A network of community groups & Middle East solidarity organizations in Montreal are calling on people in Montreal to participate in a major social event to remember & reflect on the 2006 Israeli military attack on Lebanon 1 year later.
Stefan Christoff for Tadamon! Montreal.
SATURDAY, JULY 14th, 6pm Coe-des-Neiges Community Center 2nd Floor, 5347 Cote-des-Neiges Directly Beside metro Cote-des-Neiges Suggested Donations: 0-20$
A network of community groups & Middle East solidarity organizations in Montreal are calling on people in Montreal to participate in a major social event to remember & reflect on the 2006 Israeli military attack on Lebanon 1 year later.
Community Event will Include:
*War Testimonials & Open-Microphone: A series of live testimonials from those who experienced the Israeli bombardment of Lebanon and those who lived the war from Canada, including words from HASSAN EL AKHRAS, a surviving member of the El Akhras family, 11 of whom were killed on July 16th, 2006 in an Israeli air strike in Aitaroun in southern Lebanon, who will be addressing Israeli war crimes & strategies to challenge international impunity.
*Photo Display / Slideshow: Including photographs of the Montreal mobilizations throughout the summer of 2006 captured by local photographers & information concerning the Israeli attack on Lebanon provided by Canadians for Justice & Peace in the Middle East(CJPME).
*Discussions: This event is being organized to provide an opportunity for local activists to discuss, strategies & build on local resistance movements to the Israeli attack on Lebanon in 2006 which formed in Montreal during the summer. Multiple local groups & organizations, including thousands of individuals were actively organizing in opposition to the Israeli attack on Lebanon & the Canadian governments open support for the Israeli attack. Importantly this event will also be an opportunity to discuss the current situation in Lebanon, the consequences of the siege on Nahr el-Bared refugee camp which has lead to a humanitarian disaster for tens-of-thousands of Palestinian refugees.
*Community Dinner: Local community groups, individuals & restaurants which will be providing food for the community dinner as an expression of solidarity with ongoing work to support the struggle for self-determination in Lebanon, Palestine & throughout the Middle East.
*Arabic, English & French Poetry / Literature Reading: Including live readings from:
Ehab Lotayef, Montreal based activist / poet with CJPP.
Ghada Chehade, poet & PhD student at McGill University
Haydar Moussa, community activist & poet from AJLM.
Hisham Elsalfiti, Palestinian community activist with CPF
Background Information:
On July 12th, 2006 the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers as part of an ongoing campaign to free thousands of Arab political prisoners from Israeli jails, which in certain cases have been locked-up for over 20 years. On that same summer day Israel attacked Lebanon in a violent military campaign of which left over 1300 Lebanese civilians dead, large parts of the national infrastructure destroyed and southern Lebanon covered in over 1 million unexploded cluster bombs. An Israeli military campaign of collective punishment unleashed on the people of Lebanon continued for 33 days until a U.N. brokered ceasefire on August 14th, 2006.
As bombs fell on Lebanon, social justice and human rights activists took the streets throughout the world from Johannesburg, to London, to Cairo, to New York and on the streets of Montreal. As the Canadian government issued multiple public statements of support for the Israeli bombardment of Lebanon, which Conservative Prime Minister labeled a "measured response", thousands of people in Montreal quickly responded to the crisis facing Lebanon.
Through street protests, direct actions, spontaneous mobilizations, lobbying work, public education campaigns, & many other actions the people of Montreal expressed a localized resistance to the Israeli attack on Lebanon, one of the strongest political responses in a city outside of the Middle East. Many in Montreal from the Lebanese community & beyond also heavily grieved for family, friends & comrades lost to Israeli attacks throughout Lebanon.
Join us for an evening of resistance, reflection & community building!
Organized by: * Association des jeunes libanais musulmans (AJLM) * Al Hidaya Association * Tadamon! Montreal
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