A panel discussion on feminist resistance to Israeli apartheid as part of Israeli Apartheid Week 2009 in Montreal
Recorded by Aaron Lakoff of CKUT radio.
aaron (at) resist.ca
The world watched in sorrow and anger in early 2009 as the Israeli military pounded the Gaza strip, taking hundreds of lives, and turning cities into rubble. In the midst of all of this, a group of 8 Jewish Women in Toronto walked into the Israeli consulate and occupied it, refusing to be passive bystanders to this war. Their slogan was "Jewish women: Not in our name".
Their action, and those of thousands of other women around the world, sheds light on what women are doing to combat militarism, war, and apartheid in Israel and around the world.
At Concordia university, we remember the legacy of Lillian Robinson, the late principal of the Simone de Beauvoir Institute for Women's Studies, and a tireless defendant of social justice. As a Jewish woman, Lillian not only created an academic base for feminist resistance to Israeli injustices, but also actively spoke out in favour of human rights for the Palestinian people. She was one of the founding members of the Jewish Alliance Against the Occupation in Montreal.
This panel discussion will hear from diverse women activists reflecting on their own experiences and historical examples of combatting sexism and racism, and look at how we can build a pro-feminist movement to end Israeli apartheid.
This panel was co-presented by the Simone de Beauvoir Institute for Women's Studies at Concordia University, and the Women's Studies Students Association
Dolores Chew is a founding member of the South Asian Womens' Community Center in Montreal, a member of the 8th March Committee of Women of Diverse Origins collective, a teacher at Marianopolis college, a Research Associate at the Simone de Beauvoir Institute and a member of the Boad of CERAS (Centre sur l'asie du sud).
Rafeef Ziadah is a third generation Palestinian refugee, a member of the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid and Sumoud, a spoken word artist, and a political science student in Toronto.
*Moderated by Meg Leitold
Meg Leitold is a Montreal-based organizer and Women's Studies student at the Simone de Beauvoir Institute. Among other projects, she is a member of the Israeli Apartheid Week Committee in Montreal.