News Highlights:
- Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians march in the funeral of Sheik Ahmed Yassin, the wheel-chair-bound founder of Hamas who was assassinated by Israel.
- Four more Palestinians killed in Gaza by Israeli forces the same day as the funeral, including a 12 year old child.
- U.N. Security Council convening to discuss response to Yassin’s assassination (U.S. later vetoes resolution).
- Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham sends mixed message – says Canada recognizes Israel’s “right to defend itself” and “has designated Hamas as terrorist”, but he condemns the extra-judicial killing of Sheik Yassin.
- Israeli peace group, Gush Shalom, says Ariel Sharon poses a grave danger to Palestinians and Israelies alike; Uri Avnery, one of their leaders, says – “This is worse than a crime; it is an act of stupidity”.
- On March 20, millions around the world protest on the first anniversary of the U.S.-led war on Iraq
Fifteen thousand gather in Vancouver to protest war and occupation in Iraq, Palestine and Afghanistan, with Noam Chomsky as the featured speaker.
Feature:
A live interview with Sabine Friesinger, from Concordia University in Quebec, about the repression against student activists and a recent film that has been made, “Discordia”. Sabine talked about the situation on campus since the protest against Benjamin Netanyahu a few years ago and how the Zionist organizations were attempting to influence elections for student council. She also commented on the film “Discordia”, which she said focused solely on students’ personal lives and was void of any political context. Accordingly, she felt the film was not useful in any aspect. A short interview then followed with Aaron Mate, also from Concordia, who stated that although he agreed with some of Sabine’s criticisms of “Discordia”, he felt the film was worth viewing and encouraged people to go and see the Vancouver showings.
Focus on Zionism:
Highlights of an article from the Israeli newspaper Haaretz about a ban on Israeli reporters entering Gaza after Sheik Yassin’s assassination. The Israeli High Court upheld the military ban, at least for the time being, and the Foreign Press Association strongly condemned it.
Here is an audio file (choppy quality) of this show: