CJPME
580 Sainte-Croix, Suite 060 H4L 3X5 Montreal, QC, Canada

What does the Israel-US relationship look like after Trump? And what will a Biden Presidency mean for pro-Palestinian activists? Join the Ottawa Forum on Israel Palestine (OFIP) for this upcoming webinar, Recent developments and current trends in the USA on the Israel/Palestine file, featuring an interview Phil Weiss, founder and senior editor of the Mondoweiss. Phil Weiss is one of America’s most astute observers of Israel, Palestine and US policy. He will be interviewed ...by Peter Larson, Chair of the OFIP and Lia Tarachansky, a member of the OFIP Advisory Council, about what’s happening today in the US on the Israel/Palestine file. Happening on Tuesday, January 19 at 7:30pm EST. Register here: https://canadatalksisraelpalestine.ca//post-trump-whats-/ Organized by the Ottawa Forum on Israel Palestine. This event has been endorsed by CJPME.

This is huge: Israel's LARGEST human rights group B'Tselem has finally concluded that Israel must properly be understood as an "Apartheid regime." In their new position paper, B'Tselem describes Israel's apartheid as a "regime of Jewish supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea." In an accompanying op-ed in the Guardian, B'Tselem's Hagai El-Ad writes that in Israel-Palestine, "one government rules everyone and everything between the river and the sea, followin...g the same organising principle everywhere under its control, working to advance and perpetuate the supremacy of one group of people Jews over another Palestinians. This is apartheid." The Apartheid label describes not just the Occupied Palestinian Territories, but also in Israel proper (on both sides of the Green Line). As Hagai El-Ad writes, "There is not a single square inch in the territory Israel controls where a Palestinian and a Jew are equal." B'Tselem joins a growing list of many Palestinians, Israelis, human rights defenders, and others (including CJPME) who for years have said that Israel must be understood as an apartheid state. Nonetheless, B'Tselem's announcement demonstrates how the tide is turning, and how rights groups working in the region are finding it increasingly impossible to avoid using the term 'apartheid' to describe what they see. Read B'Tselem's Op-Ed: https://www.theguardian.com//israel-largest-human-rights-g Read B'Tselem's full report: https://www.btselem.org/publicat//202101_this_is_apartheid

The Palestinian Authority calls out Israel’s medical apartheid, telling the international community that it must hold Israel to account by urging Israel to provide vaccines to all Palestinians, without discrimination. Over the last weeks, CJPME has been raising the issue of Israel’s discriminatory vaccine program, which excludes Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. It is essential that Canada listens to this request and puts pressure on Israel to extend its v...accination program to everyone under its control. A new statement from the PA explains that Israel has a legal responsibility to provide vaccines to Palestinians, but that Israel has failed to do so. Israel has been adamant in refraining from fulfilling its responsibility as an occupying Power under international humanitarian law and human rights law. In the statement, the Palestine Authority also explains that they have been making efforts to secure COVID-19 vaccines for the Palestinian people of Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza. However, they note that Palestine remains under prolonged Israeli military occupation, and as such there have been serious concerns about their ability to meet these needs: it could take months before the PA starts immunization procedures; there are concerns that it won’t be able to supply vaccines for the full population; and Palestine does not have the capacity or equipment to store and distribute the Pfizer vaccine, which is the type of vaccine provided by the WHO’s humanitarian COVAX program (which may cover up to 20% of the population). As the Palestinian Authority concludes: Therefore the international community must hold Israel to account and urge Israel as an occupying Power to fulfill its obligations under international law and make vaccines available to the protected population as a whole and without discrimination. This includes Palestinians in the whole territory of the State of Palestine, which comprise the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, including Palestinians in occupation prisons and Palestinian Refugees. Read the whole statement: https://www.nad.ps//covid-19-vaccines-and-israels-obligati

Not all protests are equal. #EnoughSaid.

CJPME recommends this webinar on Saturday! Independent Jewish Voices Canada hosts Israeli author Haim Bresheeth-Zabner. His book An Army Like No Other destroys the myth that Israel has the ‘most moral army in the world,’ revealing instead the IDF’s history as a brutal, aggressive, colonial force. Register for a Zoom link: https://ijvcanada.zoom.us//regis/WN_VdW9HUMGTySA463EXjdjHw

More evidence of Israel's vaccine apartheid! The Independent is reporting that the World Health Organization had asked Israel to supply Palestinian medical personnel with 10,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines, but Israel refused! The Palestine Authority had made a similar request, which was also rejected. Nearly 8,000 Palestinian health care workers have contracted COVID-19, devastating their health care system. CJPME, Amnesty International, and many human rights groups have po...inted out that Israel is an occupying power and therefore has obligations under international law to provide quality vaccines to the people under its occupation. However, Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza have been excluded from Israel's vaccine plans, even though Israeli settlers in the West Bank have been included. While 1.5 million Israeli citizens have already been vaccinated, not a single Palestinian in the occupied West Bank or Gaza has received a vaccine. This is an outrage, and amounts to medical apartheid. The Canadian government should be putting pressure on Israel to fulfil its legal obligations and supply Palestinians with quality vaccines. Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk//israel-palestine-coronaviru

Today, CJPME joined human rights groups and academics in sending a letter to NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh. The letter commends the principled statements by NDP MPs Charlie Angus and Leah Gazan, who criticized Israel's discriminatory vaccine program for excluding Palestinians under occupation. Signatories include the Canada Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the Canadian Arab Institute, Independent Jewish Voices Canada, the Palestinian Canadian Congress, and many more. As the let...ter states: "It is clear that the statements by Mr. Angus and Ms. Gazan are shared by a broad section of international civil society. And with such a scathing rebuke [to Israel] from Amnesty International, there can be no doubt that Israel’s vaccination accomplishments are sullied by its racist practices..." "Just as you, yourself and the NDP have decried Canada’s racist treatment of its Indigenous population, we call upon you to follow the lead of Angus and Gazan and make your own statement condemning Israel’s racist administration of vaccines. Our elected representatives have a duty to publicize and stand against racism and injustice, whether in Canada or elsewhere." Read the full letter here: https://www.cjpme.org/pr_2021_01_06_joint_letter_singh

Israel's top diplomat in Canada viciously LASHES OUT against Member of Parliament Charlie Angus, instead of taking responsibility for Israel's racist vaccine program that excludes Palestinians! The Israeli diplomat has joined the attack on MPs Charlie Angus and Leah Gazan, who are being unfairly criticized by pro-Israel groups for sharing a factual newspaper article from the Guardian that points out the discriminatory nature of Israel's vaccination program. The article explai...ned that illegal Israeli settlers in the West Bank can access Israeli vaccines, but neighbouring Palestinians under occupation have been excluded. Not only does the Israeli diplomat FALSELY accuse MP Charlie Angus of antisemitism, but he suggests that by sharing the newspaper article MP Angus has violated the controversial IHRA definition of antisemitism. CJPME has been very vocal about the dangers of the IHRA definition, as it conflates antisemitism with criticism of Israel. This is a clear case of IHRA being used to try to suppress speech -- for simply sharing a news article! This is a disgusting attempt by a foreign diplomat to dictate what elected Members of Parliament are allowed to say. Moreover, it avoids the main problem: Israel's racist policies against the Palestinians. CJPME urges Canada's political leaders to denounce the Israeli official for his attack on a MP's right to criticize Israel, and to put pressure on Israel to extend vaccine access to everyone under its occupation.

Saudi's brutal war on Yemen continues, yet Canada still won't stop selling weapons to the regime! New numbers from the Yemen Data Project show that 2020 was a devastating year, with 125 civilians killed by Saudi-led airstrikes, including 54 children. In 2020, there was an average of 6 air raids every day, "double the average daily rate in 2019." Since 2015, the Saudi-led airstrike campaign has killed 8,758 civilians, and left 9,810 wounded.... Despite this, Canada has dramatically increased weapons sales to Saudi Arabia in recent years, and has been criticized by the United Nations for fuelling the conflict. This must end now! CJPME has joined hundreds of organizations around the world in saying NO to the war in Yemen. Stay tuned for more information about a Global Day of Action on January 21. For more information, check out the Yemen Data Project: https://yemendataproject.org/

CJPME press release: MPs Right to Decry Israeli Vaccine Apartheid! Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) condemns the grossly unfair attacks against Members of Parliament Charlie Angus and Leah Gazan for sharing principled and factual criticism about Israel’s discriminatory COVID-19 vaccination program. Both NDP MPs are facing false accusations of antisemitism after they shared an article from the UK newspaper The Guardian, which was titled Palestinians ...excluded from Israeli Covid vaccine rollout as jabs go to settlers. It is appalling that MPs would face serious and vile accusations simply for calling attention to the discriminatory nature of Israel’s vaccine rollout, said Michael Bueckert, Vice President of CJPME. Honest debate about the human rights situation in Palestine is seriously stifled if MPs cannot even share a newspaper article without being called an antisemite. The Guardian article in question presented the fact that Jewish-Israeli citizens settled illegally deep in the occupied West Bank receive COVID-19 vaccines from Israel, while Palestinians in the same territory are excluded. MP Angus shared this article with the comment, This is appalling. #apartheidstate, and MP Gazan tweeted that this was discriminatory and a violation of human rights. CJPME agrees that Israel’s COVID vaccination program is apartheid-like. As the occupying power in the West Bank and Gaza, under international law, Israel is responsible for the well-being of all civilians including taking necessary measures to combat the spread of epidemics. Each year, the UN re-asserts this legal responsibility of Israel. In recent weeks, 10 Israeli, Palestinian and international health and human rights organizations have issued a joint statement calling on Israel to live up to its legal obligations and provide necessary vaccines to Palestinian health systems. CJPME notes that MP Angus has issued a statement rejecting the false accusations against him, and hopes that other MPs will be encouraged by his example to continue to speak out against racist policies. CJPME calls on Canadian legal experts to denounce the smear campaign leveled by pro-Israel groups against Angus, Gazan and The Guardian. CJPME hopes that MPs and government officials will respond to the call from human rights organizations in the region and put pressure on Israel to fulfil its legal obligations to supply Palestinians under occupation with quality vaccines. Link to full press release: https://www.cjpme.org/pr_2021_01_05_vaccine_apartheid

This week, we were thrilled to see Canada vote "YES" for Palestinian Self-Determination at the United Nations. The vote was an important yet insufficient symbol in support of human rights and international law. However, when reporting on the vote, Canadian media has ONLY focused on the pro-Israel voices who OPPOSED Canada's principled vote, and has COMPLETELY IGNORED everyone who thinks that Canada was right to vote for it! The National Post, for example, quoted several diffe...rent pro-Israel lobby groups, but they did not talk to EVEN ONE Palestinian, solidarity group, or human rights organization about why they supported Canada's vote for Palestinian self-determination! The media's framing of this story gives the FALSE impression that the vote on Palestinian self-determination was an anti-Jewish issue, when in fact it was simply about supporting Palestinian human rights and international law. This kind of reporting erases the opinions of Palestinians and their supporters, and contributes to the pervasive pro-Israel bias in Canadian media. Canadians and Palestinians deserve better! For CJPME's perspective on Canada's UN vote, see our press release: https://www.cjpme.org/pr_2020_11_18_self_determination

Today in Parliament, MP Paul Manly for Nanaimo-Ladysmith presented e-petition 2667, which calls on the Government of Canada to appoint a Special Envoy to monitor and protect the rights of Palestinian children under Israeli occupation. CJPME and the United Network for Justice & Peace in Palestine & Israel (UNJPPI) had been encouraging Canadians to sign the petition in support of children's rights under occupation. Read about the campaign here: https://www.cjpme.org/cr_about... Read the full petition here: https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details

Thank you MP Charlie Angus! MP Angus REJECTS false and unfair allegations from B’nai Brith, who claimed that he was spreading antisemitic conspiracy theories just because he shared a Guardian article about Israel’s discriminatory vaccine program in the Occupied West Bank. Charlie also STANDS BY his criticism of Israel’s discriminatory policy! (MP Leah Gazan has also been under attack for similar criticism). It’s so important that Canadian politicians are allowed to have an open and honest discussion of Israel’s human rights violations in Palestine. Thank you Charlie for standing firm for human rights! Go to his post to say thank you: https://www.facebook.com/charlieangusndpnpd/posts/5116033295103502

Yesterday, Canada voted "YES" on Palestinian self-determination at the United Nations, breaking from its consistently pro-Israel record! While this was a very important symbol, it also never should have been an issue. Voting for Palestinian self-determination is consistent with Canada's official foreign policy, including its support for an independent Palestinian state. In the face of Israel's occupation, settlement expansion, and threats of annexation, it is only logical f...or Canada to take this small gesture in support of Palestinian self-determination. It is literally the least that Canada could do! Shamefully, Canada continues to vote "No" on many other motions for Palestinian human rights, thereby failing to speak out against Israeli human rights violations. In the coming days we will continue to pressure the Canadian government to improve its voting record and to stand up for the Palestinian people. See more

Thank you MP Charlie Angus! MP Angus rejects false and unfair allegations from B’nai Brith that he was spreading antisemitic conspiracy theories, just because he shared a Guardian article about Israel’s discriminatory vaccine program in the Occupied West Bank. It’s so important that Canadian politicians are allowed to have an open and honest discussion of Israel’s human rights violations in Palestine. Thank you Charlie for standing firm for human rights.

GREAT NEWS! Just moments ago, Canada voted Yes on a UN resolution supporting Palestinian self-determination! This is a repeat of the vote that Canada unexpectedly made last year, and serves as a HUGE win for the Palestine solidarity movement in Canada! CJPME and the Coalition of Canadian Palestinian Organizations (CCPO) campaigned hard these past few weeks to pressure the Canadian government to take this action. Through our campaign, more than 3,000 Canadians sent emails t...o Trudeau asking him to support this important resolution. Other allies also lobbied for this outcome. Unfortunately, on other annual UN resolutions on Palestinian human rights, Canada continues to vote No, including votes on illegal Israeli settlements and humanitarian assistance to Palestine refugees. CJPME plans to continue to push the government on these other votes, so stay tuned for more campaigns in the coming days pressuring the Trudeau government to do the right thing. Read CJPME's press release: https://www.cjpme.org/pr_2020_11_18_self_determination Check out CJPME’s UN Dashboard to follow all of Canada’s votes on Palestinian human rights at the UNGA: https://www.cjpme.org/un_dashboard

Thank NDP MP Charlie Angus for calling out Israel's discriminatory vaccination program! Today on Twitter, MP Angus shared a Guardian article which highlighted the fact that illegal Israeli settlers in the West Bank have access to Israeli vaccines, but that their Palestinians neighbours do not. He courageously stated that this discriminatory situation was "appalling" and added the hashtag "ApartheidState." Now, MP Angus is being attacked by other politicians, as well as pro-Is...rael lobby groups, who want him to retract these views. Tell MP Angus that you support his principled criticism of Israeli policies, and encourage him to stand by it! Link to the tweet by Charlie Angus: https://twitter.com/CharlieAngu/status/1345708030034407425 Link to the Guardian article about Israel's discriminatory vaccination program: https://www.theguardian.com//palestinians-excluded-from-is

It's not too late to tell Justin Trudeau: Canada must repeat its UN vote for Palestinian Self-Determination! Send an email https://www.cjpme.org/un_vote_2020 En français https://www.cjpme.org/un_vote_2020_fr... Last year, Canada voted Yes on a UN resolution to support Palestinian self-determination, echoing the more balanced approach that Canada used to take before Stephen Harper. This week, Canada will once again vote on this issue at the UN, and it is very important that Canada does not backtrack on Palestinian human rights. Join CJPME and the Coalition of Canadian Palestinian Organizations in calling on Canada to vote in support of Palestinian self-determination, as well as more than a dozen other resolutions on Palestinian human rights. Almost 3,000 Canadians have already emailed Trudeau! Send an email to Trudeau, UN Ambassador Bob Rae, and other political leaders, to tell them to support Palestinian self-determination: https://www.cjpme.org/un_vote_2020 Check out CJPME's new "UN Dashboard" to see how Canada has voted on a series of UN resolutions about Palestinian human rights from 2000 to 2020: https://www.cjpme.org/un_dashboard

This week, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to visit the Psagot winery, which is located in an illegal Israeli settlement in the West Bank. This is the FIRST TIME that a top US diplomat has ever visited an illegal settlement. This is widely seen as a show of support for Israel's theft of Palestinian land. However, not many people realize that Psagot is the SAME settlement winery that Justin Trudeau's government has been going to court to protect! Last year, Trude...au announced that he was going to APPEAL a court ruling which had found that the "Product of Israel" labels on wines from illegal settlements were "false, misleading and deceptive." Psagot winery is one of the wines named in the court case, and has been granted intervenor status. In short, Trudeau is fighting in court to make sure that these settlements wines can continue to be imported and labeled as "Product of Israel," even though they are from stolen Palestinian land. This violates international law, including UN Security Council resolution 2334, which mandates that countries make a clear distinction between Israel and its settlements in the occupied territories. Supporting Israel's illegal settlements is wrong, whether it is by the Trump administration or by Trudeau's government! Read about Pompeo's visit: https://www.aljazeera.com//pompeo-expected-to-visit-illega Read about Trudea's court case: https://www.middleeasteye.net//canada-appeal-courts-ruling

CBC is misleading readers by praising Israel's COVID-19 vaccination program as "leading the world"... while barely mentioning the fact that Israel's program deliberately excludes Palestinians under occupation! About 5.2 million Palestinians under Israeli occupation will NOT get the vaccine from Israel! As an occupying power, Israel has a legal obligation to provide safe, quality vaccines for the populations it occupies. Instead, by focusing only on its own citizens, Israel's ...vaccination program amounts to medical discrimination and apartheid. Palestinians under occupation are left on their own, and they still don't know when or where they will be able to access vaccines. Israel's vaccination program - while excellent if you are a citizen -looks much different when you take in the whole picture! CBC should be properly reporting on this critical aspect of the story. As an editorial in the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz recently put it: "Israel has the legal, moral and humanitarian responsibility to vaccinate the Palestinian population, which lives in distress under its control and whose lives intertwine with the lives of many Israelis. Israelis and Palestinians live in very close proximity to each other, so it really isn’t possible to eliminate the pandemic in Israel proper while it is still raging in the other territories it is responsible for." Read more: 1) CBC article: https://www.cbc.ca//wo/israel-covid-vaccinations-1.5859396 2) Ha'aretz editorial: https://www.haaretz.com//vaccines-for-both-peoples-1.93730

Thanks to Electronic Intifada for reporting on our recent EKOS poll, which shows that most Canadians do not think criticism of Israel is antisemitic and that any initiatives to legislate limits on criticizing or protesting Israel would strongly conflict with the views of average Canadians. Read the full survey at http://cjpme.org/survey2020_r3

Today, a representative of the European Union condemned Israel’s recent moves towards settlement expansion, calling it a de facto annexation attempt. This comes a day after Israel announced that it was planning to build 1200+ new settlement units in the illegal settlement of Givat Hamatos, which is across the Green Line and would cut off East Jerusalem from Bethlehem and the southern West Bank. It is clear that Israel has not abandoned its plans to annex much of the West ...Bank, as it is continuing to steal and establish a permanent settlement presence in Palestinian territory. Only meaningful action by the international community, including the use of sanctions, will be able to stop Israel’s illegal acquisition of territory. Regrettably, Canadian officials have yet to make a single statement criticizing Israel’s new settlement plans, but have instead remained silent.

Yes, the IHRA definition of antisemitism is intended to censor political expression! In Canadian Dimension, CJPME's Michael Bueckert outlines 11 examples of how Canadian supporters of the IHRA definition say they want to use it to censor speech. "Plainly, the biggest supporters of the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism see it as a vehicle for shutting down political expression about Israel, and want to apply it to various activities, including anti-Zionist scholarship, a stude...nt boycott of Israel, or even a vote to support Palestinians at the United Nations. In the eyes of pro-Israel advocacy groups, everything they don’t like can be said to violate the IHRA definition. This is not a hypothetical threat to free speech, but a very real and tangible one." Read more: https://canadiandimension.com//yes-the-ihra-definition-of-

These NDP politicians say that criticism of Israel is NOT antisemitic! Thank you to Matthew Green Hamilton Centre, Leah Gazan, MP, Don Davies, and Rima Berns-McGown, for speaking out against the controversial IHRA definition of antisemitism which conflates criticism of Israel with antisemitism. We must vigorously oppose antisemitism in all of its forms, but we can't fight racism by ignoring (or defending) Israel's racist practices against the Palestinians. ... Thank them for standing up for Palestinian human rights by sharing their tweets: Matthew Green: https://twitter.com/MatthewGree/status/1327810788027998215 Leah Gazan: https://twitter.com/LeahGazan/status/1327815844492050435 Don Davies: https://twitter.com/DonDavies/status/1327840807450152962 Rima Berns-McGown: https://twitter.com/beyrima/status/1327827284569583616?s=20

The University of Toronto has launched an inquiry into the allegations that Dr. Azarova’s job offer was revoked after a judge complained about her scholarship on Israel's occupation of Palestine. However, some are raising concerns about the inquiry’s lack of real independence, and question whether it will provide the answers that we need. CJPME and many other organizations have criticized the UofT over this scandal, warning that it looks like a case of censorship and anti-Palestinian racism. Read more: https://www.thespec.com//u-of-t-orders-independent-review- Read CJPME’s letter to the UofT: https://www.cjpme.org/pr_2020_09_25_uot_letter

Bethlehem and other Palestinian cities still need our support, even though Christmas 2020 has passed. In this piece, Dr. James Zogby of the Arab American institute recounts his frustration with the Conservative Christian leaders on Barak Obama's U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Sadly, many conservative Christians are unable to perceive the human rights realities in Israel-Palestine because of their devotion to certain religious-political ideologies. "To most in the West, Palestinian Christians are simply invisible. To conservative Christians, they are at best a nuisance who stand in the way of their unquestioning ideological attachment to Israel." https://www.commondreams.org//conservative-christians-rema#

A Palestinian perspective on the IHRA definition of antisemitism: "As Palestinians, we must ask what the widespread adoption of the [IHRA definition] would mean for our community, our people, and our struggle for liberation. We, who have been stripped of our humanity for the best part of a century, could now face the torture of being completely silenced in our fight for freedom, while anti-Palestinian racism runs amok." #NoIHRA

Must-read piece in 972 Magazine: "In Canada, the IHRA definition has begun to stifle pro-Palestinian voices." "Antisemitism has no place in our society, and it must be fought at every turn. But neither does anti-Palestinianism, which aims to erase Palestine from public recognition, silence Palestinian voices, and devalue Palestinian lives."

Entrance for Arabs is Dangerous. This is a warning posted by extremist settlers at the entrance to the Yitzhar settlement in the West Bank. Settler violence has been escalating in recent days, with settlers assaulting several Palestinian farmers in the occupied West Bank who were trying to harvest olives. Settlers have also been setting fires, cutting down olive trees, and stealing crops. Far from an aberration, this violence is central to Israel as an apartheid system. Read more: https://www.middleeasteye.net//israel-settlers-racism-not-

The Jerusalem Post DELETED a story about our recent survey -- is it because they didn't like the results? Over the weekend, JPost published an article with the headline "most Canadians do not support connecting BDS and antisemitism." The article was an overview of a recent EKOS survey co-sponsored by CJPME, IJV and UNJPPI, which was released last week. However, only a day later the article VANISHED from the website! We don't know why JPost deleted the article without explan...ation, but it might be because the survey results pose a major challenge to the idea that BDS is antisemitic. As it turns out, Canadians do not support efforts to conflate support for Palestinian human rights with anti-Jewish prejudice. Perhaps this is just too much truth for JPost to handle. Read the original survey findings: https://www.cjpme.org/survey2020_r3

Canada must call on Saudi Arabia to free Loujain Alhathloul, a 31-year-old women's rights activist and UBC grad who was sentenced today to almost 6 years in jail for her activism. Alhathloul was unjustly sentenced under Saudi counter-terrorism laws, after being detained in 2018. She was targeted for being an outspoken advocate for women's rights, including the right for women to drive. She has been in prison for two and a half years, where she says she was tortured. Due to h...er time already spent in prison, she may be released in a few months, but she will be subject to a travel ban and 3 years of probation. As Alhathloul's sister was quoted in a statement to media: My sister is not a terrorist, she is an activist. To be sentenced for her activism for the very reforms that MBS and the Saudi kingdom so proudly tout is the ultimate hypocrisy. CJPME calls on the Canadian government to vigorously push for Loujain Alhathloul's immediate release from prison, and to end its defence and security partnerships with the Saudi regime. Read more: 1) https://www.cbc.ca//loujain-alhathloul-saudi-arabia-womens 2) https://globalnews.ca//loujain-al-hathloul-ubc-saudi-pris/

On the evening of December 25th, while many people around the world were celebrating Christmas, Israel launched a series of airstrikes against the Gaza strip. Two people were injured by the airstrikes (including a six-year old girl), and massive damage was reported at a children's hospital, a mosque, a centre for people with disabilities, and other civilian buildings. Israel says that its assault was a response to two missiles fired from Gaza earlier on Friday (by sources unk...nown), which caused no injury or damage. Israel's attacks on the civilian population of Gaza, a densely populated area under strict Israeli blockade, constitute war crimes and collective punishment. When will the world speak out against Israeli aggression? Read more: 1) https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20201226-israel-launches/ 2) https://www.aljazeera.com//israeli-air-attacks-gaza-injuri 3) https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/122616

The anti-Palestinian policies of Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government make no sense when compared to the views of average Canadians! In recent EKOS Research Associates Inc. poll results, Liberal supporters are totally willing to hold Israel accountable for its human rights abuses! Why won't Trudeau and his Liberal party? (See the poll: http://www.cjpme.org/survey2020)

In the EKOS poll of Canadians released last week, it is clear where NDP supporters stand with respect to holding Israel accountable for its human rights abuses. Why won't Jagmeet Singh step up and represent his party on these issues? (See the poll: http://www.cjpme.org/survey2020) Two recent examples demonstrate how Jagmeet Singh is MIA: 1) Last week NDP MPs Jack Harris and Alexandre Boulerice released a letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Champagne challenging the government to do more for Palestinians; Singh had no role. 2) In August, all NDP MPs except for Jagmeet Singh and Randall Garrison signed a pledge to oppose Israeli annexation of Palestinian land.

Pour Noël, je veux une Palestine libre ! // For Christmas, I want a Free Palestine! This festive street art is courtesy of Collectif Palestine Vaincra!

New EKOS Poll shows that Canadians do NOT support efforts to conflate support for Palestinian human rights with anti-Jewish prejudice. 69% of Canadians say that comparing Israel’s policies to South African Apartheid laws is NOT antisemitic, but is legitimate expression. This includes Canadians 18-34 years old (82%), Liberal supporters (71%), NDP (84%), Green (89%), BQ (73%), and Conservative supporters (51%). So WHY do so many politicians condemn Israeli Apartheid Week an...d refuse to see the reality of Apartheid in Israel? The survey was conducted by EKOS Research Associates. It was co-sponsored by CJPME, Independent Jewish Voices Canada, and the United Network for Justice and Peace in Palestine-Israel. Check out the full report for more findings and charts: www.cjpme.org/survey2020_r3 Joint press release: https://www.cjpme.org/pr_2020_10_07_survey_r3 CJPME paid $6000 for the professional polling services of EKOS, worked for eight months to recruit partners and funding, analyze the results, and present them to the Canadian public. If you support our work, please consider donating so we can expand our impact: http://www.cjpme.org/donate

CJPME Press Release: In 2020, Canada further marginalized itself at the United Nations on Palestinian human rights! As the United Nations General Assembly draws to a close, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) notes with regret that Canada has continued to marginalize itself by repeatedly voting with a tiny minority of UN member states against Palestinian human rights. Out of the 12 resolutions about Palestinian human rights that have come to a vote this... year, Canada has voted against 10 of them, and abstained on another. Once again, Canada has made a political decision to protect Israel from criticism at the UN, rejecting out of hand the majority of motions for Palestinian human rights, regardless of their merit, said Thomas Woodley, President of CJPME. The result is that Canada once again finds itself isolated on the world stage, undermining its own credibility, said Woodley. CJPME notes that these resolutions have been overwhelmingly adopted by the plenary. For example, on a recent motion in support of UNRWA (the UN agency for Palestine refugees), Canada was on the losing side of a vote 162-4, siding with only Israel, the United States, and the Marshall Islands. Over the past two months, CJPME and the Coalition of Canadian Palestinian Organizations (CCPO) have been campaigning to get the Canadian government to change this position, by asking for a return to Canada’s more balanced policy of the early 2000s. Under the Chrétien and Martin governments, Canada voted in support of the majority of Palestine-related motions, before this position was radically reversed under Harper. In recent weeks, over 9,000 emails were sent to Members of Parliament by Canadians who want their government to support Palestinian human rights at the UN. For 2021, CJPME urges Canada to abandon its current voting policy, in which votes are politicized and evaluated based on whether they embarrass Israel, and to start voting based on the merit of each resolution. It is unethical and embarrassing for Canada to vote against resolutions that affirm Palestinian human rights, and which are consistent with international law and Canada’s own official policy positions. CJPME implores the Trudeau government to stop undermining international efforts to seek justice and accountability. To help make sense of Canada’s UN voting record, CJPME recently launched its UN Dashboard, a new resource which allows Canadians to explore how Canada has voted on 16 resolutions about Palestinian human rights from 2000-2020. Read the full press release online: https://www.cjpme.org//www.cjpme.o/pr_2020_12_23_un_voting

Once again, UNRWA (the UN Agency for Palestinian refugees) has been cleared of wrongdoing, as confirmed by the Canadian government! Yesterday, Canada announced $90 million in funding for UNRWA over the next three years. In an accompanying Backgrounder document, Canada explains that officials have reviewed the UN’s confidential investigation report into allegations of misconduct, and that it confirms that no fraud or misappropriation of operational funds occurred. This is ...the result of an investigation launched by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services. After allegations of misconduct were leaked last year, many pro-Israel groups demanded that UNRWA should be dismantled, and a few governments even suspended their funding. It is fantastic to see these allegations proven wrong, and CJPME applauds Canada’s decision to maintain its support for UNRWA throughout this process. UNRWA is frequently subjected to unfounded and baseless attacks by pro-Israel groups who do not recognize Palestinian refugees as true refugees, who do not want Canada to support the Palestinian people in any way, and who do not support the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes. These attacks divert critical resources away from health and education, wasting time and money on unnecessary investigations and burdensome reporting measures. With the investigation out of the way, CJPME hopes that Canada and the international community can focus their efforts on providing necessary support for Palestinian refugees, and finding a solution that respects their fundamental right to return. See Canada’s statement: https://www.canada.ca//backgrounder---canadas-support-for-

Yesterday in Parliament, MP Paul Manly (Green Party) presented petition e-2565 calling upon the Government of Canada to request that Israel immediately lift the blockade on Gaza to enable medical and humanitarian aid during the COVID-19 pandemic, and insist that Israel permanently end its blockade of Gaza; and vote at the UN General Assembly in alignment with the majority of the international community taking a stance in line with international law and human rights for Palestinians. https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details #cdnpoli #HoC #Gaza #Israel #Palestine #CJPME Paul Manly for Nanaimo-Ladysmith

Breaking: Canada increases funding to Palestinian refugees! Read our Press Release: CJPME Welcomes Canada’s New UNRWA Funding, but More Aid Required Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) welcomes today’s announcement by the Canadian government that it will be renewing its funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the UN agency that provides services to 5.7 million Palestine refugees. However, C...JPME notes that Canada’s assistance falls far short of what is needed, considering the scale of the challenges facing Palestinian refugees today. In today’s announcement, Canada committed to providing up to $90 million to UNRWA over 3 years. The previous announcement of regular funding was in 2018, when Canada announced a contribution of $50 million over two years. Canada’s contribution has therefore increased by $5 million per year, and will not have to be renewed until the end of 2023. However, Canada’s contributions lag behind other actors, and in 2019 Canada ranked only 14th in the world in terms of its donor support to UNRWA. For years, we have been calling on Canada to significantly increase its aid, as UNRWA provides critical health and education services to a growing population of Palestinian refugees, said Michael Bueckert, Vice President of CJPME. It is disappointing to see Canada ignore these calls. CJPME also notes that Canada’s contribution, while a modest improvement over previous years, does not address the immediate emergency funding needs of UNRWA. In November 2020, UNRWA announced that the agency had run out of money, leading to its worst financial crisis ever. The shortfall was largely due to the Trump administration’s 2018 decision to end all UNRWA funding. Today, UNRWA faces a funding gap of $88 million, or it will need to cut salaries to the agency’s 28,000 employees mostly teachers and healthcare workers. While Canada’s renewal of ongoing funding to UNRWA is appreciated, Canada’s announcement today makes no gesture in response to the immediate financial crisis facing the agency said Bueckert. CJPME also expresses concern that Canada still refuses to support UNRWA politically or diplomatically. Earlier this month, Canada abstained on a resolution to renew UNRWA’s mandate at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), and voted No on another motion supporting the activities of UNRWA. It is hypocritical when Canada funds UNRWA to the tune of $90 million, but then refuses to stick up for the agency politically on the international stage, said Bueckert. Read online: https://www.cjpme.org/pr_2020_12_21_unrwa_renewal

Breaking: New EKOS Poll shows that Canadians do NOT support efforts to conflate support for Palestinian human rights with anti-Jewish prejudice. The survey found that the majority of Canadians believe that criticism and protest of Israel, even when harsh, is not in principle antisemitic. For example: 80% of Canadians say that accusing Israel of committing human rights abuses against the Palestinians is NOT antisemitic, but is legitimate expression. ... 76% of Canadians say that calling for a boycott of Israel because of alleged human rights abuses is NOT antisemitic. 69% of Canadians say that comparing Israel’s policies to South African Apartheid laws is NOT antisemitic. These results pose a challenge to Prime Minister Trudeau and others who have tried to vilify the Palestine solidarity movement, says Thomas Woodley, President of CJPME. On a number of occasions Trudeau has argued that some forms of activism for Palestinian human rights is antisemitic, including the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement and Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW). In 2016, with Liberal support, Parliament passed a motion that condemned the BDS movement and its supporters. Despite these repeated efforts to discourage free expression on Palestinian human rights, Canadians rightfully maintain that criticism of Israel is legitimate, says Woodley. The survey was conducted by EKOS Research Associates. It was co-sponsored by CJPME, Independent Jewish Voices Canada, and the United Network for Justice and Peace in Palestine-Israel. Check out the full report for more findings and charts: www.cjpme.org/survey2020_r3 Joint press release: https://www.cjpme.org/pr_2020_10_07_survey_r3 CJPME paid $6000 for the professional polling services of EKOS, worked for eight months to recruit partners and funding, analyze the results, and present them to the Canadian public. If you support our work, please consider donating so we can expand our impact: http://www.cjpme.org/donate

Quebec's Bill 21 is emboldening racist abuse - and must be revoked! A new survey finds that Quebec's law against religious symbols (Bill 21) has resulted in racism against student teachers, by "emboldening racists to lash out against student teachers who are members of minority groups." 1 in 6 participants in the survey reported experiencing or witnessing discrimination.... While teachers are subject to the ban on wearing religious symbols, student teachers are not. However, these student teachers -- and especially Muslim women who wear hijabs -- have reported being targeted with disgusting, racist abuse, including being told to Go back to your country; we don’t want people like you here. Like many human rights and civil society groups, CJPME vigorously opposed the adoption of Bill 21 as "institutionalized discrimination," and we continue to call for this legislation to be revoked. Read more about the survey: https://montrealgazette.com//bill-21-resulted-in-racism-to

A new report from Defense for Children International - Palestine (DCIP) shows that Israel's practice of putting Palestinian children into solitary confinement amounts amounts to torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment! DCIP tracked 108 cases (over three years) in which Israel placed Palestinian children under lengthy solitary confinement -- solely for the purposes of interrogation! The average amount of time that children spent under solitary confinem...ent was 14 days. As they conclude: It is widely acknowledged that this practice causes both immediate and long-term psychological harm to children. It must end immediately, and the prohibition must be enshrined in law. Israel prosecutes between 500 and 700 children in military courts each year. Since 2000, the Israeli military has detained, interrogated, prosecuted, and imprisoned approximately 13,000 Palestinian children. Canada needs to speak out and demand that Israel immediately release all detained children, and that it ends the practice of detaining and prosecuting Palestinians under the occupation military court system. Read the report: https://www.dci-palestine.org/israels_isolation_of_palestin

Important piece in the Electronic Intifada about the scandal at the University of Toronto. The school allegedly rescinded a job offer to a prominent human rights scholar after a sitting tax court judge complained about her research on Palestinian rights. CJPME board member Azeezah Kanji tells EI that she hopes the hopes the outrage over the university’s actions ‘will show them that it is much more of a risk’ to censor scholarship on Palestine, because in the long run kowtowing to Israel lobby demands will not be worth the reputational price.

Appalling! According to the United Nations, HALF of the population of Yemen will suffer from famine in 2021! This is one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters, and it is caused by human action -- Saudi Arabia's brutal war on Yemen. Immorally, Canada continues to sell military equipment to Saudi Arabia. In fact, Canada’s arms exports to Saudi Arabia have more than doubled in the past year, hitting a record high in 2019. Sending humanitarian aid is not enough -- Canada ne...eds to stop arming Saudi's brutal war on Yemen, and work to bring an immediate end to the conflict. Read more: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20201218-un-half-of-yeme/

Canada Suspends Exports of Drone Tech to Turkey - But Drones Still Used Across Middle East! On Monday, Canada announced the suspension of existing exports permits of military drone technology to Turkey. The suspension is in effect until Canada investigates reports that these Canadian-made weapons were being used by Azerbaijan in attacks on Armenia. However, Project Ploughshares recently reported that Turkey also uses Canadian drone technology in airstrikes in Syria, Iraq and ...Kurdish parts of Turkey, and has also sold them to Libya. Canada’s investigation must look farther than Azerbaijan and not ignore how our exports fuel other conflicts in the Middle East. Source: https://www.cbc.ca//canada-turkey-drone-azerbaijan-armenia Read Project Ploughshare's report: https://ploughshares.ca//killer-optics-exports-of-wescam-/

Call it what it is: Vaccine Apartheid! As Israel prepares to deploy COVID-19 vaccines as early as next week, the Palestinians who live under Israeli control in the Occupied Palestinian Territories will NOT receive the vaccines! Outrageously, Israeli settlers in the West Bank will get quick access to Israeli-procured vaccines, but occupied Palestinians in the surrounding neighborhoods will not! This is the reality of Apartheid in Israel and Palestine. It is also a violation of... international law, since Israel has a legal responsibility as an occupying power to purchase and distribute vaccines for the people under their occupation. Left on their own, the Palestinian Authority has been scrambling to find access to COVID-19 vaccines, and have been looking to sources including Russia and the World Health Organization. However, nobody knows when they will receive vaccines, and if they'll be able to pay for them. This means that Palestinians under occupation will likely be waiting months longer than Israelis for vaccines, and these will probably be of a lower quality. This is medical discrimination against Palestinians, and it is unacceptable. Canada must step in and respond to Israel's failure to meet international law, by providing much-needed vaccines to the Palestinian people. Read more: https://apnews.com//pandemics-israel-epidemics-middle-east

Good news! Today at the UN General Assembly, Canada confirmed its vote in support of Palestinian self-determination. The vote passed 168-5-10. Canada had already voted for this resolution at the preliminary committee stage in November, but today's vote was the final step to get the resolution adopted by the UN. It is good to see Canada confirm its support for the right of Palestinians to self-determination. Unfortunately, this lone positive vote has been eclipsed by Canada's... bad habit of voting AGAINST many other resolutions to support Palestinian human rights, a habit which Justin Trudeau has continued from the Stephen Harper era. Canada should be voting for these resolutions on their merits, which are consistent with human rights, international law, and Canada's own policy positions. Instead, Canada has shamefully decided to vote against most of these motions in order to protect Israel from criticism over its human rights violations. Check out CJPME's updated UN Dashboard to follow how Canada has been voting on Palestinian human rights at the UN: https://www.cjpme.org/un_dashboard

Check out CJPME's 10 BIG HAIRY GOALS for 20201! Read online https://www.cjpme.org/big_hairy_goals_2021 En français https://www.cjpme.org/big_hairy_goals_2021_fr... In 2020, despite COVID, CJPME had some truly amazing accomplishments. We’re pumped to make 2021 even a more impressive year, and wanted to share some of our plans with you. Below, we’ve listed our TEN BIG HAIRY GOALS for 2021 (follow the link for details): 1 Co-sponsor a trip to Palestine for 20 Canadian politicians; 2 Re-invigorate the BDS movement in Canada; get Céline Dion to cancel her shows in Israel; 3 Force a vote in Canada’s Parliament calling for Palestinian self-determination; 4 Challenge the CBC and other media to provide more balanced coverage of Palestine-Israel; 5 Launch a project to study Canadian censorship around Palestine-Israel; 6 Challenge racist Canadian attitudes toward Arab-Canadians via a professional survey; 7 Influence politicians on Canada’s diplomatic failure to stand up for Palestinian human rights; 8 Oppose efforts by pro-Israel groups to conflate criticism of Israel with antisemitism; 9 Mobilize with other racialized groups in Canada to combat systemic prejudice; Keep challenging the Canadian public through cutting edge media and analysis. Follow the link for more: https://www.cjpme.org/big_hairy_goals_2021

Appalling human rights abuses by Saudi Arabia, a trading partner of the Canadian government! Today, Human Rights Watch reported on the horrific conditions in a crowded Saudi deportation centre, where mostly-Ethiopian migrant workers are tortured and even beaten to death. According to a researcher for HRW, Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s richest countries, has no excuse for detaining migrant workers in appalling conditions, in the middle of a health pandemic, for months on ...end ... Video footage of people crammed together, allegations of torture, and unlawful killings are shocking, as is the apparent unwillingness of the authorities to do anything to investigate conditions of abuse and hold those responsible to account. These shocking conditions further demonstrate why Canada needs to stand up for human rights, even when the country committing abuses is considered a partner and friend of our government. Canada must immediately end its arms and security sales to Saudi, and stop facilitating the actions of this repressive regime. Read the report: https://www.hrw.org//saudi-arabia-migrants-held-inhuman-de

In a must-watch report from the UK's Channel 4, Akram Salhab explores the experiences of Palestinians in Britain, and the ways that discussions around British colonialism and Israeli human rights abuses are silenced. For example, the report discusses the controversial IHRA definition of antisemitism, and how it threatens to make it impossible to discuss Palestinian experiences of Israeli violence and colonialism, such as the Nakba. As one woman says: "It is a campaign that is... directly aimed at eliminating Palestinian voices from universities, not by any coincidence but by design." Please watch this excellent and nuanced report, which explores problems that Palestinian Canadians also face. We need Canadian media to explore these issues as well! Link: https://youtu.be/I-97MmEumeA

Criticizing Israel is NOT Antisemitic, it's Academic Freedom! In the bulletin for the Canadian Association of University Teachers, three professors from Wilfred Laurier University write about the dangers to academic freedom on Israel and Palestine, particularly due to the controversial IHRA definition of antisemitism (which conflates criticism and protest of Israel with antisemitism). As they write: "Equating criticism of Israel with antisemitism undermines the ability of sch...olars to engage in important anti-racist and decolonial work ... Ontario’s adoption of the IHRA definition leaves academics and students vulnerable. Enacting laws or adopting statements that potentially criminalize criticism of state violence and racism subverts the struggles of marginalized communities seeking social justice. These decisions set a dangerous precedent." Read more: https://www.caut.ca//commentary-criticizing-israel-not-ant

Shameful: Canada "welcomes" a Trump-negotiated deal, which includes support for Morocco's occupation of Western Sahara! Yesterday, Trump announced a new normalization deal between Israel and Morocco, in which Morocco agreed to drop its opposition to Israel's occupation of Palestine. In return, the United States agreed to recognize Morocco's sovereignty (annexation) of Western Sahara. As one Israeli newspaper put it, this deal is not "peace for peace," but "occupation in exch...ange for occupation." Morocco is an occupying power in Western Sahara, which is often referred to as "Africa's last colony." The UN does not recognize Morocco's claims to the territory, and has tried to establish a peace process which would advance the self-determination of the Sahrawi people, who desire an independent state. Canada has never recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. However, Canada released a contradictory statement that it "welcomes the announcement" between Morocco and Israel, although Canada "continues to support UN led efforts to reach a peaceful and negotiated solution in Western Sahara." This is an irresponsible response, as it gives Canadian support to a bad deal that will further occupation and colonialism in both Palestine and Western Sahara. Sadly, Canada is helping Trump and Netanyahu undermine international law and the right of self-determination for the Palestinian and Sahrawi peoples. Read more: 1) https://www.aljazeera.com//western-sahara-conflict-in-500- 2) https://www.haaretz.com//.premium-peace-for-peace-israel-m

Thank you to Liberal MP Julie Dzerowicz for speaking out about the death of Ali Abu Alia, a Palestinian boy who was shot and killed by Israeli forces last week. We need more Parliamentarians to speak up for the rights of Palestinian children under occupation.

Shame on Canada for voting AGAINST a number of resolutions today which support Palestinians, their rights, and their well-being! EMBARRASSING FOR CANADA; EMBARRASSING FOR CANADIANS! The vote pictured in the graphic is for the UNRWA Operations resolution - a resolution reaffirming the importance of the UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in its work supporting Palestinian refugees. Canada was at the losing end of a 162-4 vote! ... (See the resolution here: https://www.cjpme.org/un_dashboard_unrwa_operations) Thanks to the thousands of Canadians who urged the Trudeau government to change its vote last week. It's not too late to let the government know how you feel - especially now that Canada's regrettable position is clear! The campaign page is: https://www.cjpme.org/un_vote_unrwa See the results thus far for all of Canada's voting at the UN via CJPME's UN Dashboard: http://www.cjpme.org/un_dashboard

Last week, Israeli forces shot and killed Ali Ayman Saleh Nasr, a boy reported to be between 13-15 years old who was observing a protest against a settlement in the West Bank. This sparked calls from the United Nations, the European Union, and the United Kingdom for an investigation of the incident . but there hasn’t been a single word from Canada! The UN, EU and UK have been calling on Israel to investigate the child’s death. This doesn’t go nearly far enough, as we know fo...r a fact that Israel is incapable of investigating its own human rights abuses. However, it is beyond disappointing that not a single Canadian official or diplomat has made any statement whatsoever about this crime. We demand that Canada must raise its voice and call for an INTERNATIONAL, INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION into Israel’s murder of Ali. Read more: 1) https://www.dci-palestine.org/israeli_forces_shoot_and_kill; 2) https://electronicintifada.net//israel-kills-child-and-the

Israel has been constructing expansive new roads and tunnels throughout the occupied West Bank, in order to connect illegal settlements to each other, facilitate the creation of thousands of new settlement homes, and make Israel's settlement enterprise permanent. According to one Israeli activist, this construction boom amounts to de facto annexation on steroids." Unfortunately, Canada has yet to speak out about Israel's settlement expansion. Instead, the Canadian governmen...t recently modernized a Free Trade Agreement which gives preferential treatment to goods from Israeli settlements, and allows them to be falsely labeled "Product of Israel." Israel's plans are clear: with or without a formal announcement of annexation, Israel is claiming the entire West Bank for itself, and it is not going anyway. Canada needs to put economic pressure on Israel to stop the occupation and end its colonization of the West Bank. Read more: https://apnews.com//israel-jerusalem-tel-aviv-west-bank-e4

Who's against adopting the IHRA antisemitism definition? Well, according to Independent Jewish Voices Canada, the list includes: Academics, Israel Prize laureates and lawyers... Universities Civil liberties groups Facebook Jewish and Israeli organizations and figures Palestinians and Arabs Labour unions and Faculty Associations Mainstream editorial boards and journalists Students Other civil society groups and figures (including CJPME!) See more

Are you curious about what life is like for the 2 million people in Gaza - one of the most crowded places on earth? Register for this upcoming webinar: "Daily life in Gaza under COVID and Israeli blockade," December 16 at 1PM EST. Join the Ottawa Forum on Israel Palestine for this behind the scenes webinar with a Palestinian professional woman living in Gaza. Rana is an author, an English teacher, a wife and the mother of three children. She will show us around her home an...d her neighborhood. We will go with her to the market, the bank and to the beach. She will talk about raising children, the challenges of looking after her elderly relatives, and earning a living. How does she do it under Israeli blockade with occasional Israeli air raids and constant Israeli drones flying overhead AND NOW during a pandemic? We will interview her, and webinar attendees will be able to ask her questions directly. On ANY topic. Registration is required to join the Zoom and ask questions (it will also stream on YouTube). Here is the link: https://us02web.zoom.us//register/WN_BgkFVmlRSe-svdnpjwwNEg Organized by the Ottawa Forum on Israel Palestine. This event has been endorsed by CJPME.

Tell Justin Trudeau: Canada must vote for a shared Jerusalem! Send an email https://www.cjpme.org/jerusalem_2020 En français https://www.cjpme.org/jerusalem_2020_fr... Any day now, the UN General Assembly may be voting on an important resolution on Jerusalem. The resolution rejects Israel’s illegal attempt to annex all of Jerusalem, and condemns Israel’s attempts to prevent Palestinians from living or visiting the city. Please tell Trudeau that Canada should vote FOR this resolution and SUPPORT a Jerusalem shared by ALL! Send an email to Trudeau, UN Ambassador Bob Rae, and other political leaders: https://www.cjpme.org/jerusalem_2020 Read the joint press release by CJPME and the Coalition of Canadian Palestinian Organizations: https://www.cjpme.org/pr_2020_12_07_jerusalem

PRESSURE THE GOVERMENT TO ACT! PROTECT PALESTINIAN KIDS! Follow the link http://childrensrights.ca The shooting death of 14-yaer-old Ali Abu Alia is just the latest of tragic abuses perpetrated by the Israeli Occupation Army against Palestinian children. CJPME and UNJPPI launched a petition in July, 2020 calling the Canadian government to appoint a special envoy to protect Palestinian children under Israeli occupation. Abu Alia's death makes the petition only more imperative! The Parliamentary petition was presented by Green MP Paul Manly two weeks ago, and we are awaiting the Canadian government's response. Sign our petition, and we will keep up up-to-date on developments. For more information, contact [email protected].

Yesterday in Québec's National Assembly, Ruba Ghazal (Québec Solidaire) made a bold statement in support of the Palestinian people, rightly calling out Israel's control over the occupied Palestinian territories as "apartheid" and expressing hope that President-Elect Joe Biden rejects Donald Trump's disastrous foreign policy. English translation: "One year ago, Donald Trump unveiled a peace plan for the Israel-Palestine conflict. I impatiently await the moment when president ...Joe Biden renounces this plan, and moves the American embassy back to Tel Aviv. This is a plan that leads to a capitulation of the Palestinian people, and to apartheid, an apartheid that already exists given the indifference of the international community including, most notably, Canada. This plan would lead to the annexation of the Palestinian territories by Israel, to Israeli control of the Jordan Valley, to the legalization of Jewish colonies in occupied territory, to the loss of the right of return of Palestinian refugees, and to the control of Jerusalem by Israel. Basically, it’s a point of no return. And what will the Palestinians receive in return, Ms. Speaker? Promises of non-guaranteed economic investments. The Palestinians are sick and tired of promises. This plan should be retired to the garbage cans of history, just like the Durham report. Thank you." See the original in French: https://www.facebook.com/RubaGhazalQS/posts/1254583718255944

Canada's new Special Envoy to combat antisemitism won't answer questions about whether he thinks that protesting Israel is antisemitic! Irwin Cotler was recently appointed Canada's Special Envoy to combat antisemitism. Part of his mandate is to promote the IHRA definition of antisemitism, which CJPME and others oppose because it is often used to label protest of Israel as antisemitic. In a new blog post, Canada Talks Israel Palestine explains that they wrote to Cotler last y...ear to ask him whether he thinks that IHRA applies to a number of examples, including boycotts of Israel or criticizing Israeli apartheid. However, Cotler never responded. Canadians have a right to know what Cotler thinks, and whether he will be using his position as Special Envoy to try to shut down speech about Israel. Read the blog post here: https://canadatalksisraelpalestine.ca//trudeau-names-cotl/

REGISTER NOW: On Thursday, December 10th, CJPME's VP Michael Bueckert will be speaking in a webinar to commemorate International Human Rights Day, hosted by the PSAC Winnipeg Human Rights Committee. Date: Dec 10th Time: 6:30 pm CDT to 8:00 pm CDT.... To join, please register at: psac-afpc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_iKWIzV1nSn2XHA3GSHAMZA

Today, CJPME wrote a letter to Ontario Minister of Education Stephen Lecce, criticizing the Minister's decision to ban a student's video blog from Ontario schools. The video featured a Palestinian perspective of Israel's occupation, which the Minister falsely characterized as "anti-Israel and antisemitic." CJPME warns that this amounts to the censorship of Palestinian voices and experiences. Read the full letter (also copied below): https://www.cjpme.org/pr_2020_12_02_letter...Continue reading

Embarrassing... Canada just voted "No" on a United Nations motion for a "Peaceful Settlement on the Question of Palestine," and three other motions to support Palestinian human rights! It's a shame that Canada continues to isolate itself on the world stage, putting itself in a tiny minority of countries that oppose Palestinian human rights. There's no reason for Canada to vote against these motions, except to protect Israel from criticism. Check out CJPME's updated UN Dashboa...Continue reading

Yesterday, the Quebec National Assembly UNANIMOUSLY adopted a motion for the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People! The motion passed 121-0. Thank you to Ruba Ghazal (Québec Solidaire) for moving this motion, and for standing up for Palestinian self-determination. Full text (English version):... THAT the National Assembly highlight the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, which has been observed on 29 November every year since 1977; THAT it reaffirm Québec’s unwavering support for a negotiated solution between the two parties embodying both the Palestinians’ right to self-determination and the creation of a viable state and Israel’s need to live in peace within secure, recognized borders.

Merci Ruba Ghazal !

Today, Canadian Palestinian organizations sent a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, expressing their deep concern over Canada's new Special Envoy for combatting antisemitism. Unfortunately, the Envoy will be promoting the controversial IHRA definition of antisemitism, which conflates criticism of Israel with antisemitism. CJPME is proud to endorse this letter calling on Trudeau to remove IHRA from the Special Envoy's mandate, so it can focus on combating antisemitism, ...Continue reading

Apartheid in Israel: Israeli Court approves discrimination against "Arab" students to protect city's "Jewish character"! This week, an Israeli court ruled that it was necessary for the city of Carmiel to discriminate against its residents who are Palestinian citizens of Israel (which Israel refers to as "Arabs"). The court dismissed a lawsuit by Palestinian students, who wanted the Israeli city to provide transportation for students to its segregated Arabic-language schools.... The court cited Israel's racist "Nation State" law to say that discrimination against Arabic-speaking students was necessary to protect "Jewish character." As the judge wrote: The construction of an Arabic-language school or providing transportation for Arab students, wherever and whoever wants it, could change the demographic balance and the character of the city." This is an outrageous court ruling which supports racist discrimination in Israel, reminiscent of Apartheid South Africa or the Southern United States during Jim Crow. Palestinian citizens of Israel deserve the same equal rights and access to services as the country's Jewish citizens. Read more: https://www.timesofisrael.com/carmiel-is-a-jewish-city-cou/

Last Friday in Parliament, MP Marwan Tabbara (Independent) questioned the Liberal government about its "anti-Palestinian voting pattern" at the United Nations, and asked when Canada will "rejoin the international community" in support for Palestine. With so much of the recent debate over Canada's UN votes centred on Israel (and ignoring the Palestinians entirely), it's great to see this important issue raised in Parliament! ***... Full exchange: Question (MP Tabbara): Madam Speaker, previous Liberal governments have had a strong track record supporting Palestinians at the United Nations. Soon after Harper was elected, the country's support for Palestine took a sharp nosedive. Canada's anti-Palestinian voting pattern has put us out of step with the vast majority of countries. Can the minister please explain when Canada will rejoin the international community and support the legitimate aspirations of Palestinian people? Response: (MP Oliphant): Madam Speaker, I would like to recognize the member for his hard work as Chair of the Canada-Palestine parliamentary friendship group. Let me state very clearly Canada is a steadfast friend and ally of Israel. Canada is also a steadfast friend of the Palestinian people, and we are committed to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East, including the creation of a Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with Israel. That principle guides all actions in this regard: a two-state solution. Our position remains that this can only be achieved through direct negotiations between the parties. We urge them to create those conditions to come back to the table. *** Link to this exchange in Parliament's Hansard: https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentV//house/latest/hansard

CJPME thanks Jack Harris (NDP Foreign Affairs Critic) for speaking today with the Coalition of Canadian Palestinian Organizations and CJPME on behalf of the NDP caucus, and for showing support for the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. We also appreciate his comments in support of increasing Canadian funding for UNRWA (the UN agency for Palestinian refugees), and his call for Canada to stop voting against Palestinian human rights at the UN. Full web...inar video: https://fb.watch/23UE9EEDkh/ Coalition Of Canadian Palestinian Organizations

Thank you to #NDP MPs Jack Harris, Alexandre Boulerice, Don Davies, & Matthew Green Hamilton Centre for your statements of support for the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Canada's Parliamentarians must take action to advance Palestinian freedom and self-determination.

TODAY, we are celebrating the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People! At 2PM EST, join CJPME and the Coalition of Canadian Palestinian Organizations for a webinar discussing the current campaign to tell Canada to support UNRWA, the agency for Palestinian refugees. The guest speaker will be Dr. Husam Zomlot (Palestinian Ambassador to the UK), and there will be messages of support from Independent Jewish Voices, MP Jack Harris (Foreign Affairs critic for th...e NDP), and more. Register online to receive a Zoom link: https://docs.google.com//1FAIpQLSd2Vmyc2zmJ2wex-I/viewform Please join us!

CJPME endorses Zatoun’s work supporting Palestinian farmers! Order Palestinian olive oil or other products: https://zatoun.com/shop/ Or if in Montreal, pick it up from the CJPME office: 580 Sainte-Croix, Suite 060, H4L 3X5, 438-380-5410. More info: https://www.cjpme.org/zatoun... For over 15 years, Zatoun has supported Palestinian olive farmers by importing their olive oil at fair trade terms to Canada. Considering the purchase an act of solidarity with the Palestinian people, Zatoun ships Palestinian olive oil, soap and za'atar across Canada. From sales proceeds, Zatoun has contributed over $500,000 to two humanitarian projects for Palestinians. In solidarity with Palestinians and Zatoun, CJPME has opened a Zatoun depot at its Montreal office (580 Sainte-Croix, Suite 060, H4L 3X5, 438-380-5410) with olive oil, za'atar and soap. A classy holiday gift, Palestinian olive oil is also a great way for CJPME supporters to start conversations with friends and neighbours. Find out more at http://zatoun.com

On Sunday November 29th, join CJPME and the Coalition of Canadian Palestinian Organizations for a webinar celebrating the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. The event will start 2PM EST. Register online to receive a Zoom link: https://docs.google.com//1FAIpQLSd2Vmyc2zmJ2wex-I/viewform We will discuss the current campaign to tell Canada to support UNRWA, the agency for Palestinian refugees. The guest speaker will be Dr. Husam Zomlot (Palestinian Am...bassador to the UK) , and there will be messages of support from Independent Jewish Voices, MP Jack Harris (Foreign Affairs critic for the NDP), and more. More details to come. Please join us!

Last week, Canada made the right move by voting "YES" on a UN resolution for Palestinian self-determination. However, in the three days that Canada's vote was debated by Members of Parliament in Question Period, Palestinians and their rights were barely mentioned at all! In fact, "Palestine" or "Palestinians" were only mentioned 3 times in total, whereas "Israel" or "Israelis" were mentioned 30 times! That means that Israel was mentioned TEN TIMES MORE than the Palestinians were. This is an absurd situation: MPs won't even mention the existence of Palestinians, even when the debate is specifically about their rights. It looks like the concerns of Palestinian-Canadians are being completely ignored!

Tell Justin Trudeau: Canada must stand up for Palestinian refugees! Send an email https://www.cjpme.org/un_vote_unrwa En français https://www.cjpme.org/un_vote_unrwa_fr... Last week we had a win at the UN - partly because thousands of Canadians emailed the Prime Minister to let him know that they wanted Canada to support Palestinian self-determination. Now we have another opportunity, as Palestinian refugees are at a humanitarian crossroads. Despite giving aid to Palestinian refugees since 2016, the Trudeau government votes AGAINST Palestinian refugees at the UN, and is always hush hush about its aid! What’s worse, the UN aid agency for refugees (UNRWA) announced last week that it is no longer able to pay its employees largely as a result of Trump’s 2018 decision to end US funding to the organization. They need urgent assistance now, and Canada needs to step up! Join CJPME and the Coalition of Canadian Palestinian Organizations in calling on Canada to support Palestinian refugees by: * Voting for the two UN resolutions supporting UNRWA, * Committing proudly to its support for UNRWA, and * Announcing new emergency funding for UNRWA. Send an email to Trudeau, UN Ambassador Bob Rae, and other political leaders: https://www.cjpme.org/un_vote_unrwa Read the joint press release by CJPME and the Coalition of Canadian Palestinian Organizations: https://www.cjpme.org/pr_2020_11_24

Health officials warn that Gaza faces an "imminent catastrophe" due to the Coronavirus outbreak! As of today, 14,768 people in Gaza have contracted COVID-19. The recent spike in Coronavirus is threatening to overwhelm the health system and cause it to collapse. In part, this is because of Israel's blockade which restricts the importation of medical equipment, including ventilators. Read more: https://www.aljazeera.com//gaza-declares-covid-19-disaster

Three MPs join Taskforce to tell Facebook and Twitter to TAKE ACTION AGAINST speech critical of Israel! Three Canadian Members of Parliament have joined an unofficial group of parliamentarians from Israel, the United States, Australia, and the UK, who are lobbying social media giants like Facebook and Twitter to adopt the controversial IHRA definition of antisemitism. While antisemitism in all its forms must be vigorously opposed, CJPME and many civil society groups have warn...ed that IHRA conflates criticism and protest of Israel with antisemitism, and therefore poses a threat to free speech. The MPs on the unofficial Taskforce include Anthony Housefather (Liberal), Marty Morantz (Conservative), and Randall Garrison (NDP), who are all fierce opponents of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement (BDS) and other forms of Palestine activism. In their first virtual meeting, the group heard from three Canadian pro-Israel lobby groups (Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, B’nai Brith Canada, and Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre) who all regularly seek to suppress and even ban Palestine activism. In an interview, Israeli parliamentarian Michal Cotler-Wunsh has said that if a Twitter post is accused of violating the IHRA definition, that Twitter should target those posts and label them as antisemitic. In theory, this could apply to virtually any criticism of Israel, or to a call to boycott Israel, or comparisons of Israel to Apartheid South Africa, as examples. Unfortunately, the work of this Taskforce will not help to reduce online hate, but is just another attempt by anti-Palestinian politicians to try to censor speech about Israeli human rights abuses. Read more: 1) https://www.timesofisrael.com/international-lawmakers-to-p/ 2) https://www.timesofisrael.com/how-anti-semitism-and-hate-o/

Canada votes AGAINST Palestinian health at the World Health Organization (WHO)! Yesterday, Canada shamefully voted against a motion called health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan. The motion compels the World Health Organization (WHO) to report on health conditions and to improve the health conditions of Palestinians under Israeli occupation. Although the motion easily passed 74-12 (supported by co...untries including France, India, and Spain), Canada joined a minority of countries including the US and Australia in voting against it. CJPME believes it is appalling that Canada would abandon the health concerns of the Palestinians, even as they face the devastating impact of the double lockdown of both COVID-19 and Israel’s brutal occupation. Find the WHO motion here: https://apps.who.int//eb/pdf_files/WHA73/A73_BCONF1-en.pdf Read more: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20201113-who-slams-israe/

Israel is racing to expand the construction of illegal settlement units in occupied East Jerusalem, before US President Trump leaves office in January. Settlement units are being planned for the settlement of Ramat Shlomo, as well as in three settlements Har Homa, Givat Hamatos and Atarot, which would cut off the Palestinian neighbourhoods of Beit Safafa and Sharafat. This follows recent announcements of thousands of new settlement units planned across the West Bank. Trump is... known for his support of Israeli settlements, whereas President-elect Biden has officially opposed settlements. When Biden was Vice President in the Obama administration, the US had asked Israel to freeze new settlement construction. However, it is not clear whether a Biden administration would take any concrete steps to address the situation, as he has ruled out the possibility of cancelling military aid to Israel under any circumstances. Read more: https://www.middleeasteye.net//israel-palestine-trump-sett

Follow how Canada votes on Palestinian human rights at the UN with our new UN Dashboard! Check it out https://www.cjpme.org/un_dashboard En français https://www.cjpme.org/un_dashboard_fr... Appallingly, the Trudeau government usually votes against resolutions for Palestinian human rights at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), siding instead with the US, Israel, and a handful of tiny countries. While it is often difficult to find information about Canada’s voting history, CJPME is making it easier to track Canada’s anti-Palestinian bias at the UN with our new UN Dashboard: https://www.cjpme.org/un_dashboard Background: The 75th plenary session of the UNGA is underway. Among other resolutions, there are always 16 standing resolutions in support of Palestinian human rights, which are always approved by the vast majority of UN members. Under Liberal Prime Ministers Chrétien and Martin, Canada used to vote Yes in support of most of these motions, but under PM Harper this shifted to entirely No votes, aligning Canada with only a tiny handful of countries. Shockingly, Trudeau has adopted Harper’s voting record almost completely. Now with our interactive UN Dashboard, you’ll see the day-to-day updates on Canada’s shameful record as each resolution moves through the UNGA. Better yet, you’ll be able to see how Canada’s voting on these resolutions has generally worsened over time, from 2000 to 2020. Check out our UN Dashboard, and sign up for email updates on how Canada votes on Palestine this year: https://www.cjpme.org/un_dashboard

Ontario CENSORS child’s video blog about Israel’s occupation of Palestine! Earlier this year, Ontario’s education minister BANNED school boards from using an educational video blog, after pro-Israel groups falsely complained that it was antisemitic. In the video, a child speaks plainly and truthfully about Israel’s occupation of Palestine: The issue here is that the current occupation of the Palestinian land by the Zionists have violated the human rights of the Palestinians... The Gaza militants have retaliated by firing rockets at Israel. This conflict continues to rage on because the Israelis live as occupiers while the Palestinians live under occupation This needs to change. The government of Israel needs to be pressured into ending this occupation by people around the world whether they’re civilians or politicians. After the video was recently presented again in an Ottawa class for discussion about Israel and the Palestinians, the Ontario government once again reiterated the false notion that the video was anti-Israel and antisemitic. This false charge has been echoed by the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board. CJPME finds it appalling that a Palestinian perspective on Israel’s occupation has been censored from the classroom. This sends the message that Palestinians are not allowed to describe their experiences of Israeli racism, and that their own histories cannot be discussed in school. This must be recognized as a blatant instance of anti-Palestinian racism. Ontario should reverse its position, and allow the video to be used as one part of a balanced discussion on the issue of Israel and Palestine. For previous reporting on this topic, see: 1) https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//minister-orders-offensive; 2) https://canadianjewishrecord.ca//contentious-video-resurf/

Palestinians are celebrating the defeat of President Donald Trump in the recent US elections, and say good riddance to Trump's hostile, destructive, anti-Palestinian foreign policy. Unlike Trump, President-elect Joe Biden is officially opposed to settlement expansion and Israel's plans to annex parts of the West Bank. Biden has also promised to re-establish ties with the Palestinians (by reopening the US consulate in East Jerusalem and the PLO mission in Washington), and to r...estore much-needed aid to the Palestinian authority and other international institutions. However, there are concerns that Biden will not change the US approach to Israel and Palestine in a significant way. Unfortunately, Biden has said he will not move the US embassy back to Tel Aviv, he will not reverse Trump’s recognition of Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights, and he supports the Trump-initiated normalization deals between Israel and Arab states. Biden is opposed to the idea of cutting off military aid to Israel for any reason, and he opposes the BDS movement as well as efforts to criticize Israel at the United Nations. Therefore, while Trump's removal comes as a relief, Biden may end up keeping parts of Trump's disastrous legacy, and therefore he will need to be challenged by activists and grassroots movements. Read more: 1) https://www.aljazeera.com//biden-expected-to-alter-the-reg; 2) https://www.aljazeera.com//joe-biden-no-savior-to-the-pale