Montreal, July 21, 2023 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) welcomes a recent comment from Prime Minister Trudeau that an invitation for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is “not on the table right now.” The comments came one day after the postponement of a planned phone call between Trudeau and Netanyahu, which has not yet been rescheduled. CJPME reiterates its call for Canadian politicians to stand up for Palestinian human rights by boycotting Israel’s dangerous and extremist government, and urges Trudeau to cancel his upcoming call with Netanyahu.
“It is a minor relief that Canada has no intentions to invite Netanyahu in the near future,” said Michael Bueckert, Vice President of CJPME. “Under no circumstances should Canada be rolling out the red carpet for Israel’s far-right leadership, which has been bombing civilians in their homes and illegally annexing occupied Palestinian territory,” added Bueckert. CJPME warns that any future planned meetings with Netanyahu would legitimize Israel’s far-right regime, and urges Trudeau not to reschedule the meeting which was postponed this week.
Under Netanyahu’s leadership, Israel’s coalition of far-right and fascist political parties is guided by a statement of principles which claims that the entire territory under Israeli control belongs exclusively to the Jewish people, a supremacist position that explicitly denies Palestinian rights. Its ministers have frequently used genocidal language against Palestinians. Meanwhile, Israel’s racist treatment of the Palestinians has been identified as “apartheid” by UN experts, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, B’Tselem, and leading Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups.
This year, Netanyahu’s government has rapidly advanced illegal colonial settlements at a record pace and has taken steps that amount to the annexation of the occupied West Bank, which is strictly prohibited by international law and the UN Charter. Israeli forces have killed almost 200 Palestinians this year, including 35 children, and have been accused of war crimes in Gaza and the Jenin refugee camp.
CJPME has previously raised concerns regarding the recent meetings of Minister Joly, Minister Ng, and a group of Senators with their counterparts in Israel’s far-right government. CJPME also expressed concern about MPs meeting and working with far-right Israeli lawmakers. More than 2,000 Canadians have written to the Canadian government requesting a boycott of all meetings with Israel’s regime, as it poses an immediate threat to the safety of Palestinians on both sides of the Green Line.