Palestine Debrief

CJPME’s Michael Bueckert recently returned from a two-week trip to Palestine-Israel. During his time there, Bueckert met with dozens of Palestinian community leaders and organizations, politicians, youth activists, business leaders, and academics. He also visited current hotspots including Sheikh Jarrah, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and Jenin, as well as unrecognized Bedouin villages in the Naqab. Get an update from Palestine as Bueckert shares his observations, and ponders what the future may hold for Palestine, Israel, and Canada.
Podcast Notes:

• Michael’s full trip report
• Michael’s tweet about his treatment by Israel border police on his departure

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Last spring, Fernwood Publishing announced a new book, Advocating for Palestine in Canada: one of the first-ever books about Palestinian solidarity work in Canada. Michael Bueckert, one of Debrief’s regular hosts wrote a chapter in the book looking at how Israel seeks to deflect and dismiss criticisms of its oppressive and apartheid practices. This subject matter is also the focus of Michael’s PhD dissertation. Join us as Michael discusses his chapter, and learn how today’s apologists for Israel take an approach eerily similar to that taken by apologists for apartheid South Africa.

Links from this podcast:

• Link to Advocating for Palestine in Canada at Fernwood Publishing

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Is Canadian media biased towards Israel and against Palestinians? Where does bias come from, and how can we challenge it? On this episode, Michael and Tom are joined by Passage’s Davide Mastracci, author of a chapter on Canadian media and pro-Israel bias in the book Advocating for Palestine in Canada (Fernwood, 2022). We talk about the role of journalists, editors, corporate owners, and lobby groups in pushing media coverage to be favourable to Israel, and how these factors undermine reporting on Israel’s human rights abuses.

Links from this podcast:

• Read Mastracci’s chapter in Advocating for Palestine in Canada
• Read Mastracci’s article in Passage
• Now You Know – Mastracci’s newsletter on pro-Israel lobbying in media

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Tom and Michael discuss a recent report authored by Michael and its implications for upcoming votes on Palestinian human rights at the United Nations General Assembly. The report, based on documents obtained through an access to information request, found that Canada’s career foreign affairs officials are highly critical of Canada’s staunchly pro-Israel record, and have been pushing for a change in the government’s approach. We break down the report’s findings and what they say about Canada and its reputation on the international stage.

Links from this podcast:

• CJPME Report: Voting Against Its Own Interests
• CJPME’s UN Dashboard

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This episode is five interviews with Canadians who suffered mentally, emotionally and financially in their attempts to be reunited with their families in Gaza under the governments Temporary Resident Visa Program for Gazans (TRV).
The first interview is with Samar Alkhdour whose story highlights the government's attempt to suppress advocacy and freedom of expression and assembly revolving critique of the TRV.
Follow Samar Alkhdour on Instagram.
Follow Gazan Canadian Community Group on Instagram and X.
Link and Resources (hyperlinked):
- Email Ministers Miller and Joly - Gaza Visa Day of Action
- CityNews Samar's Criminal Harrassment Charge Statement
- All past articles and interviews covering Samar Alkhdour's advocacy.
- CJPME Gaza Visa Program: Intended to Fail
- CJPME Press Release on Samar Alkhdour
Thank you for listening to the ‘Palestine Debrief’ podcast. This podcast is produced by Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) and hosted by Wissam El Cheikh Hassan.
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Disclaimer: The views and opinions of our guests are their own and do not necessarily represent the positions of CJPME.

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