demanded the immediate release of Khalil Touame, the Arab student leader recently jailed by the Israeli authorities in Jerusalem on charges of having given shelter to an ideological leader of the Arab resistance movement.
After picketing the consulate for a half hour in bitterly cold weather, the thirty demonstrators, who included Canadians of both Arab and Jewish extraction, assembled at the entrance of the building and adopted a statement explaining the significance of the case.
The statement pointed out that Khalil Touame was being held illegally, that he had not been given a chance to defend himself, that he had not been charged with a specific crime, yet had been denied bail.
"We call on the Israeli government to free Khalil Touame immediately," the statement said in part. "We call for an end to the harassment of Israeli citizens who are being prosecuted for their political activities.
"We also call on the Canadian people to join in the defence of the civil liberties of Mr. Touame and to protest vigorously his arrest and demand his release in accordance with international
principles of human rights."
The demonstration was sponsored
by an ad hoc committee of organizations,
including the Arab Palestine Association,
the Canada-Arab Friendship Society, and
the Canada-Arab Federation.
Sponsoring individuals included
Hussain Al-Shahistrani (president, Mos-
lem Students Association of North Ameri-
ca), Prof. Kenneth Golby (York University,
and Amnesty International), Prof. George
Haggar (Waterloo University and a promi-
nent figure in the Canadian Arab communi-
ty); Dick Fidler (League for Socialist
perton)s and Harry Kopyto (Young Social-
ists).
Prior to the demonstration, one of
its organizers telephoned the Israeli
consulate to invite a representative to
come out and make any statement he wished
to the pickets.
The Israeli official became very
agitated, yelling: "This man [Touame] is
a criminal and your action is a criminal
action." He then hung up.
The February 9 issue of the lead-
ing Jewish newspaper in Canada, the
Canadian Jewish Tribune reported Touame's
arrest. The article, datelined Jerusalen,
said that the police had interrogated
Dr. Moshe Machover about his connections
with Touame. Dr. Machover is a leader of
the Matspen, a Jewish-Arab socialist
group, and an associate of Khalil Touame.