Montreal, September 17, 2024 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) condemns the rise of far-right Zionist vigilante groups in Canada and is urging media to provide accurate and comprehensive coverage of their activities and ideologies. CJPME laments that Canadian journalists thus far have described these groups as “safety” or “security” patrols, whereas some of these organizations have far-right extremist ideologies and histories of violence. To help journalists better understand the issue, CJPME has released an essay on four increasingly prominent Canadian organizations purporting to support security for the Jewish community, titled “The Rise of Zionist Vigilante Groups in Canada.”

Israel’s devastating war on Gaza and the routine violence faced by Palestinians under military occupation have produced a catastrophic human toll, leading the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to order Israel to change its actions to prevent the “real and imminent risk” of genocide. The UN Human Rights Council and independent UN experts have called on all states to cease the sale and transfer of weapons to Israel immediately, or else risk complicity in war crimes or acts of genocide. Although Parliament voted in March 2024 in support of ending arms transfers to Israel, Canada’s actions to date have been limited and insufficient, allowing weapons to continue to flow to Israel. Canada cannot continue to export arms to Israel and maintain a close working relationship with the Israeli military so long as it is involved in egregious violations of international humanitarian law. Canada must use its diplomatic and economic leverage vis-a-vis Israel’s defense and security establishment to bring an immediate end to the violence.  

We are deeply alarmed to hear that Prime Minister’s Special Envoy Lyons is imminently preparing to publish a dangerous handbook to guide institutions in applying the extremist anti-Palestinian IHRA definition of antisemitism. IHRA strategically conflates antisemitism with nearly any criticism of Israel and Zionism, and is often used to suppress, censor, and persecute Palestinian perspectives. It is clear that this anti-Palestinian, pro-censorship handbook will be used to target anti-genocide protestors and put a deep chill on criticism of apartheid, genocide and Zionism. Stand with us against Trudeau’s censorship campaign!

Boycott campaign: Keter plastic Factsheet Series No. 249, created: August 2024, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East   View factsheet in PDF format CJPME Factsheet 249, published August 2024: This factsheet outlines the boycott campaign against the Israeli company Keter Plastic due to its production in Israel and its historical operations in the occupied West Bank. It details Keter's exploitation of Palestinian labour, complicity in settlement expansion, and continued violations of Palestinian human rights. Despite closing its factory in the occupied West Bank in 2014, Keter remains culpable for its prior breaches of international law and its extensive history of exploiting Palestinian land and resources for economic gain.