Jews to Demonstrate at the Israeli Consulate

Jews to Demonstrate at the Israeli Consulate
Press Communique from the Jewish Alliance Against the Occupation

On Monday, December 11th, at 12 noon, Montreal-area Jews will be demonstrating in front of the Israeli Consulate, at the Northwest corner of Rene Levesque and Peel. In coordination with Jewish groups around the world, and in recognition of International Human Rights Day, we will speak out against Israel's colonialist and militarist policies, and we will break bread together as a sign of our solidarity with the Palestinian people. All those who support our position are welcome to join us.

As Jews, we can no longer remain silent against the daily violation of Palestinian rights by the Israeli state or allow that state to speak in our name. The Israeli government claims to be the representative of the Jewish people everywhere, but, instead of pride in the achievements of Israel, many Jews around the world have now become so "ashamed and appalled" that more and more of us are now prepared to make our opinions known publicly--often for the first time. Ehud Barak and Ariel Sharon do not speak for us, nor does the "official" leadership of the Canadian Jewish community.

In addition to the Montreal demonstration, similar demonstrations of Jews will take place in New York, London, Paris, San Francisco, Toronto, Sydney, Boston, Glasgow, Berne and Jerusalem.

We accuse the state of Israel of:

installing 300,000 settlers in occupied Palestine lands; refusing to withdraw from territories conquered in 1967 inviolation of United Nations resolution calling for it to do so;

using live ammunitions, rockets, tanks and helicopters against teenage stone-throwers and rifles--an excessive use of force which has killed 300 Palestinians, mostly adolescents, in the last two months annexing East Jerusalem and its population of 100,000 Palestinian Arabs;

continuing its policy of closure, whereby travel between Palestinian cities such as Ramallah and Nablus is severely limited;

rationing water supplies to Palestinians while Jewish settlements in Palestinian land have swimming pools and sprinklered lawns;

destroying the Palestinian economy by the recent shutting off of necessary supplies to the inhabitants of the cities controlled by the Palestine Authority.

imposing an inhuman curfew on the Palestinian people of Hebron who are confined to their homes for days at a time.

By our declarations and actions, we uphold the traditional Jewish respect for and defense of human rights and disassociate ourselves from the perversions of our traditions by the Israeli State.

On Monday, December 11, a delegation from the Jewish Alliance Against the Occupation will present a statement in support of Palestinian rights to the Israeli Cons.

The Jewish Alliance will continue to seek dialogue with other Canadian Jewish organizations on matters concerning Israel/Palestine, as well as pursuing joint actions and activities with Palestinians here in fulfillment of our common search for justice.

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Jewish Alliance Against the Occupation.

By Robert Silverman.

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