The Council of Canadians is supporting a cross-country speaking tour that is calling for an end to the blockade of Gaza. The first speaking event will be on Saturday February 18 at 7 pm in the Alice McKay room at the Vancouver Public Library, 350 West Georgia Street.
At its annual general meeting on October 25, 2011, the Council of Canadians passed a resolution resolving that the Council of Canadians: support the Canadian Boat to Gaza to end the illegal blockade of Gaza; call on the Government of Canada, the United Nations and the international community to do everything in their power to ensure the safe passage of the Canadian Boat to Gaza and the safety of all those aboard; call for an end to the blockade of Gaza, in accordance with international law.
Days later, on November 4, David Heap, Peace and Social Justice chair for the London chapter of the Council of Canadians, was taken from the Gaza-bound vessel he was on, arrested by Israeli authorities and held in prison. He was later released, http://canadians.org/blog/?p=11839.
In 2010, United Nations officials stated, “We are shocked by reports of killings and injuries of people on board boats carrying supplies for Gaza, apparently in international waters. We condemn the violence and call for it to stop. Such tragedies are entirely avoidable if Israel heeds the repeated calls of the international community to end its counterproductive and unacceptable blockade of Gaza.”
More on the work we have done to call for an end to the blockade can be read at http://canadians.org/blog/?p=11458. More on the demand for the right to water in Gaza, http://canadians.org/blog/?p=12674.
