News Highlights:
- U.S. envoy George Mitchell arrives in the region, shortly before an Israeli airstrike on Gaza and border clashes.
- Egypt continues ceasefire negotiations as Hamas calls for a one-year truce with guarantees the siege on Gaza will end.
- The Gaza humanitarian appeal which BBC refused to broadcast, raised over 600,000 pounds before it was even aired on other stations.
- Israeli human rights group Yesh Din calls for the dismissal of the army’s chief rabbi, due to a racist booklet he distributed to troops.
- Israel will give legal protection to its soldiers accused of war crimes.
Feature:
An interview with Israeli peace activist Jeff Halper, who was in Vancouver as part of a cross-Canada tour. Jeff detailed the horrific effects of the recent Israeli military campaign against the Palestinians of Gaza, the war crimes charges that may follow and also spoke about the upcoming Israeli elections. He told us about how successful his tour had been in other parts of Canada and how public opinion seemed to be shifting after Israel’s aggression in Gaza.
Focus on Zionism:
Excerpts of a January 27th, 2009 open letter from Quebec professors and university employees calling for a boycott of Israeli academic institutions.