Over one month has passed, over 11,000 Palestinians have been killed, 4700 of them children, and still Canada's Liberal government has not called for a ceasefire. Although the government has not called for a ceasefire, the NDP, the Greens, and the Bloc Québécois have all done so, and a majority of Canadians support a ceasefire, according to a poll published by Angus-Reid last week.
Please join the CJPME team and tens of thousands of others at one of the many weekend demonstrations demanding a ceasefire, and insisting on respect for Palestinian human rights and liberation:
Protests around Canada
- Barrie, ON, “Solidarity Rally,” Saturday Nov 18
- Calgary, AB, “Protest for Palestine,” Sunday Nov 19
- Duncan, BC, “March with Freedom from War Coalition,” Saturday Nov 18
- Edmonton, AB, “Protest and Day of Action for Palestine,” Saturday Nov 18
- Fredericton, NB, "March for Gaza," Saturday Nov 18
- Halifax, NS, “Stand up for Peace and Justice Rally,” Sunday Nov 19
- Kitchener, ON, “10K Rally for Gaza,” Sunday Nov 19
- London, ON, “Vigil for Palestine,” Friday Nov 17
- London, ON, “Student March for Gaza,” Sunday Nov 19
- Montreal, QC, “All Out for Gaza,” Saturday Nov 18
- Ottawa, ON, “Ottawa for Palestine,” Sunday Nov 19
- Quebec City, QC, "Free Palestine Protest," Sunday Nov 19
- Saint John, NB, “Stand Against Genocide,” Saturday Nov 18
- Saskatoon, SK, “March for Gaza,” Saturday Nov 18
- Saskatoon, SK, “Human Chain Rally,” Sunday Nov 19
- Sherbrooke, QC, "Solidarité Sherbrooke-Gaza, Sunday Nov 19
- St. John’s, NL, “Call for Immediate Support,” Friday Nov 17
- St. John’s, NL, “All Out for Palestine,” Saturday Nov 18
- Toronto, ON, “All Out for Gaza,” Saturday Nov 18
- Vancouver, BC, “Gaza: Prayer and Protest,” Friday Nov 17
- Vancouver, BC, “All Out for Gaza,” Saturday Nov 18
- Windsor, ON, “Silent Stand,” Saturday Nov 18
- Winnipeg, MB, “All Out for Palestine,” Sunday Nov 19
Answers to frequently asked questions
There's so much misinformation and hearsay surrounding the current war on Gaza, so CJPME has created a FAQ: Why do we need a "ceasefire" and not a "humanitarian pause"? Why do we call it a genocide? Is Hamas using human shields? What is Hamas' "right to resist"? How far does Israel's right to "self-defence" go? What about the slogan, "From the river to the sea..."? This builds on CJPME's updated "talking points" on Gaza, and CJPME's Crisis Report 2023.
If you believe that CJPME's work is effective and useful, please consider donating to our work today. Monthly donations are especially helpful, as they enable forward-looking strategy.
Protecting our right to protest
You may have heard that the Government of Alberta arrested Calgary protest organizer Wesam Khaled last week for "disturbing the peace." But Khaled is standing up for his right to protest against Israeli brutality, impunity and genocide, and so should we! Our appearance at rallies across the country sends the message that we will not be silenced. But even as we exercise our right, please take the time to send an email in support of Khaled: your email will go to the Alberta justice minister, the Calgary mayor and other provincial and local officials. Thank you!
Opposing the genocide of Palestinians
More and more experts from around the world are describing what's happening in Gaza as a genocide, and we're disgusted by our government's indifference to the killing of Palestinians and the destruction of their social fabric. We plead with you to take the following actions:
1. Send a message to the Prime Minister that the genocide of Palestinians is happening on his watch! If you've done so already, please do so again.
2. Tell the world that what's happening in Gaza right now is a genocide. We've launched an "It's a Genocide" campaign on social media, and we invite everyone to participate. There are many ways to be involved:
- Take one of our social media image designs from here, and post to Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. The designs speak for themselves.
- Create your own design; we've got some suggestions here. The concept is text-based, just takes a bit of creativity, and the hashtag #ItsAGenocide.
- Like and share our social media posts that use this theme. Start with the posts here on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, and follow us on these platforms to like and share subsequent posts that we'll be publishing in the coming hours and days.
3. Plug into the other ways to be involved. Our Gaza Action Webinar last week (on YouTube, or Facebook) provided a guide/tutorial for how to engage with the media, call your MP, and meet with your MP. We encourage you to get involved and take action via any of the other opportunities listed below:
- Send an email of urgent concern to your member of Parliament
- Send a humanitarian donation to Gaza, with the CJPME Foundation's "Gaza Emergency Appeal"
- Participate in our work to combat Canadian media bias
- Communicate/record your concerns about the whole situation
- Ramp up your knowledge of the situation