Statement

For Immediate Release

February 13, 2009

Montreal engineer on solidarity trip to Gaza

Ottawa ON -- Ehab Lotayef, a Montreal writer, activist and engineer is leaving on Saturday February 14th, 2009 on a mission of solidarity with the people of Gaza .

Lotayef's trip is endorsed by the Coalition for Justice and Peace in Palestine and supported by many organizations including Palestinian and Jewish Unity, Independent Jewish Voices, College and University Workers United, the Canadian Muslim Forum, Alternatives, the National Council on Canada Arab Relations and other groups and individuals.

In addition to the solidarity aspect of his trip, Lotayef intends to lay the foundation for other individuals and groups to visit Gaza in similar solidarity and witness trips.

Lotayef, an IT engineer at McGill University , is familiar with such trips. In December of 2005 he travelled to Baghdad , Iraq during the Christian Peacemaker Teams hostage crisis, to advocate for their release. As with his trip to Iraq , Lotayef aims to bring back a citizen's eyewitness account back to Canada .

For more information contact:

Ehab Lotayef
lotayef@gmail. com
+1 (514) 941 9792
+20 (12) 634 4143 (as of Feb. 17)

Montreal contact (after Feb. 15)
Zahia Elmasri (514) 992-3931

- 30 -