News Highlights:

• Israeli forces raid Bilin village, again this time arresting Mohammad Khatib of the Popular Committee Against the Wall, who was recently on a cross-Canada tour.
• A new draft Israeli land reform bill will discriminate against Palestinian Israelis, according to human rights group Adalah.
• Bethlehem hosts Fateh conference, against the backdrop of serious divisions within Fateh itself and within Palestinian society.
• European Union and others condemn Israel’s expulsion of two Palestinian families from their East Jerusalem homes in Sheik Jarrah.

Feature:

Joanna Zilsel joined us live in the studio to talk about her recent trip to Gaza as part of a CodePink delegation earlier this year. Joanna, who is from Jewish background, detailed the experiences of the delegation in Gaza visiting women’s centres and hospitals, as well as her own personal feelings and the warm reception she received from Gazans. She encouraged people to become more informed and do whatever they can to help support the Palestinian people.

Focus on Zionism:

Excerpts of an August 2nd, 2009 report from the UN news agency IRIN, about the raw sewage being pumped directly into the sea off Gaza’s shores, due to the lack of spare parts to repair the sewage infrastructure because of the siege.

Here is an audio file of this show:

News Highlights:

• Palestinian teenager is being held on multiple administrative detention orders by Israeli authorities, without charge or trial.
• Palestinian families in occupied East Jerusalem are resisting home demolitions.
• Charity bingo hall in California is funnelling money to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
• Israel is registering as “state property” land in the occupied West Bank that has emerged due to Dead Sea shrinkage; Israeli group Peace Now says this is “de facto expropriation”.

Feature:

Heather Macdonald was live in the studio to talk about the efforts of local interfaith groups to sponsor Palestinian refugee families stranded on the Iraq Syrian border. These families are part of the almost half a million people displaced by the U.S.-led aggression on Iraq, but because they are stateless, they are now stranded in horrific conditions in camps in Northern Syria. The Canadian government refuses to offer official sponsorship of these families, so private NGOs across Canada are trying to assist them, and five families will hopefully be brought to the Vancouver area.(See Canadian Council for Refugees: www.ccrweb.ca)

Focus on Zionism:

Highlights of a July 20th, 2009 InterPress Service report about villages in the Bethlehem district fighting for survival due to the encroachment of expanding Israeli settlements.

Here is an audio file of this show:

News Highlights:

• Israeli settlers burn 1200 dunums of Palestinian farmland in a series of extremist attacks in the occupied West Bank.
• Heidelberg Cement, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of building materials, has become the target of legal action due to its involvement in illegal mining in the occupied West Bank.
• Israeli bulldozers continue home demolitions in occupied East Jerusalem, as part of an Israeli policy to change demographics.
• UK revokes five export licences for equipment to the Israeli navy, due to Israeli military actions in Gaza earlier this year.

Feature:

Linda Todd Ghraib was live in the studio to talk about her recent trip to Gaza as part of a CodePink delegation bringing humanitarian supplies. Linda, a local single mom, explained how she got involved and encouraged other people to do the same. She detailed the group’s journey through the Rafah crossing, and into Gaza, where they were met enthusiastically by Palestinians there. She also told us about the destruction she witnessed, how people are still not able to rebuild due to the siege, and the situation in local hospitals she visited. (See www.freegaza.org or www.codepinkalert.org )

Focus on Zionism:

Highlights of a July 10th, 2009 report from The Independent about how new Israeli regulations are making it increasingly difficult for Palestinians in Gaza to go to the West Bank, even in pressing humanitarian cases.

Here is an audio file of this show:

News Highlights:

• The “Spirit of Humanity” crew and passengers are finally released and deported by Israeli authorities, after the boat was rammed and captured as it reached Gazan waters.
• European Union rebukes Israeli settlement building in the occupied West Bank.
• Palestinian Christians are organizing marches to mark the 2004 decision of the Hague against the Israeli separation wall.
• 100 Americans arrive in Egypt and head to Rafah with medical supplies for Gaza.

Feature:

A live interview with Adam Shapiro, one of the passengers from the Free Gaza ship hijacked last week by the Israeli navy. Adam, an American documentary filmmaker and human rights activist, was also one of the cofounders of the International Solidarity Movement. He detailed how the Israeli military boarded their ship, roughed him up because he was filming, and then arrested all of the 21 internationals on board. Adam spent almost a week in Israeli prisons, as did many of the others, and had just been deported back to the U.S. He called on listeners to do whatever they could to support the Palestinian people and the Free Gaza movement (http://www.freegaza.org)

Focus on Zionism:

Excerpts of a Live from Palestine report on July 5th, 2009 describing the killing of several Palestinian civilians by Israeli army fire on July 2nd in central Gaza.

Here is an audio file of this show:

News Highlights:

• Israeli forces attack and board the latest Free Gaza boat trying to bring supplies to Palestinians, abducting 21 human rights workers from 11 countries.
• Israel has approved construction of 50 new settlement housing units and also announces a plan to expropriate a further 54 sq. miles of Palestinian land in the West Bank.
• Massive raids by the Israeli military in Bilin are aimed at intimidating the villagers from pursuing their court case against Israeli settlement companies in Canada.
• More than 700 doctors worldwide are calling for the head of the Israeli Medical Association to step down as president of the World Medical Association, due to his alleged complicity in the use of torture in Israeli jails.

Feature:

A live interview from Cyprus with Greta Berlin, an organizer with the Free Gaza movement that is trying to break the siege on Gaza by sending ships with humanitarian supplies. Greta gave us an update on the situation of the latest boat that had just been hijacked by Israeli naval forces and all of its passengers, including former UN Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, arrested. She explained how the Israeli action was illegal as the ship was in international waters and is aimed at trying to deflect attention from the collective punishment being imposed on the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza. Greta concluded by calling on listeners to support their efforts by all means possible, including with financial donations, and to stay updated by going to their website: www.freegaza.org

Focus on Zionism:

Excerpts of an open letter to the B.C. Minister of Education about her recent arbitrary decision to remove a question about the dispossession of the Palestinians from the provincial practice exam, which was the result of pressure from pro-Israel lobby groups.

Here is an audio file of this show: