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Bi-Weekly ArabiCa Newsletter
NCCAR ArabiCa Newsletter - Week of August 30,
2004
In this issue:
1. Editor's Note: As part of the National Council on Canada-Arab Relations' (NCCAR) intention to improve the ArabiCa newsletter, we are planning on adding one short feature article to every issue. We invite readers to send us their own articles about issues pertinent and of interest to Canadian-Arabs. Furthermore, if you have any feedback or comments on the newsletter or any important news information that would be fitting in the ArabiCa newsletter, please send them to essamfarag@nccar.ca. Essam Farag 2. NCCAR Speakers Bureau - Uri Davis Canadian lecture tour from September 13-29, 2004 From September 13-29,
NCCAR will co-sponsor a lecture tour by Professor Uri Davis, a distinguished
academic who has published extensively in the field of democracy and human
rights in Israel and Specific information about Dr. Davis's lecture itinerary is posted on NCCAR's website at www.nccar.ca/programs/speakers.html. 3. Join NCCAR's First Annual Golf Tournament Fundraiser - http://nccar.ca/programs/registration-form.pdf The National Council on Canada Arab Relations (NCCAR) is holding its First Annual Fundraising Golf Tournament on Sunday, September 26, 2004 at La Cité Golf Course in the Town of Hawkesbury. The proceeds from the tournament will go towards strengthening our educational programs including our internship program that places over 30 Canadian youth in newspapers and international organizations in the Arab world as well as a parliamentary internship program for young Canadians of Arab origin. Furthermore, our Lectureship Series brings experts and officials from the Arab world to speak on pertinent issues affecting the Canadian-Arab community. NCCAR invites you to participate in this entertaining event that will feature prizes and a good opportunity for networking. To donate or sponsor this tournament, please fill-out the registration form at http://nccar.ca/programs/registration-form.pdf and send it to us no later than September 15th accompanied by your cheque. For further inquiries and information, contact us at 613-238-3795 or nccar@nccar.ca NCCAR 4. NCCAR First Canada-Arab Relations Conference Call for Papers The National Council on Canada-Arab Relations (NCCAR) is organizing its first conference on Canada-Arab relations entitled, Canada and the Arab World: Challenges and Opportunities to be held on November 13 and 20, 2004. The conference will be set in two locations, Calgary and Ottawa, and will emphasize the mutual benefits for both Canada and countries of the Arab world in increasing political, economic and cultural engagement together. Through this conference, NCCAR seeks to highlight the need for a strong commitment on the part of both the Canadian government and the Arab-Canadian community to ensure the development of a foreign policy strategy that highlights the opportunities, challenges and future prospects of Canadian foreign policy vis-à-vis Arab countries. The NCCAR announces a Call for Papers for this conference on the following themes only: Canadian-Arab business/economic cooperation, Canadian-Arab political relations, and Canadian-Arab social/cultural ties. Prospective contributors are asked to send an abstract (200-250 words) of their papers in English to the conference coordinator, Essam Farag, by September 20, 2004 to essamfarag@nccar.ca. Further information and updates on the conference will be posted on the NCCAR website at: www.nccar.ca. 5. Press Release - NCCAR troubled by Israel's curbing of UNRWA Commissioner-General's movement The National Council on Canada-Arab Relations (NCCAR) is troubled by the Israeli government's closure of the Erez Crossing into the Gaza Strip, which seriously damages the United Nations Relief Works Agency for Palestine Refugees' (UNRWA) ability to carry out its humanitarian work in the occupied Palestinian territory. Furthermore, Israel has barred UNRWA's Commissioner-General and UN Under Secretary General Peter Hansen from performing his duties that require him to move from Gaza to Israel. The complete information and other press releases can be found on NCCAR's website at www.nccar.ca/media_centre/press.html. 6. Conferences Call for action ideas -- 4th Annual PSM Conference The Cultural Events committee invites all activists in the Palestine Solidarity Movement to help in the planning of Direct Action at the upcoming 4th Palestine Solidarity Movement Conference to be held at Duke University on October 15th-17th, 2004. Anyone interested in helping with the organization of such actions, please become a member of the Cultural Events (and Actions) committee by sending an email to culturalevents@palestineconference.com. Others are also invited to send their ideas or proposals to the committee by September 10th, 2004. If you would like to find out more about the Palestine Solidarity Movement
and the 4th Annual Conference, visit their website at
www.palestineconference.com.
Second World Congress for Middle Eastern Studies - June 2006 - Amman, Jordan The Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies (RIIFS) is pleased to announce that it has been chosen to organize and host the Second World Congress for Middle Eastern Studies (WOCMES-2), which will take place in Amman, Jordan on 11-16 June 2006. This will be the first time that experts on the Middle East drawn from all over the world and all branches of the humanities and social sciences (including economics, political science, media studies and others) will assemble in the region to share and exchange their research, experience and ideas, and to discuss the challenges of methodology vs. theory and praxis vs. politics and their possible resolutions. It promises to be an unprecedented event that will finally bring Middle Eastern studies to the Middle East. Because the Second World Congress will actually take place in the Middle East, the cultural program is expected to be particularly rich. Organizers are presently considering two book fairs (Arabic/International) involving book-sellers, publishers and authors; exhibitions of modern Arab art by Jordan's national and local galleries; other exhibitions related to various aspects of Middle Eastern studies; a film festival with panel discussions; and concerts featuring musicians from across the Arab world. The timing will also be advantageous since the weather will be pleasant and many academics will be on their summer break, leaving them with ample time to explore Jordan's well-known tourist attractions (such as Petra, Jerash, Madaba and Mount Nebo), as well as those in neighboring countries, during their visit to the region. RIIFS is presently redesigning its website (www.riifs.org) and the new version is expected to be up and running in Autumn 2004. Once it is online, users will be able to click on the WOCMES-2 icon appearing on the home page in order to obtain more information and to register for the Second World Congress. Sent by: 7. Events Tunisian presidential candidate comes to Canada Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, the Parti Démocratique progressiste (PDP's general
secretary, will speak in Quebec City on September 9, 2004 at Université Laval,
Pavillon Louis-Jacques-Casault, Rm 0170 starting at 7pm. He will also speak in
Montreal at the Centre Saint-Pierre, 1212 Panet (Métro Beaudry), rm 304 at 7pm
on September 10, 2004. He will speak about the political opposition being
silenced before the country's presidential election. Popular Mobilization Against Deportation of Palestinians from Canada - September 18th, 2004 at 2:00pm - Corner Atwater & St. Catherine
(metro Atwater) The demonstration in Montreal will also commemorate the thousands of Palestinian refugees who lost their lives in the 1982 massacre of Sabra and Chatila, during the Israeli invasion of Beirut. The Palestinian refugees facing deportation are the sons and daughters of the very same refugee camps, which suffered throughout the 15-year long Lebanese civil war. They are the sons and daughters of Sabra & Chatila, Tel El Zaatar and Bourj El Barajneh, stateless refugees representing a history of displacement, which began in 1948. As we remember the massacre of Sabra & Chatila - one of the deepest wounds in the Palestinian consciousness - we will demonstrate in solidarity with the struggle of Palestinians here in Canada! We must stand united in the struggle against the deportation of Palestinian refugees! Join us on the streets of Montreal for a popular mobilization against the deportation of Palestinian refugees. Your support, solidarity and action is needed now! For more information or to get involved contact: The Coalition Against the
Deportation of Palestinian Refugees in Montreal Sent by:
Ecstatic Gnawa Music of Morocco in Vancouver by Hassan Hakmoun Ensemble - September 12, 2004 Gnawa is traditional devotional music of Morocco played in all-night
healing-trance ceremonies. Rooted in West Africa, it was carried north to
Morocco via the slave trade centuries ago. Gnawa music is played on a sintir, a
three-stringed lute, accompanied by percussion. It combines call-and-response
African chant, wailing Arabic melodic lines, and rattling syncopation akin to
flamenco. Born in Marrakesh to a mother who was a Gnawan healer, Hakmoun
absorbed the tradition Since coming to the United States in 1987, he quickly made a name for
himself, both in traditional and more contemporary jazz-fusion circles. He
signed to Peter Gabriel s Real World label, and collaborated with the likes of
the Kronos Quartet and American jazz trumpeter Don Cherry . His latest CD, "The
Gift" has received rave reviews, further demonstrating his The event takes place at Vancouver East Cultural Centre (1895 Venables St.), Sunday, September 12, 8:00pm. Tickets are $26 adults and $21 students (plus applicable charges). Tickets available at 604-280-3311 or www.ticketmaster.ca or at Highlife Records, Sophia Books, and Zulu Records. For info call 604-813-7907 or visit www.caravanbc.org. Sent by: 8. CAF Survey on Hate and Racism The Canadian Arab Federation (CAF) invites you to take a moment to fill out an online survey about your experience with hate and racism in Canada. CAF is seeking to better understand the scope and nature of hate/racism against Canadian Arabs and Muslims. The survey is available at www.caf.ca/hatesurvey.htm. If you have experienced an incident of hate or racism, CAF is hosting a meeting on Monday September 6, 2004 at their national office located at 1057 McNicoll Avenue (Toronto) from 7pm - 9pm to better understand the community's experience with reporting and outcomes. If you would like more information or to register, contact Ahmad Ktaech at 416-493-8635 x 34 or email projects@caf.caSent by: 9. New book exposes bias in media coverage of the Palestine-Israel conflict A new book released by the Glasgow University Media Group (Pluto Press-London), Bad News from Israel, exposes the dishonest role the main TV news coverage in Britain plays in distorting the Israel-Palestine conflict and misinforming the public. In the book, the Group notes that "most news bulletins function as little more than the overseas arm of the Israeli government's propaganda. Israel is able to mobilize the support of billionaire media owners, Zionist pressure groups and write-in campaigns to intimidate journalists who try to take a more objective stance." The book's authors, sociologists Greg Philo and Mike Berry, based their views on the findings they acquired when they monitored and analyzed four separate periods of news coverage by the BBC and ITN, Britain's two main TV news channels, between the start of the Palestinian intifada in September 2000 and the spring of 2002. Around 200 news programmes were examined and compared against the national press and other programmes such as Channel 4 (C4) News and BBC2's programme, Newsnight. Over 800 people were interviewed and organized discussion groups involving well-known broadcasters, programme makers, and ordinary viewers were held to find out their views on the conflict and its coverage. Philo and Berry found that news items were reported with little explanation about the origins of the conflict, the United Nations resolution establishing the state of Israel on part of Palestine, and the subsequent war between Israel and her Arab neighbors. Neither did the news spell out how the establishment of the state of Israel and the subsequent war had led to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fleeing their homes, both because of the horrors of war and the forced expulsions organized by the official Israeli military forces and Zionist terrorist groups sanctioned by the then Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion. There was little or no explanation of how many had become refugees again after the 1967 war and had lived in squalid refugee camps ever since. Day to day coverage of the Palestinian uprising was the focus of most news, with very only a few reporters describing how Israel had seized the West Bank and Gaza 37 years ago and illegally occupied it ever since in defiance of numerous UN Security Council resolutions. The book provides a devastating picture of the extent to which the truth is the victim of a pliant media that is, notwithstanding the honesty of a few journalists, ready to sacrifice its professional standing to the interests of powerful pressure groups and their corporate backers. This demonstrates how the media has no interest in presenting a historical explanation of the tragedy that has befallen the Palestinians, created the garrison state that is Israel today and threatens to embroil the two peoples in barbarism. Intentional neglect of these issues avoids to tamper with the British government's support for the US and Israel as the custodian of its interests in the region. This bias and misinformation essentially results in an alarming level of ignorance among TV viewers, a general lack of interest in the Palestine-Israel conflict, a feeling of helplessness towards bringing about any change, and therefore playing a role in preventing an informed public debate about how the conflict might be resolved. Sent by: 10. Arun Gandhi calls Palestinian refugees to march home from Jordan The grandson of late Indian Prime Minister Mahatma Gandhi, Arun Gandhi, ended
a solidarity trip he made to the West Bank last week saying the only option for
the Palestinians is non-violent resistance. Gandhi told the Palestinian
Legislative Council (PLC) that "non-violence does not only make sense, but it is
also practical." Sent by: 11. Ashbury College's First Peace Camp Canada Peace Camp Canada was a project organized at Ashbury College in Ottawa last month with the objective of bringing Israeli and Palestinian youth together so that they can engage in dialogue to break down the barriers, eliminate stigmas, and build trust. The 10-day camp brought together 10 Israeli and 10 Palestinian students from Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza Strip. Palestinians were paired off with Israelis as roommates, and the campers spoke English instead of their native Hebrew and Arabic. The high school students were involved in group discussions and workshops about the situation in the Middle East, participated in seminars about the three different faiths, shared and listened to the personal stories of other participants, had Israeli and Palestinian representatives come as guest speakers, learned about other faiths, and took part in recreational activities such as sports, movies, and Ottawa site seeing. The camp, which cost about $100,000 to organize, was funded through local donations, and the campers essentially received scholarships to participate. They were chosen on the basis of their answers on application forms that asked what they thought they could accomplish in 10 days and what they could bring back to their communities. Written by: 12. Job/Volunteer Opportunities IDRC Centre Internships CompetitionThe International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Internship awards provide exposure to research for international development through a program of training in research management and grant administration under the guidance of IDRC program staff. The internship is designed to provide hands-on learning experiences in research program management - in the creation, dissemination and utilization of knowledge from an international perspective. Internships will be considered for a program of training and research responding to IDRC's research priorities. IDRC's research activities focus on three program areas: Social and Economic Equity, Environmental and Natural Resources Management, and Information and Communication Technologies for Development. Several of the positions include a focus on the Middle East. Internships are tenable for a minimum of 4 months and a maximum of 12 months at IDRC headquarters in Ottawa or in a Regional Office. Interns doing their internship in Canada will receive a salary in the range from $32,391 to $37,523 per year, depending on qualifications and experience. The deadline for receipt of applications is September 12, 2004. Announcement of internships will by in the end of November 2004 and commencement will be in January 2005. Visit the IDRC Internship site for more information on the priority research domains and regions are of specific interest to each of IDRC's Program Initiatives and on academic qualifications, as well as the application requirements - http://web.idrc.ca/en/ev-24327-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html. Contact
info: 13. Important Contact Information Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Other Foreign Affairs Departments... 14. Help Support NCCAR NCCAR is a non-profit organization committed to building bridges of understanding and cooperation between Canada and the Arab world. NCCAR receives its financial support from individual members, corporate and individual donations, and direct fundraising initiatives. You can help by providing financial contribution, becoming a member, volunteering and by circulating our message. NCCAR is currently seeking youth volunteers to help with a variety of work. Membership Categories: For an up-to-date review of NCCAR's involvement in the Canadian community and recent activities in Canada and abroad, please refer to our website www.nccar.ca. If you would like us to send a friend/colleague/family member our electronic newsletter, please forward us their e-mail addresses.
Disclaimer
The information in this newsletter is based on information NCCAR receives from Canadian media, government, and the general public. It is in no way endorsed by NCCAR. Le CNRCA est un organisme à but non-lucratif consacré à sensibilisé le Canada au monde Arabe et à encourager des liens de coopération |