Refugees

Israel is pounding Gaza again. Why don’t the Palestinians in Gaza just give up? G&M columnist Eric Reguly was there in May. His column gives a hint.

Neither Hamas nor Islamic Jihad can match the strength of the Israeli military. In the last 2 days, Israel has killed over 40 Palestinian civilians and injured scores more. There are no reports of any Israeli casualties. So why do those movements keep on fighting and why do they still have any support in Gaza? Globe and Mail columnist Eric Reguly visited Gaza recently and reported on a generation that sees little hope for the future. Until they are allowed out they see little option but to resist. Read more.

(more…)

“Stuck under the Nakba tree”: barred from Palestine but unable to find comfort in Canada

Dr. Mowafa Said Househ was born in Edmonton to a family of Palestinian refugees. In an intimate and sometimes painful autobiography, Househ paints a portrait of an unhappy Muslim family finding it difficult to fit into a sometimes indifferent, sometimes racist Canadian society. Today, he has a Ph.D. and a part-time position at the University of Victoria. But despite what most people would call “success”, he has returned to live in the gulf region. Why can’t he find happiness in Canada? Read his book and find out…

(more…)

The “nakba” uprooted the lives of 750,000 people – we talk to ten of them

For many Palestinians, the key is the only tangible remnant they have of the homes they were driven out of in 1947/48 by Zionists making a new “Jewish” state. Expelling the non-Jews from Palestine was the key to creating a Jewish majority. Many of those Palestinians are now dead. But the ones who still live, and their children and grandchildren have not forgotten… Read more…

(more…)

This month the UN General Assembly will be condemning Israel – again – on the issue of Palestinian rights. Why?

un-partition-1947On November 29th, 1947, exactly 74 years ago, the UN took a dramatic decision to “partition” historic Palestine into a “Jewish State” and an “Arab State”. What do you know about that decision and Canada’s role in it? First, try our test. Then register for the Ottawa Forum on Israel/Palestine webinar on  December 7th: “Why is the UN so critical of Israel?“with UN Special Rapporteur Michael Lynk. Read more… (more…)