Welcome to the first web-based Voice of Palestine. This week features a live interview from Gaza City with Dr. Haidar Eid. Haidar is a professor at al Aqsa University and a longtime activist for Palestinian rights.

Here is an audio file of this show or stream it from our YouTube channel:

Following is the announcement that was sent out for our final show on Coop Radio. And the show (as you can hear on the download) went as scheduled. Ms. Abdu gave us a moving update about the status of Palestinian political prisoners, including her own husband, and then many of our volunteers dropped by the studio to talk about how the show started, the important role it had played and their own personal memories.

Voice of Palestine will mark its 25th anniversary this coming Tuesday night Sept. 4th, 2012 between 8:00-9:00 pm (PDT). This will also be our final show on Coop Radio 102.7FM before we move on to become an internet only show. We will have Janan Abdu a Palestinian activist and researcher as our guest who is attending the CIVICUS World Assembly in Montreal; we will talk with Janan about this World Assembly, her participation in it, an update on the Palestinian political prisoners and the case of her husband Ameer Makhoul.
In the second part of the show, we will talk with the members and volunteers who over the past twenty five years have made Voice of Palestine a reality. Join us to hear about their memories, comments and impressions of the show.

Since we issued our statement Voice of Palestine Exits Coop Radio after 25 Years – Plans for Internet-Only Show , we received tremendous financial support from our supporters that will guarantee our transition to our new format. We wish to thank all those who sent their generous contributions for our web-based “Voice of Palestine”.

We have been broadcasting weekly on Vancouver Cooperative Radio (CFRO) 102.7 FM, Vancouver, Canada. The show has been on the air since Sept. 1, 1987 and broadcasts for one hour every Tuesday night night 8 to 9 pm PDT (Wednesday morning 6:00-7:00am Palestine time). Our last show can be listened to live on the Internet.

Background materials on our statement:
Radio places itself on the wrong side of history
Let’s Reclaim Our Radio!
Support for Palestine is Support for BDS

Here is an audio file of this show:

News Highlights:

• International Solidarity Movement ISM issues a statement criticizing the Israeli judge’s verdict in the Rachel Corrie lawsuit brought by her family.
• The weekly anti-wall protest in Kufr Qaddoum on August 24th, 2012 commemorates the memory of Rachel Corrie killed by an Israeli military bulldozer while protecting Palestinian families from home demolition.
• Israeli settlers continue their increased attacks against Palestinian civilians, injuring a 65-year-old man, as part of their “price tag” campaign where Palestinian civilians are targeted anytime the Israeli government does something against the illegal settler outposts.

Feature:

A live interview with Huweida Arraf from Ramallah, Palestine about the verdict that had just been handed down in the Rachel Corrie lawsuit. Huweida, a cofounder of ISM and chair of Free Gaza, said that she had not been surprised by the verdict since the Israeli justice system is fundamentally flawed, but she was taken aback by the bluntness of the Israeli judge who openly blamed the victim for her own murder and characterized ISM (who Rachel worked with) as a “pro-terrorist” group. Huweida noted that these allegations were baseless and told us how difficult the verdict had been for Rachel’s family, although they were staying strong and may appeal the ruling. Huweida also detailed the reaction of the international media to the verdict and discussed the lack of reaction by the U.S. government. She concluded by calling on people to continue to support the Palestinian people, and in particular ISM and the boycott Israel BDS movement.

Here is an audio file of this show:

News Highlights:

• One of a group of Israeli teens who participated in brutally lynching a Palestinian man said “let him die, he’s an Arab”, according to Israeli media.
• Israeli settlers set fire to a Palestinian home near Nablus, and other settlers firebomb a Palestinian car near Bethlehem, seriously injuring five people including two young children who suffered first degree burns.
• Palestinians flying to Egypt for the Eid holiday will not be allowed to enter, due to the closing of the Gaza Rafah crossing.

  The end of the news section concluded with a statement from the VOP collective about the exit from Coop Radio after 25 years on the air (see homepage).

Feature:

A special cultural tribute to the legendary Egyptian team of Ahmad Fouad Nigm and Sheik Imam, who produced some of the most revolutionary and bold music throughout the Arab world. Ahmad Fouad Nigm was a poet and activist and Sheik Imam, a blind singer with a unique gravelly voice, put the lyrics to song. We presented translations of two of Nigm’s poems, one entitled “Song for VietNam” and the other aptly known as “Sheik Imam”, as well as five songs in Arabic, one of them done by a new generation of Egyptian musicians for whom the music is still highly relevant.

Focus on Zionism:

Highlights of an August 20th, 2012 report from the IMEMC news agency about attempts by Israeli settlers to grab more Palestinian land, probably to create another illegal settler outpost.

Here is an audio file of this show:

News Highlights:

• One Palestinian protester is critically wounded and many more suffer tear gas inhalation in 5 anti-wall protests across the occupied West Bank, as Israeli troops use rubber coated steel bullets and fire tear gas canisters directly at people’s heads.
• Israeli human rights group Btselem calls on Israeli military police to reopen the investigation into the killing of a Palestinian mother and daughter during the Israeli invasion “Cast Lead”.
• S. African deputy minister of Int’l. Relations says South Africa discourages its citizens from visiting Israel, after a delegation of mayors recently cancel a trip to Israel

Feature:

The feature was a cultural tribute to the late Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, who passed away 4 years ago this month. There was a discussion about the importance of Darwish’s work in both Palestinian society and the broader Arab context, as well as his influence on Arab musicians, many of whom have set his poems to music. We presented two of his poems, first in English translation and then a musical version in Arabic, “Identity Card” written in 1964 and then “Ahmad Zaatar”, done after the siege and destruction of the Tel al Zaatar refugee camp in Beirut in 1976 by Lebanese right-wing militias aided in part by Israeli and Syrian forces.

Focus on Zionism:

Highlights of an August 13th, 2012 report from the Israeli daily Haaretz about the appeal by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel of cases involving Israeli police actions in occupied East Jerusalem.

Here is an audio file of this show:

News Highlights:

• Israeli PM Netanyahu claims he will release 50 Palestinian political prisoners detained prior to Oslo if the Palestinian Authority scraps its UN bid for recognition.
• 4 Palestinian detainees are still on hunger strike as their health continues to deteriorate, according to several human rights groups, who also note that the hunger strikers are being mistreated by Israeli prison officials.
• Israeli forces are detaining locals and confiscating agricultural equipment in 8 Palestinian villages slated for demolition.

Feature:

A live interview with two members of the Three Little Birds singing group that recently came under attack from the Zionist lobby for performing their song “Apartheid” on CTV Ottawa. Amelia and Angela explained how they became interested in Palestinian rights and what prompted them to write the song, and then detailed their spot on CTV and the Zionist attacks that quickly followed. There was discussion of their thoughtful response to the allegations of the pro-Israel lobby group (dis)”Honest Reporting”, and they encouraged listeners to check out their facebook page and download the song, as well as continue speaking out on the issues.

Focus on Zionism:

Highlights of a August 6th, 2012 IMEMC report, quoting the Israeli daily Haaretz, about new regulations introduced by the Israeli justice minister that will limit the ability of Palestinians in the occupied territories to file lawsuits in Israeli courts.

Here is an audio file of this show:

News Highlights:

• Israel allocates 70 times more water to each settler than to the average Palestinian in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Water Authority.
• Palestinian officials state the Israeli government is responsible for shooting dead a 46-year-old Palestinian at a military checkpoint.
• Israel’s High Court orders the Israeli state to find a solution for residents of a Palestinian village threatened with demolition.

Feature:

A live interview in the studio with local independent filmmaker Jase Tanner about his recent trip to Gaza as part of the Vancouver2Gaza delegation. Jase talked about his experiences in Gaza and detailed the video he had already produced about the Gazan fishermen and also the videos he was still working on to be released soon. Jase, who is a member of the Canadian Boat to Gaza, talked about their latest project as well, Gaza Ark, and encouraged people to donate at the website www.gazaark.org

Focus on Zionism:

Highlights of a July 31, 2012 press release from Jewish Voice for Peace, condemning the recent comments by Mitt Romney that claimed the Palestinian economy was not doing as well as Israel’s because of “cultural differences” with no acknowledgement of the restrictions imposed by the Israeli occupation.

Here is an audio file of this show: