[antiwar-van] Jan 10 - 3rd Vancouver Rally to End the Siege on Gaza and Protest Israeli War Crimes!

[Harsha]

3rd VANCOUVER RALLY TO END THE SIEGE ON GAZA & PROTEST ISRAELI WAR CRIMES !

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Saturday Jan 10 @ 1 pm
Vancouver Art Gallery
For info email vancouver.gazaprotest at gmail.com
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Nearly 1000 people have came out in the midst of snowstorms on Monday Dec
29th and January 3rd to show our solidarity with the people of Gaza. With
the ground invasion starting this week and a growing number of fatalities,
our ongoing support for the people of Palestine - along with millions of
other people of conscience worldwide - is critical.

Demonstrations across Canada this weekend were held in Winnipeg, Ottawa,
Calgary, Edmonton, Windsor, London, Hamilton, as well as Montreal and
Toronto where 10,000 people gathered in each city. With further actions
being planned globally, please come out for a 3rd rally (rain, snow or
shine!) to demonstrate your outrage and our collective humanity in
response to the latest massacre of Palestinians.


==> TAKE ACTION!!!

The latest crisis is the single largest massacre in Gaza since Israel
illegally occupied Gaza in 1967, many among the dead are civilians and
children and the numbers keeps mounting. Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud
Barak, has stated that, "the operation will last as long as necessary".
Israel's latest massacre in Gaza occurs with official US and Canadian
complicity towards Israel’s illegal siege and ongoing sanctions over the
civilian population in Gaza. Over the past two years the Gaza Strip has
been undergoing the daily violence of a wide-ranging humanitarian
catastrophe triggered by severely reduced access to energy, food, and
medicines.

1) Email the prime minister, foreign affairs minister, and leaders of the
opposition. Visit:
http://www.cjpme.ca/action_gaza_2008_12.shtml

2) Respond to biased media coverage. Visit
http://letgazabeheard.wordpress.com to send sample emails to the BBC, CNN,
and Fox News regarding their biased coverage and use those template
letters to send to Canadian media outlets.


==> ENDORSING ORGANIZATIONS

Adala - Arab Justice Committee
Al-Awda - Vancouver
Boycott Israeli Apartheid Campaign
Canadian Arab Federation - National
Canada Palestine Association - Vancouver
Canadians Against War
Canadian Islamic Congress BC
Canadian Muslim Union
Canpalnet
Code Pink Women for Peace (local chapter)
Independent Jewish Voices (Canada)
Indigenous Action Movement
Jews for a Just Peace - Vancouver
No One Is Illegal-Vancouver
Palestinian Islamic League - Canada
Salaam -Vancouver
Siraat Collective
Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights - University of British Columbia
StopWar Coalition
Muslim Canadian Federation - Vancouver
Students for a Democratic Society (UBC)
The Organizing Centre for Social and Economic Justice
Vancouver Socialist Forum
Voice of Palestine - Vancouver


==> REPORTS ON DEC 29 AND JAN 3 RALLIES

1) DEC 29: Approximately 250 in Vancouver Protest Israeli Massacres in Gaza

Article (including 34 photos) from Dec 29th protest:
http://www.straight.com/article-177783/protesters-rally-vancouver-against-israel%3F%3Fs-gaza-attacks

Mainstream news from the Province:
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=7832a374-dc9e-4079-9b83-eaa9eff2ae8e

Video from Dec 29th protest:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TATYHJiLOL4

Press TV coverage of Dec 29th:
mms://217.218.67.244/presstv/20081230/OUTPUT_10-03-00-FTP-ZAHRA-VANCOUVER.wmv


2) JAN 3: Approximately 800 in Vancouver Protest Israeli Massacres in Gaza

Amidst a heavy snow storm and some of the coldest weather in Vancouver
yet, approximately 800 residents of Vancouver gathered to express their
outrage at the latest Israeli massacre in Gaza.  Protesters gathered at
the Vancouver Art Gallery and then marched along Vancouver's busy shopping
district along Robson Street, including a stop at Chapters-Indigo
bookstore whose majority shareholders financially support the Israeli
military. Just as the protest was beginning, those gathered received news
that Israel had begun a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip. Speakers during
the protest included Palestinians, Anti-Zionist Jews, indigenous elders,
trade unionists, leaders within the BC Muslim community, community
organizers, and students; all of whom condemned Israel's latest massacre,
Israel's ongoing illegal occupation of Palestine, and the US and Canadian
government's unconditional support of Israel including the siege and
sanctions regime against Gaza. Chants during the march included "Hey Gaza
don't you cry, Palestine will never die", "Palestine will be free, from
the river to the sea", "Occupation is a crime, from BC to Palestine",
"Viva Viva Intifada", "Fight the Power, turn the Tide, End Israeli
Apartheid", "Hey Hey Israel, Palestine will not kneel" and "Free Free
Palestine". The rally ended with tens of young people throwing their shoes
at photo caricatures of US President George Bush, Canadian Prime Minister
Stephen Harper, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Israeli Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert, and Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barack. It was also
announced that $3500 was raised to go to Gaza directly via the Takkaful
Project.

* Video footage:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g3IufhAun4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywYGQE0iNnc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hckXAqb1jpU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w43MG9Li0OI&feature=channel


==> FAQ ABOUT CURRENT SITUATION IN GAZA

1) Did Israel end its occupation of the Gaza Strip in 2005?

No. Despite withdrawing its illegal settlements and army bases from the
Gaza Strip in 2005 it remained the occupying force according to
international law.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Territory, Prof.
John Dugard, stated in 2008: “The test for determining whether a territory
is occupied under international law is effective control, and not the
permanent physical presence of the occupying Power’s military forces in
the territory in question. Judged by this test it is clear that Israel
remains the occupying Power as technological developments have made it
possible for Israel to assert control over the people of Gaza without a
permanent military presence.”


2) Did Hamas violate the ceasefire as Israel claims?

No. This is an Israeli myth. Hamas respected their side of the ceasefire,
except on those occasions early on when Israel carried out major
offensives against the civilian population in the West Bank. In the last
two months, the Israeli military broke the ceasefire and killed 17
Palestinians.

Furthermore, Israel did not live up to any of its obligations under the
terms of the ceasefire. This included ending the siege and allowing vital
humanitarian aid to resume in Gaza. Rather than the average of 450 trucks
per day being allowed across the border, on the best days only eighty have
been allowed in; with the border remaining hermetically sealed 70% of the
time. Throughout the supposed cease-fire; Gazans have been forced to live
like animals, with a total of 262 dying due to the inaccessibility of
proper medical care. Now after hundreds dead and counting, it is Israel
who refuses to re-enter talks over a cease-fire. They are not intent on
securing peace as they claim; it is more and more clear that they are
seeking regime change – whatever the cost.


3) Isn’t Israel acting in self-defence?

No. Israel has the most powerful military in the Middle East and is the
largest recipient of US military aid in the world. In contrast,
Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have lived under military
occupation since 1967 and lack any effective military capabilities.

According to United Nations statistics, from September 2000 to April 2008,
the Israeli military killed 2677 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. In the
same period, 11 Israelis were killed by Palestinian home-made rockets. In
November 2008 (the last month of the cease-fire), at least 14 Palestinians
were killed by Israeli military. Not a single Israeli was killed. Over the
last week, the Israeli military has killed over 400 Palestinians and
nearly 2000 are critically injured. Five Israelis have been killed. These
figures make it clear who is really under attack.

But in order to really understand the disastrous situation in the Gaza
Strip we need to look beyond the fatality statistics and understand that
Israel’s targeting of Palestinian civilians has a long history: For over
19 months, Israel has placed the Gaza Strip under complete siege. Food,
medical supplies, fuel and other necessities of life have not been allowed
into the area. Nearly half of the population in Gaza does not have enough
food to meet its basic needs. A total of 262 Palestinians have died
because Israel’s siege prevented them from receiving proper medical
attention. The reality is clear: over 1.5 million Gazans effectively live
in an open-air prison and are now being bombarded by the most powerful
military force in the Middle East. To claim that Israel is acting in
self-defence is simply to engage in blaming the victim and to obscure
where the real culpability lies.


4) Are Israel’s actions in compliance with international law?

No. Israeli indiscriminate bombardment of the Gaza Strip constitutes a
grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention to which Israel is a
signatory. The places that Israel has targeted include schools, mosques, a
university that provides education to over 20,000 students, private homes,
densely populated refugee camps, police stations, the Ministry of
Education, Ministry of Justice, the Palestine Legislative Council. All of
these are clearly not military installations, and targeting them is
considered a breach of the Geneva Conventions.

Professor Richard Falk, an authority on international law and the current
UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Territory issued a
statement accusing Israel of massive and severe violations of
international law, including collective punishment, targeting civilians
and disproportionate military response. In addition to the destruction
visited on the Gaza Strip. Israel is also blocking aid and supplies from
arriving to the Gaza Strip, leaving the Palestinians in the Strip on the
brink of famine, and the already impoverished hospitals with little
ability to provide heath services.

5) What can people in Canada do?

First, we need to understand that peace is impossible without justice.
Palestinians must be allowed to live free of occupation and those driven
from their homes and lands in 1948 must be allowed to return. These are
basic human rights and the essential preconditions for peace.

The renowned legal scholar and UN Special Rapporteur for the Occupied
Territories, Richard Falk, recently wrote “I call on all Member States [of
the UN], as well as officials and every relevant organ of the United
Nations system, to move on an emergency basis not only to condemn Israel’s
serious violations, but to develop new approaches to providing real
protection for the Palestinian people.”

The Canadian government is doing precisely the opposite. The Canadian
government has not condemned Israel’s clear violation of international law
and war crimes in the Gaza Strip, which is consistent with their
longstanding policy of unconditional support for Israel. There are
historical precedents. In the struggle against South African Apartheid,
the Canadian government placed sanctions on the South African apartheid
regime until it complied with international law. Likewise, the Canadian
government can do the same today and people in Canada must demand that
this happen.


6) What does the UN say?

The overwhelming majority of the international community has strongly
condemned the recent Israeli attacks on Palestinians in Gaza. In
particular, the United Nations, has strongly condemned the attacks on a
besieged population in Gaza.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay expressed her grave
concern and distress at the enormous loss of life in the escalating
violence in Gaza. She called on Israel’s leaders to uphold
International humanitarian law principles, especially those relating to
proportionality in the use of military force and the prevention of
collective punishment and the targeting of civilians. She also called on
Israel to lift the air, sea and ground blockade it is imposing on the 1.5
million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip, and to allow humanitarian
assistance and independent outside monitoring.

Richard Falk, United Nations special rapporteur for human rights in the
Occupied Territories:

“The Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip represent severe and massive
violations of international humanitarian law as defined in the Geneva
Conventions, both in regard to the obligations of an Occupying Power and
in the requirements of the laws of war.”

“I note that Israel’s escalating military assaults have not made Israeli
civilians safer; to the contrary, the one Israeli killed today after the
upsurge of Israeli violence is the first in over a year. Israel has also
ignored recent Hamas diplomatic initiatives to re-establish the truce or
ceasefire since its expiration on December 26.”

“The Israeli airstrikes today, and the catastrophic human toll that they
caused, challenge those countries that have been and remain complicit,
either directly or indirectly, in Israel’s violations of international
law. That complicity includes those countries knowingly providing the
military equipment including warplanes and missiles used in these illegal
attacks, as well as those countries who have supported and participated in
the siege of Gaza that itself has caused a humanitarian catastrophe.”

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs; UN Humanitarian Chief:

John Holmes, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian
Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator expressed shock at the living
conditions in the Gaza Strip and deplored the current restrictions on the
flow of humanitarian aid and commercial goods in and out of the area.

“I have been shocked by the grim and miserable things that I have seen and
heard today, which are the result of current restrictions and the
limitations on the number of goods that are being allowed into Gaza.”


7) What are some talking points to counter the media incorrect information?

Gaza is the world's largest open-air prison. 1.5 million residents are
packed into an area 45 km long x 10 km wide, while Israel controls Gaza's
air space and borders. Over 80% of the population are refugees denied
their legal Right to Return to the homes and lands from which they were
expelled in 1948. Israel also illegally restricts Palestinian freedom of
movement into and out of Gaza. For example, in August 2008, Israel denied
three Gazan Fulbright Scholars their basic right to education by having
their American entry visas revoked.

Gaza has been under complete siege since June 2007, during which time the
1.5 million people of Gaza have been cut off from sufficient fuel, food,
and medicine. Two weeks ago, the UN reported that Gazans were living
without power for up to 16 hours each day; half of Gaza's population was
receiving water only once a week for a few hours; 80% of the water in Gaza
did not meet World Health Organization standards for drinking; the
unemployment rate had risen to almost 50%; only 23 of 3,900 industrial
enterprises were operational; more than 79% were living below the poverty
line; more than 56% were food insecure; and patients with chronic
illnesses such as cancer or diabetes could not be adequately treated or
cared for. (See:
http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/ocha_opt_gaza_situation_report_2008_12_17_english.pdf)

Since 2001, fewer than twenty Israelis have been killed by Qassam rockets.
In three days, nearly 400 Gazans have been killed by Israeli state
violence. This is a ratio of 20 Gazan lives for each Israeli life, with
the death toll in Gaza certain to increase. In January 2008, UN Special
Rapporteur John Dugard stated, "a distinction must be drawn between acts
of mindless terror, such as acts committed by Al Qaeda, and acts committed
in the course of a war of national liberation against colonialism,
apartheid or military occupation. While such acts cannot be justified,
they must be understood as being a painful but inevitable consequence of
colonialism, apartheid or occupation." Israeli and Palestinian violence
can in no way be viewed as symmetrical -- individual Palestinians have
chosen to resist their occupiers with largely ineffective home-made
rockets, while the Israeli state, which boasts the fourth most powerful
military in the world, has responded by collectively punishing the captive
population that it illegally occupies. Under the Fourth Geneva Convention,
collective punishment is a war crime. As the occupier, the burden is on
Israel to end its state violence.

Israel is an apartheid state. Canada must sever diplomatic ties with
Israel and implement sanctions against it until Israel complies with
international law. UN General Assembly President Father Miguel D'Escoto
Brockmann recently called for a campaign of Boycott, Divestment, and
Sanctions against Israel, similar to the one that ended apartheid in South
Africa.


9) WHERE CAN I FIND MORE INFORMATION?

* Live from Palestine diaries
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/diaries.shtml

* The Gaza Crisis Talking Points by Phyllis Bennis
http://www.zmag.org/zspace/commentaries/3727

* Democracy Now interviews:
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/12/29/israeli_attacks_kill_over_310_in

* Gaza: Colonial Violence and Flawed Justifications
http://www.tadamon.ca/post/2373

* If Hamas Did Not Exist: Israel Has No Intention of Granting a
Palestinian State by Jennifer Lowenstein
http://www.counterpunch.org/loewenstein01012009.html

* Gaza: the logic of colonial power in The Guardian
http://tinyurl.com/8sp9bf

* Israeli Slaughter, International Culpability
http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/20075

* Gaza massacres must spur us to action by Ali Abunimah:
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10055.shtml

* Israel's Wanton Aggression On Gaza
http://countercurrents.org/lendman291208.htm

* Current Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza:
http://www.freegaza.ps/english/index.php?scid=100&id=555&extra=news&type=55