News Highlights:
- Jan. 15th – Israeli soldiers shot dead two Palestinians, a mother and son; meanwhile, settlers in Hebron/AlKhalil riot over plans to evacuate settler squatters from the Palestinian vegetable market.
- Jan. 15th – Israel’s cabinet votes to “allow” Palestinians in Jerusalem to vote, but with conditions on who can campaign and be a candidate.
- Jan. 16th – Israel raids the Jerusalem offices of a Palestinian political party, the Fidah party, and arrests five.
- Jan. 17th – Egypt says it supports efforts to stop nuclear weapons, but calls on the West to stop turning a blind eye to Israel’s nuclear arsenal.
- The Socialist Left Party in Norway will maintain its boycott against Israeli products.
Feature:
A live interview with Ron Saba, editor of the Montreal Planet magazine, about the upcoming Canadian elections and issues affecting the Arab and Moslem communities. Ron had been instrumental in exposing the list of MPs involved in the Canada-Israel Friendship Group, and he talked about his correspondence with one of those, Alexa McDonough, who tried to justify her participation in the parliamentary group. There was also discussion of the role of the Liberal Parliamentarians for Israel, who have influenced Canadian policy at the cabinet level. Ron called on listeners to make MPs accountable for their support of Israeli war crimes and to target them on election day. The Vancouver-based Canada Palestine Association has released a position paper, Canadian Elections 2006, and listeners were directed to their website, www.cpavancouver.org, for more info.
Focus on Zionism:
Part of a Jan 17th, 2006 report from the United Nations Relief and Work Agency UNRWA about how the Israeli separation wall has impacted the health of Palestinian mothers and their children. The wall has made it extremely difficult for expectant and new moms to reach medical clinics for the appropriate health checkups.
Here is an audio file of this show: