CPA Statements – Page 27 – Canada Palestine Association

Add the US Government and its President to the UN Blacklist

Petitioning Ambassador Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein U.N. High Commissioner for… Read more

Petitioning Ambassador Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights
(الترجمة بالعربية تتبع)

We demand including the US Government and its President on the UN Blacklist of those profiting from illegal Israeli settlements

Dear Ambassador Al Hussein:

We urge you to immediately release and publish the UN database compiled by your office of all “business enterprises” that have enabled or profited from the growth of Israeli settlements, due to the urgency of the current situation.

We also urge you to add the US Government, that constitutes a trillion dollar enterprise, and its President Donald Trump to this list for violating UN Security Council resolution 2334 and numerous other UN resolutions, in addition to violating the Fourth Geneva convention.

#BoycottTheUS

نطالب بإدراج حكومة الولايات المتحدة ورئيسها دونالد ترمب الى القائمة السوداء للامم المتحدة للمنتفعين من ألإحتلال (الترجمة بالعربية تتبع)

السفير زيد ابن رعد الحسين
المفوض السامي لحقوق الإنسان

السيد السفير زيد ابن رعد الحسين
نطالبكم بالإعلان الفوري ونشر لائحة الأمم المتحدة التي جمعها مكتبك بأسماء جميع “المؤسسات التجارية” التي مكنت أو ربحت من نمو المستوطنات الإسرائيلية، وذلك لضرورة الوضع الحالي الملحة.
كما نطالبكم بادراج حكومة الولايات المتحدة، التي تمثل مؤسسة التريليون دولار، ورئيسها دونالد ترامب إلى هذه القائمة السوداء لانتهاكهما قرار مجلس الأمن الدولي رقم 2334 والعديد من قرارات الأمم المتحدة الأخرى، بالإضافة إلى انتهاكما اتفاقية جنيف الرابعة.

#قاطعواأمريكا

Vancouver Mayor Bows to Zionist Pressure

Christmas Card sent to the Mayor.

Mayor Gregor Robertson:
I would like to… Read more

Christmas Card sent to the Mayor.

Mayor Gregor Robertson:
I would like to make you aware that by equating Israel and its flag with the Jewish people, you are actually promoting anti-semitism and racism, something you claim to be against.
Also, with your insistence on labelling the burning of a homemade cardboard Israeli flag as an act of “hate, racism and discrimination”, you have now ensured that acts of anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab harassment will continue.
Here is my “Christmas Card” to you.
Hanna Kawas, Chair, Canada Palestine Association
Note: I am still waiting for a response from you to my previous two letters!
____________________________________________
Following are two emails I have sent to Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson regarding the incident at one of the pro-Palestinian rallies over the weekend, which Bnai Brith has tried to characterize as “anti-Semitic”. Not only has Gregor Robertson now publicly bowed to Zionist pressure in criticizing the burning of the Israeli cardboard flag, he also crudely compared it to the heart-breaking and very personal attack on a Muslim woman on the Skytrain. Furthermore, he did not even have the courtesy to respond to our first email, let alone engage with our concerns about the harassment the rally participants faced.
Send your own letter to the Mayor to express your outrage.
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Sent: December 14, 2017 5:58 PM
To: gregor.robertson@vancouver.ca
Cc: CPA Vancouver
Subject: Your statement on Bnai Brith Canada website

On December 10, 2017, I sent the email below to your office. To date, I have received no reply. Rather, I just found out from other people that you had sent a statement to Bnai Brith Canada on Dec. 12th, which is on their website, and quotes you as noted below:

“Recently,” the mayor stated, “we have seen a number of incidents take place in Vancouver that threaten the inclusivity and safety of our city. From the burning of an image of the Israeli flag in protest to the Jerusalem debate this weekend, to the violent and unprovoked attack of a Muslim woman riding the SkyTrain last week… The City of Vancouver has a zero tolerance policy on hate, racism and discrimination and we will remain very vigilant against acts that threaten the diversity, safety and inclusivity of our city.”

Frankly, I am disappointed that you did not even feel we were worthy of a response or of being notified of your official statement that Bnai Brith is quoting. As we said before, we do not feel the burning of the cardboard flag was an anti-Semitic gesture. While we realize some people might find the action upsetting, to label it as “hate, racism and discrimination” is both inaccurate and inflammatory. You should know that a contingent of pro-Israel young men deliberately harassed people at both the rally on Friday night and the smaller demo on Saturday, and they were the ones who provoked any incidents that occurred. Although I was not personally at the Saturday event, I seriously doubt that the cardboard flag would even have been burnt at all if the taunting and harassment from these provocateurs had not occurred. If your office had bothered to consult with us in any way, you would know that it was their behaviour that was threatening to the rally participants and should be denounced.
It is chilling to know that our concerns and our public safety are of such low importance to your office.
We will be posting this letter on our website and will also post your response if one is forthcoming.

Hanna Kawas
Canada Palestine Association
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From: Hanna Kawas
Sent: December 10, 2017 11:17 PM
To: gregor.robertson@vancouver.ca
Subject: Trumped Up Accusations of Anti-Semitism against Pro-Palestinian Rallies

Dear Mayor Robertson:

You may have received a statement from Bnai Brith Canada about Pro-Palestinian protests over the weekend. Here is a statement from the Canada Palestine Association directed to the media after inquiries about the Bnai Brith complaint.
Following is the text of our statement.

Vancouver media ignore large Palestinian protest, focus on video of reported Israeli flag burning

We were not the organizers of a Saturday rally at the Vancouver Art Gallery, and we are not aware of what happened or may not have happened there as we did not attend.
We did have a large rally outside the U.S. Embassy on Friday night that none of the media, including yourselves, reported on or chose to cover. That rally was organized by Canada Palestine Association, Stop War, and Independent Jewish Voices.
As for the general issue of burning the Israeli flag, we in the Canada Palestine Association-Vancouver would not consider this an anti-Semitic gesture. We do not equate Judaism with Zionism, nor do we equate all Jews with Israel. The Israeli flag represents the Israeli government, not all the Jewish people, and is being burned in many places around the world along with the U.S. flag. Is burning the U.S. flag anti-Christian or burning the Saudi or Iranian flag anti-Muslim? In fact, there is an Orthodox Jewish group, the Neturei Karta, that regularly burns the Israeli flag as a form of protest. Here they are in New York, Canada and Jerusalem. Is this also anti-Semitic?
Additionally, it should be noted that for Palestinian youth in the occupied West Bank, for example, the Israeli flag on the military jeeps that come screeching into their villages and homes represents only one thing – brutal oppression.
We feel the complaint you received is without basis, and is simply being used to obscure this latest infamy by both the U.S. and Israel against the legitimate and national rights of the Palestinian people. Furthermore, we find it distressing and ironic that your media only decides to pay attention to local Palestinian or pro-Palestinian protests when Israel advocacy groups or individuals make these unfounded complaints.

Hanna Kawas
Chairperson, Canada Palestine Association

Vancouver media ignore large Palestinian protest, focus on video of reported Israeli flag burning

Dec. 10, 2017

Canada Palestine Association received two inquiries from… Read more

Dec. 10, 2017

Canada Palestine Association received two inquiries from Vancouver media today (CTV Vancouver, CKNW) about a video sent to them by a “Jewish advocacy group” claiming a likeness of an Israeli flag was burnt at a Saturday protest and that group considers the gesture anti-Semitic. Here is the written response we sent to them.
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As for the general issue of burning the Israeli flag, we in the Canada Palestine Association-Vancouver would not consider this an anti-Semitic gesture. We do not equate Judaism with Zionism, nor do we equate all Jews with Israel. The Israeli flag represents the Israeli government, not all the Jewish people, and is being burned in many places around the world along with the U.S. flag. Is burning the U.S. flag anti-Christian or burning the Saudi or Iranian flag anti-Muslim? In fact, there is an Orthodox Jewish group, the Neturei Karta, that regularly burns the Israeli flag as a form of protest. Here they are in New York, Canada and Jerusalem. Is this also anti-Semitic?
Additionally, it should be noted that for Palestinian youth in the occupied West Bank, for example, the Israeli flag on the military jeeps that come screeching into their villages and homes represents only one thing – brutal oppression.

We feel the complaint you received is without basis, and is simply being used to obscure this latest infamy by both the U.S. and Israel against the legitimate and national rights of the Palestinian people. Furthermore, we find it distressing and ironic that your media only decides to pay attention to local Palestinian or pro-Palestinian protests when Israel advocacy groups or individuals make these unfounded complaints.

Hanna Kawas
Chairperson, Canada Palestine Association

Article in Palestine Chronicle

Air Canada Terminates their Main Contract with Israel Aerospace Industries

Canadian BDS Coalition Declares Partial Victory in #AirCanadaComplicity… Read more

Canadian BDS Coalition Declares Partial Victory in #AirCanadaComplicity Campaign

On November 2, 2017, in a surprise development, the Canadian BDS Coalition was able to declare partial victory in their #AirCanadaComplicity campaign. Following is the official statement that was released by the Coalition wherein they thanked the many grassroots supporters both in Canada and around the world that endorsed the Open Letter campaign; they also pledged to continue to pressure Air Canada to halt any remaining complicity with Israeli war crimes.

Canadian BDS Coalition Statement:
“On November 1, 2017, we were informed in writing by Air Canada management that the 5-year contract with Israel Aerospace Industries Bedek Group for heavy maintenance on its B767 jets had been terminated early. That contract, reported to be worth tens of millions of dollars, was set to run until March 2019.

Air Canada offered no reason for dropping the contract other than to say it was due to a practice of reviewing such “arrangements on a regular basis” with all service providers. Air Canada also claimed in its letter that this process happened in “early 2017” and that the contract was transferred to “another provider in North America”.

However, we need to point out that this new information was only released after our #AirCanadaComplicity campaign was taking off and receiving increasing support both from within Canada and internationally. Unions representing hundreds of thousands of members (and their families) had signed on to the new Open Letter, as had groups in other countries from the U.S. to Norway, France, Germany, Belgium and Ireland to Australia. The Open Letter was a shortened version of a previous official letter to Air Canada, sent 4 months earlier, which received neither an acknowledgement nor an answer.

Air Canada also said in its letter that it still has one smaller contract with IAI, where “in compliance with international safety regulations that apply to all carriers, Bedek provides a certified aircraft engineer to do a check that is required on aircraft prior to departure of regularly scheduled return flights to Canada”. However, they noted that if any substantive problems are found during that check, then Air Canada dispatches its own employees to conduct the work.

They did not address the issue of the Sabra food products being part of the on-board menu on certain flights.

However, the Canadian BDS Coalition is pleased that the largest and most significant element of Air Canada’s involvement with Israel Aerospace Industries has been terminated. Given the recent publicity IAI has received in the international press in the last months, it is not surprising that any company would want to distance themselves from such a partner. First, we heard of a subsidiary of IAI being involved with building the U.S.-Mexico border wall and then just last week, the Israeli press reported that IAI was one of the 190 companies included on the United Nations upcoming blacklist for violating international law by doing business in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Although the issue of maintenance outsourcing is still ongoing and we will continue to pressure Air Canada regarding the carrying of Sabra products and their remaining small contract with IAI, we feel that this is a significant national victory for the #AirCanadaComplicity campaign. The Coalition wishes to thank all our supporters, both here in Canada and abroad, who made the difference in showing that justice for Palestinians can be achieved. The collective will and efforts of our strong movements for social justice cannot be denied!”

Canada Contravenes The Fourth Geneva Convention

Following is the position of the Canada Palestine Association-Vancouver,… Read more

Following is the position of the Canada Palestine Association-Vancouver, sent to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency regarding their reversal on the issue of labelling Israeli settlement wines.

Thank you for clarifying the Canadian government position on the Palestinian occupied territories. And thank you for clarifying that according to the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement, Israeli territory includes the Palestinian occupied territories.

Thank you for stating categorically that Canada is engaged in selling illegal goods produced on stolen lands in contravention of the Fourth Geneva Convention and all internationally recognized laws.

We understand from your most recent statement that the provisions of the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement (CIFTA) supersede those in the “Canadian Policy on Key Issues in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict” and specifically those relating to the “Occupied Territories and Settlements” which clearly state: “The Fourth Geneva Convention applies in the occupied territories and establishes Israel’s obligations as an occupying power, … As referred to in UN Security Council Resolutions 446 and 465, Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.”

You quote the CIFTA (Article 1.4.1b) as a reason for the reversal of your original ruling, which states in defining territory: “with respect to Israel the territory where its customs laws are applied”. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and accordingly the Canadian Government, in accepting and enforcing that definition of Israeli territory, have explicitly recognized Israel sovereignty over these occupied territories.

Your statement exposes the true Canadian government position regarding the occupied territories. It also shows how Canada is empowering Israel to continue with its violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention and its flaunting of UN General Assembly and Security Council resolutions.

Israeli Violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention

The Israeli government is in violation of many articles of the Fourth Geneva Convention including article 49: “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.” Israel has already planted almost 13% of its population in colonies in the Palestinian occupied territories. Israel is also in violation of article 33 which says: “Pillage is prohibited. Reprisals against protected persons and their property are prohibited.” The massive transfer of its citizens to the occupied territories has resulted in enormous pillaging of Palestinian lands and its natural resources, including water.

Israeli Violations of the UN Resolutions

The Israeli government has also contravened numerous UN General Assembly and Security Council resolutions, including 242 which says in its preamble “Emphasizing the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war”, and then called for the “Withdrawal of Israel armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict”. Resolution 338, another Security Council resolution passed in 1973, “Calls upon the parties concerned to start immediately after the cease-fire the implementation of Security Council resolution 242 (1967) in all of its parts”. FIFTY years and the world is still waiting.

It is clear to all peace-loving people the world over that Canada and the Western countries, led by the US, are empowering Israeli occupation and war crimes. These countries respect UN resolutions only when it serves their (and their client) states’ interests.

It is also clear now, with this new Canadian ruling, that Canada pays lip service only in its declared support to the Fourth Geneva Convention, while empowering and encouraging Israel to violate it.

This explains the voting record of the Canadian government (under different administrations) at the UN general Assembly for at least the past four years. In regards to resolutions on the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories (check our analysis of the Canadian vote for the year 2013), Canada has voted against the following resolutions, amongst 17 in total:

1. The right of the Palestinian people to self-determination
2. Persons displaced as a result of the June 1967 and subsequent hostilities
3. The applicability of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the other occupied Arab territories.
4. Permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources

It is abundantly clear that the Canadian government is an active accomplice in Israeli violations of international humanitarian law. Now more than ever, with this explicit acceptance of Israeli sovereignty on Occupied Palestinian and Arab land, the Canadian government is in violation of all international norms and decency.

We will make the Canadian position known to the ICRC and to all contracting parties to the Fourth Geneva convention. And above all, we will make it known to Canadian and international public opinion.

Canada Palestine Association, Vancouver
Check out the article on Palestinechronicle.com