Spurred by donations to a newly opened Vanunu trust fund, the Canadian Campaign to Free Mordechai Vanunu has launched a drive for parliamentary support for the imprisoned anti-nuclear activist. A July fund-raiser at the home of Reny Drielsma, a longtime Vanunu supporter, more than doubled the size of the Vanunu Trust Fund (Canada), which now tops $3,500.
Ian Cameron, trust administrator, said interest from the fund already has begun benefitting the Canadian campaign. The principal will serve as a financial cushion for Vanunu after his release from prison.
Stephen Dankowich, Canadian campaign coordinator, said Vanunu supporters are planning to approach their Members of Parliament with a call for Canadian pressure on Israel to free Vanunu on humanitarian grounds.
The occasion marked a reunion of three brothers of the jailed whistle-blower: Albert, who lives in Toronto; Asher, a Jerusalem school teacher, and Meir, now living in Sydney, Australia.
Asher told the gathering of about 45 in the Drielsma home that Mordechai, whom he sees every other week, is cheered by the growing international support for his release. He said his brother's morale had improved since the transfer of a warden who had been on his back for the past year.
Following the reunion, Meir went to Prospect, Kentucky, to visit his 5-year-old son, Luca. Before returning to Australia he made campaign appearances in the San Francisco Bay area.
