CJPME Factsheet 24, published April, 2007: While settlement of the millions of Palestinian refugees has been at the forefront of international consciousness for the past 60 years, a vigorous six year campaign by Justice for Jews from Arab Countries (JJAC) has been mounted to raise the profile of the Jewish refugee issue (i.e. Jews displaced from Arab countries – e.g. Iraq, Egypt, etc. – during the late 1940s and following.)  It is important to understand why this campaign has been launched now, and how such claims should be viewed.   Continue reading

CJPME Factsheet 23, published March, 2007: Inaugurated in 1920 and ending in 1947, the British Mandate for Palestine was the product of 1) British political ambitions to replace the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East, 2) Britain’s promises of colonial control to the French in the region, and 3) conflicting British promises of self-determination to the Arabs and Jewish statehood for Zionists. The British ruled Palestine under the League of Nations Mandate which followed Britain’s Balfour Declaration of 1917, whose unilateral principle was “the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people,” in Biblical Palestine. Continue reading

CJPME Factsheet 22, published February, 2007: Few Canadians are aware that Canada has a unique responsibility to the Palestinian refugees.  Since 1995 Canada has chaired the Refugee Working Group of the Middle East Multilateral Peace Process, which is charged with “improving the current living conditions of refugees and displaced persons without prejudice to their rights and future status.” Tragically, the committee has not met for several years, yet the need to improve the refugees’ living conditions of refugees has never been greater.   Continue reading

CJPME Factsheet 21, published February, 2007: Apartheid is fairly overt in the occupied Palestinian territories, and manifests itself in various obvious forms: Jewish-only roads; Jewish-only housing (i.e. colonies); the application of two different systems of law: military on Palestinians, and Israeli civil on Jewish colonists in the territories; the racially-defined course of the Wall; and selective policing and investigation; to mention a few.  In his book, Palestine: Peace not Apartheid, Jimmy Carter focused on this form of Apartheid.  However, Apartheid exists in Israel itself, though its institutions are much more subtle.   Continue reading

CJPME Factsheet 19, published January, 2007: Palestine: Peace not Apartheid (Simon and Schuster, 2006), the bestseller by former US President Jimmy Carter has generated a wide variety of reactions, primarily because of its focus on Israel’s refusal to respect international law in its occupation of the Palestinian territories.  In the course of the book’s approximately 250 pages, Carter details Israel’s activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, and how they form the primary obstacle to peace in the region.   Continue reading

CJPME Factsheet 20, published January, 2007: Resolution 242 was passed by the UN Security Council in November, 1967, following a war in June of 1967 between Israel and its neighbours.  During that war, Israel invaded and occupied Gaza and the Sinai Peninsula, territory held by or belonging to Egypt.  Israel also invaded and occupied the Golan Heights, territory belonging to Syria.  Finally, Israel also invaded and occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank, territory controlled by Jordan at the time.  Since 1967, Israel has only relinquished the Sinai Penninsula, doing so in 1978 following a peace accord with Egypt. Continue reading

CJPME Factsheet 17, published October, 2006: This Factsheet provide an overview of the destruction in Lebanon in the Summer of 2006--how it began, why Israel was so aggressive and how expansion the destruction is. Continue reading

CJPME Factsheet 16, published October, 2006: This Factsheet provides basic information about cluster bombs and their use in Lebanon in 2006--their effect on civilians and their legality. Continue reading

CJPME Factsheet 15, published April, 2006: This Factsheet explains the implications of the cessation of Aid to Palestine from the Canadian Government.  It is important that Canadians understand 1) how such a position will impact Palestinians and 2) the damaging implications of this statement vis-à-vis Canadian policy and Canada’s role in the Middle East. Continue reading

CJPME Factsheet 14, published April, 2006: This Factsheet provide background information on the Israeli election, the Kadima Party and its unilateral approach and the implications of this approach on the future of Israel-Palestine negotiations. Continue reading