This week …

News Highlights:

  • Israeli military attack in residential area in central Gaza on March 7th kills 14 Palestinians, four of them children, and wounds more than 80 others.
  • Israeli minister says raids into Gaza will continue as Israeli army shoots dead another Palestinian teenager on March 8th.
  • Two anti-wall protestors shot on March 8th as Israeli High Court considers petition against route of apartheid wall submitted by Palestinian villagers and Israeli settlers.
  • Palestinian leader Mohammed Abul Abbas dies while in American custody in Iraq; U.S. officials will not say if he was “under interrogation”; the arrest of Abbas 11 months ago violated the immunity agreements signed in the 1990s.
  • Israeli Palestinian workers marked with red paint on their helmets to distinguish them for security guards.

Feature:

An interview with Harsha, from No One is Illegal, about the recent deportation of an Algerian refugee in Montreal. Harsha explained that Mohammed Cherfi had been a leader in the refugee community in Montreal and had been snatched from sanctuary in a Quebec City church. She also talked about the situation of the over 100 Palestinian refugees in Montreal facing imminent deportation.

Focus on Zionism:

Excerpts of an article in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz regarding the comments of Israeli deputy defense minister Ze’ev Boim about whether or not Palestinians and Moslems have a “genetic defect”. He was both criticized and supported by various members of the Knesset, but Likud MK Rabbi Melchoir said the statements were racist and “likened them to claims of genetic flaws linked to Jews by the Nazis and others throughout history”.