Film: The Voice of Hind Rajab, Princess Original Cinema at 7pm Friday 30 January 2026

Dear Waterloo Region friends of Palestine,

WRFP is privileged to share our first film showing of 2026 with partner, Princess Cinema.

A shattering film using only sound and humanity; screened on the 2nd anniversary of the murder of 5 year-old Hind Rajab.

The voice of Hind Rajab is the voice of Gaza itself, a cry for rescue the entire world could hear, yet no one answered.

On January 29, 2024, a five-year-old Palestinian girl named Hind Rajab and six members of her family attempted to obey an evacuation order by Israel’s military before their home in Gaza City was to be bombed. The Israeli military shelled and shot at the fleeing vehicle, killing Hind’s family and trapping the young girl in the wreckage. Hind was able to place a call to the Palestinian Red Crescent begging for help as darkness falls. She waited 3 hours for an ambulance to be granted permission by the Israeli military to come to her only to have it shelled by a tank just as it reached her. The two paramedics were murdered — as was Hind herself.

Instead of directly depicting this horrific action, the director, Ben Hania, centers the drama within the offices of the Palestinian Red Crescent in the West Bank. The film chronicles the efforts of the call centre dispatcher to maintain an open phone line with Hind while negotiating safe passage for the rescue ambulance with Israel’s uncaring military.

In a bold and inspired move, the director utilizes the actual audio of Hind’s phone calls in the film, a choice that refocuses the line between fiction and documentary, yet never feels exploitative. The film was made with the support of Hind’s mother and the real-life dispatchers who tried to coordinate the rescue effort. The Voice of Hind Rajab is heartbreaking but it is also unflinching portrayal of genocidal intent and the dangers of humanitarian aid work in middle of military fire which targets civilians and civil society. The film is a memorial to a young, innocent life extinguished by a brutal genocide.

The film will be introduced with opening remarks by Robert Massoud, founder of Zatoun.

In deference to the film’s subject it will not be followed by the usual conversation / Q&A.

Tunisia, France, USA | Kaouther Ben Hania | 89 minutes | Arabic with English subtitles

Awards and reviews:

The Voice of Hind Rajab  was awarded the Grand Jury Prize at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival in 2025. It received the longest standing ovation in the festival’s history (24 minutes).  Director Ben Hania said in her powerful acceptance speech: “The voice of Hind is the voice of Gaza itself, a cry for rescue the entire world could hear, yet no one answered. Her voice will continue. Her voice will continue to echo until accountability is real, until justice is served.”

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has 98% based on 49 critics reviews. The website’s consensus reads: “Incorporating real-life elements that are as difficult to witness as they are impossible to forget, The Voice of Hind Rajab is a harrowing docudrama that makes a powerful appeal to humanity.” Metacritic assigned the film a score of 85 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating “universal acclaim.”

“Not a day has gone by that I haven’t thought of Hind and the life that she was denied. Ben Hania’s film asks you to do the same: to remember her smile, her voice, her love of the sea, and her.”  rogerebert.com.

The film is Tunisia’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards on March 15, 2026.

Hope to see you at the film on Friday, 30 January 2026 (extra showings on Saturday and Sunday).  Please share with family and friends.  Princess Cinema needs our support to encourage screening of more films on or about Palestine.  Thank you.

In solidarity and peace,
Irene, Robert and WRFP

Film: The Voice of Hind Rajab "I'm so scared... please come" Gaza: January 29 2024 Hind Rajab 3.5.2018 29.1.2024 Friday January 30 ~ 7:00 pm Doors open at 6:30pm Princess Original, Waterloo 6:45pm remarks by Robert Massoud, founder of Zatoun Extra showings: Saturday, Jan-31 @ 4:30pm & Sunday, Feb-01 @ 2:30pm (illustration of a young girls face, with flowers in her hair)

Hands Off Venezuela! Rally at Waterloo Public Square, 2pm on Saturday 17 January 2026

Correction: The date is Saturday 17 January 2026

Join us to condemn the illegal U.S. airstrikes and abduction of the democratically elected President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. Venezuela has the world’s largest oil resources and at the press conference on Saturday, Trump said “We’re taking back the oil in Venezuela… We’re running the country… We’re going to be taking out a lot of wealth from Venezuela.” The attack against Venezuela is another aggressive U.S. war for oil.

Actions are taking place across Canada this week in solidarity with the people of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela against U.S. aggression.

The CWPJN condemns the January 3, 2026 U.S. military attacks against Venezuela, and joins the international call for emergency actions demanding: No War on Venezuela! Repatriate Venezuelan President Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores Now! We also denounce the Canadian government’s shameful support of the U.S.’s illegal ouster of President Maduro.

Read the statement: No War on Venezuela! from the Canada-Wide Peace and Justice Network

Not another U.S. war for oil. (See the CIA stats on Venezuela’s proven oil reserves)

Organized by:

Part of the Canada-Wide Peace & Justice Network (CWPJN).

Amnesty International Write For Rights, 1pm-4pm on Saturday 10 January 2026 at First United Church

Hello Amnesty supporters,

You are invited to join human rights advocates in the Kitchener/Waterloo area as we take part in Amnesty International’s annual Write for Rights letter-writing campaign — the biggest human rights event in the world!

Your Words Are Powerful | Write For Rights | Amnesty International ( a woman holding a pen and Write For Rights letters, in front of a B&W photo of a woman giving a peace sign surrounded by scattered paperwork)

What to do: We will have printed copies of letters for you to sign as well as blank cards and art materials so you can prepare messages of support for the people and families whose rights are under threat.

(grey rectangle depicting a printed page) W4R-2025-letterspdffinal15pshare.pdf, 90 kBytes

Download the prepared letters with instructions so that if you have the time, you can sign the letters in advance and bring them with you to our event on January 10. That way, you can focus on preparing the cards of support when you arrive.

More about Write for Rights:

Write For Human Rights (a raised clenched fist holding a nibbed pen)Write for Rights involves hundreds of thousands of people across 200 countries and territories who write millions of letters and and send messages of support on behalf of eight individuals or groups whose rights are at risk.

Write for Rights has helped transform the lives of more than 100 people since 2001, freeing them from torture, harassment, or unjust imprisonment.

This year Amnesty International’s eight cases include: displaced people in Madagascar in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, Sámi reindeer herders in Norway whose lifestyle and land rights are under threat, deadly conditions in South African daycares, a lawyer and media commentator in Tunisia jailed for criticizing inhumane prison conditions, a photojournalist sentenced to 20 years hard labour in prison for reporting on the impact of a cyclone in northern Myanmar and the intimidation, imprisonment and murder of environmentalists in the Amazon, Cambodia, and Honduras.

Your words have the power to change lives! Please join us to sign letters and send messages of support to change lives for the better.

Hope to see you on January 10!!!

For more information about this event, email groupnine9@gmail.com

For more information about Canada-based Write for Rights events and on-line petitions go to https://amnesty.ca/write-for-rights/

Check out our social media at…

Event: Write For Rights – January 10th 2026 @1:00pm @ First United Church in Waterloo

Event: Group 9 Hosts Write for Rights

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/DR3NMvjiUcJ/

Waterloo Region Climate Collaborative Potluck, 6:30pm on Thursday 8 January 2026 at REEP House

Happy New Year everyone

We hope this season has been full of fun and family (as well as snow). WRCC is starting off the new year with an IN PERSON only potluck celebration. Our summer potluck was a huge success, and REEP House will keep us warm and dry as we eat, network, share successes, and think about the future.

IN-PERSON ONLY at REEP House, 20 Mill Street in Kitchener. Please come unscented.

If you are able, please bring a vegetarian or vegan potluck dish to share (with serving utensils); and if you are able, your own dishes and beverage (water is available).

WRCC continues to grow and evolve, and we welcome your input on how we help facilitate working together to achieve our mutual goals of building a just and climate resilient community. For example, our Advocacy Committee has been hard at work building a strategy to connect with other environment, sustainability, and social justice communities across the region to strategize around the October 2026 municipal elections. WRCC is making plans to facilitate collaboration both within our network, and beyond – as we are conscious of how climate connects with so many other issues in our region.

In addition to time for networking and sharing your organizations projects and events on Thursday, we hope to have initial informal conversations to gauge interest around election organizing. For those that are interested, we plan to follow up by convening a separate election-focused gathering in February.

Happy New Year,
And hope to see you January 8th.

Waterloo Region Climate Collaborative (blue letters on a pale background, the WRCC logo to the right, a blue square with stylized diagonal lines representing a tree)

Emergency Protest: Hands Off Venezuela! at Waterloo Public Square, 4:30pm on Monday 5 January 2026

  • What: Emergency Protest in Waterloo: Hands Off Venezuela! Stop the U.S. war against Venezuela! Canada-Wide Peace & Justice Network (yellow letters on a green peace symbol on a red background; the inside of the green peace symbol is coloured like a watermelon)
  • When: 4:30pm-5:30pm on Monday 5 January 2026
  • Where: Waterloo Public Square
  • Location: 75 King Street South Map
  • Online: Peace and Justice Network: https://peaceandjusticenetwork.ca/
  • Contact: CWPJN canadapeaceandjustice@gmail.com to register actions.

Join us to condemn the illegal U.S. airstrikes and abduction of the democratically elected President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. Venezuela has the world’s largest oil resources and at the press conference on Saturday, Trump said “We’re taking back the oil in Venezuela… We’re running the country… We’re going to be taking out a lot of wealth from Venezuela.” The attack against Venezuela is another aggressive U.S. war for oil.

No War on Venezuela! Repatriate Venezuela's President Maduro & his wife Cilia Flores Now! Cross-Canada Emergency Actions Waterloo, Ontario MONDAY January 5 (2026) 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. Waterloo Public Square, 75 King St. Organized by the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace & WILPF-Canada #HandsOffVenezuela

Actions are taking place across Canada this week in solidarity with the people of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela against U.S. aggression.

The CWPJN condemns the January 3, 2026 U.S. military attacks against Venezuela, and joins the international call for emergency actions demanding: No War on Venezuela! Repatriate Venezuelan President Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores Now! We also denounce the Canadian government’s shameful support of the U.S.’s illegal ouster of President Maduro.

Read the statement: No War on Venezuela! from the Canada-Wide Peace and Justice Network

Not another U.S. war for oil. (See the CIA stats on Venezuela’s proven oil reserves)

Organized by:

Part of the Canada-Wide Peace & Justice Network (CWPJN).

Neighbours for Palestine: Day of Action outside Centra Industries, 1pm on Saturday 3 January 2026

Canada is still complicit in genocide, and Waterloo Region is still arming Israel.

It’s time to act.

Join us as we bring our collective power into 2026. Bring a neighbour. Bring your voice. Liberation is not a moment, it is a practice we return to again and again, year after year.

No more F-35s in our backyards!

Parking: Do not park at Centra Industries. Instead, find parking on Saltsman Drive or nearby businesses that are closed, while avoiding any ‘No Trespassing’ signs.

What to bring: Bring your Palestine flags, posters, signs, megaphones, drums, and anything to make noise. Since we’re meeting in January, be sure to wear warm, comfortable clothing!

Safety guidelines for the day of action

  • Marshals will be wearing vests. You can ask them any questions you may have!
  • Do not interact with agitators, police, or media. We have trained members assigned to deal with each.
  • We will not be interacting with the facility or employees. Our goal is to raise awareness about this manufacturer, not to provoke workers and take away from our message.

Why Centra Industries?

F-35 components made at Centra Industries travel to the assembly line in Fort Worth, Texas, where the F-35s are assembled and then purchased by Israel. Centra Industries is only one of several companies in Waterloo Region contributing weapons to Israel’s genocidal arsenal, but we’re focusing on them because of the exceptionally deadly nature of the F-35 warplane.

Since being elected, Cambridge MP Connie Cody has remained silent on the presence of Centra Industries in her riding and on Bill C-233 (the No More Loopholes Act), which would close the U.S. Loophole. To learn more about the proposed bill, see the Arms Embargo Now (black letters, "Now" is white on red text between two halves of a broken bomb)Arms Embargo Now website.

Lecture: Poetry, Pain, and the Promise of Palestine, UofW, 7-9pm on Wednesday 26 November 2025

The University of Waterloo’s Faculty of Arts is honoured to present guest speaker Dr. Sa’ed Atshan – scholar, Palestinian Quaker, and LGBTQ human rights advocate – on the role of poetry in capturing the realities of contemporary Palestinian life in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and beyond.

Please join us for this unique opportunity to explore how interdisciplinary scholarship can be applied to both understand and address a global crisis which has had such tragic human consequences.

About the speaker

A bald man wearing a suit jacket. He is staring past the camera to the left.
Sa’ed Atshan
Dr. Sa’ed Atshan is Associate Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies and Anthropology and Chair of the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies at Swarthmore College. He has previously served as an Associate Professor of Anthropology at Emory University, as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Senior Research Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley, and as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International Studies. He earned a PhD in Anthropology and Middle Eastern Studies and MA in Social Anthropology from Harvard University, an MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School, and BA from Swarthmore College. Atshan is the author of Queer Palestine and the Empire of Critique (Stanford University Press, 2020), coauthor (with Katharina Galor) of The Moral Triangle: Germans, Israelis, Palestinians (Duke University Press, 2020), and co-editor (with Galor) of Reel Gender: Palestinian and Israeli Cinema (Bloomsbury, 2022).

Details and proceedings

Registration is required for in-person and online attendance. For those attending in-person, proof of registration is required at the reception area.

  • Doors open: 6:30 p.m.
  • Lecture and moderated Q & A: 7:00 to 8:20 p.m.
  • Reception for the in-person audience: 8:30 to 9:00 p.m.

Paid visitor parking is available in Lot M across from Federation Hall. More parking information.

This lecture is made possible through the generosity of alumni and friends. UofW Faculty of Arts extends sincere appreciation to the donors who contributed to the Foundation for Palestinian Studies Fund.

Watch past recordings from the UofW Palestinian Lectures series on YouTube.

Film Screening: The Spirit of ’45, 2pm on Saturday 22 November 2025 at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church

The Spirit of '45 (B&W photo of people gathering. From their clothing this is in 1945)
Come together for The Spirit of ’45. A story of hope, solidarity, and the power of community in protecting public healthcare.

Ontario’s public healthcare is under threat, and our communities are speaking up. The Waterloo Region Health Coalition affiliated with the Ontario Health Coalition (OHC) is part of a province-wide movement urging the Ford government to stop the privatization of our healthcare system.

Join us for a special screening of The Spirit of ’45, a moving film that reminds us of what’s possible when people come together for the common good. Through the story of post-war Britain’s creation of public healthcare, we’re reminded why protecting ours matters now more than ever.

This fundraiser is more than a movie, it’s a call to action, a chance to stand together for fairness, compassion, and care for all.

Admission and Donations

How much is admission?

Admission is by donation. We suggest a minimum of $10, with all proceeds supporting the Waterloo Region Health Coalition’s work to protect public healthcare in Ontario. You’re welcome to contribute more if you wish; every bit helps!

Can donations be made at the door on the event day?

Donations can be made by e-transfer to admin@ontariohc.ca (include “Waterloo fundraiser” in the message) OR by credit card at https://www.ontariohealthcoalition.ca/index.php/donate-now/

Can donations be made at the door on the event day?

Yes, we will accept cash or personal cheques at the door.

Rise Up for Gaza, Gaukel Block in Kitchener, 2pm on Saturday 4 October 2025

This October marks two years since the beginning of the genocide in Gaza. Two years of mass killing, displacement, and starvation of a besieged civilian population—carried out with total impunity in full view of the world.

For two years, the Canadian government has chosen complicity—arming Israel, providing unwavering support, ignoring international law, and hiding behind loopholes and half-measures. It is up to us to make clear that this is unacceptable and that we refuse to allow our government to aid genocide in our name.

On Saturday, October 4, join the Palestinian Youth Movement in the streets of Kitchener-Waterloo to shut it down and demand an end to our government’s complicity in genocide. Bring your friends, your family, and your community—together we can make it impossible for our government to ignore our voices.

📢  RiseUp For Gaza

🗓 Saturday, October 4

🕑 2:00 PM

📍 Gaukel Block, Downtown Kitchener

There is no denying it. An extensive UN investigation recently confirmed what has long been known–a genocide is happening in Gaza. The world was warned by the International Court of Justice when it ruled a “plausible genocide” in January 2024 and issued legally binding provisional measures, including that all states must refrain from arming Israel while it is under investigation. In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister and Defense Minister for war crimes and crimes against humanity. And leading genocide scholars and human rights experts have loudly sounded the alarm.

Yet the Canadian government has still not even called this a genocide. Instead, Canada remains complicit–sending and buying weapons and military technology, and providing diplomatic cover by repeating the false claim that Israel has a “right to defend itself” while it carries out atrocity crimes against the indigenous Palestinian population of the land it illegally occupies, and continues to annex, in defiance of international law.

Genocide is the crime of all crimes. It cannot be justified under any circumstances. Canada is a signatory to the Genocide Convention, which makes it our government’s responsibility not only to punish but to prevent genocide. The duty to prevent arises the moment serious risk is identified, not after it becomes politically unviable to defend the indefensible. Our government has failed, and the people of Gaza cannot be saved with symbolic gestures like state recognition—they need the bombs to stop falling, the weapons to stop flowing, the blockade to be lifted, and Canada’s complicity to end.

Here in Waterloo Region, our community is directly implicated. Our region is home to over a half-dozen weapons and technology companies exporting parts and components that fuel this genocide. This complicity stains our community and our conscience.

The responsibility to resist genocide falls on all of humanity—but especially on Canadians, whose government is actively helping to sustain it.

Your presence matters on October 4th. Together, we will show that Waterloo Region refuses to stand idly by while genocide is carried out with our government’s support.

Stop the genocide. Stop Canada’s complicity.

We will not be silent until Palestine is free.

In solidarity,

Neighbours for Palestine: Waterloo Region

Movie: The Eternal Song, at the Civic Hub, 5:30pm on Tuesday 30 September 2025

You are invited to watch The Eternal Song on September 30.

If you are joining us virtually, the film will begin at 6:00pm. If you are attending in person at the Civic Hub in Kitchener, there will be a feast from 5:30pm to 6:00pm. Potluck style is encouraged, if you are able to contribute. Please bring your feast bundle to eat with. Let’s wear our Orange Shirts and put our heads, hearts and hands together as we engage in healing ourselves, our communities, our Nations and our planet from the harms of colonization.

In the spirit of reciprocity, this fundraiser will be sharing proceeds with the Kinema platform, A Womb With A View, and some of the Indigenous groups highlighted in the film.

Please join us on Truth and Reconciliation Day for a unique perspective on healing from colonization. We will have a brief circle afterwards to debrief and selected craft items & Orange Shirts will be on sale. If you are unable to join us, please share this information and/or consider sponsoring a ticket for someone else to participate.

Miigweech.

Lori and Two White Feather
A Womb With A View

The Eternal Song | Ancestral Wisdom for Collective Healing