ICDW event: "The Economic Crisis in Palestine"

Join SPHR @ uOttawa for a very informative, interactive workshop as a part of ICDW at uOttawa: "The Economic Crisis in Palestine" will present information about the history and current situation in Israel/Palestine in addition to an intimate discussion about the effects, on the ground, of the economic crisis in Palestine.

This workshop will include a role-playing activity with simultaneous narration and a slide show so that participants can physically learn about the historical process of displacement of the Palestinian population from the 1920s until 2004. The workshop will discuss displacement and refugee populations, US-Israeli financial aid, the Apartheid wall, social, historical and political contexts to the current situation, and parallels in the colonization of Palestine and North America.

Following this workshop, there will be a presentation about the global economic crisis and its effects in Palestine. Issues such as foreign aid, border closures, and contrasts to Israel's economy will be discussed.

When: Friday, January 29, 4 pm.
Where: UCU 205

This is a special event not to be missed: please come and support ICDW and SPHR, and stand with Palestine at uOttawa. Knowledge is a tool - use it.

"Eyes in Gaza" with Dr. Mads FTW.

SPHR @ UofO would like to thank everyone who attended our event "Eyes in Gaza" with Dr. Mads Gilbert this past Monday night at the University of Ottawa. I believe it a safe assumption that everyone in the room was touched by Dr. Gilbert's presentation on both the situation in Gaza now and during the invasion, as well as what we can do to help the Palestinian people on a practical level.

Which brings up a good point - there are many ways in which we have the power to effect positive change in the everyday lives of the Palestinians. What is often advertised by the mainstream media as a "hopeless situation" is, in reality, anything but. It is our responsibility as global citizens to get informed and involved. Running the risk of sounding clichéd,"you can't stay neutral on a moving train."

Mads was highly appreciative of the warm reception on the first night of his tour. Look out for the English translation of his and his colleague Erik Fosse's new book "Eyes in Gaza," due out later this year. If his lecture was any indication, it should be a remarkable read.

Dr. Gilbert is touring across Canada and the United States in the coming weeks; help spread the word by telling friends and family in other cities to show up. I can guarantee that it will be the best decision you've made all day. For more information, click here.

From everyone at SPHR, thank-you again for helping make this event a success. Please stay tuned to this site for more information on SPHR-related activities in the coming months. And please, follow us on Facebook ("SPHR UofO") and Twitter ("sphruofo") for more news and information.

Best wishes,
SPHR @ uOttawa

Right to Education campaign @ uOttawa

Student Federation at the University of Ottawa adopts Palestinian Right to Education campaign

Ottawa, November 2, 2009 – In a victory for justice, University of Ottawa students successfully passed a motion affiliating their student federation to the Right to Education Campaign, a Palestinian student initiative to counter the effects of occupation on their education. Despite some opposition from Zionist and Conservative voices, the motion was successfully passed by a vote of 74 to 52.

Parts of the motion cited education as a “fundamental human right” and that the “[Israeli] occupation of the West Bank and Gaza and the ongoing closures, military roadblocks, and the construction of an illegal wall prevent thousands of students and teachers from reaching their universities and schools”. The campaign commits the SFUO to support the call for international action against violations against the basic right to education in the occupied Palestinian territories, and to build connections to Palestinian Universities through initiatives such as exchanges. The SFUO campaigns committee is bound to the campaign for at least a year, when the campaign can then be reconsidered.

Mahmoud Hmouz, member of Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights which put the motion forward, stated that “this victory proves that the tide is turning in Canadian Universities. Students in Canada know about the violations their peers in Palestine face and are no longer willing to stand idly by.” Robert Prazeres, also a member of SPHR points out that “we in Canada are not as far removed from the struggles of Palestinian students as we may think we are. Our universities support the ongoing injustices through links to the Israeli Academy while they ignore the plight of the Palestinian Academy and Palestinian Students. This is our response to that discrepancy.”

For more information, or to view the entire motion, contact:

Mahmoud Hmouz (English) at 613-335-4225, email mhmouz@hotmail.com
Robert Prazeres (English or French) at 613-447-4931, email bobpraz@gmail.com