Israeli Apartheid protest grows by leaps and bounds

I didn't count the number of people who showed up to the latest picket outside of Chapters bookstore on Rideau Street in Ottawa on Saturday Feb. 2, but suffice it to say we had more than enough to begin working both sides of the street next time around, and organizers will have to order double the number of printed handouts.

The photo below will give you a partial but very important idea of the mix of the group of picketers and one of the most crucial issues for Palestinians. You can learn more about Right of Return at Madre.

Two members of the Ottawa Raging Grannies and a friend came equipped with signs and rousing songs, including that great, uplifting call to rejoice: "Hava Nagila":


It's not absolutely impossible to sing Hava Nagila without a smile on one's face, as I learned from looking at You Tube, but, if sung as intended, it might be possible to stop a battle with it. In fact, I think we all ought to have started singing it at the tops of our lungs when a small group of loud and fearsome Zionists angrily confronted our picket. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

I finally resorted to photographing the interlopers and at that they quickly disappeared. Out of respect for their obvious fear of having their pictures taken, I won't post the shots I took - unless they start hassling me here.

Back to Hava Nagila, for comic relief, you probably should see at least once The Four Squeezins perform it. And then see a gorgeous orchestral rendition. Somewhere in between exists many varieties of how professional musicians and ordinary people enjoy this amazing song world wide.

Think of the rejoicing there will be on the day there comes a recognizable resolution to the unholy goings on in what is called the Holy Land. To help make that happen, Canadians need to wake up to the unwitting part we play in maintaining Israeli Apartheid.

February 3 marked the beginning of a series of events around the globe to observe the 60th anniversary of Al Nakba - 60 years of ethnic cleansing and dispossession for Palestinians. Activities will continue until well past mid February.

Please check out the international schedules and see how you can participate where you live.

Ottawa Chapters Pickets Organized by: Not In Our Name and CanPalNet Ottawa

Related:
The Nakba - an event that did not occur (although it had to occur)
Quiz Yourself on 'Israeli Democracy'
Previous articles and photos - Chapters boycott and calls for ending siege of Gaza