CJPME responds to Concordia misinformation on BDS

On February 6, 2025, CJPME issued a letter to Concordia President Carr responding to a statement which had spread misinformation about the boycott of Israel. CJPME's letter defends Concordia students who overwhelmingly voted to adopt two resolutions in support of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement (BDS). Continue reading

 

CJPME condemns Israeli requests for Canada to participate in ethnic cleansing of Gaza

Montreal, February 6, 2025 – Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is outraged and alarmed to learn that Israel is pressuring Canada to participate in its plans to force Palestinians out of Gaza, only days after US President Trump announced his intention to permanently expel the population. CJPME insists that any “migration” in this context cannot be considered voluntary but amounts to ethnic cleansing. CJPME urges Prime Minister Trudeau to publicly reject and condemn Israel’s attempts to enlist Canada in its genocidal scheme, and to impose sanctions on any Israeli or US officials contributing or conspiring to depopulate Gaza. Continue reading

 

Canada must oppose Trump plan for ethnic cleansing of Gaza: CJPME

Montreal, February 5, 2025 – Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) urges the Canadian government to condemn in the strongest terms US President Trump’s plans to ethnically cleanse the Palestinian people from Gaza. Yesterday, Trump declared that there is no future for Palestinians in Gaza and that the US will “take over” the illegally occupied territory after permanently expelling the population. CJPME argues that this is a clear expression of genocidal intent, and insists that Canada is obliged to consider all means necessary — including sanctions — to protect the people of Gaza from annihilation. Continue reading

 

Joint Letter: Dismantle Ontario's Hate Crimes Working Group

On January 22, 2025, CJPME and over 60 civil society organizations sent a letter to Ontario Premier Doug Ford expressing outrage over the persecution of pro-Palestine activists, and calling for the so-called "Hate Crimes Working Group" to be dismantled. View open letter in pdf format. Continue reading

 

CJPME raises the alarm about discredited viral Islamophobic article that slanders Palestine advocates in Canada

Montreal, January 22, 2025 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is raising the alarm about a widely shared article on antisemitism in Canada which is riddled with inaccuracies and promotes hateful views against supporters of Palestinian rights. Written by Canadian journalist Terry Glavin and published in the US-based The Free Press, the article “The Explosion of Jew-Hate in Trudeau’s Canada” claimed to investigate a rise in antisemitism in Canada, but spread misinformation to create a false narrative that targeted Muslim and Palestinian Canadians. CJPME is concerned that, according to analytics on X, millions of people have engaged with an overtly Islamophobic, anti-Palestinian article that promotes dangerous rhetoric. Continue reading

 

CJPME welcomes Gaza ceasefire, urges Canada to enforce it

Montreal, January 15, 2025 – Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) enthusiastically welcomes the news of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas and anxiously looks forward to an end to Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza. The deal announced today is remarkably similar to one that Hamas had agreed to nearly a year ago, but which had been repeatedly blocked by Netanyahu and his far-right cabinet ministers. In this important moment, CJPME urges Canada to increase pressure on Israeli leaders to enforce the terms of the ceasefire and hold the perpetrators of genocide accountable through existing institutions of international law. Continue reading

 

Statement on the resignation of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Montreal, January 6, 2025 – Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) welcomes the resignation of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as an important opportunity for the Liberal government to decisively shift course on Gaza. From 2015 to 2025, Trudeau’s approach to Israel and Palestine was marked by a continuation of the Harper Government’s staunchly pro-Israel policies, demonstrating extreme indifference to Palestinian human rights and open disdain towards international law. CJPME believes that the incoming Liberal leadership should finally break from the past and choose a new path that upholds Palestinian human rights, starting with sanctions on Israeli leaders. Continue reading

 

Statement from the CJPME Board on Change of Leadership

Montreal, December 28, 2024 - The CJPME Board thanks Thomas Woodley for his long-standing leadership, dedication, and tireless work over the past 20 years. We are grateful for the foundational work of Tom and Grace Batchoun to create and grow CJPME into the important national voice it is today, for peace and justice in the Middle East. Continue reading

 

Canada’s abstention on Norway’s UN motion is disgraceful: CJPME

Montreal, December 19, 2024 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is shocked and upset by Canada’s decision to abstain on Norway’s resolution at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), which requested the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to render an urgent advisory opinion on Israel’s starvation policies in Gaza. The resolution, which was adopted this afternoon by a vote of 137 to 12, requests an ICJ opinion on Israel’s obligations as an occupying power and UN member to facilitate humanitarian access in Gaza. CJPME is incensed that Canada has failed to hold Israel accountable for its genocidal policies of starvation. Continue reading

 

Canada must support peaceful transition in Syria by ending arms exports to Israel and Turkey: CJPME

Montreal, December 19, 2024 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is urging the Canadian government to demand that Turkey and Israel stop taking illegal advantage of the power vacuum created by the fall of the Al-Assad regime in Syria. CJPME calls on Canada to demand that Israel withdraw from its so-called “buffer zone” around the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, and to demand that Turkey not use the power vacuum to wreak violence against Kurds in Syria. CJPME argues that an arms embargo against both countries would both send an important message in support of international law and Syrian sovereignty and have a substantive impact on both aggressors. Continue reading