Montreal, September 4, 2024 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) condemns Elle Canada’s decision to remove Ontario MPP Sarah Jama from its list of trailblazing women in an article titled “These Incredible Canadians Have Broken The Glass Ceiling.” The decision followed attacks from pro-Israel commentators over her support for Palestinians. Elle Canada removed the reference to Jama in the article and added an editor’s note claiming the decision was made to “protect everyone’s safety.” However, Sarah Jama herself clarified on X, writing, “I haven’t received any threats so it wasn’t for my safety.” Continue reading

Dear Minister Joly, We, the undersigned civil society organizations, are deeply concerned at the enduring devastation in Gaza. Canada risks complicity in this humanitarian catastrophe through its ongoing transfer of military goods destined to Israel, exports which are incompatible with its obligations under the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). As organizations committed to upholding human rights, the protection of civilians, peace, and justice—several of whom are present in Gaza and seeing daily the grave consequences of the transfer of weapons to conflict parties—we urge the Government of Canada to take immediate action to cease all exports of arms and arms components to Israel, as well as any and all transfers for which Israel will be the end user. Continue reading

Montreal, August 29, 2024 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) urges journalists and officials to exercise heightened scrutiny and skepticism regarding reports suggesting Iranian influence over pro-Palestine protests. Earlier this summer, several newspapers and Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre shared conspiracy theories about Iranian control over pro-Palestine student encampments based on a report by XPOZ, an Israeli cyber-security company. According to a new analysis by CJPME’s Media Accountability Project, however, XPOZ is a highly partisan source with suspect and opaque research methods, and should not be cited by journalists. Continue reading

Montreal, August 15, 2024 — Peace groups are condemning the proposed transfer of $83.7M worth of explosives to the Israeli military, which they warn will fuel Israel’s genocidal violence against civilians in Gaza. As part of this week’s $20B weapons package to Israel, the US Congress approved the purchase of 50,000 High Explosive Mortar Cartridges worth $83.7M CAD ($61.1M USD) from General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems Inc., located in Quebec. In response, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME), World Beyond War (WBW), and Independent Jewish Voices Canada (IJV) are urging the Canadian government to block this export of explosives, close the US loophole in Canada’s arms export regime, and impose a real two-way arms embargo on Israel. Continue reading

Montreal, August 7, 2024 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is outraged by reports that Canada’s Ambassador to Japan will be boycotting Friday’s memorial service for the US  atomic bombing of Nagasaki over the fact that Israel was not invited. The City of Nagasaki had declined to invite the Israeli Ambassador, whose government is involved in the mass killing of civilians in Gaza. CJPME agrees that the presence of Israel, whose current Ministers have called for dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza, would be completely inappropriate, and condemns Canada for this deeply offensive diplomatic statement. Continue reading

Montreal, July 26, 2024 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) applauds the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) for indicating that it will revoke the charitable status of the Jewish National Fund of Canada (JNF Canada), reportedly “over support for military infrastructure in Israel.” For decades, Independent Jewish Voices Canada and other activists have brought attention to JNF Canada’s abuse of charitable funds to support projects linked to the Israeli military and settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories (OPT). This includes the notorious “Canada Park” which sits in the occupied West Bank on the ruins of Palestinian villages. CJPME urges Canada to continue to investigate and punish all connections between Canadian charities and illegal Israeli activity. Continue reading

Montreal, July 25, 2024 - CJPME has sent a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urging Canada's compliance with the ICJ Advisory Opinion on Israel's illegal occupation.  Click here to download the full letter as a PDF. Continue reading

Montreal, July 19, 2024 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is urging the Canadian government to support today’s breakthrough advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and help bring an end to Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. In a groundbreaking decision, the ICJ concluded that Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT) is illegal and must end as rapidly as possible. CJPME urges Canada to issue sanctions on Israeli leaders in response to its illegal practices, and to support any further efforts by the United Nations to force Israel’s compliance with international law. Continue reading

Montreal, July 12, 2024 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is condemning attempts by federal officials to intervene and overturn an agreement made in good faith between the University of Windsor (UW) and the student-led Palestinian solidarity encampment (“Palestine Liberation Zone”). Earlier this week, the UW peacefully brought an end to the encampment by committing to act on many of the students’ demands. Yesterday, Anthony Housefather, senior advisor to Prime Minister Trudeau on antisemitism, announced that he was working with Special Envoy Deborah Lyons to put pressure on the university, presumably to cancel the agreement. CJPME urges the University to reject any government interference and uphold its commitments on Palestinian human rights. Continue reading

Montreal, July 5, 2024 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) condemns the smear campaign against Birju Dattani, the incoming chief commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC). The campaign, which is led by pro-Israel advocacy organizations, seeks to cancel Dattani’s appointment over his past support for Palestinian human rights. CJPME asserts that challenging Israel’s racist practices against Palestinians is a legitimate form of political expression and entirely consistent with Dattani’s mandate to combat racism, and urges Justice Minister Virani to reject the calls to rescind the appointment.  Continue reading