News Highlights:

• Abdallah Abu Rahmah, leader of non-violent protests in the Palestinian village of Bilin, has been sentenced to one year imprisonment by an Israeli military court.
• The European Union urges Israel to guarantee the equality of all its citizens, especially the Palestinian Israelis; meanwhile, Israeli artists protest against the new Israeli bill that would require only non-Jewish citizens to pledge allegiance to an exclusive Jewish state.
• The Canadian government abandons its bid to gain a seat on the UN Security Council, after the second ballot shows it would lose the vote.

Feature:

Another in our series of Eyewitness Palestine reports, this one highlighting the solidarity efforts of two families, one American and the other Israeli. The first report was the family of Rachel Corrie and detailed what is happening in their lawsuit currently being heard in an Israeli court for the unlawful killing of their daughter. The latest development has been the decision of the court to allow the Israeli soldiers involved in Rachel’s killng to testify behind a screen. The second report was from two brothers Yonatan and Itamar Shapira, one a former Israeli airforce captain and the other a former solider in an elite army unit, who were both passengers on the Jewish aid boat to Gaza. They told their story about how brutally they were treated by the Israeli navy units that boarded and hijacked the ship.

Focus on Zionism:

Highlights of a report about 12 Palestinian teenagers injured by Israeli forces while trying to eke out a living collecting old gravel and concrete near the border, as UN agencies and the Israeli human rights group Btselem call for an investigation into Israel’s self-imposed “buffer zone”.

Here is an audio file of this show:

News Highlights:

• Israeli army steps up raids and arrests in the Palestinian village of Nilin, as the villagers continue their struggle against the apartheid wall.
• Israeli settlers break into and set on fire a mosque in Beit Fajjar, near Bethlehem.
• Two Israeli soldiers are convicted of using an 11-year-old Palestinian boy as a human shield, in one of the few investigations by the Israeli military of its human rights violations.

Feature:

A live interview with Ken O’Keefe, a Mavi Marmara survivor, currently speaking in several cities across North America. Ken is a former U.S. Marine turned peace and justice activist and he detailed his experiences with the U.S. army and the aggressions on Iraq. He also talked about his experiences on board the Gaza aid flotilla that was attacked by Israeli naval commandoes at the end of May and the findings of the UN Human Rights Council investigation team.

Focus on Zionism:

Excerpts of a report about how the U. of Johannesburg has voted to sever their relationship with an Israeli university unless certain conditions are met, including no collaboration in activities that have direct or indirect military implications.

Here is an audio file of this show:

News Highlights:

• Jewish and Israeli activists report that Israeli soldiers used excessive force while taking over their Gaza-bound aid ship, contrary to the official Israeli government version.
• Settlement building is stepped up the day after the partial Israeli moratorium expires.
• Land and Research Centre reports that Israeli settlement construction did not fully stop during the “freeze”, with some 1520 settlement housing units built or under construction.
• Canadian judge slams the federal government for banning George Galloway from visiting the country.

Feature:

Highlights of a speech by Professor Michael Keefer at a public meeting in Vancouver on September 23rd, 2010, where he addressed the subject covered in his new book, Antisemitism: Real and Imagined. Keefer detailed the process initiated by the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism, a politically motivated group of MPs who are trying to expand the definition of anti-Semitism to include criticism of Israel. Prof. Keefer’s book includes submissions to the CPCCA by many concerned people in Canada, who see this coalition as simply another mechanism to protect Israel and deflect criticism of Israeli government policies.

Focus on Zionism:

Excerpts of a September 25th, 2010 report from Palestinemonitor.org about the recently-released UN report on the Israeli raid on the Mavi Marmara aid ship to Gaza.

Here is an audio file of this show:

News Highlights:

• September 17th – 2 demonstrators are wounded and dozens suffer tear gas inhalation at the hands of Israeli soldiers during the weekly anti-wall protest in Nilin.
• At least 13,000 housing units set for construction in illegal West Bank settlements, according to Israeli Peace Now group.
• Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs cancels a tour of Israeli leaders after learning that it includes mayor of illegal settlements.
• U.S. will supply Israel with bunker buster bombs, as well as other advanced weaponry, according to Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak currently visiting Washington.

Feature:

An interview with famed Israeli journalist Gideon Levy from the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. Levy talked about his early days as a journalist, his criticisms of Israeli policies, as well as his new book entitled “The Punishment of Gaza”. Details of his cross Canada tour were presented, which will take him from Montreal to Vancouver, and there was also discussion of attacks on him by the pro-Israel lobby, both in Britain and North America.

Focus on Zionism:

Highlights of a September 21st, 2010 Maan news article about the growing list of American personalities endorsing the boycott launched by Israeli actors against performing in an illegal settlement, Ariel.

Here is an audio file of this show:

News Highlights:

• Israeli army admits it killed 3 Gazan civilians, including a 91-year-old farmer, although initially it claimed the victims were “terrorists”.
• Israeli human rights group Btselem publishes new report that Israeli soldiers who kill Palestinian civilians are rarely punished.
• Israeli settlers vow to keep building, as the second round of “direct talks” continue in Egypt.
• Peace Now group says at least 13,000 settler housing units in the occupied West Bank are set for construction.

Feature:

The feature marked two very tragic anniversaries for the Palestinian people, the 40th anniversary of the Black September aggression against the Palestinians in Jordan and the 28th anniversary of the Sabra and Shatila massacres in Beirut. The panel discussed the similarities between the two horrific attacks on the Palestinian people, both carried out by Arab collaborationists with Israeli and U.S. complicity, and both with high Palestinian civilian casualties and betrayal/broken promises by U.S. officials. The feature concluded with a statement by Robert Fisk in his own voice when he re-visited Sabra and Shatila in 2009, eyewitness reports and poetry and music by Palestinian artists.

Focus on Zionism:

A short précis of the Btselem report entitled “Void of Responsibility: Israel Military Policy not to investigate Killings of Palestinians by Soldiers”, released September 14, 2010.

Here is an audio file of this show: