News Highlights:
- Palestinian lawyers that helped draft the Palestinian constitution accuse Mahmoud Abbas of overstepping his powers in appointing his emergency government.
- Dr. Mustafa Bargouthi says Israel is endangering the lives of 6000 Palestinians trapped at the Rafah crossing.
- UN report criticizes Israel’s separation wall for totally separating East Jerusalem from the West Bank and says half of the planned route is already constructed.
- Britain’s Transport and General Workers Union joins the growing list of British unions supporting the move to boycott Israel.
- Arab League delegation will meet in Israel on July 12th for the first time ever.
Feature:
Two special guests were in the studio, Maryem Tollar and Ehab Lotayef, who were just wrapping up a tour of B.C. Maryem is an Arab-Canadian singer and musician and Ehab is a poet and activist. They talked about their performances at three different venues around the province and how positive the response had been. Maryem, who sings both in Arabic and English, as well as playing the kanoon or Arabic table harp, explained why she started singing songs for peace and justice in Palestine and the Middle East and the collaboration with Ehab, whose poems often became the lyrics for her music. Ehab also told us about his trips to Iraq and Palestine and how they had impacted his views and his poetry.
Focus on Zionism:
Highlights of a July 9th, 2007 press release from the Trade Union Friends of Palestine, detailing how the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, representing all unions in Ireland, had just passed two motions critical of Israel and called for a wide range of measures including boycott and divestment to oppose Israel’s oppressive policies.
Here is an audio file of this show: