Author: cpaadmin

Stop the smear campaigns against Palestinian Advocacy!

New Article in Mondoweiss: Fearmongering and intimidation by Canada’s pro-Israel lobby – Mondoweiss

(Over 85 Canadian and international organizations have endorsed this statement, as well as numerous individuals including Roger Waters. Join with them and send your own letter to Canadian officials here.)

Today, we are witnessing an intensified campaign by the pro-Israel lobby in Canada to smear Palestinian activists and their supporters. Last week, the National Post (NP) ran an online article about Palestinian-Canadian writer Khaled Barakat and the advocacy organization Samidoun. On April 30, the same article was splashed across their front page of their paper and has since been referenced in the Canadian Senate and the Jerusalem Post.

A year ago, Canada Palestine Association and 35 other concerned organizations issued a statement detailing their rejection of attempts to criminalize Samidoun, a Palestinian advocacy group for prisoners, by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Advocacy (CIJA). At that time, we said:  Should Canada’s policies on these important issues be decided by what the Israeli government dictates?

We repeat the question now. All of this recent hysteria can be traced back to the one article written by Terry Glavin. However, Mr. Glavin admitted in his own blog on April 29 that B’nai Brith first approached him with their “files” on the subject. He also thanked CIJA in the same blog entry for their assistance.

There seems to be nothing new in the recent defamation campaign, which relies heavily on already known social media posts and Israeli official and intelligence sources (which are mentioned at least 13 times in the NP article). So what pushed the Zionist lobby groups to resurrect this campaign at this specific time? Is it an attempt to deflect attention from the student union resolutions in support of Palestine at major Canadian universities? Or an effort to distract from the growing number of organizations that have expressly condemned Israeli practices as apartheid?

The French government recently tried to ban a Palestinian support group, “Collectif Palestine Vaincra”, but have already been forced by their own courts to suspend that decision.

We tell the Canadian government that the old smear tactics of “trial by fire” are not acceptable. As our statement last year concluded: “This criminalization of Palestinian advocacy is unacceptable and unfounded; Palestinian-Canadians and their supporters have no intention of allowing biased officials to suppress their democratic rights and their voices.”

Signed:
Canada Palestine Association-Vancouver
BDS Vancouver-Coast Salish

Endorsed by:
Academics for Palestine – Concordia
Actions4Palestine A4P, Toronto
Anti Imperialist Alliance, Ottawa
Association of Palestinian Arab Canadians (APAC), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Bayan Canada
BDS Caucus UTGSU
Barnard-Boecker Centre Foundation, Victoria BC
Canada Palestine Support Network (CanPalNet)
Canada-Philippines Solidarity for Human Rights
Canadian BDS Coalition
Canadian Foreign Policy Institute
Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid-Victoria
Communist Party Canada
East Indian Defense Committee (EIDC)
Edmonton Small Press Association
Friends of the Filipino People in Struggle – Coast Salish Territories
Free Palestine Halifax
Free Palestine YEG, Edmonton
Global Peace Alliance BC
GTA Palestine Movement
GT4BDS (Greater Toronto 4 BDS)
Hamilton Coalition to Stop The War
HR4A Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK
Independent Jewish Voices Canada
Independent Jewish Voices Vancouver
In Our Right Minds, Toronto
International League of Peoples’ Struggle Canada
Just Peace Advocates
Just Peace Committee-BC
Justice For All Canada, Toronto
Justice for Palestinians, Calgary
Labour for Palestine – Canada
Niagara Movement for Justice in Palestine-Israel (NMJPI)
Oakville Palestinian Rights Association (OPRA), Oakville, Ontario
OPIRG Carleton
Palestinian and Jewish Unity PAJU
Palestinian Student Society Association (PSSA), Guelph
Palestinian Youth Movement PYM
Palestine Solidarity Network – Edmonton
Peace Alliance Winnipeg
Secours Rouge Montréal, Montréal, QC
Simon Fraser University Students for Justice in Palestine, BC
Socialist Action
Socialist Project, Toronto
Students Against Israeli Apartheid U of T
Sulong UBC
Toronto Raging Grannies
Vancouver Peace Council
Venezuela Peace and Solidarity Committee, BC

Al Naqab Center for Youth (مركز النقب للأنشطة الشبابية), Burj el Barjneh camp, Lebanon
Alkarama (Palestinian Womens Movement), Spain
Arab Palestinian Cultural Club (APCC) Tripoli-Lebanon
Association for Investment in Popular Action Committees, California
Communist Youth of Sweden, SKU, Sweden
Free Palestine Movement, USA
Free Speech on Israel, UK
Friends of Sabeel North America
Indonesian Palestine Alliance IDPAL, Indonesia
International Solidarity Movement, Northern California
Jericho Boston , Boston
Jewish Network for Palestine (UK)
Jews for Palestinian Right of Return, USA
Labor for Palestine, US
Nakba Tour, California and Lebanon
Nevadans for Palestinian Human rights, Las Vegas
NYU Law Students for Justice in Palestine, NYC
One State Assembly, Palestine
PAAF PEOPLE AGAINST APARTHEID AND FASCISM, Cape Town
Palbox, Oregon
Palestine Children’s Welfare Fund, California
Palestine Solidarity Alliance, South Africa
Palestine Solidarity Campaign – Cape Town|
Palestinian Cultural Club – Beirut (PCC), Lebanon-Beirut
Palestinian Union in Latin America|
Party for Socialism and Liberation, United States
Peace, Justice, Sustainability NOW, Florida
Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad, Lebanon
(لبنان – المؤتمر الشعبي لفلسطينني الخارج)
Resumen Latinoamericano, California
Revolutionaire Eenheid, The Netherlands
Serena Shim Award, California
Shurok, Spain
Students for justice in Palestine – Rutgers, New Brunswick, NJ
Students for Justice in Palestine at Butler University
Students for Justice in Palestine at UC Davis, California
Students for Justice in Palestine, Chicago
Students for Justice in Palestine, Wayne NJ
Students United for Palestinian Equal Rights – University of Washington
Syria Support Movement, International
Veterans for Peace, CA, USA

Individual Endorsers:

  1. Ali Mallah, Justice Activist, Toronto
  2. Allan Hansen, Industrial Pipefitter, Edmonton, Alberta
  3. Andrew Brook, Retired academic, Ottawa
  4. Angie Mindel, Retired, Nottingham U.K.
  5. Anna Willats, College Faculty and Coordinator, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  6. Barry Heselwood, Academic, Keighley, UK
  7. Beyaz Almas, Worker, BC
  8. Bill Skidmore, Retired professor, Ottawa, ON
  9. Cathy Cronin, Regular Canadian, Napanee  Ontario
  10. Cathy Gulkin, Documentary filmmaker, Toronto, Canada
  11. Christine McMillan, Retired teacher and tax officer, England UK
  12. Ciara Taylor, NYU law student, New York
  13. Claude Brasseur, Activist, St-Albert, ON
  14. Daphne Stapleton, Peace Activist, Toronto, Canada
  15. Dave Diewert, Retired teacher, Surrey, BC
  16. David Fairn, Journalist, N.S.
  17. David Low, Clergy, St. Catharines, Ontario
  18. Davidi Hadley Finke, Quaker leader, Peace Advocate, Oberlin, Ohio — Land of the Erie
  19. Dorothy Field, artist/writer, Victoria BC
  20. Dr. David Maxwell, Physician, Nova Scotia
  21. Dr. Dwyer Sullivan, Retired high school teacher of Social Justice and World Religions. Kitchener, Ontario
  22. Dr. Jodi Braine, Concerned global citizen, Fredericton, NB
  23. Egbert Harmsen, Activist for human rights, Leiden, The Netherlands
  24. Elie Halabi, Administrator, Repentigny
  25. Ellen Franzen, retired, Berkeley, CA
  26. Emad Hammoud, Self-Employed , London
  27. Enver Domingo, Retired, Oakville Canada
  28. Fahad Chowdhury, Professional Engineer, Elkford
  29. Faris Ziyad, Academic, Chicago
  30. Frances Combs, clergy, Toronto
  31. Frank Holden, Actor/folksinger/writer/human rights activist, St. John’s
  32. Genie Silver, Academic, Pennsylvania, US
  33. Giorgio Ramadhan, Lawyer, Indonesia
  34. Gord Doctorow, Ed.D, Retired educator. Toronto, Canada
  35. Greg Albo, academic and author, Toronto
  36. Haim Bresheeth-Zabner, Academic, author and filmmaker London, UK
  37. Henry Zaccak, CEO, Toronto
  38. Himani Bannerji, Professor, Toronto
  39. Issam Alyamani, Writer, Mississauga, Canada
  40. Jake Javanshir, Activist, Toronto
  41. Jalal Kawash, Academic, Calgary
  42. James Dickins, Academic, Leeds, United Kingdom
  43. Jan Corderman, Peace Activist, Pleasant Hill, Iowa
  44. Jan Steven, mother, grandmother, wife St. Catharines
  45. Jane Collier, Academic, United Kingdom
  46. Jane Story, former journalist, Toronto
  47. Jeff Winkelaar, Retired, Edmonton
  48. Jennifer Whitfield, Activist, Newfoundland, Canada
  49. Jim Mitchell, m.d., Toronto
  50. John Darling, Retired NDP activist, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  51. John Grant, Retired, UK
  52. John Liss, lawyer, Toronto
  53. John Mark Robertson, Social Service Worker, Belleville, Ontario
  54. Jonathan Kuttab, Executive Director, Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA)
  55. Judith Goldschmidt, Jewish Human Rights Activist, Courtenay, BC
  56. Karen Platt, Jew with a conscience, Albany CA
  57. Karen Rodman, Ordained clergy, human rights advocate, Kawartha Lakes
  58. Kate Chung, Grandmother, Toronto
  59. Katerina Nikas, Writer, Halifax, Nova Scotia
  60. Kathleen Von Riesen, Reg, Nurse, Newfoundland & Labrador
  61. Kevin Gould, Associate Professor, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
  62. Khaled Husseini, Business Owner, Ottawa
  63. Khaled Mouammar, Former Member, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Richmond HIll, Ontario
  64. Khan Jooneed, Journalist, Writer, Human Rights Activist, Montreal, CANADA
  65. Laila Atallah, Lawyer,United States
  66. Laura June Rose, Food industry worker, Vancouver
  67. Lawrence Sutherland, Activist, Winnipeg, Manitoba
  68. Lesley McGorrigan, University worker, UK
  69. Lorraine Michael, Retired Politician, Newfoundland and Labrador
  70. Louise Seidel, Artistic Producer of Theatre, Saskatchewan,
  71. Lynette Bondarchuk, Artist; NPO Administrator; Tenants Advocate, Edmonton
  72. Manhal Alfalasteny, Artist, singer, Tunisia
  73. María Alejandra Torres, Law student, NYC
  74. Mariam Furre, Geographer, Ottawa
  75. Mark Hagar, Retiree, Hamilton
  76. Mark James, Academic, Ontario
  77. Marlena Santoyo, Jewish activist, Philadelphia, USA
  78. Martin Fontaine, agent de pastorale, Montréal
  79. Michael Hajjar, Student, Chicago
  80. Michael Kuttner, Teacher (retired), Toronto
  81. Michal Sapir, Writer and musician, Tel Aviv
  82. Mike Cushman from Free Speech on Israel (UK)
  83. Monica Harhay, Concerned citizen, Toronto, Ontario
  84. Nancy Withington, academic; wife of Palestinian refugee, Santa Barbara, Ca.
  85. Nora Lester Murad, writer, educator, social justice activist, Massachusetts, USA
  86. Norma Rantisi, Academic, Montreal
  87. Pete Firmin, Activist, London
  88. Peter Eglin, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, Kitchener
  89. Peter Purich, Technical Writer (retired), Ottawa
  90. Phyllis Creighton, author; retired editor, scholarly publication, Toronto
  91. Rachel Marandett, NYU Law Student, NYC
  92. Rashmi Luther, Academic (Retired), School of Social Work, Carleton University
  93. Rebecca Hagey, Retired professor, Lion’s Head Ontario
  94. Rehab Nazzal, Visual artist, Toronto
  95. Rev. F. Mark Mealing, Ph.D., Anglican Priest & retired Academic, Meadow Creek, B.C.
  96. Rev. Lilian Patey, Clergy, Windsor, Ontario
  97. Richard Kuper, Researcher and campaigner, London, GB
  98. Richard Thoreau, Retired, Victoria
  99. Robert Assaly, Priest, Montreal
  100. Robert Fantina, Author and activist, Kitchener, Ontario
  101. Robert Kent, Emeritus Professor, Computer Science, Elkford, B.C.
  102. Roger Waters, Musician /Activist, NY
  103. Roland Verrier, Retired, Coquitlam, BC
  104. Roswitha Shaw, retired, Ottawa
  105. Salim Assi, Artist, Art of resistance, Copenhagen Denmark
  106. Samuel Miriello, Human Resources Professional, Montreal
  107. Sara Traub, educator, Thornbury
  108. Sean Phipps, Teacher, Vancouver
  109. Sheila Dunnachie, Retired union activist, Mayne Island
  110. Sherry Ann Chapman, Engaged citizen, Edmonton
  111. Sid Shniad, Founding member, Independent Jewish Voices Canada, Surrey, B.C.
  112. Simaan Khoury, President, Palestinian Union of Latin America, El Salvador
  113. Sue Lyon, Advocate, Kingston
  114. Susan Stout, union activist, North Vancouver
  115. Teresa Diewert, Teacher, Surrey, British Columbia
  116. Terri Ginsberg, film scholar, Montreal, Quebec
  117. Terry Gallogly, Retired, York
  118. Thomas Brown, Academic (mathematician), Vancouver BC
  119. Tony Greenstein, Writer and blogger, Brighton UK
  120. Vera Szoke, Retired Highschool Teacher, Toronto, Canada
  121. W. T. Beckett, Human Rights Activist, St. John’s, NL
  122. Walid Alawar, Businessman and social activist, Ontario
  123. Walid Eletry, supporter, Ajax,Ontario
  124. William Ruhm, Social worker, Boston, MA
  125. Wolfe Erlichman, Member, Independent Jewish Voices, Godfrey, ON

The False Foundation of B’nai Brith’s Data

Every year, B’nai Brith Canada releases its “Audit of AntiSemitic Incidents”. This report is then heavily marketed to multiple levels of government and often shows up in arguments for adopting certain policies, like the regressive IHRA definition and flawed online hate legislation.

The 2021 report hit a new low in attempting to conflate legitimate pro-Palestinian protest with actual vile acts of hatred against Jews. And this is the dangerous component here. B’nai Brith intentionally merges its reporting on anti-Jewish racism with its denunciation of “anti-Israel” activities. In fact, the pledge to fight anti-Semitism on the B’nai Brith Int’l website that people are encouraged to adopt includes as its second tenet: “To speak against demonization, delegitimization or double standards against Israel, as they are manifestations of anti-Semitism.”

On April 26, Canada Palestine Association questioned the credibility of the B’nai Brith report in a tweet that showed a photo of a picket sign from page 11 of their 2021 Audit, introducing the section on “Assessing the Data”.

This data led them to conclude that 2021 was another record year for anti-Semitic incidents. And although their report does include clear cases of vandalism against synagogues and hate graffiti, how much of their “assessed data” also includes cases of political protest by Palestinians and their allies? B’nai Brith claimed on page 12 of the report: “In fact, online hate has become the preferred method of targeting Jews. B’nai Brith logged 2,093 incidents of online hate, or an increase of 12.3% over the 2020 figures of 1,863 cases. This evidence should convince government that a review of current legislation regarding online hate is necessary.”

As the photo in the screenshot is presumably another case of alleged “anti-Semitic” behaviour, how many of their 2093 “online hate” incidents had nothing to do with hatred against Jews and everything to do with supporting the anti-colonial and anti-apartheid struggle of the Palestinian people? Given that their info for the photo itself isn’t even correct (it was from a Vancouver support rally in June for #BlocktheBoat, not a Montreal rally in May), one questions the eagerness of the Zionist lobby to smear the growing solidarity with Palestine with the charge of anti-Semitism. In the “Highlights” section (page 34), B’nai Brith devoted half a page to denigrating Toronto students at Marc Garneau Collegiate that had staged a walkout to protest anti-Palestinian racism. This clear political agenda colours the whole foundation and intent of the B’nai Brith reporting and strips it of any credibility for serious anti-racism organizing.

This approach is not only flawed and promotes anti-Palestinian racism, but also extremely dangerous in that it serves to minimize the real cases of anti-Jewish hatred. It is preposterous that a person holding up a sign saying that Canada and Israel are partners in apartheid and colonialism is casually mixed with “Kill Jews, Gas Jews” graffiti at a religious centre (page 19). Or is this part of the effort to demonize the growing number of human rights organizations and officials that have recently classified Israel as an apartheid regime?

We denounce this attempt to create an institutional environment so hostile to pro-Palestine opinions, that activists and groups will either be censored outright or self-censor. The struggle against racism in Canada is too important to be manipulated by anyone with a self-serving political agenda, especially the Zionist lobby. Anti-racism organizing is not a competition to see who is the “most targeted religious minority in the country”; the fightback by multiple communities to deal with the systemic daily racism they face must be inter-connected and include a clear commitment to fight all forms of racism.

Actions in Support of Palestine

As Israeli forces are stepping up their brutality against Palestinians, activists in British Columbia are taking to the streets to show support for the Palestinian struggle. On April 23, there is an action in Surrey, BC to Stand for Palestine and to highlight Palestinian political prisoners.

And on April 16, an information picket to say “No to Israeli Apartheid Wines” was held at the BC Liquor Store on Commercial Drive, Vancouver. Hundreds of leaflets were distributed, signatures were collected, and then a delegation went to the office of MLA Melanie Mark to also deliver the message.

April 16 Picket: No to Israeli Apartheid Wines!

The campaign to “Tell BC Govt to Pull Israeli Apartheid Wines” has featured joint actions in Vancouver and Victoria over the last two months, and the letter initiative has garnered over 1300 signatures (both on-line and in person). Check out full details here.

Friends of the Campaign to “Tell BC Govt to Pull Israeli Apartheid Wines!”

Our “Friends of the Campaign” initiative highlights notable friends and allies who have endorsed our letter campaign to “Tell BC Govt to Pull Israeli Apartheid Wines!”. We appreciate the support of Roger Waters, Libby Davies, former and current Vancouver city councillors, IJV members, local artists, lawyer Dimitri Lascaris and professor Sunera Thobani amongst others. (The list of endorsers to date follows the text of the letter.)

Text of Letter
To: BC Premier John Horgan
      BC Finance Minister Selina Robinson

I am writing to express my outrage at the refusal of BC government officials to remove Israeli apartheid wines from publicly owned liquor stores. Your recent action in quickly putting a “…halt to the importing and sale of Russian liquor products” clearly demonstrates that your government can take decisive action. However, your unwillingness to do the same for Israeli wines shows a hypocritical double standard that smacks of racism.

Human rights activists in BC have sustained an on-going campaign for 14 years to have Israeli wines removed from liquor store shelves, most of which are linked to the Israeli settlement enterprise. They have detailed that the wines in question are either from the Golan Heights Winery and its joint venture the Galil Winery; or from the Israeli Teperberg Winery, which proudly displays a map on its website showing vineyards in occupied Palestinian territory.

Israeli settlements are illegal under the Fourth Geneva Convention and international humanitarian law. They are part and parcel of the systematic targeting of the Palestinian people for dispossession, occupation and apartheid for over 73 years. Last year, the New Democratic Party NDP of Canada passed a resolution that committed in part to end “all trade and economic cooperation with illegal settlements in Israel-Palestine”. The Canadian government also acknowledges the illegality of Israeli settlements in its official policy.

Further, major international and Israeli human right groups, including Amnesty International, have determined that Israel is committing the crime of apartheid. Therefore, I demand that the BC government immediately de-shelve Israeli wines from our publicly owned liquor stores; I do not wish to be made complicit in supporting apartheid.

https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-bc-government-to-pull-israeli-apartheid-wines

Friends of the Campaign:

Anne Roberts
(former Vancouver City Councillor)
Dimitri Lascaris
(Lawyer, journalist and activist)
Earle Peach
(Director, Solidarity Notes choir)
Gurpreet Singh
(Independent journalist and activist/Cofounder of Radical Desi, an online magazine that covers alternative politics)
Jayce Salloum
(Artist and curator)
Jean Swanson
(Vancouver City Councillor)
John Soos
(PhD, clinical psychology)
Kevin Neish
(Retired vocational instructor, Mavi Marmara survivor)
Khaled Barakat
(Palestinian-Canadian writer and activist)
Khaled Loutfi Mouammar
(Palestinian Christian denied the right to return to his homeland because he is a non-Jew/Served on the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada 1994-2005)
Kimball Cariou
(former editor of People’s Voice)
Libby Davies
Natalie Knight
(Indigenous (Diné and Yurok) organizer and Chairperson of Friends of the Filipino People in Struggle)
Noah Gotfrit
(Musician, WCCARS member at large)
Pat Howard
(Retired Professor, Simon Fraser University)
Rehab Nazzal
(PhD, Artist and Lecturer, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver)
Rev. Marianna Harris
Rifat Audeh
(Canadian award-winning filmmaker and human rights activist)
Roger Waters
(Musician)
Sid Shniad
(Founding member, Independent Jewish Voices Canada)
Stephen Aberle
(Member of Independent Jewish Voices – Canada)
Sunera Thobani
(Professor, University of British Columbia)
Tim Louis
(Lawyer and former Vancouver City Councillor)