BDS Hub – Page 17 – Canada Palestine Association

Boycott HP, Mark Int’l Day of Solidarity with Palestinians

Boycott HP, Mark International Day of Solidarity
Saturday, December 7, 2 pm
Best Buy, 798 Granville (at Robson), Vancouver
Join the FB event

Nov. 29 marks the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. This year, join with us and show our solidarity with the Palestinians to say #BoycottHP, Technology of Israeli Apartheid!

Hewlett Packard branded companies play a key role in Israel’s oppression of Palestinians. They provide equipment and services to the Israeli military, prison system and government, including the ID card system that underpin Israel’s apartheid policies and its movement restrictions for Palestinians.
Along with providing technology to the Israeli military that maintains Israel’s illegal occupation and the aggression and siege on Gaza, HP provides Israel’s Population and Immigration Authority with the exclusive Itanium servers for its Aviv System. This system enables the government to control and enforce its system of racial segregation and apartheid against Palestinian citizens of Israel, and is directly involved in Israel’s settler colonialism through its “Yesha database”, which compiles information on Israeli citizens in illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian West Bank.

There are over 5000 Palestinian political prisoners incarcerated in Israeli jails, 460 of them held under administrative detention without charge or trial. Hewlett Packard Enterprise holds the current contract for maintenance of the Israel Prison Services data systems.
Boycott HP!
End the Siege on Gaza!
Free All Palestinian Political Prisoners!

Organized by Canada Palestine Association-Vancouver and BDS Vancouver-Coast Salish Territories

#RaptorsDontGo Campaign Declares Victory

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Statement of Canadian BDS Coalition
October 22, 2019

The Canadian BDS Coalition is pleased to announce that the #RaptorsDontGo campaign has been successful. Our campaign was launched in June 2019, immediately following the Raptors victory in the NBA championship; and after team co-owner Larry Tanenbaum received extensive coverage in the Israeli media stating he would bring the team to visit Israel if they won the championship. The Israeli Embassy in Ottawa highlighted the issue, and tweeted the Raptors promising “we’ll call you…to help with the arrangements”.
However, the 2019-20 NBA new season has now begun and there has been no reported public team visit; and continued silence from all of the team owners on this issue.
The campaign from the onset seemed to strike a chord with many people, both in Canada and globally. Although the Israeli lobby has engaged in other sportswashing events, this particular attempt struck many as an incredibly blatant and crude exploitation of a popular victory for an overt political agenda.

#RaptorsDontGo took off on social media and the Coalition would like to thank all of the individuals and groups who helped the campaign become so popular so quickly. Our petition gathered over 6500 signatures, a parallel petition in the U.S., started by CodePink, had over 2700 people sign on, and Jewish Voice for Peace also picked up the campaign on social media.
The Chair of BDS Vancouver, Aiyanas Ormond, stated in an open letter: “Around the world poor and oppressed people have embraced basketball as a sport of the people, and basketball players, many of whom come from poor and struggling backgrounds, have an important history of taking progressive positions and giving back to their communities. From Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Bill Russel’s stand with Mohammed Ali against the draft and the Vietnam War to public and collective statements against police brutality against Black people in America, NBA players have stood on the side of social and racial justice.”
Why exactly the Raptors team never went on the “promised trip” may have been the result of several factors, not the least of which was the quick and overwhelmingly negative response by so many basketball fans. This must surely have been noticed by the team’s owners – Bell 37.5%, Rogers 37.5% and Tanenbaum’s company Kilmer Sports 25%. Although Tanenbaum’s entity may not be impacted by public opinion on this issue, Bell and Rogers certainly are and have their broader business agenda to consider. Also, the protests that happened in Israel after the police shooting of an Ethiopian teenager on June 30, 2019, some referencing slogans of the Black Lives Matter movement, would have been a politically damaging backdrop for such a team visit.

The Canadian BDS Coalition is grateful that this visit did not materialize, as it would have given legitimacy to Israel’s war crimes. We feel the #RaptorsDontGo campaign also demonstrated the strength of popular grassroots campaigns that can mobilize to achieve justice for Palestinians. As with the Boycott Puma campaign, that calls out that company’s sponsorship of the Israeli Football Association which includes teams from the illegal settlements, the push-back on sportswashing of Israel’s dispossession of a whole nation and people is a critical part of the struggle for Palestinian rights.

Check out the new articles in Mondoweiss and Palestine Chronicle

Liberal Party Position on Palestine

Oct. 18, 2019
Since the Liberal Party chose to not respond to I Vote Palestine questions, we have summarized their position in their response to the Zionist organization, the B’nai Brith. Highlights were:
BDS is anti-Semitic, Yes to IHRA, No to “Singling-out Israel”, and the Gaza March of Return is an Iranian conspiracy!

More details:

On BDS:
“the Prime Minister and Liberal Caucus supported a resolution in the House of Commons condemning the BDS movement … rejecting “the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which promotes the demonization and delegitimization of the State of Israel.”

On IHRA:
“...earlier this year the Liberal Government adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism as Government policy.”

On “Singling out Israel”
“As the only true democracy in the Middle East, it is the Liberal Party’s position to oppose efforts that unfairly and unjustly single-out Israel for condemnation through demonization, delegitimization, and holding Israel to a double-standard.”

On the “unshakable friendship”
“we have always been clear: Canada’s friendship with Israel is unshakeable.”

On voting at the UN:
“As promised in the 2015 election, for the past four years Canada has an unbroken record of voting against the annual slate of unjust UN General Assembly resolutions that vilify Israel.”

On UN Human Rights Council:
“While Canada is not a member of the UN Human Rights Council, and cannot vote on its agenda items, the Liberal Party opposes all efforts that unfairly single-out Israel, at this and other international fora.”

On “democratic values”:
“As Prime Minister Trudeau said during Israeli President Reuven Rivlin’s state visit to Canada in April 2019: ‘Canada and Israel are close friends and steadfast allies united by democratic values and deep people-to-people bonds. We are proud to stand with Israel’.”

On Israel’s right to defend itself:
“As Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said in 2018, ‘We know Israel is a democratic state in a dangerous neighbourhood. And … we fully support Israel’s right to defend itself against aggression – whether it is from Iran or from terrorist groups such as Hamas’.”

On Iran’s support for the resistance organizations:
“As Prime Minister Trudeau stated in 2018, ‘we deeply oppose Iran’s support for terrorist organizations, its threats toward Israel, its ballistic missile program, and its support for the murderous Assad regime [in Syria]. We will always defend human rights and hold Iran to account for its actions’.”

On Gaza’s march of return:
That is why the Liberal Party supported a House of Commons motion in June 2018 that “strongly condemns the current regime in Iran for its ongoing sponsorship of terrorism around the world, including instigating violent attacks on the Gaza border”

The NDP responds to I Vote Palestine questions

Text version of the New Democratic Party NDP response to the I Vote Palestine letter with the nine questions sent by CPA (in the name of 21 organizations) to all party leaders.

Oct. 8, 2019
NDP Response: Canada Palestine Association

We stand for freedom, justice and equality for the Palestinian people, and
we ask you to clarify where you and your party stand on the following:

* Do you support Palestinian human and national rights including the inalienable right to self-determination?
A. Yes, we are committed to the protection of Palestinian human rights, including the inalienable right to self-determination.

* Do you oppose Israeli ethnic cleansing, war crimes and apartheid?
A. We oppose all human-rights abuses committed by Israel, including killings, arbitrary and abusive detention, forced displacement, restrictions on movement, the expansion of illegal settlements, and all other human-rights abuses.

* Do you recognize the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality?
A. Yes, we stand for full equality of Arab Israelis and against the discrimination that exists against them in Israel today.

* Do you respect, protect and promote the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194?
A. We fully support UN resolutions with respect to Israel and Palestine, including UN General Assembly resolution 194.

* Do you support ending Israeli occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the Wall?
A. Yes. Canada should play a more active role in calling for the end of Israeli occupation of Palestinian land.

* Do you oppose Canadian tax-deductible status for the Jewish National Fund JNF, HESEG Foundation and all Zionist organizations that are disguised as charities while supporting the Israeli military and settlements?
A. These are matters for the CRA to determine. Having said that, NDP MP Pierre-Luc Dusseault sponsored a parliamentary petition calling on the Minister of National Revenue to revoke JNF Canada’s charitable status if found to be in violation of the Income Tax Act and CRA guidelines and policies.

* Do you recognize the rights of Canadians to support the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions BDS movement as a non-violent strategy to force Israel to abide by UN resolutions and all international humanitarian laws?
A. Yes.

* Do you oppose condemning or criminalizing people or organizations who support the BDS Movement?
A. Yes.

* Do you oppose the anti-Palestinian, anti-democratic and politically charged IHRA definition of anti-Semitism?
A. We believe the government of Canada must have a clear definition of anti-Semitism so we can better gauge, report, and work towards ending it. We have some concerns that the IHRA definition and its associated examples could undermine those who wish to speak out in favour of the human rights of Palestinians.

Resisting Attacks on Palestinian Rights

null Wednesday, October 2, 2019 at 7 PM – 9 PM
SFU Harbour Centre Campus Vancouver… Read more

null Wednesday, October 2, 2019 at 7 PM – 9 PM
SFU Harbour Centre Campus Vancouver (Room 7000)
Facebook Event

REPRESSION OF PALESTINIAN RIGHTS UNDER THE GUISE OF ‘COMBATING ANTISEMITISM’

SPEAKERS:
Hanna Kawas, Canada Palestine Association
Charlotte Kates, SAMIDOUN Palestinian Prisoner Support Network
Neil Naiman, Independent Jewish Voices-Vancouver
Sara Sagaii, COPE Organizer
Marion Kawas, BDS Vancouver

Presentations will analyse recent measures taken by governments outside of Israel to repress Palestinian voices and criminalize Palestinian political activity and Palestine solidarity under the guise of ‘combating antisemitism’. Two cases will be highlighted. First, the recent motion at Vancouver City Council which would have adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) of antisemitism which in its examples and guide very explicitly equates criticism of Israel with antisemitism. Second, the move by the German government to ban Palestinian journalist Khaled Barakat, an advocate for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, from speaking at any political event or being in a group of more than 10 people.

Following the presentations will be a facilitated discussion on how Palestinians and Palestine solidarity organizations can resist these moves which attempt to erase the Palestinian narrative, suppress the growing BDS movement, and isolate Palestinians living in the Occupied Territories, the Gaza Strip and inside the borders of the Israel from international solidarity and support.

Organized by BDS Vancouver, Canada Palestine Association, Independent Jewish Voices-Vancouver, International League of Peoples’ Struggle Canada, Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Support Network
Thanks to the SFU Teaching Support Staff Union (TSSU) Solidarity and Social Justice Committee for their support.

Check the video of the event