News
Call for Canada International Day of Action for Gaza
Call for Canada and International Day of Action for Gaza
A call from the Union of Agricultural Work Committees in Palestine
The farmers and fishers of Gaza, Palestine are under siege as they work to defend their land and sea from occupation and continue their harvest and their livelihoods. Many people in Gaza have always relied on the land and the sea for their livelihood. Generations of Palestinian fishers have worked the sea, and farmers harvested the land, to support their communities and their lives. Today, the fishers and farmers of Gaza are under attack – braving death and imprisonment to continue to harvest the land and sea. The Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) in Palestine has called for international action and solidarity to support fishers and farmers under siege.
The UAWC, a grassroots organization that works to support Palestinian agricultural workers and develop their steadfastness on their land, connected with the Vancouver Delegation to Gaza on our recent delegation, and has initiated a call to organizations across Canada, and around the world, to hold events, actions and protests in solidarity with Fishers and Farmers under attack in Gaza and throughout Palestine on a Day of Action on Sunday, September 30, 2012.
Gaza, Palestine, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, has been under Israeli occupation since 1967, and under a tight and brutal siege since 2006, denying people and goods access and movement from the small coastal strip, one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Over 70% of the people of Gaza are refugees who have lived in Gaza since the 1948 Nakba – the occupation and ethnic cleansing of most of Palestine.
Gaza’s Fishers: Today, over 70,000 Palestinians in Gaza rely on the sea and the fishing industry for their income and their lives. However, the sea in Gaza and the fishers of Gaza are bearing the brunt of one of the most severe aspects of Israel’s siege on Gaza. Israeli warships constantly patrol Gaza’s shores and have unilaterally declared fishing prohibited outside 3 nautical miles. Tens of millions of dollars of income have been lost and fishers families forced into unemployment and poverty. Fishers who venture to the 3 nautical mile “border” are regularly shot at, their boats seized or damaged, and subject to arrest, detention and imprisonment. In 2012, there have already been hundreds of attacks on fishing boats by Israeli warships. (Video of fishers under fire: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoIylIT2Cz8)
Gaza’s Farmers: Gaza’s farmers are also subject to an ongoing war against their lives, livelihood and land. Israel has unilaterally declared the northern and eastern edges of the Gaza Strip to be “buffer zones” or “no go zones”, often in some of the most agriculturally proficient areas of the often-dry region, on land farmed by Palestinian families for generations. Anyone who ventures into these areas regularly faces threats to their lives from soldiers, snipers, tanks, helicopters and drones that routinely patrol the area. The “buffer zone” includes 17% of Gaza’s total land mass – but 35% of its agricultural land and 113,000 people. 305 water wells, 197 chicken farms, 377 sheep farms, and over 1000 homes have been destroyed by Israeli occupation military inside the “buffer zone.” (Video of farmers’ struggle for their land: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RMAJi9OPiU)
While Palestinian fishers and farmers are braving gunfire to work their land and sea, the Canadian government of Stephen Harper has nothing but praise for the Israeli state that enforces this siege on Gaza. On March 29, 2006, Canada became the first country in the world to impose a siege on the Palestinian people living in Gaza and the West Bank, declaring cancellation of aid to Palestine. Foreign Minister John Baird recently described Canada as “Israel’s best friend.”
Of course, Israel is not alone in denying indigenous people the right to fish and farm their land – like Israel, Canada was founded upon the theft of indigenous people’s land, a settler colonial reality of genocide and oppression that continues to the present day. Indigenous nations are engaged in constant struggles to defend their fishing rights against attempts to deny their right to fish their own waters commercially, as well as to defend their traditional territories from pipelines and resource extraction.
What can you do to join the Day of Action?
RESOURCES are available for the Day of Action, including flyers and more a http://vancouver2gaza.org/dayofaction
1. Endorse the day of action! Email your endorsement to vancouver2gaza@gmail.com
2. Work with local fishers’ or farmers’ unions or associations to issue official statements and declarations of solidarity with the fishers and farmers of Gaza, Palestine to mark September 30′s day of action.
3. Work with local groups to highlight fishing and land rights inequity and oppression directed at indigenous people, and build connections with the ongoing oppression of Palestinian farmers and fishers.
4. Hold an demonstration, outdoor event or solidarity action with Palestinian farmers and fishers. Let us know what’s happening in your city! Email your event to be included in a national/global calendar vancouver2gaza@gmail.com
5. Hold a film screening or educational event in solidarity with Palestinian fishers and farmers.
Films from the Union of Agricultural Work Committees available online: Doors to the Sea: Gaza’s Fishers Under Siege: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C05UhR9qtiA&feature=plcp My Beloved Olive: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uc3BcB0CT9g&feature=plcp Staying: Palestinian Farmers and Fishers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RMAJi9OPiU&feature=plcp
Flyers to be customized for your use in your city: Vancouver Poster for the Day of Action – Colour
Vancouver Poster for the Day of Action – Black and White
Vancouver Flyer – double sided – for the Day of Action
Canada customizable poster for the Day of Action – Colour
Canada customizable poster for the Day of Action – Black and White
International customizable poster for the Day of Action – Colour.
International customizable poster for the Day of Action – Black and White
Informational Leaflet for the Day of Action
Featured
‘Saudis Arabia is not respecting its neighbours’: Commentator
Yemen will enter a new stage to fully reclaim its rights, Saudi Arabia will find itself in a major strategic deadlock and will bear high costs for its aggression.
Commenting to PressTV on Saudi Arabia’s attack on Sana’a International Airport, author and commentator Saeb Shaath said ”Saudi Arabia’s actions destroy neighbours’ trust and destabilize the region”.
Yemen’s Foreign Ministry in Sana’a has condemned Saudi Arabia’s attack on Sana’a International Airport, saying that the strike marks the end of the truce and the beginning of a new phase of war.
In a statement on Monday, the Ministry declared that Yemen will enter a new stage to fully reclaim its rights, warning that Saudi Arabia will find itself in a major strategic deadlock and will bear high costs for its aggression.
Separately, the spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, stated that “the Saudi aggression will not go unpunished,” adding, “The Saudi enemy has ended the de-escalation phase, and must bear responsibility for all potential consequences.”
The Yemeni Ministry of Transport announced in a statement that “Saudi Arabia’s bombardment of Sana’a airport and violation of the Yemeni airspace signifies the Riyadh regime’s insistence, with Americans’ and Zionists’ push, to continue the siege.”
On March 26, 2015, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies initiated a blockade on Yemen, marking the beginning of a comprehensive war, backed with military, political, and logistical assistance from the United States and other Western countries.
The war has led to the deaths of tens of thousands of people in Yemen, while failing to achieve its primary goal of reinstating the previous government that was aligned with Riyadh.
Amid a power struggle, the government fled the country, leading Yemen’s popular resistance movement, Ansarullah, to take charge of state affairs.
After a delicate ceasefire brokered by the UN in 2022, multiple rounds of significant attacks were launched against Yemen by the United States, Britain, and the Israeli regime.
The assaults aimed to weaken Sana’a’s ability to conduct solidarity strikes against Israeli targets, which were being conducted in response to Tel Aviv’s genocidal actions in the Gaza Strip.
Culture & Arts
Over 43 million join funeral ceremonies for Martyr Leader Imam Ali Khamenei in Iran, Iraq
Fra Hughes, reporting back From Iran, as he attending the funeral service in Mashhad for martyred Leader Imam Ayatollah Ali Khamenei .
Fra Hughes, reporting back From Iran, as he attending the funeral service in Mashhad for martyred Leader Imam Ayatollah Ali Khamenei .
Tens of millions of Iranians and devotees from across the world turned the funeral ceremonies for the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, into the largest procession the world has ever witnessed, according to a report.
The six-day grand farewell and burial rites for the revered Leader were held across five cities — Tehran, Qom, Najaf, Karbala, and Mashhad — drawing massive, passionate crowds that defied all previous records, the Fars News Agency reported.
The ceremonies included three days in Tehran, two days of public mourning at the Grand Mosalla and one day of the main funeral procession, with each of the other cities hosting a full day of tributes. Many mourners traveled between cities, multiplying the scale of participation and creating a continuous wave of devotion.
Official estimates, compiled from multiple independent field and government sources, confirm that between 41 and 43 million people took part in the historic events.
These figures are based on a rigorous combination of data including public transport passenger records to and from ceremony sites, active mobile phone signals in key areas such as the Mosalla and main procession routes, average individual attendance duration of approximately two and a half hours, detailed crowd density calculations along Tehran’s procession paths, physical area measurements from Jamkaran Mosque to the Holy Shrine in Qom, and the route from the airport to the Imam Reza Holy Shrine in Mashhad.
The endless sea of mourners, who had gathered since early morning, accompanied the vehicle carrying the blessed bodies, transforming the streets of Mashhad into a scene of unparalleled grandeur and devotion.
The sheer scale of the gathering defied description. From the moment the funeral vehicle entered Imam Reza Street, it was completely surrounded by waves of mourners who had traveled from every corner of Iran, all united in grief and determination.
Their tear-streaked faces and fervent chants filled the air, creating an atmosphere that observers described as one of the most remarkable displays of national unity in recent history.
Iraqi authorities, through the Prime Minister’s Office, separately verified the presence of around 10 million mourners in Najaf and Karbala, providing an important independent pillar for the overall calculation.
Even when applying the most conservative methodologies, Iranian officials and relevant authorities emphasize that this monumental event has surpassed every comparable gathering of the past century.
It stands without doubt as the single largest funeral procession in recorded history, a powerful and everlasting testament to the deep love and unwavering allegiance of the Iranian people and the broader Islamic Ummah for their martyred Leader.
The Leader and members of his family were martyred in a terrorist attack on February 28, carried out by the United States and the Zionist regime against the leader’s residence.
Among those martyred were new Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei’s wife, the late leader’s son-in-law; a daughter of the late leader and his 14-month-old granddaughter.
The funeral ceremonies began last Friday, with tributes from political officials from over 45 countries and scholars from more than 90 nations. This was followed by farewell ceremonies at Tehran’s Mosalla over the weekend, where millions paid their respects.
Watch Fra Hughes, reporting back From Iran, as he attending the funeral service in Mashhad for martyred Leader Imam Ayatollah Ali Khamenei :
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNREVSqqW
Culture & Arts
Sha’ath: Resistance axis to grow stronger after Ayatollah Khamenei.
Resistance axis to grow stronger after Ayatollah Khamenei
Thursday, 09 July 2026
An interview with, West Asia political expert Saeb Shaath discusses why massive participation in funeral processions held in Iraq for the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, goes beyond symbolic mourning, arguing that it reflects growing regional solidarity with Iran, shifting political dynamics in West Asia, and the enduring influence of Ayatollah Khamenei on the regional Axis of Resistance.
He also examines how Ayatollah Khamenei’s leadership helped unite diverse resistance movements around a common anti-imperialist agenda and what this legacy could mean for the future of the region.
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