News Highlights:

• Two Palestinians killed in southern Gaza strip, a 60 year old man and a 29 year old in two separate incidents; four other elderly Palestinians wounded.
• New nine-member Palestinian cabinet is sworn in, with Ahmed Qorei as PM, while Palestinian government also declares state of emergency.
• Syria asks the U.N. Security Council to condemn Israel’s recent airstrike on Syrian soil, but Council adjourns with no vote.
• Palestinian leadership condemns suicide bombing in Haifa, which was carried out by Palestinian female law student whose brother and cousin were killed in Jenin by Israeli death squads.
• The Israeli army is easing its “rules of engagement” near the dividing wall in the West Bank, and troops maybe allowed to shoot anyone without warning within a 50 metre zone.
• 100 San Francisco Jews renounced their right to automatic Israeli citizenship, in protest over Israel’s refusal to recognize the Palestinian right of return.
• The new Palestinian Community Center in Vancouver saw several hundred people come through its doors on Oct. 4 for its opening activities.

Media Literacy:

An examination of a speech by Leonard Asper, of CanWest Global, and a brief look at the impact the late Izzy Asper had on Canadian media, especially vis-à-vis the Middle East issue.

Feature:

An interview with Lynn, a B.C. volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement, who is currently in the West Bank. She spoke about an action being planned later that same day in Jayyous against the apartheid wall, to help Palestinian farmers. She also talked about her experiences at Israeli checkpoints.

Focus on Zionism:

Highlights of a report about the dividing wall from The Independent, entitled “Fenced in Locked Out: a people in the shadow of fortress Israel”. The report talks about one Palestinian man who leaves home at 3:30 am to try and go to work. In addition to the Israeli checkpoints, he now has to deal with the 10 ft. high wall running through the middle of Abu Dis.

News Highlights:

• Palestinians all across the West Bank and Gaza demonstrated on September 28 to mark the 3rd anniversary of the intifada.
• Global protests were also held the same day to condemn the U.S. occupation of Iraq and the Israeli occupation of Palestine – London had the biggest demo and the city’s mayor addressed the rally.
• 5000 rallied in Lebanon to support the Palestinian and Iraqi peoples – Protestors in Seoul, South Korea condemned the U.S. request to send S. Korean troops to Iraq – 2000 people gathered in downtown Vancouver to protest war and occupation in Iraq, Palestine and Afghanistan.
• The dividing wall being built by Israel in the West Bank will now be routed to enclose the settlement of Ariel, cutting deep into Palestinian land. Israeli cabinet minister says an agreement has been reached with the Americans on this issue.
• Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz launches a verbal assault on the 27 Israeli pilots who have refused to carry out any more attacks that hit innocent civilians in the West Bank and Gaza.
• Israel will ask Egypt and Jordan to use their ports, in order to counter a strike by Israeli seaport workers.

Media Literacy:

This week’s Media Literacy segment was devoted to a tribute to the recently deceased Edward Said.

Feature:

Mordecai Briemberg was interviewed about the Israeli peace activist Mordecai Vanunu who continues to languish in an Israeli jail. He spoke about the picket that had been held in Vancouver earlier that evening (Sept 30) to support Vanunu who documented and exposed Israel’s nuclear program. He also explained the conditions of Vanunu’s kidnapping 17 years ago by the Israeli security services and emphasized the significance of his efforts in telling the world about Israel’s weapons of mass destruction. The hypocrisy of Western countries vis-à-vis suspected weapons of mass destruction in Arab or other Third World countries as compared with proven WMD in Israel was also discussed.

Focus on Zionism:

Btselem, the Israeli human rights NGO, said that the new phase of the dividing wall will infringe on the rights of 80,000 Palestinians. They noted that the 3rd phase goes 22 km into the West Bank, past the Green Line, and that the entire width of the West Bank at that point is just 53 km. A UN Human Rights report said the barrier amounted to illegal annexation of Palestinian territory and must be condemned.

News Highlights:

• Palestinian teenager, Mohamed al-Sinawi, suffering from cancer has been held in administrative detention in Etsion prison since Sept. 4.
• A disabled Palestinian teen, Saadi Mansur, died from wounds inflicted last December from Israeli troops in Nablus.
• U.S. vetoes UN Security Council resolution condemning Israel’s decision to “remove” Yasser Arafat; UN General Assembly then passes almost identical resolution.
• Thousands of progressive Israelis demonstrated on Sept. 20 against the policies of Ariel Sharon and called for Israel to withdraw from the Palestinian territories.
• Hamas and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine will not join new Palestinian government of Ahmed Qorei.
• Israel forms new “Immigrant Legion”, composed of snipers who are mainly Russian immigrants that fought in Chechnya.

Feature:

Mable Elmore, a representative of Stopwar.ca and the Canadian Autoworkers Union, was in the studio to talk about Stopwar’s upcoming activities and anti-war organizing within the trade union movement in general. Mable, who is the chair of Stopwar’s Labor Committee, spoke about the march and rally organized to oppose the occupations in Iraq, Palestine and Afghanistan, as part of the international day of action on September 28 that marks the third anniversary of the Palestinian Intifada. She also talked about the forum being organized on Oct. 18th with the theme of Making Links with Middle East Workers. Mable explained how the peace and labor movements were under pressure from local Zionist organizations that were unhappy with their opposition to Israeli occupation.

Focus on Zionism:

Excerpts of a press release from the International Womens Peace Service were read, about the upcoming olive harvest in Palestine. Salfit in the West Bank is particularly hard hit, especially with the construction of the apartheid wall cutting farmers off from their land. Last year, over 200 civilians from around the world helped with the harvest and volunteers are needed this year as well.

News Highlights:

• Palestinian homes demolished in Hebron by Israeli military – 31 children left homeless.
• Israel accelerates the construction of the dividing wall.
• Israel daily, Maariv, reports another assassination attempt on Sheik Ahmed Yassin, Hamas spiritual leader, was aborted due to proximity of Israeli news crews.
• Palestinian Parliament postpones session to approve Ahmed Qorei as Prime Minister due to Israeli threats against Yasser Arafat.
• U.N. Representative says Yasser Arafat is the legitimate leader of the Palestinians and calls for better implementation of the roadmap.
• Arab and international officials rally behind the Palestinian President and condemn Israel’s stated intentions to exile or assassinate Arafat.
• UNRWA hands over 83 new shelters to house 474 Palestinian refugees in Gaza, left homeless by Israeli military operations.
• Jordan’s central bank, following the lead of the U.S., freezes the assets of six Hamas leaders and five Palestinian NGO’s.

Feature:

A cultural and prose tribute to the victims of the Sabra and Shatila massacres in Lebanon in 1982. September 16th marked the 21st anniversary of the horrific massacre of men, women and children in the two Palestinian refugee camps following the Israeli occupation of West Beirut. A statement from the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee from Washington, D.C. as well as an eyewitness report from Dr. Ben Aluf, a Dutch medical worker who was in the camps in September 1982, were presented and were interspersed with Palestinian music about the events.

Focus on Zionism:

Excerpts of a press release from Gush Shalom, an Israeli peace group, were read, highlighting the comments of long-time Israeli peace activist Uri Avnery. Avnery called on all Israelis of conscience to join him as a human shield in preventing “the murder of Arafat”.

News Highlights:

• Extra-judicial assassinations by Israel continue, with 3 more Palestinians killed on Sept. 9 in Hebron including a 13 year-old boy.
• Two attacks inside Israel kill 13 following the weekend assassination attempt on Sheik Yassin, the Hamas’ spiritual leader.
• Ahmed Qorei replaces Mahmoud Abbas as Palestinian Prime Minister.
• Ariel Sharon visits India, amid large protests, reportedly to firm up arms deals.
• A live interview with one of the protesters from the picket against the Israeli Immigration Minister, who was speaking in Vancouver.

Feature:

An interview with Khalid Barakat, president of the Arab Palestine Association about the new Palestine Centre in Vancouver. Khalid explained the year and a half process leading up to the opening of the new centre, and emphasized how important the centre will be for the Palestinian community and the Palestinian support groups. He asked for donations as the centre has no government funding and relies on the community and its supporters, and encouraged people who thought they could help to email [email protected]. Khalid also spoke briefly about the discrimination faced by the Palestinian and Arab-Canadian communities, especially in the last two years.

Focus on Zionism:

Excerpts of an Amnesty International Press Release were read. On September 7, 2003, Amnesty International released a new report entitled “Surviving under Siege – The impact of movement restrictions on the right to work”, detailing how Palestinian civilians now face unemployment and poverty largely due to Israeli closures. The full report can be found at Amnesty International website.