News Highlights:
- The news section was devoted mostly to the Israeli raid on the Free Gaza flotilla, the international condemnation and global protests, including one just concluded on the streets of Vancouver that highlighted local outrage not only at the Israeli attack but also the response of the Canadian government.
- UN Security Council calls for an “impartial investigation” into Israel’s assault on the civilian flotilla that killed at least 9 human rights activists; the U.S. government had succeeded in watering down the original resolution presented by other countries.
- The first deportees from the flotilla return home to Greece, Turkey and Germany, with accounts of beatings and confiscation of all private property by Israeli forces.
- Egypt temporarily opens its border with Gaza at Rafah.
- University and College Union in Britain pass new resolutions supporting the boycott Israel movement.
Feature:
We were unable to connect with Greta Berlin, a cofounder of the Free Gaza movement, to talk about the situation with the flotilla activists being held by Israeli forces. Instead, we presented an interview taped the day before by Chris Cook of Gorilla Radio with Jon Elmer, Canadian freelance journalist, currently in Bethlehem. Jon spoke about the misinformation the Israeli government was putting out and also was very critical of the Canadian government position towards the Israeli raid. He also updated us on the reaction of the Palestinians in the occupied territories to this latest Israeli assault on civilians.
Focus on Zionism:
Excerpts of a statement by Vancouver East MP Libby Davies condemning the Israeli raid, calling on the Canadian government to condemn the action and also highlighting that the siege on Gaza must end.
Here is an audio file of this show: