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
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
(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
#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
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.
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
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
