CJPME Factsheet 45, published November 2008: This factsheet looks at the history of the Taliban and how it have been affect ted by the current war in Afghanistan.  Continue reading

CJPME Factsheet 44, published August 2008: This factsheet provides an overview of the case of the Palestinian village of Bil'in, located in the Israeli occupied Palestinian Territories. Because of a persistent, disciplined and peaceful resistance campaign, Bil’in been able to win some minor though significant victories over Israel’s regime of occupation: by attracting international attention, winning against the Israeli Supreme Court in 2007 and by launching a lawsuit against two Montreal companies.   Continue reading

CJPME Factsheet 42, published June 2008: As a general rule in international law, the threat and use of force is prohibited. That said, the right to self-defence in international law is established in Article 51 of the same document. This factsheet discusses Israel’s use and abuse of the “self-defence” argument through numerous principles and examples. Continue reading

CJPME Factsheet 41, published June 2008: With much fanfare in August, 2005, Israel “disengaged” from Gaza, pulling out about 8000 Israeli colonists that had been illegally planted there, and vacating the military installations which had been established for decades.  Even before the Israeli-Gaza violence which reigned through 2006-2008, there were individuals who questioned the legal status of Gaza.  What is the legal status of Gaza – occupied or independent – and what are the responsibilities of Israel towards the civilian population of Gaza?  Continue reading

CJPME Factsheet 40, published June 2008: In June of 2002 the Israeli government decided to build a Wall with the stated goal of “providing security” to Israeli citizens. In reality, 80% of the Wall is built onWest Bank land and successfully encircles and/or isolates numerous Palestinian population centers. This results in dozens of enclaves caught between the Wall on the East, andIsrael and the Green Line on the West – the “Seam Zone.”    Continue reading

CJPME Factsheet 39, published May 2008: On March 23, 2008, Canada’s Minister of Public Safety, Stockwell Day, and Israel’s Minister of Public Security signed a Declaration of Intent to “enhance cooperation in the area of public safety.”  While this declaration builds on existing cooperation between Canada and Israel on security-related matters, the formality of this declaration bring a new level of significance and importance to the sharing.  Continue reading

CJPME Factsheet 38, published May 2008: The UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment defines torture as any act which intentionally inflicts severe mental or physical pain on a victim for the purpose of obtaining information or a confession or for punishing the victim for conduct or suspected conduct. The UN convention was preceded by a long series of other conventions such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Article 7), and conventions dealing with the laws of war, all of which strictly prohibit torture and other types of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment under any circumstances. Continue reading

CJPME Factsheet 36, published May, 2008: Immediately following the 1967 War Israel’s leaders took a conscious decision to retain Control of the West Bank and Gaza using “security” as justification.  That decision – illegal under international law – was taken despite advice from Israeli Foreign Ministry legal counsel, Theodor Meron, that “Civilian settlement in the administered territories contravenes the explicit provisions of the Fourth Geneva…  The prohibition is categorical and is not conditioned on the motives or purposes of the transfer and is aimed at preventing colonization of conquered territory by citizens of the conquering state.” Ongoing Israeli colonization of the West Bank and Gaza, flowing from that initial illegal decision, has been a major contributing factor to friction and violence between Israelis and Palestinians. The failure by Israel, the occupying power, to assume its legal responsibilities for the indigenous people of the West Bank and Gaza, as required by international law, has spawned a range of abuses justified in the name of security or public safety. Continue reading

CJPME Factsheet 34, published April, 2008: In 2007, Prof. John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago, and Prof. Stephen Walt of HarvardUniversity (M&W) published a book entitled The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy.  Their book focused on the Israel Lobby in the U.S., and the means by which it has often caused the U.S. to act against its own strategic interests in the Middle East.  While initially applied to the U.S., many of M&W’s theses apply directly to the influence of the Israel Lobby in Canada and Canadian interests in the Middle East.   Continue reading

CJPME Factsheet 33, published February, 2008: Canadian Forces Major Paeta Hess-Von Krudener – stationed as a United Nations peacekeeper in Lebanon – was killed on July 25, 2006 when the Israeli Air Force dropped a bomb on his UN post.  Since the time of the incident, the Israeli government has claimed its attack on the UN post was an accident.  Canada issued the results of its inquiry into the incident on Feb. 1, 2008.  Unfortunately, this claim of the Israelis rings hollow in light of the specifics of the incident.   Continue reading