One month ago, Canada voted AGAINST a preliminary UN resolution condemning Israel’s settlements as illegal and detrimental to peace. In fact, Canada has voted against similar resolutions for the last 12 years! This sends a message that Canada supports Israel’s theft of Palestinian land, at a moment when Israel’s racist government is expanding settlements, annexing territory, and enabling settler attacks on Palestinians. This week, the final UN “plenary” vote is set to take place, and Canada has a chance to change its vote and be on the right side of history.

On Nov. 13, Rich Ward, principal of Tribune Drive Public School in Brampton was suspended from his job while the Peel District School Board (PSDB) “investigates” a brief tweet he made the day before. In that tweet, Ward rightly suggests that Israel is committing a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, and that Israel’s violence was triggering anti-Zionist sentiment in Canada. The PDSB has clearly caved to vague criticisms about Ward’s post, while 1) seemingly unaware of expert concerns over Israel’s genocidal violence, and 2) contemptuous of Ward’s right to free expression.

In October, Lisa Levitan, an educator with the Ottawa Carleton District School Board made social media posts and statements to the media suggesting that either people support Israel – a country accused of practicing apartheid by Amnesty International – or they are supporters of terrorism. Ms. Levitan’s statements contribute to a climate of hostility and discrimination within the OCDSB, violating several provisions of the OCDSB’s human rights policies, including Violations of OCDSB Policies P.147.GOV (Human Rights) and P.125.SCO (School District Code of Conduct). Despite a letter of complaint signed by over 1000 Ottawa-area parents and organizations, the OCDSB has thus far failed to act substantively.

While the Middle East coverage by the Hamilton Spectator has never been good, two incidents in recent weeks demonstrate that it is truly hateful toward Palestinians: On Thursday, Nov. 23 , the Spec REJECTED an ad listing the names of the 5600+ Palestinian children who had been killed by Israel and calling for a ceasefire. Yet less than two weeks ago, on Nov. 11, the Spec PUBLISHED a full-page ad about the Israeli hostages held by Hamas, showing each of their pictures and calling for their release. That the Spec would refuse an ad expressing sympathy for Palestinian victims, yet publish another ad expressing sympathy for Israeli victims shows that the Hamilton Spectator is NO LONGER WORTHY OF OUR BUSINESS.

Arij Al Khafagi was recently suspended from the Bachelor of Nursing Program at the U. of Manitoba, with a five-year reprimand on her academic transcript!  Despite being an exemplary student, and president of the Nursing Students' Association, Arij was harshly disciplined for social media posts she had made which were critical of Israel's violence against Palestinians.  With no concern for the trauma Arij felt as an Arab student, and without consulting neutral experts on racism, the U. of Manitoba caved to vague criticisms that Arij's posts opposing Israeli violence were antisemitic.

In October, Quebec cardiologist Dr. Éric Sabbah made a genocidal post on Facebook (original in French) stating, “Whatever the images from Gaza, everything has to be razed to the ground…” adding, “It's impossible to tell the good guys from the bad...” The Journal de Montréal covered the story stating that complaints had been raised with Quebec’s Medical College and Quebec Health Board. CJPME and others in the medical establishment are appalled by such shameless racism and call for Dr. Sabbah’s professional censure.  

For years, Canada has allowed products imported from illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) to be falsely labelled as “Product of Israel.” CJPME and others have long argued that this undermines international law and contributes to Israel’s colonization of Palestinian land. Forced by a legal case to review this approach, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) recently launched a public consultation into how products from so-called ‘contested territories’ (like the West Bank and Gaza) should be labelled. CJPME itself has already submitted a formal analysis asserting that Canada must no longer allow products from illegal Israeli settlements to be labelled “Product of Israel.” Fortunately, the government consultation is OPEN TO EVERYONE!  So a few original sentences FROM YOU about the need for clear “region of origin” labelling will really increase the pressure on Israel. Continue reading

Last December, with a 87-26 majority, the UN General Assembly voted to ask the International Court of Justice to rule on the legality of Israel’s occupation and ongoing human rights violations against the Palestinians. Despite thousands of Canadians emailing their support for the resolution, the Trudeau government went ahead and opposed it! But even worse, not long ago, Canada sent a letter to the ICJ pressuring it to decline the case. If you’re like us, you’re tired of Canada’s shameless attempts to protect Israel from the consequences of its brutal and illegal actions against Palestinians! Continue reading

Recently, the Quebec government announced that it was opening an office in Tel Aviv to strengthen ties with Israel. Shockingly, this decision gives a major gift to Israel’s far-right government at the same time it is violently repressing Palestinians, deepening its Apartheid regime, and illegally annexing the occupied West Bank!  Continue reading

CJPME recently released a report titled, “Legitimizing Hate,” which documented politicians who had advertised on a racist website called “TheJ.ca.” Many articles on this website express racist attitudes toward Black, Indigenous, Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim people. Federal politicians who have advertised on this website include the Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada Pierre Poilievre, Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada Melissa Lantsman, and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Rob Oliphant. CJPME has demanded that politicians publicly distance themselves from this racist Website, but none of them have yet done so.