Hanna Kawas discusses Canada’s complicity in Palestinian dispossession and how it enables settler colonialism at home and abroad.
Hanna Kawas is a Palestinian activist, writer, and journalist who was born in Bethlehem, Palestine. He is the chairperson of the Canada Palestine Association (cpavancouver.org) and was cohost of Voice of Palestine (voiceofpalestine.ca); he has been active in anti-war struggles and support work for liberation movements.… Read more
Category: Featured
Open Letter : Time to respect NDP Policy, Don’t make B.C. complicit in Israeli war crimes!
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 to end “all trade and economic cooperation with illegal settlements in Israel-Palestine”.
Today, we sent a letter to the Finance Minister in the BC NDP government, calling for action to finally be taken on this issue.… Read more
#NoIHRA and the Hypocrisy of the Zionist Lobby
The pro-Palestine resolution that passed this weekend at Canada’s New Democratic Party NDP convention was a significant step forward; the struggle now is to make sure it is implemented and followed, not lost in some bureaucratic abyss as happened to other policy items after the 2018 NDP convention.
However, the dust-up over another proposed resolution to reject the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism led to that issue being buried during the prioritization process.… Read more
Tell Canadian Officials: Advocacy for Palestine is not ‘Terrorism’
Send your own letter to let Canadian Minister of Public Safety Bill Blair and MPs to let them know that you #SupportPalestineAdvocacy. We cannot stay silent while vague charges and smear campaigns are being levelled against a group that supports the rights of Palestinian prisoners. This attack is an attack on all of us who are advocating for the liberation and dignity of the Palestinian people.… Read more
Boycott TEVA, Defend the Right to Boycott
On March 16, CPA activists joined with BDS Vancouver – Coast Salish Territories and Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network to deliver a message to the consulate of France in Vancouver and to show solidarity with Olivia Zémor! Olivia is being sued by the Israeli pharmaceutical giant, TEVA, and is charged with calling for a boycott of the company. The verdict in her trial is expected in mid-May.… Read more
Political Advocacy and National Liberation are not “Terrorism”
(Update: Check out the new list of individual endorsers which includes artists, activists, lawyers, professors and clergy, all joining the call to reject the criminalization of Palestinian advocacy. Our statement was also published in Mondoweiss.)
On February 28, 2021, Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz declared that he was adding the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network to Israel’s “terror list”.… Read more
CBC Ombudsman says apology “unwise”, but anti-Palestinian language guide is “reasonable”
Six months after CBC’s show The Current deleted, and apologized for using, the word Palestine, the CBC Ombudsman has finally released his review of the case. His long report concluded “that while The Current did not violate journalistic standards, producers made a poor decision in issuing an apology. Even though the original program was at odds with CBC’s usual practice, it would have been better to leave it as is.”… Read more
Free Mohammed El-Halabi!
#Justice4ElHalabi
Twitter Storm and Social Media Campaign
Sunday, February 28
10 am Pacific – 1 pm Eastern – 7 pm central Europe – 8 pm Palestine
Use the hashtag: #Justice4ElHalabi
Suggested Tweets and Images: https://bit.ly/justice4elhalabi
Mohammed El-Halabi is the former director of World Vision in Gaza. A Palestinian “humanitarian hero,” Mohammed El-Halabi, 42, was detained by Israel in 2016. In a widely promoted press campaign, El-Halabi was accused by Israeli officials of financing Hamas using funds from the charity.… Read more
Canadian complicity: Is ICC serving justice or Western interests?
New article in Mondoweiss on how Canada is helping to shield Israel from war crimes investigations.
Further Updates: This past week the International Criminal Court – ICC elected new top officials.
- Canadian UN ambassador Bob Rae was elected as a vice-president. Bob Rae is a well-known supporter of Israeli war crimes, he was the keynote speaker at the JNF Toronto Negev Dinner in 2019.
Canada’s Hypocrisy on the ICC and Palestine
Canada’s convoluted double-talk on Palestinian rights and the International Criminal Court is a true masterclass in diplomatic hypocrisy. It flows from a biased and erroneous foundation, that is both inherently anti-Palestinian and allows for sweeping Israeli impunity.
The Trudeau government claims it supports a rules-based order and the ICC, but just not when it comes to Israeli war crimes. According to the recent statement by Marc Garneau, Foreign Affairs Minister, this is because Canada does not acknowledge the ICC’s jurisdiction to launch such an investigation.… Read more