We’ve been so hard at work, that it’s hard to believe that we’re almost halfway through 2015. As such, we wanted to give you an overview of our accomplishments and successes so far this year. Please take a look at the summary of our activities.

All of our work depends on your support, so please consider contributing, either on-line here, by calling 438-380-5410, or by mailing in this form. If you need a charitable tax receipt, you can donate on-line here, or you can mail in this form.

CJPME meets again with MPs on Parliament Hill. CJPME delegates met with members of Parliament near the end of the Spring session to talk about the government’s assault on the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement in Canada. Delegates presented position papers which critically addressed the government’s opposition to BDS, and challenged the government either to get on-board with BDS, or find other ways to get serious about a just peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Here is a copy of CJPME’s position paper that was delivered in-person, or via mail to every single member of parliament. 

CJPME delegates on Parliament Hill to meet with MPs.  CJPME always brings both English-speaking and French-speaking teams when conducting a delegation.

CJPME hosts South Africa – Palestine exhibition in locations through the Maritimes and the West. Since the beginning of the year, CJPME has been touring the exhibition, Dispossessed but Defiant: Indigenous Struggles from around the World. Produced by the CJPME Foundation, the exhibition highlights the common experiences faced by blacks under apartheid in South Africa, Canada’s Indigenous peoples, and the Palestinians. CJPME helped enable the exhibition to go to Calgary AB, Charlottetown PEI, St. John’s NF, and Quebec City. In addition, a local group hosted the exhibition at the United Church Maritime conference in Sackville NB at the end of May. In each location, the exhibition has been warmly received and highly appreciated. Please email us if you’re interested in hosting the exhibition in your community.


At left, the "Dispossessed but Defiant" exhibition on display at a shopping mall in St. John’s New Foundland, and at right, the exposition in Charlottetown, PEI.  Both exhibitions were hosted in conjunction with local human rights solidarity groups.  

CJPME to help bring Syrian refugees to Canada. Unable to stand by idly as the Syrian civil war grinds on, CJPME moved ahead with a strategy to help sponsor Syrian refugees to come to Canada. Under a Quebec program, in partnership with a certified immigration consultant, CJPME itself will be co-sponsoring several Syrian refugee families in the coming months. Dozens of Canadians joined in with CJPME’s efforts, and contributed to CJPME’s Syrian Refugee Fund. Click here for more info.

CJPME tour with Israeli human rights journalist Gideon Levy reaches over 1 million. CJPME was honoured to host Haaretz journalist Gideon Levy on an 8-city tour of Canada, including Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton, Edmonton, Calgary, Victoria and Vancouver. While the eight local events were all very well-attended, Levy’s appearance on CBC’s Sunday Edition also reached an additional 1.3 million Canadians. In addition to his appearance on Sunday Edition, CJPME and its supporters were able to secure many more prominent media placements for Levy and his message in support of Palestinian human rights.


Gideon Levy speaking in Montreal, and in Toronto.  At right, Gideon Levy with CBC Sunday Edition host Michael Enright.

Action to oppose the criminalization of BDS activities. After a CBC article highlighted the various steps the Harper government has taken to potentially criminalize activism in the BDS movement, CJPME launched an action alert to its adherents. The response from across Canada was very strong, with literally thousands of Canadians emailing their local MPs telling them that they should oppose this move by the government at all costs. As a result of the efforts of CJPME and other groups and individuals, the government backed away from its extreme position on BDS. 

Action to call Kathleen Wynne to refuse an award from the pro-Israel lobby. CJPME was disappointed to learn in May that Ontario’s Liberal Premier, Kathleen Wynne, had agreed to accept an award from Canada’s pro-Israel lobby. CJPME joined several allied groups to urge Wynne to refuse the award from this group which de facto works against Palestinian human rights, especially given her sensitivity to the rights of Canada’s Indigenous peoples.  CJPME again launched an action alert and almost 1000 Ontarians emailed Wynne to tell her to cancel.    

CJPME speaks out authoritatively on important, timely issues:  

• CJPME addresses issues of racism against Muslims in Canada. CJPME has been concerned about the rise of anti-Muslim sentiment in recent months in Canada, especially in Quebec. As such, CJPME issued an in-depth factsheet and several press statements addressing this alarming racist trend. In response to a call from the Canadian government for input on Canada’s response to its report on the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, CJPME’s sister charity, the CJPME Foundation, issued a 10-page analytical critique of the trend in Canada for government institutions to promulgate racism against Muslims. Click here to see the submission (available in French only.) 

• CJPME demonstrates strength of BDS-Canada movement. Because of its active work on the BDS file – e.g. meeting MPs, launching action alerts – CJPME had to develop a number of important resources. In addition to a new factsheet and position paper on BDS in Canada, CJPME also published an authoritative list of organizations advocating economic action against Israel. The list is super-impressive, and demonstrates that over 70 different organizations in Canada have signed on to the movement, including unions, churches, and political parties. 

• CJPME exposes the hypocrisy of the Canadian government vis-à-vis Saudi Arabia. While Canada’s government pretends to speak authoritatively about human rights, its true record falls far short. Through a series of PRs, factsheets, and opinion pieces, CJPME castigated the Canadian government on its two-faced position on human rights. CJPME condemns Canada’s $15B arms deal with Saudi Arabia, and its silence on Saudi Arabia’s inhumane bombing campaign on Yemen. The message from CJPME is clear, if the Harper government is going to “talk the talk,” then it must “walk the walk.”

CJPME tracks and critiques crises across the Middle East.  Never has the Middle East been in such crisis, and CJPME has done its best to critique human rights abusers as systematically as possible, and to demand action from the Canadian government. From the humanitarian crisis facing Yemen, to the democratic crisis facing Egypt. From Mohamed Fahmy’s plight in Egypt, to the plight of millions of Syrian refugees spread throughout the region. These and many other issues keep us busy analyzing the crises and advancing statements and recommendations. Despite our limited resources, we continuously bring these issues to the media and the public, and seek to influence policymakers to address the most dire situations.

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The CJPME team has worked hard for values and principles that we all hold dear, both for Canada and in the Middle East.  While we do as much as we can, we depend on your ongoing support for the continuance of our work.  

Please consider making a donation, or renewing your donation to enable CJPME to continue its vital work.