E-Arabica Newsletter

· NCCAR invites all public service employees to designate NCCAR as the recipient of their United Way contribution.  Their generous donations enable NCCAR to continue its work on your behalf. NCCAR's charitable registration number is 11905 1696RR. 

· NCCAR organized a farewell dinner to honor Ms. Alexa McDonough, Former Leader of the New Democratic Party and Member of Parliament for Halifax on Tuesday, October 21st, 2008 at 7 pm. Scores of dignitaries and distinguished guests attended the dinner. The creation of an "Alexa McDonough Parliamentaery Internship" was announced for a university student of Arab Canadian background. If you missed the farewell dinner, please visit NCCAR's website at www.nccar.ca  and/or click on this direct link to hear her speech: http://www.nccar.ca/programs/Alexa_Audio.mp3 . 

· NCCAR set up meetings with Canadian officials, non-governmental agencies, and members of Canadian civil society for al Haq team, and coordinated their national speaking tour which started in Halifax on October 20, and continued to Montreal, Ottawa, Kingston, Toronto and London. Al Haq is a Ramallah-based Palestinian human rights legal organization ( www.alhaq.org ) and West Bank affiliate of the Geneva based International Commission of Jurists. More details regarding Al Haq public events can be found at www.nccar.ca

· NCCAR issued a press release on October 28, 2008 announcing the 2nd annual James Graff Memorial Lecture entitled “The Israel Lobby and Middle East Peace” which was presented in Toronto on Sunday November 2 by University of Chicago's Dr. John Mearsheimer, co-author with Dr. Steven Walt of The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy. NCCAR sponsored this event. For more information on the event, please visit our website at www.nccar.ca

· Bahija Réghaï, president of NCCAR, attended the farewell luncheon held by The Honourable Noël A. Kinsella, Speaker of the Senate, in honour of His Excellency Dr. Abdulla Nasher, Ambassador of the Republic of Yemen on October 23, 2008.

· On October 31, 2008, NCCAR sent letters to The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Canada's new Foreign Affairs Minister, and to The Honourable Stockwell Day, Canada's new Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway congratulating them on their recent appointments. 

· NCCAR president, Bahija Réghaï, attended the Edward Said Conference which was organized by and held at both University of Ottawa and Carleton University from October 31, 2008 to November 2, 2008. NCCAR was one of the sponsors of this Conference.

· NCCAR's Mark Khoury, Vice-President, Government and Media Relations, and Rula Odeh, Secretary, will be holding a Montreal Get-Together event on Saturday November 22, 2008 between 4 pm and 6 pm. The event is intended to showcase to NCCAR supporters, members and Board of Directors, both current and recent, the Council's new mission and vision and recent accomplishments. There will also be an opportunity for attendees to meet current Board members and exchange ideas and input for the upcoming year. To RSVP, please call NCCAR at (613) 238-3795. 

Contacting your Member of Parliament (MP) is an effective way to take action and to be heard.  If you have any trouble finding your MP or need help, use the following link using only your postal code: http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Compilations/HouseOfCommons/MemberByPostalCode.aspx?Menu=HOC

NCCAR is a non-profit organization dedicated to building bridges of understanding and cooperation between Canada and the Arab world.

Le CNRCA est un organisme à but non-lucratif consacré à sensibilisé le Canada au monde Arabe et à encourager des liens de coopération.