The Gaza effect
Since the beginning of Israeli military onslaught on the people of Gaza on December 27, we have seen public meetings in Canada to demonstrate Palestine solidarity, promote peace in the Middle East, as well as fundraising campaigns to purchase and direct the transfer of medical supplies to Gaza hospitals. However, it is always healthy to go farther the news, analyze what is going on, and why this conflict shouldn’t be treated like a natural disaster. As we all know, Israel granted the cease-fire a few days ago, but during the attacks, some non governmental organizations affirmed that Canada was pretty much supporting the Palestinian genocide.
I couldn’t find a better way to debate this matter than writing a bilingual blog, because this is the way we all have learned to have a discussion here in Quebec. On top of that, this intellectual exercise allows people to express themselves in a way that always turns into an enriching cultural experience.
I had the opportunity to attend a conference at the University of Quebec in Montreal, UQAM, where Jeff Halper, Director of Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, gave an interesting speech, that was presented by Professor Rachard Antonios, director of the Department of Sociology of UQAM. During this encounter, I also talked to Abraham Weizfeld, secretary of ACJC, (Alliance des Canadiens/nes Juifs/ves consternés/es) and I received the newsletter from a participant named Tom Tsukerman regarding the situation in Gaza. By the end of the conference, we all had the chance to listen to different opinions from an intellectual bilingual audience.
In addition to this discussion group session, I also interviewed Yann Evima Vouma, a lawyer of International Law, and Humans Rights for Amnesty International, who I met last year in Ottawa.
SENSIBILIZATION CAMPAING
Jeff Halper is an anthropologist, Master in Political Science; he is the author of the book: Obstacles to Peace (Critical Re-framing of the Israel-Palestine Conflict), and the director of ICAHD: The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions. This organization resists home demolitions in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, and when the families are willing, rebuilds the homes as an act of protest and resistance to the Israeli government’s ongoing policies of demolishing Palestinian homes. ICAHD’s latest rebuilding effort, the Constructing Peace Campaign, was begun in May 2007 and has since rebuilt over 60 homes for Palestinian families.
NG. Why did you come to Montreal?
J.H. I am an Israeli, I live in Jerusalem, and I am the Director of ICAHD. We are trying to get peace between Israelis and Palestinians, but this is not going to happen inside Israel because Israeli people don’t believe that peace is possible. So that is why we come to countries like Canada to talk to citizens and let them know that peace only comes if international governments pressure for peace. The problem is that most of the countries in the west, like US and Canada, strongly support Israel, so we can’t talk to them; therefore we go to universities, trade unions, churches and civil society to ask them to raise their voice.
N.G. What do you think of the manifestations to support Palestinians here?
J.H. I think manifestations are very good, because if governments start to see that there is a popular pressure for peace and the Palestinians have support from the people, that will influence and change the Israel policy.
N.G Do you believe the cease-fire will be maintained?
J.H. I am not sure because it depends of what the conditions are. Israel wants Hamas to stop the shooting so there won’t be more weapons bringing into Gaza, but everybody forgets that Gaza has been living in 40 years of occupation and starvation, so people in Gaza are saying: we are not going to stop unless the borders are open, so we can get food and rejoin the world.
N.G What will be a future solution of this conflict?
J.H. We don’t have yet a consensus among the Palestinians in terms of what is the solution. The Palestinian’s Diaspora has moved to the one state solution idea, however back in Palestine, they don’t want to give up the idea, they are very committed to the proposal of Palestinian State, and I think they are trapped in knowing that, and because of the settlements, the occupation is really the confrontation. In a way they are holding on a political region, that they know is not going to happen, but on the other hand they are fearful that the one state solution is not durable, so they are going to end up where they were. Part of this tragedy is that we have this conflict, I think Palestinian can go in one state or two states or even a regional confederation, but how can we get to a solution that we can actually sell to the international community? It has to be a real solution, not just academic solution, and that is where we are all stuck, because we are not there, we are in between.
N.G. You talked about Israel global pacification and how Canada approves this strategy. Can you tell us more about it?
J.H. Israel in both its pre- and post-state forms, which for the past 100 years, has steadfastly refused to recognize the national existence and rights of self-determination of the Palestinian people. Also, Israel’s concept of “security” has always been so exaggerated that it leaves no breathing space whatsoever for the Palestinians, thus eliminating any viable resolution of the conflict. Consequently, the recent attacks in Gaza were not for security reasons; they just want to isolate Palestine, meanwhile they are testing in Gaza new war technology, they have weapons laboratories because the military view of political reality has become the main anchor of Israeli statesmanship.
When I talked about the Canadian complicity, I meant the Canada-Israel “Public Security” Agreement that allows Canada and Israel to better enhance cooperation in the areas of organized crime, emergency management, crime prevention, and other related public safety concerns. This international security politics is not transparent.
LES REACTIONS
” La conférence de Monsieur Hazel doit nous interpeller profondément en nous faisant prendre conscience de notre responsabilité en tant que citoyens au courant de ce qui se passe. Nous avons le devoir morale de parler, d’appeler les politiciens, de leur dire que leur position n’est pas correcte. Il est important qu’ils nous entendent le leur dire. Le problème est que très souvent nous pensons que nous n’avons pas de pouvoir, alors, nous ne parlons pas. C’est sûr, je crois que seulement parler ne va pas changer les choses, mais il faut les faire bouger au mois au niveau du discours. Il faut raconter ce qui se passe. “
D’autre part, Abraham Weizfeld, représentant de l’Alliance de Canadiens/nes juifs/ves Consternés/es (ACJC) a assuré:
“C’est ne pas le Peuple Juif qui est en guerre avec les Palestiniens, mais plutôt l’État d’Israël et ses alliés du monde entier. Nous sommes solidaires avec les cultures arabes et musulmanes qui s’opposent aux attaques d’Israël. Bien qu’il soit douteux que les villes israéliennes soient visées par les Hamas, cela ne justifie pas le ciblage en masse de la population Gazaoui. Jusqu’à présent, il y a eu plus de 1000 morts, ce qui constitue un massacre systématique. Quatre- vingt pour cent de la population Gazaoui sont des réfugiés, expulsés d’Israël. L’Israël cherche le contrôle sur le gaz naturel au large de Gaza, plutôt que la sécurité de ses citoyens”.
On the other hand, Tom Tsukerman, political science MA from Mcgill University declared: “This attempt to punish the Gazans by forcing them into untold economic and material hardship and suffering in order to turn them against Hamas has lead to this firing of missiles into Israel as a form of defiance to end the blockade. What Israel has to do is to allow food and material in, end the economic blockade, and have verifiable international observers, including the USA, Nato or EU and even Israelis to grant that no weapons enter the area. The only true way to truly undermine Hamas is by ensuring prosperity, industry, employment and material wellbeing to the people of Gaza”.
A RETENIR
Madame Yann Evima Vouma est avocate de la défense à son propre compte en droit criminel et pénal à Montréal, aussi avocate de la défense et assistante juridique pour le Tribunal pénal international pour le Rwanda situé à Arusha en Tanzanie et Coordonnatrice responsable du Réseau Enfants d’Amnistie internationale, section canadienne francophone.
Y.E.V. Il s’agit d’une véritable catastrophe humaine aux yeux de la communauté internationale, et plus particulièrement pour la diaspora palestienne et israëlienne bien implantée ici à Montréal, comme en témoignent les nombreuses manifestations de par le monde. Malheureusement, l’alourdissement et l’inégalité du bilan des victimes – notamment en raison de frappes aériennes non ciblées, de tirs d’artillerie avec précision incertaine, d’emploi de phosphore blanc contre les civils de la bande de Gaza, d’offensives terrestres de part et d’autres -, jumelés à l’absence ou à la prise de position des gouvernements tant pour l’un ou l’autre camp, à l’inégalité d’armes et de moyens, à la confrontation d’idéologies et de politiques sur fond de crise humanitaire ont créé une division plus marquée entre ces deux communautés et ravivé le débat sur l’existence d’un état palestinien et sur les limites de l’ingérence des États dans de tels conflits.
N.G Selon vous, quelle est la stratégie à suivre pour récupérer l’ambiance de confiance ou un éventuel accord de paix entre Israël et la Palestine?
Y.E.V Le Moyen-Orient est sans doute la région du monde où les enjeux géopolitiques ont le plus d’impact sur l’avenir des relations internationales et la paix dans le monde. J’estime tout d’abord que l’indignation devant cette dérive humaine doit préoccuper et atteindre les chefs d’État, afin qu’ils ressentent l’obligation de se concerter rapidement en vue d’adopter une position et une stratégie d’intervention ferme pour la cessation des combats. L’immobilisme et l’impuissance n’ont pas leur place. Une trêve humanitaire immédiate et suffisamment longue entre Israël, le Hamas et les autres groupes armés palestiniens est urgente pour protéger la population civile et au moins permettre que le passage de l’aide humanitaire la plus élémentaire atteigne les civils qui en ont le plus besoin, que les blessés soient évacués et soignés, et les morts, enterrés. L’aide d’États voisins pour assurer le refuge des civils pris au piège dans la bande de Gaza doit également être facilitée. Enfin, la mobilisation et l’intervention du Conseil de sécurité des Nations unies et de la communauté internationale sont cruciales pour assurer le respect du droit international et des traités, pour aider à la réparations urgente des infrastructures essentielles, pour faciliter les opérations de protection et d’assistance du personnel des organisations humanitaires et ce, dans de meilleures conditions de sécurité, et pour lutter contre l’impunité en poursuivant et en sanctionnant les auteurs de tels crimes.
Éditrice invitée: Ginette Hurbert .
Guest Editor: Genny Villa
La Promesa, mi más reciente libro
¡Bienvenidos a todos los amantes de la literatura y a los nuevos lectores que est&aa…
