[Stopwar-l] Two events on Palestine / AGM Notice - June 11

[StopWar]

Please mark your calendars: StopWar invites you to attend our 2011 Annual
General Meeting. This year's AGM will be held Saturday, June 11 at the
Maritime Labour Centre (111 Victoria Dr.), from 11am to 4pm. The day will
include to panel discussions -- one on the 2011 uprisings in Egypt,
Tunisia and throughout North Africa and the Middle East, and another on
Canada in Afghanistan and the implications of changes to Canada's
involvement in that military occupation.

Also, please note these two important upcoming events on Palestine,
starting with a rally this Sunday, May 15.

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** Please Forward Widely **

May 15th: Vancouver Rally to Support the Palestinian People

Part of an international day of action

Sunday, May 15 · 1:00pm - 4:00pm
Vancouver Public Library
350 West Georgia Street

On May 15, 1948 David Ben Gurion proclaimed the establishment of the state
of Israel. This is day for the Palestinian people is know as the Nakba and
every year since then, they've been commemorating it hoping that they
would return to their homelands one day.

The Palestinian were forcibly expelled from over 500 Palestinian villages
in a vicious and ugly process of ethnic cleansing. Massacres were
committed, houses and field were burned and water wells were poisoned.

In Vancouver, we will commemorate this day and we will reaffirm the
Palestinian right to return to Palestine UNCONDITIONALLY!!

Join the Palestinian community on May 15, in front of the Vancouver Art
Gallery (Robson Side) at 1:00 PM to remember the victims of the Zionist
aggression against the Palestinian people.

This rally is for all the Arabs who are revolting against their
dictatorships. Please bring as many flags as possible .. Libyan, Bahraini,
Syrian, Yemeni, Iraqi ... and all the other Arabs countries.

Endorsed by:

Afghans for Peace
Boycott Israeli Apartheid Campaign (BIAC) - Vancouver
Canada Palestine Association (CPA) - Vancouver
Canadian Boat to Gaza (CBG) - Vancouver
Jews for Just Peace (JJP) - Vancouver
Palestine Speaks - Vancouver
Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) - UBC
StopWar.ca


For endorsements and questions send an email to vancouver.may15 at gmail.com


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* Please Distribute Widely*

BUILDING SOLIDARITY FROM SOUTH AFRICA TO PALESTINE

A trade union speaking tour with representatives from
• The Palestinian Federation of Unions of University Professors and
Employees (PFUUPE)
• The South African Union of Municipal Workers (SAMWU)


VANCOUVER EVENT:

Sun May 29 at 7 PM
Maritime Labour Centre • 1880 Triumph Street, Vancouver
(Victoria and Triumph, two blocks north of Hastings St.)

Vancouver event sponsors include:
- Vancouver & District Labour Council
- CUPE Local 15
- Independent Jewish Voices BC
- BIAC Vancouver
- Canada-Palestine Support Network
- Canada Palestine Association Vancouver


Sponsors & endorsers of the cross-Canada tour & local events include:
- Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW-STTP)
- Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) – Ontario Division
- CUPE Ontario International Solidarity Committee
- CUPE Toronto District Council
- CUPE Local 2491
- Fédération nationale des enseignants et enseignantes du Québec (FNEEQ)
- London & District Labour Council
- Metropolitan Montréal Central Council, Confédération des syndicats
nationaux
- Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) Local 568
- Teaching Support Staff Union, Social Justice Committee, Simon Fraser
University
- Faculty for Palestine
- Independent Jewish Voices
- London Solidarity Coalition for Palestine
- Not in Our Name: Jewish Voices Opposing Zionism
- Tadamon! Montreal

For more information contact: boycottapartheid at gmail.com, or call
604-779-7430

(See below for more detailed information on events in different cities)


PURPOSE OF THE TOUR:

This speaking tour will be an important opportunity for debate and
discussion on the question of how we as trade unionists can stand in
solidarity with Palestinians.

The tour will ask:
• Why are trade unionists globally comparing the situation in
Palestine with that of South African apartheid?
• What is the situation of Palestinian workers today?
• Why has there been a call by Palestinian trade unions for a campaign
of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) modeled on the solidarity
movement against South African apartheid?
• What is the role of trade union activists in what is happening in
Palestine and South Africa today?

There is a great urgency in building our solidarity with Palestinian
workers. It is important to note that Palestinian trade unions
continue to operate in and confront a daily reality of military
occupation, apartheid walls and neoliberal austerity. In Gaza, 98% of
industrial operations remain idle as a result of Israel’s three-year
blockade, which includes severe restrictions on electricity, heating
oil, natural  gas and construction materials. In the occupied West
Bank, 25% of the population continues to face food insecurity as well
as a complex network of 400-500 military checkpoints, roadblocks,
fences, and other obstacles that separate Palestinian workers from
their workplaces.

The General Union of Palestinian Workers (GUPW), Palestinian General
Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU), and the Palestinian Federation of
Independent Trade Unions (PFITU) have been at the forefront of the
Palestinian movement challenging these multiple violations of
Palestinian workers’ rights.

The “Building Solidarity from Palestine to South Africa” speaking tour
is an important step in consolidating the worker-to-worker solidarity
already established between Palestinian and Canadian and Québécois
trade unionists. Make your union part of this historic step in the
movement for Palestinian human rights by sponsoring this tour!


WAYS YOUR UNION CAN SUPPORT THIS IMPORTANT TOUR:
Sponsor the tour, host the trade unionists, organize members to come
out to the event in your community, donate funds, publicize the tour
or write about it in your newsletter or website.

To Sponsor, Donate or Participate in the Tour Please Contact:
SAtoPalestine at yahoo.com