. The UN and others in the international community condemned the humanitarian disaster created by Israel's siege during the time of this 'ceasefire'. Israel now claims that this operation is in response to Hamas refusing to renew this sham of a ceasefire. Once again, Israel is imposing collective punishment on the people of Gaza for electing a Hamas government. Organizers are particularly angered by the Canadian government's on-going support for the Israeli apartheid regime - including the intensification of bilateral military, political and economic links between Canada and Israel. These latest war crimes occur in the context of official Canadian complicity with and support for Israel's illegal siege and starvation of the civilian population in Gaza. At this moment, we can only reaffirm our commitment in the strongest possible terms to continue mobilizing to respond to the call by over 170 Palestinian civil society organizations for a comprehensive campaign of boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) to end Israeli Apartheid. As H.E. Father Miguel D'Escoto Brockman, President of the United Nations General Assembly state in a recent speech: "More than twenty years ago we in the United Nations took the lead from civil society when we agreed that sanctions were required to provide a nonviolent means of pressuring South Africa to end its violations. Today, perhaps we in the United Nations should consider following the lead of a new generation of civil society, who are calling for a similar non-violent campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions to pressure Israel to end its violations." CONTACT: Palestine House i...@palestinehouse.com Demonstration Organized By: Palestine House Canadian Arab Federation Women in Solidarity with Palestine (WSP) Not In Our Name (NION): Jewish Voices Opposing Zionism Muslim Association of Hamilton International Jewish anti-Zionist Network – Toronto Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid Muslim Unity Toronto Coalition to Stop the War Canadian Druze Society Canadian Syrian Social Club Al Huda Islamic Relief Steel Workers Union Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE Ontario) Educators for Peace and Justice Please send further organizational endorsements to: i...@palestinehouse.com ============================================== IRFAN- Canada, Fundraising for Gaza (Mississauga & London) Dear Brothers & Sisters, The situation in Gaza Strip had turned into a humanitarian crisis. IRFAN- Canada is accepting donations for this cause and will be holding a few fundraising events within Ontario and other different areas across Canada to give a chance to the majority of the communities to participate in the relief of our brothers and sisters in Gaza . The following events are planned to take place during this week inshaa Allah: 1) Mississauga: - Location: Olive Grove School ( 2300 Speakman Dr. , Mississauga , ON L5K 1B4 ) - Speaker: Dr. Munir El-Kassem & Abdalla Idris - Date: Friday, January 2nd, 2009 - Time: 6:30 pm - Admission: FREE - Contacts: IRFAN- Canada Main office @ 905-897-8877 2) London , Ontario: - Location: London Muslim Mosque ( 151 Oxford St. W. London , ON N6H 1S3 ) - Speaker: Dr. Munir El-Kassem - Date: Sunday, January 4th, 2009 - Time: 5pm - Admission: $20 per person - Contact Person: Br. Ali Shahbar @ 519.439.9451 Dontations are also accepted at any of IRFAN-Canada Offices. For more information please visit our website www.irfan.ca and/or contact us. Please forward to your friends and contact. Rasem Abdel-Majid (Abu Basem) General Manager ============ Ways to Donate: 1) By Phone / Fax / Email - Please contact one of our office listed in the following link: http://www.irfan.ca/contact_us_4.html 2) Online - You can donate online by Credit Card through our website, please click the following: http://www.irfan.ca/donate_now_5.html 3) By Mail - Please send us your donation pledge form or Cheque to our main office in Mississauga : Mailing address: P.O. Box 1628 Stn "B" Mississauga , ON L4Y 4G3 Canada ============ Also vigil outside israeli consulate every day this week at 5 pm __________________________________________________________________ Instant Messaging, free SMS, sharing photos and more... Try the new Yahoo! Canada Messenger at http://ca.beta.messenger.yahoo.com/
