Please join us to hear Ehab Lotayef give his firsthand account of the Freedom Waves to Gaza which took place in November, when Irish and Canadian boats tried to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza.

A poet and activist from Montreal, Lotayef was on board the Canadian boat, the Tahrir, when it was seized by the Israeli navy in international waters.  Freedom Waves is part of an ongoing global solidarity movement challenging the blockade of Gaza and working for the freedom for Palestine.

Introduction by Libby Davies

• When: Saturday Feb 18th 7pm
• Where: Alice McKay room
  Vancouver Public Library
  350 West Georgia

*admission free *

Organized by the Vancouver Committee of the Canadian Boat to Gaza

Local endorsers: *ADALA- the Canadian Arab Justice Committee, Alex Atamanenko, Boycott Israeli Apartheid Committee, Building Bridges, Canadian Palestine Association, CanPalNet, Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights, Stopwar, The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), Unitarian Church – Social Justice Committee, Vancouver District Labour Council, Westcoast Sheen, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, World Peace Forum 

Resisting the Occupation One Olive at a Time

• Monday February 20, 2012 7:00 p.m.
• Simon Fraser University, Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings St. 
• Room 2245 (McCarthy Tetrault Room)
• Seating is limited. Donations Appreciated.

Speaker: John Soos, PhD

In Solidarity,
Rachel Abbott
Vancouver District Labour Council
cope378

Bob Rosen worked tirelessly for social justice, including years of struggle for peace and justice in Palestine and Israel. He was a dear friend to many of us involved in that struggle.

Join Fraser Union, Solidarity Notes and the Gram Partisans for an evening of music for social change!

In support of Bob's favourite causes: CoDevelopment Canada and Independent Jewish Voices

• Saturday, March 10, 2012
• Doors at 7:30pm, music at 8:00pm
• St James Community Square: 3214 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver
• $20 general admission; $15 student/senior/un-waged; Kids under 12 free

To purchase tickets: 

• Call: 604-708-1495 x112
• Email: neilnaiman@gmail.com or codev@codev.org
  
• Online via brownpapertickets.com - search "A Concert for Bob Rosen"

Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) is a national human rights organization whose mandate is to promote a just resolution to the dispute in Israel and Palestine through the application of international law and respect for the human rights of all parties. CoDevelopment Canada (CoDev) is a B.C.-based NGO that works for social change and global education in the Americas. 

Bob was a treasured member of the CanPalNet working group. We remember him lovingly and miss him deeply.

http://friendsofbobrosen.wordpress.com/2011/11/25/friends/
November 25, 2011 

ROSEN, Robert (Bob) Louis

June 26th, 1947-November 22nd 2011

Celebration of Life:
We will celebrate Bob's life on Saturday, January 21st 2012 at 7:30pm at the Peretz Centre, 6184 Ash St., Vancouver.

It is with deep sorrow that we share the loss of our husband, father, brother, and friend. Bob passed away peacefully at home, leaving his loving wife Eva Sharell, beloved son Michael Gabriel Rosen (Tracey), brother Stanley (Rita), nephew Daniel (Jess and Evan), Janine and Brianna.

When a group of Conservative, Liberal and NDP MPs formed the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism in 2009, they decided to work outside of the normal structures of Parliament and raise their own money to hold a conference and conduct an inquiry. But transparency would be crucial, they said, pledging on their website to “voluntarily disclose all sources of funding” and remain independent of the Conservative government, advocacy groups and “Jewish community organizations.” By the time they released their report this month, however—warning that anti-Semitism is on the rise in Canada—that vow of full disclosure seemed to be forgotten, and the coalition appeared closely tied to the government.

Read full article...

1.    Strategy:

On May 17th, 2011, Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority wrote in the New York Times advising that “this September (2011), at the United Nations General Assembly, we will request international recognition of the State of Palestine on the 1967 Border and that our State be admitted as a full member of the United Nations”.

Thus Abbas proposes a two point strategy:

1. Request recognition of the State of Palestine on the 1967 borders.
2. The State to be admitted as a full time member of the United Nations.

Will this strategy hurt or help the Palestinians in their struggle for equality and basic human rights and what exactly does it all mean?

• http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/17/opinion/17abbas.html

The Canada Palestine Support Network (Canpalnet) is offering the following information "bundle" for your consideration on the important topic of the recent accord reached between the Hamas and Fatah political organizations in Palestine and the international response generated by this development.

I.  The Accord Itself
II.  Commentaries and analysis of the accord.
III.  The Context - The democratic revolutions in Egypt and elsewhere and the changes in Egyptian foreign policy
IV.  Reaction in Israel and the U.S.

• http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1787

• How did it come about that the two rival organizations were able to reach a cooperation pact at this time?
• What effect will it have on the struggle for Palestinian rights and what will be the response from Israel and the US?