Vancouver’s #Nabka73 event started as a rally of one thousand at CBC Plaza and then marched through the downtown core, where some estimates say it swelled to over two thousand. It was a historic event for Vancouver, both in numbers, in diversity and in spirit. Check out our photo highlights below to see how Palestinians everywhere are making history.
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
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
(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
On March 14, 2021, there was a second social media action day to highlight the case of Palestinian political prisoner Mohammed El-Halabi. During our Feb. 28th initial campaign, the tweets alone reached 3.1 million people – and thousands participated. With Mohammed El-Halabi, Palestine’s “Humanitarian Hero,” facing a new unjust Israeli hearing this week, Just Peace Advocates, Canada Palestine Association, Palestine House and Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network came together again to call for #Justice4ElHalabi!… Read more
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
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.
Lee Maracle, author, poet and indigenous activist issued the following statement after learning of the attempts by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) to erase Palestine and the Palestinian national identity.
Lee is also a longtime supporter of the Palestinian people’s struggle.
“Indigenous people in Canada know about erasure as a means of eradicating the plight of indigenous nations for nationhood.… Read more
Last summer’s fiasco at Canada’s national broadcaster CBC over its censure of the word Palestine has brought new focus to the debate over why there is such pro-Israel bias in most media in North America.
Some brief background: The CBC show “The Current” had an interview with Joe Sacco where the host used the word Palestine. This was deleted in the later online version and apologized for the next day.… Read more
CPA 2020, Year in Review
Canada Palestine Association and BDS Vancouver were busy in 2020 with both on-line and in-person events and campaigns. We had demos and rallies to reject “The Theft of the Century” and Israeli annexation. We supported Palestinian prisoners campaigns, commemorated Nakba72 and called out the CBC for its attempts to erase “Palestine”. Our BDS actions targeted Israeli wines, HP and Puma.… Read more
