Jonathan Wouk

Jonathan Wouk started in New York City in 1944. He has studied
the Palestine/Israel conflict with varying degrees of formality
during the past forty-some years. Assistant Professor of Political
Science @ Dalhousie University in the 1970's. Board President,
OCISO, 1986/7, 89/91. Jonathan has been aware of the Palestine/Israel situation since earliest childhood & thinks that
changing the orientation of our own communities is the major
challenge.

Lawrence Greenspon

Lawrence Greenspon is a human rights lawyer with the law firm Greenspon, Brown in Ottawa. He is a certified specialist in criminal and civil litigation. He is the President of the Defence Counsel of Ottawa. He is a past Chair of Reach (Resource Education Advocacy Committee for the Handicapped), Snowsuit Fund, and Multicultural Centre of Ottawa and he continues to work with many charitable organizations. He is a CAYFO Champion. He proudly coaches his daughter in hockey.

 

Monzer Zimmo

Palestine-Canadian, born in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Palestine

Monzer is an activist Palestinian-Canadian who advocates the resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through the peaceful creation of one secular constitutional democracy, rooted in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, over the whole of geographic Palestine, in which Christians, Jews, Muslims, and others feel at home, safe, secure, and equally respected. Monzer welcomes all other attempts to achieve justice-based peace in the Land of Canaan, and sees such attempts as steps on the right path towards achieving the ultimate objective of establishing sustainable peace for all that will be realized through the prevalence, and recognition, of the primacy of the human values of acceptance of the other, sharing, and respect; over all else.

Among Monzer's interests is his continuing work, with several Arab-Canadian, Palestinian-Canadian, multiethnic, multicultural, and other community-based organizations interested in the question of Palestine. Monzer has been an active member of the community for more than 25 years. He is the current president of the Canaanite Canadian Knowledge Centre, a past president of the Association of Palestinian Arab Canadians, Capital Region (APAC), and a past director of the Canadian Arab Federation (CAF).

Monzer is fully aware of the grave past, present, and indeed future sufferings on all sides that are characterizing the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. However, he believes that persistent search for the common humanity, among Muslims, Jews, Christians, and others, will eventually lead to the realization of everyone's hope for the long lasting and sustainable peace for all.

 

Samah Sabawi

Samah Sabawi is a Human Rights and Social Justice advocate.  She was born in Gaza in 1967, shortly after her birth her family was displaced as a result of Israel's occupation of the Gaza Strip.  Although she has lived and worked in many countries around the world, including Australia, Tunis, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt before finally settling in Canada, she still has strong ties to her place of birth - ties that have shaped her work and her identity.