This week …

News Highlights:

  • Thousands of Palestinians gather in Nabi Saleh to mourn Mustafa Tamimi, who died after being hit in the head by an Israeli tear gas canister fired at close range.
  • Palestinian Israelis protest the “Braver Plan” that will dispossess more than 100,000 Palestinian Bedouins from the Negev and confiscate their land.
  • Israeli officials authorize more illegal settler housing near Bethlehem.
  • Over 20 human rights groups, including Amnesty and Human Rights Watch, state that settler violence against Palestinians increased in 2011, as did the expansion of settler enclaves.

Feature:

A live interview with David Heap from London, Ontario about his experiences as one of the 27 delegates aboard the Freedom Waves flotilla in November of this year that challenged the siege on Gaza. David, a member of the Canadian Boat to Gaza committee, was on the Tahrir both in last July’s attempt to sail from Greece and last month’s sailing with the Irish ship Saoirse. He talked about those experiences, and detailed his encounters with the Israeli navy and prison officials. David also analyzed the positions of the Canadian government and the opposition party, the NDP, and encouraged listeners to keep pressuring politicians to take a balanced stand in favour of international law and human rights.

Focus on Zionism:

Excerpts of a December 12th , 2011 report by Ali Abunimah from the Electronic Intifada about how the Israeli daily Haaretz had pulled its own story about a rally by Israeli Jews in Tel Aviv against African immigrants.

Here is an audio file of this show: