BDS Hub – Page 11 – Canada Palestine Association

Masterclass in Hypocrisy from Canadian politicians

Send your letter here: Tell BC Government to pull Israeli Apartheid Wines Now! – Action Network

We have been campaigning for years to have illegal Israeli settlement wines pulled off the shelves of publicly owned liquor stores in British Columbia. Successive governments, including the current NDP one, have either ignored or rebuffed our demands to even investigate this situation. We have been told it’s a matter of “consumer choice” or under “federal jurisdiction”. The previous NDP minister responsible for this portfolio, David Eby, flat out refused to meet with us in 2018.

So imagine our shock when in just 2 days, the BC NDP government joined other provinces in putting a “…halt to the importing and sale of Russian liquor products from our BC Liquor Stores and provincial liquor distribution centres”. So it can be done and done quickly, it seems. It just depends on who you are and what political agenda is being served. And clearly, the “consumer choice” argument was nothing but a big lie.

This is just one small concrete example of the stunning hypocrisy displayed by Canadian and Western officials this week. This double standard has not gone unnoticed; social media has been abuzz with multiple comments, pointing out that what is framed as legitimate resistance in one country is labelled terrorism in another. That what determines the response of Western governments, as Palestinian writer Ali Abunimah put it, is a matter of “who we are, not what we do”. That Israeli occupation, oppression and apartheid that has lasted for over 70 years stands unchecked. And that the mass killing and forced starvation of civilians in Yemen goes unnoticed for 7 years, and is continuing in real time, as politicians here show they are capable of swift action within 2 days when it suits their purposes.

This action by the BC (and other provincial governments) is a slap in the face to not only Palestinian-Canadians, but to anyone who cares about the trajectory of political discourse in Canada. Because the message here is clear. International law and the much-touted “rules based order” are not neutral policies that will help the Palestinians and other oppressed peoples achieve their liberation. Activists need to rethink the approach of appealing to politicians’ moral compass, as clearly they don’t have one; their support of Israeli war crimes and apartheid is a conscious choice and we must acknowledge it as such.

Masterclass in Hypocrisy: Yes to pulling Russian liquor, NO to deshelving Israeli apartheid wines – Mondoweiss

Background Info:
Boycott Israeli Wines: New Article and Video
NDP: Your Credibility is on the Line

Vancouver, Victoria take to the streets for #BoycottIsraeliWines Day of Action

The Day of Action to Boycott Israeli Wines, Don’t Drink with Apartheid on Feb. 5 featured pickets in two major BC cities as well as solidarity selfies from other parts of Canada. This was just the latest round of protests in a campaign that has been ongoing since 2008, and has been “punching above its weight” since its inception.

Since Israeli wines first came on the shelves in BC’s publicly-owned liquor stores, dedicated local activists have carried the Boycott Israeli Wines, Don’t Drink with Apartheid theme forward. A theme that reflects an organic link with the struggle against South African apartheid, as their supporters stood outside some of the exact same stores many years ago calling for a boycott of S. African wines.

The campaign has faced relentless attacks from the Zionist lobby since 2008, with smear attacks and trolling on social media to the tawdry Buycott calls, and even outright intimidation and threats especially in 2016. Through all of this, the campaign has never wavered, and re-emerges with new determination to keep protesting until the BC (and Canadian) government stop profiteering off Israeli war crimes and apartheid.

Victoria Picket Feb. 5, Organized by CAIA Victoria

Vancouver out to say #BoycottIsraeli Wines #EndIsraeliApartheid

Report from Samidoun, one of the groups who cosponsored and participated in the Day of Action: Boycott Israeli Wines! Spirited Vancouver protest calls on public stores to stop selling apartheid products | Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network

Day of Action Feb. 5: Boycott Israeli Wines

BC Government: Stop Profiting off Israeli War Crimes
Vancouver picket Feb. 5: 3 pm, BC Liquor Store Alberni & Bute (768 Bute St.)
Boycott Israeli Wines Picket – Day of Action | Facebook

The British Columbia Liquor Distribution Branch is complicit in violations of Palestinian human rights. Despite calls from multiple local organizations for a boycott of Israeli wines, many produced in occupied Palestinian and Syrian territories in the West Bank and the Golan Heights, they continue to be sold in publicly owned BC Liquor Stores. Repeated appeals to the provincial cabinet ministers responsible for the Liquor Distribution Branch have seen no action and little response.
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.

From Turtle Island to Palestine, profiting off colonization is a crime!

More info: Don’t make us complicit in war crimes! – Canada Palestine Association (cpavancouver.org)
Boycott Israeli Wines: New Article and Video – Canada Palestine Association (cpavancouver.org)

NDP: Your Credibility is on the Line

The following open letter was sent today to Heather McPherson, NDP Foreign Affairs Critic and cc’d to NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and BC Premier John Horgan.

Dear Ms. McPherson:

On December 22, 2021, you issued a statement marking the fifth anniversary of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334. As you correctly noted in your statement, that resolution is “binding under international law”, and called for “States to distinguish between the territory of the State of Israel and the territories occupied since 1967”.

You went on to state that “New Democrats also urge Canada to end all trade and economic cooperation with illegal settlements in Israel-Palestine.”

Your statement echoed earlier ones from the NDP on this subject of trade with the illegal Israeli settlements. Although such words are commendable, it would be profoundly more impactful if they were backed up with action. Action in areas where the NDP has influence, for example in BC where the NDP government is in power and could take a stand to remove the illicit Israeli settlement wines being carried in publicly owned BC liquor stores.

For almost 14 years, I have been one of many human rights activists in BC that have been campaigning to have successive provincial governments called to task on this issue. We have picketed, we have sent letters, we have done petitions, we have promoted educational sessions; our social media posts highlighting our actions have reached tens of thousands of people. Some of the activists on our pickets were people who stood in front of the exact same liquor stores years ago and called for the boycott of South African apartheid wines. They were an embodiment of the links that bind all oppressed peoples everywhere.

When the NDP took power in the BC legislature in 2017, we were hopeful that there would be a change in policy on stocking these products of war crimes in BC stores. We were disappointed. When the NDP convention in April 2021 passed their resolution committing to end “all trade and economic cooperation with illegal settlements in Israel-Palestine”, it looked encouraging. How could such strong words, such a clear commitment passed by a large majority, not be followed by action to implement one of the most clear-cut cases of illegal settlement trade in Canada. But again, at least to date, we have been disappointed.

A new statement issued last month by over 25 organizations laid out the basic facts:
The Israeli wines carried in BC stores have consistently been linked to the Israeli settlement enterprise. 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. According to the progressive Israeli research group “Who Profits”, Teperberg Winery “owns and sources from vineyards in the occupied West Bank, including in the Ezion Bloc settlement and in Mevo Horon.”

And concluded:
Human rights violations are not a valid “consumer choice” – but they are the choice being made every day by the BC Liquor Distribution Branch …The current BC government has recently shown its disregard for the rights of indigenous people, with its violent raids on Wet’suwet’en territory. They need to make a change and respect international law rather than violating it.
From Turtle Island to Palestine, profiting off colonization is a crime!

We call on you, as the NDP Foreign Affairs Critic, to make this issue a priority. Enough has been said, the time is now for concrete steps to show that profiteering off war crimes is unacceptable. In August 2019, a NDP statement regarding the labelling of these illegal Israeli settlement wines concluded: “The NDP will always stand up for what is right, even when others don’t have the courage to do it.”

Where is that courage now to do what is right? Your party’s credibility is on the line.

Sincerely,

Marion Kawas
Member, Canada Palestine Association-Vancouver

Don’t make us complicit in war crimes!

BC Government: Stop Profiting off Israeli War Crimes

The Israeli wines carried in BC stores have consistently been linked to the Israeli settlement enterprise. 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. According to the progressive Israeli research group “Who Profits”, Teperberg Winery “owns and sources from vineyards in the occupied West Bank, including in the Ezion Bloc settlement and in Mevo Horon.”

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. Consecutive BC governments have also been aiding and abetting the pillage of Palestinian and Arab property and resources, expressly forbidden in Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Earlier this 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”. As noted in our April 19, 2021 letter to the Finance Minister in BC’s NDP provincial government (which has received no response to date):
“The sale of wines from illegal Israeli settlements in BC and Canadian liquor stores has been an ongoing travesty for over a decade; there is no better place for the NDP to implement its new policy (and for)… action to finally be taken on this issue. In September 2018, thirty-one organizations already told the BC government: ‘We do not wish to be made complicit in these violations of international law’.“

Human rights violations are not a valid “consumer choice” – but they are the choice being made every day by the BC Liquor Distribution Branch. These are our publicly funded stores and should reflect a commitment to human rights, including justice for the Palestinian people.

We are calling on B.C. Finance Minister Selina Robinson and the Liquor Distribution Branch to immediately halt this complicity in Israeli war crimes. The current BC government has recently shown its disregard for the rights of indigenous people, with its violent raids on Wet’suwet’en territory. They need to make a change and respect international law rather than violating it.

From Turtle Island to Palestine, profiting off colonization is a crime!

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

Endorsed by:
Association of Palestinian Students UTM
Barnard-Boecker Centre Foundation of Victoria
Canadian BDS Coalition
Canada-Philippines Solidarity for Human Rights
Coalition against Israeli Apartheid Victoria
Friends of the Filipino People in Struggle – CST
Greater Toronto 4 BDS
Human Rights for All HR4A, Saskatchewan
Independent Jewish Voices Vancouver
Justice for Palestinians, Calgary
Niagara Movement for Justice in Palestine Israel
Oakville Palestinian Rights Association OPRA
PCCC-Palestine House
Palestine Solidarity, St. John’s
Palestinian And Jewish Unity
Palestinian Youth Movement Vancouver
Peace Alliance Winnipeg
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
SANSAD South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy
Socialist Action
Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights UBC
Students Against Israeli Apartheid – U of T
Sulong UBC
Vancouver & District Labour Council
Vancouver Peace Council
Victoria Friends of Cuba
West Coast Coalition Against Racism Society

(Group endorsements can be sent to cpavancouver@gmail.com; we will be updating the endorsers list on a regular basis. Please join us in saying: From Turtle Island to Palestine, Profiting off Colonization is a Crime!)