Author: cpaadmin

CBC Denies Palestine’s Existence

CBC has confirmed its official language guide dictates:

NO to Palestine as a country, NO to Palestine as an entity, NO to any map with Palestine, NO useage of the term pro-Palestine in generic ways

Are they Palestine-phobic? Or just racist? We have officially asked them to explain their process in arriving at such a sweeping censure of all things Palestine, and await their reply.

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“I referred to the Palestinian territories as ‘Palestine,’ we apologize.”

This surreal statement was carried last week on CBC, Canada’s national broadcaster. Why? Because the guest host on The Current had dared to use the word Palestine during an interview. And to make the issue even more ludicrous, the interview was with graphic journalist and war correspondent Joe Sacco on “the themes of colonialism and resource extraction”.

The pro-Israel lobby group Honest Reporting (HR) quickly spun into action to tell CBC that in fact, the use of Palestine goes against CBC’s own language policies. Absurd enough yet??

Apparently, according to HR, this is from CBC’s language guide:

“… there is no modern country of Palestine, although there’s a movement to establish one as part of a two-state peace agreement with Israel. Areas under the control of the Palestinian Authority are considered Palestinian territories: Fatah-run West Bank and Hamas-run Gaza Strip.”

We will assume that this is accurate because the outrageous apology followed the day after the original interview. All of this led HR to gloat on their website about how they keep CBC in check regarding the non-existent Palestine.

And this isn’t the first time that activists have had to deal with CBC’s anti-Palestinian policies. Two years ago, Canada Palestine Association launched a formal complaint with CBC management that went all the way to their Ombudsman Office. It again involved changes in specific language that CBC had made in its reporting on Palestine after a complaint from HR, that time during the beginning of the Great March of Return. And it ended up (albeit through a much longer and winding route) with the same results – CBC stated it changed their reporting in order to more properly follow its own language guidelines. (Even though as regarded one point of terminology, the usage of “Arab Israelis” rather than Palestinians in Israel, the Ombudsman Office admitted there were no written protocols).

We hold CBC accountable for these decisions. The Zionist lobby is simply doing what it is meant to do – promote Israel by all means. Honest Reporting Canada clearly states on its website: “As an organization dedicated to defending Israel against prejudice in the media, we aim to provide educational tools and resources to anyone wishing to advocate for Israel”.

CBC on the other hand, is not doing what it is mandated and entrusted to do. Its “Journalistic Standards and Practices” document commits to accuracy, balance, objectivity and impartiality. And its governance policies are peppered with fine-sounding words like “reflecting differing views…fully and fairly…in a balanced manner…broad range of opinion”.

But just don’t say Palestine, or say that there are Palestinians in Israel. The mind boggles at how a reporter would have to handle a story talking about or with Palestinians under occupation, in exile and in the Galilee.

Never mind that 138 countries recognize Palestine as a state, as does the United Nations and multiple UN organizations. But no, CBC is following the same pattern as successive Canadian governments. Let’s not forget the same reasoning was used by the Trudeau government in claiming the International Criminal Court had no jurisdiction over the charges of Israeli war crimes in Gaza. Canada and its institutions are not representing the majority opinion of Canadians and are also completely out of step with international opinion. Its small wonder that they lost the recent bid for a UN Security Council seat.

Not CBC, nor the Canadian government, nor the Israeli government, can deny the existence of Palestine and its people. These churlish and supremacist attempts at erasing Palestinian identity will not succeed and only increase the resolve of the Palestinians and their supporters to fight for justice.

by Marion Kawas

Another version of this article was carried in Canadian Dimension.

Send a letter to CBC management here.

Why I support Dimitri Lascaris for Green Party leader

Canada has such a long history of complicity in Palestinian dispossession that there is an urgent need for people here to correct these historic wrongs. Our governments helped devise and implement the Partition Plan, our governments have kept silent on Israeli war crimes for decades, and most of the last two decades, Canadian governments have been proud to be one of “Israel’s staunchest/iron-clad friends”. While it is true that only the Palestinian people and their struggle on their land will be the path to liberation, nonetheless, we must also recognize the role of global solidarity.

We have seen the Palestinian issue censured, distorted, abused and misused by politicians from all the major Canadian political parties.  Despite the skepticism those events have engendered, I support Dimitri Lascaris for leader of the Green Party. Dimitri has stood up for Palestine multiple times in recent years, often at the expense of his own personal reputation and advancement. Whether it was York University students being falsely slandered, pro-Palestinian activists being smeared as anti-Semites, or grassroots campaigns to have Israeli settlement products correctly labelled: Dimitri has been there.

I applaud the foreign policy platform recently released by Lascaris, which also includes a call to end sanctions on Iran, Cuba and Venezuela as well as the universal application of international law. His comprehensive eco-socialist agenda on many issues, ranging from stewardship of the environment to confronting economic injustice, offers hope and sanity in these times of chaos and inequality.

I will be voting for Dimitri in the Green Party leadership contest and encourage others to do the same.  Please click on this link to join the party by September 3 and have your say.

Hanna Kawas,
Chairperson, Canada Palestine Association

Vancouver Actions to support the Palestinian People.

Saturday, Aug 8, 2 pm

Israeli annexation continues to threaten Palestinians in the West Bank, including the most fertile agricultural land of the Jordan Valley, which is still slated for Israel’s latest land grab.

Join us to stand against Israel’s annexation policy, the siege on Gaza, the mass imprisonment of Palestinians, the demolition of homes, the denial of Palestinian refugees’ right to return and further war crimes and crimes against humanity. Confront the continuation of over 72 years of land theft, dispossession, apartheid and genocide!

Join us SATURDAY, AUGUST 8 at 2:00 PM. We will gather at BROADWAY AND CAMBIE for a visibility picket before bringing our message to boycott apartheid to London Drugs and the BC Liquor Stores!

Facebook event page
Endorsed by:
BDS Vancouver – Coast Salish Territories, Canada Palestine Association, Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, Independent Jewish Voices – UBC, Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights – UBC
** Note – COVID-19 protections will be followed! Please wear a mask and stay appropriately physically distanced – thanks! **

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Friday, July 31, 8 pm

Outdoor Left Film Night: Resisting Colonialism & Displacement From Secwepemc to Gaza

***Short Film Festival Featuring Empire Files on Palestinian Struggles & Tiny House Warriors Secwepemc TMX Resistance Mini-Doc***

Friday, July 31st 8pm @ Woodland Park (705 Woodland Dr.)
Facebook event page
Join the Young Communist League, Communist Party of Canada, Canada Palestine Association, and BDS Vancouver- Coast Salish Territories for the second outdoor left film night at woodland park. Bring your own folding chairs or blankets. We ask that folks be respectful of social distancing measures.

#NoIHRA: Bill 168 will contribute to anti-Palestinian racism.

Stop Bill 168, Say No to IHRA in Ontario

(Palestinian Canadian Community Centre – Palestine House and Just Peace Advocates have launched an action call to write to all members of the Ontario legislative assembly to let them know the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism is dangerous and that Bill 168 calling for its adoption should not move forward. You can send the form letter supplied or personalize your own. Following is the letter that was sent July 22 by the chairperson of CPA.)

“This bill, if passed, will tell me that I am not allowed to criticize the very ideology, Zionism, that resulted in the dispossession of my family and my nation; that is both unfair and equally racist in itself.”

Dear Member of the Ontario Legislature:

I am writing to you as a Canadian Palestinian and the chairperson of Canada Palestine Association in Vancouver. I have lived much of my adult life in Canada after first immigrating here in 1974 and have both family and friends in Ontario; like the rest of my community, I have struggled to live in dignity and raise a family while navigating and going beyond the difficulties of immigrant life.

As Palestinians, most of us are not here by choice; we have been dispossessed from our ancestral homeland and forced to find refuge wherever we could. We have been cast to the four corners of the world; my own extended family has members in multiple countries. I hold the deed to our family’s property in Bethlehem, my birthplace; but due to Israeli policies that are supported by Canada, in flagrant violation of the UN resolution[i] reaffirmed annually, I am not allowed to live there. Why? Because I am a Palestinian Christian and a 1967 war refugee.

I am asking you to not support Bill 168 in the Ontario legislature.

This bill, if passed, will tell me that I am not allowed to criticize the very ideology, Zionism, that resulted in the dispossession of my family and my nation; that is both unfair and equally racist in itself. You may have been led to believe that adoption of the IHRA definition will aid in the important struggle against anti-Semitism, even though many voices from both within and outside the Jewish community disagree with such an approach. What you may not have heard is that this bill will also end up contributing to another form of racism, anti-Palestinian racism. It is flawed to claim that you are fighting against one form of racism by reinforcing another one; we must unite to fight against all forms of racism.

The Ontario Civil Liberties Association has clearly stated that it “opposes the international campaign to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Association (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, which is targeting all levels of government in Canada, as well as universities, police, and other authorities.”

It also endorsed the BC Civil Liberties Association position, which noted: “We fear that if adopted, the IHRA definition will serve to severely chill political expressions of criticism of Israel as well as support for Palestinian rights.”

Most of our community is already terrorized by anti-immigrant, anti-Palestinian or anti-Muslim rhetoric. Some are even hesitant to admit their heritage to others, afraid that it may hinder their job prospects or relationships. Passing this dangerous and unnecessary bill will only further that alienation.

If Bill 168 is adopted and passed into law in the Ontario legislature, and Palestinians in the future are told to limit or dismiss or deny their lived history, then our worst fears have been realized. Please don’t set a precedent as being the first Canadian province to be officially complicit in eroding free speech, eviscerating the Palestinian people’s narrative and promoting anti-Palestinian racism.

Hanna Kawas, Chair, Canada Palestine Association

[i] https://undocs.org/en/A/RES/74/84

Vancouver support for Palestine

Facebook Event

For over an hour on June 26th, the intersection of Broadway and Clark in Vancouver became a “little piece of Palestine”. At the peak of rush hour, committed activists with great signs and Palestinian flags took first to the 4 corners of the intersection and then formed a block-long human chain of #NoAnnexation messages. Most noteworthy was the reaction from both the passing cars and pedestrians in the area. The honks and waves from vehicles, be they buses, trucks or cars, was overwhelming and far exceeded previous levels of support in past years. Folks going by on foot stopped to talk and show solidarity. People in Vancouver, and all across Canada, are clearly on-board with Palestinian rights; the disconnect from the Canadian government and major political parties not only misrepresents the public sentiment, it is shameful!

Check out our FB page for more great photos of the flash picket.

Flash Picket in Vancouver: No Israeli Annexation, Free Palestine!