Sixth Israeli Apartheid Week swings into action in Canada

Toronto Israeli Apartheid Week

We are very proud to announce our speakers along with the specific themes of each evening for IAW 2010. Mark your calendars with the different topics for each evening and speakers:

Friday, March 5, 7pm National Liberation: From Turtle Island to Palestine
Location: Library Building, Ryerson University LIB072, 350 Victoria Street (map)

Rabab Abdulhadi born and raised in Nablus, Palestine, Rabab Abdulhadi is a long-time feminist activist and scholar who has made significant contributions to the struggle for Palestinian self-determination and the well-being of Palestinian women. She has participated in numerous organizations dedicated to fighting for the rights of Arab and Arab-American women. From 1982 to 1988, she was the Director of Political and International Relations at the Middle East Research Center in New York. Rabab Abdulhadi was instrumental in founding the Union of Palestinian Women’s Associations in North America during the first Intifada, or Palestinian uprising, that grew into 2,000 members and 29 chapters in the United States and Canada. Rabab Abdulhadi is also involved in a variety of coalition-building projects that make links between diasporic communities living in the U.S., U.S. communities of color and women of color activisms. Doctor Rabab Abdulhadi has published extensively for the academic and mainstream presses writing on issues of nationalism, terrorism, race, ethnicity and the experiences of the diasporic Arab communities. She currently teaches in the Ethnic Studies Program at San Francisco State University.

Tyendinaga Mohawk Shawn Brant has been repeatedly imprisoned for his stand against colonial policies and unjust treatment of First Nations peoples in Canada. He is currently involved in a long-standing battle to bring clean water to his community, Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, which is one of the 85 First Nations communities that do not have access to this basic right. Shawn lives on the Territory with his
family.

* ASL Interpretation will be provided on closing night (March 5).

Saturday, March 6, 9pm: ISRAELI APARTHEID WEEK (Toronto) PRESENTS HIP HOP FOR PALESTINE WONT STOP ‘TIL DA WALL DROPS FEATURING SABREENA DA WITCH, THE NARCICYST AND LOCAL DJS

@ The Blue Moon Pub
725 Queen St. E. (at Broadview)
Doors Open: 9 pm
Tickets $10 in advance, $12 at the door (tickets will be available during IAW events)

This event is a fundraiser for Israeli Apartheid Week 2010

Israeli Apartheid Week is proud to present Palestinian hip-hop artist, Abeer Alzinaty’s (aka Sabreena Da Witch) debut performance in Canada. The event will also feature Montreal based Iraqi MC Narcycist as well as local DJs. All are invited to this night of music and dance that will conclude the 6th annual Israeli Apartheid Week.

Abeer Alzinaty (aka Sabreena Da Witch) is a Palestinian hip hop artist. Born in 1984 in Lydd, she started performing R&B in Arabic and English in her teens and released her first original Mix-tape. Witch's intifada, in 2008. Abeer has been featured in a number of documentaries about Palestinian music including Jackie Salloum's award winning documentary Slingshot Hip-Hop. Abeer's music speaks to her experiences as a Palestinian woman living in Israel. Critiquing multiple injustices resulting from or supported by the occupation, while celebrating freedom, equality and enlightenment.

The Narcicyst is an Iraqi MC/Media Master. His musical career was spawned through the collaborative work of the Euphrates family; A growing collective of Muslim visual artists, musicians, painters, filmographers and photographers. Releasing two albums with Euphrates, the crew garnered worldwide attention from Time Magazine to publications out of the Middle East and Europe. With a book being released under the title “Fear of An Arab Planet”, and a brand new self-titled album and acting in feature length film "City of Life", The Narcicyst is sure to make you see yourself through the proverbial mirror that is the current state of the world.

Past events in IAW 2010:

Monday, March 1, 7pm Five Years Since the BDS Call - Celebrating Our Success*
Location: Ryerson University, Ted Rogers School of Management, TRS 1607, 55 Dundas St. West (map)
Hosted by the CAW-Sam Gindin Chair in Social Justice and Democracy

Na'eem Jeena: is an academic, author, journalist, community leader and post-graduate student. He is currently the Director of the Afro-Middle East Centre, a research institute dealing with the Middle East, and a PhD candidate in Political Studies. Na'eem has a history of activism in the anti-apartheid struggle, and is a well-known activist in South Africa. He has been a leading figure in the Palestine solidarity and anti-war movements in South Africa. Na’eem also served for many years on the Board of the Freedom of Expression Institute, including as its Deputy Chairperson. He also worked for the FXI as Head of the Anti-Censorship Programme, Head of its Access to Information Programme, and as Director of Operations.

Jon Elmer is an independent Canadian journalist and researcher specializing in the Middle East. He has lived in and covered the West Bank and Gaza since 2003; he's currently based in Bethlehem. He is a correspondent for Inter Press Service news agency and a contributor to Pacifica Radio, Al Jazeera, and the forthcoming anthology The Plight of the Palestinians (Palgrave MacMillan, 2010). - http://jonelmer.ca

*ASL Interpretation will be provided on opening night (March 1).

Tuesday, March 2, 7pm Fighting Racism, Fighting Apartheid
Location: OISE Auditorium, 252 Bloor St. West (map)
Hosted by Students Against Israeli Apartheid – a working group of OPIRG-Toronto

Nada Elia is a faculty member at Antioch University, Seattle, where she teaches Gender and Global Studies. She is co-founder of RAWAN (the Radical Arab Women's Activist Network), chairs the Anti-Militarism and Occupation taskforce of Incite! Women of Color Against Violence, and serves on the Organizing Committee of the US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel. A scholar-activist, Elia is the author of Trances, Dances, and Vociferations: Agency and Resistance in Africana Women's Narratives, co-editor of The Color of Violence: the INCITE anthology, and has published numerous articles on the sociopolitical factors impacting gender and national identity n societies at war and/or under occupation.

Gabriel Ash is an activist and writer. Since 2000, Gabriel has been engaged in work in support of Palestinian liberation, including with Stop U.S. Tax-funded Aid to Israel Now!, Palestine Activist Forum New York, and the International Solidarity Movement. Gabriel wrote numerous articles about related topics, in particular Israeli politics, in many movement publications, including Left Turn, Electronic Intifada, Numb Magazine, Dissident Voice and others. He was born in Romania and grew up in Israel, where he translated Michel Foucault and J.-F. Lyotard into Hebrew. He contributes regularly to the blog, "Jews Sans Frontieres" and is active in the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network and in lachaine.ch, a web TV collective.

7th Generation Indigenous Visionaries (7thGIV) founding members met while attending Haskell Indian Nations University, our purpose is to build solidarity and bridge the gaps with tribes/nations in the U.S. and other Indigenous people around the world. 7thGIV is dedicated to the preservation of our culture by promoting educational experiences to increase awareness through reflexive interaction with other Indigenous peoples. Members of 7thGIV took part in a delegation to Palestine this past summer.

Wednesday, March 3, 7pm ‘Planning’ Apartheid: Environment, Architecture, and Colonialism
Location: Medical Sciences Building, Auditorium, 1 King’s College Circle(map)
Hosted by Students Against Israeli Apartheid – a working group of OPIRG-Toronto

Ilaria Giglioli has recently completed a Masters degree in Geography from the University of Toronto, where her research focused on water politics and territory in Palestine. She has worked on water vulnerability mapping for the Palestinian research institute ARIJ, and is a long-time Palestine solidarity activist in Canada and abroad.

Atif Kubursi is emeritus professor of economics and also teaches in the Arts and Science Programme at McMaster University. Dr. Kubursi also taught economics at Purdue University in Indiana, USA, was senior academic visitor at Cambridge University, UK in 1974/75, and lectured and consulted at Harvard between1989-1998. Dr. Kubursi also served as the Acting Executive Secretary, at the Undersecretary General level, of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia in 2006, 2007 and 2008. He is the recipient of the Canadian Centennial Medal.

Gitz Crazyboy is a 25 year-old dene-blackfoot youth worker living up in the middle of ground zero.

Thursday, March 4, 7pm: Coming Out Against Apartheid: Queer Solidarity Activism
Location: OISE Auditorium, 252 Bloor St. West (map)
Hosted by Students Against Israeli Apartheid – a working group of OPIRG-Toronto

Trish Salah is a Montreal-based writer, activist and teacher at Concordia’s Simone de Beauvoir Institute. She has been politically active organizing around a wide range of issues, including Palestinian solidarity, sex workers' rights, anti-racism and anti-capitalism, employment security and healthcare for transsexual and transgender people. Her first book of poetry, Wanting in Arabic, was published by TSAR Books and her recent writing appears in the journals Open Letter, No More Potlucks, and Aufgabe. Her new manuscript is titled “Lyric Sexology.”

John Greyson is a Toronto video artist/filmmaker whose features, shorts and installations include Fig Trees (Best Documentary Teddy, Berlin Film Festival, 2009), Proteus (Diversity Award, Barcelona Gay Lesbian Film Festival, 2004), and Lilies (Best Film 'Genie', 1996). An associate professor in Film at York University, he was awarded the 2007 Bell Canada Award in Video Art.

Jenny Peto is an activist with the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid and a student in Sociology and Equity Studies at OISE. Her research on Israeli Apartheid has focused on the co-optation of human rights, including queer and feminist issues, by the Israeli State and its supporters.

This year, look for IAW videos of 2010 talks and previous year's talks. See the trailer.

About IAW 2010

First launched in Toronto in 2005, IAW has grown to become one of the most important global events in the Palestine solidarity calendar. Last year, more than 35 cities around the world participated in the week's activities, which took place in the wake of Israel's brutal assault against the people of Gaza. In Toronto, IAW 2009 featured a full week of events kicked off by Palestinian activist and writer Omar Barghouti.

IAW 2010 takes place following a year of incredible successes for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement on the global level. Lectures, films, and actions will highlight some of these successes along with the many injustices that continue to make BDS so crucial in the battle to end Israeli Apartheid.

Endorsers of Israeli Apartheid Week 2010 so far:

Canadian Arab Federation * Palestine Community Centre * Not In Our Name: Jewish Voices Opposing Zionism * Independent * Jewish Voices * Educators for Peace and Justice * Socialist Action * Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid * Queers Against Israeli Apartheid * Labour For Palestine * Faculty For Palestine * No One Is Illegal * International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network - Toronto * CAW Sam Gindin Chair in Social Justice * Salaam, Queer Muslim Communities * CUPE Local 3907 * Ryerson Students' Union * Equity Studies Students' Union * Caribbean Studies Students' Union * Health Studies Students' Union * Agitate! Queer People of Color * The Centre for Women and Trans People at UofT * Barrio Nuevo * Young Communist League * Resistance Art * Ontario Public Interest Research Group - UofT * Ontario Public Interest Research Group - York * Fair Trade Coalition * York University Free Press * Upping The Anti * Toronto Coalition to Stop the War * Science for Peace * Venezuela We Are With You Coalition (CVEC) * Communist Party of Canada * Socialist Project * Ryerson Students Union * Near East Cultural and Educational Foundation (NECEF) * Toronto New Socialists * Canadian Muslim Union * Canada Palestine Association * International Socialists * Holy Land Awareness and Action Task Group of SW Presbytery in Toronto Conference of the United Church of Canada * Toronto Coalition to Stop the War * No More Silence * Ugnayan ng Kabataang Pilipino sa Canada/Filipino Canadian Youth Alliance * International Socialists * Socialist Voice * Toronto Haiti Action Committee * BASICS Free Community Newsletter * Tyendinaga Support Committee * Student Christian Movement - UofT

To endorse the week or get involved with organizing contact saia@riseup.net