Montreal, October 16, 2023 — Following the discovery last week of a ‘Palestinians as cockroaches’  Twitter post published by pro-Israel figure Arsen Ostrovsky, a featured speaker at this week’s ‘Antisemitism: Face It, Fight It’ conference in Ottawa, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is demanding that Canadian members of Parliament boycott the conference. According to the conference schedule, Pierre Poilièvre (Conservative leader), Jagmeet Singh (NDP leader), Yves-François Blanchet (BQ leader), and Arif Virani (Liberal Justice Minister) are all listed as speakers at the conference, organized by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA). CJPME also demands that CIJA immediately disinvite Ostrovsky from the conference and publicly condemn him for his post. Continue reading

Montreal, October 15, 2023 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) expresses deep concern over the inconsistent media coverage of the Gaza-Israel war since October 7, 2023. CJPME has been closely following the reporting in Canada media over the past week, and is aware of many instances in which news coverage has failed to be consistent in upholding professional journalistic standards.  CJPME provides the following critiques of the media response of the past week, and recommendations for future coverage: Continue reading

Montreal, October 13, 2023 [Updated October 14, 2023] — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is expressing extreme concern over the Canadian government’s failure to secure evacuation for citizens stuck in Gaza and the West Bank. While Canada has already completed four evacuation flights for its citizens in Israel, it has yet to secure plans for its own citizens in the occupied Palestinian territories, despite the catastrophic humanitarian situation. Israel told Canadian officials earlier today that they had decided against proposals to allow foreign nationals to flee Gaza via Egypt. This leaves at least 150 Canadian citizens trapped by Israel alongside more than 2 million Palestinians, without any relief or safety from Israeli siege and bombardment. Continue reading

Montreal, October 13, 2023 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) urgently calls on the Canadian government to push for an end to mounting Israeli atrocities in the occupied and besieged Gaza Strip. CJPME’s call comes after Israel’s demand for the mass displacement of half the population of Gaza in advance of an Israeli ground invasion. Many commentators warn of the unconscionable prospect of an imminent Israeli “genocide” against Palestinians. Continue reading

Montreal, October 11, 2023 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) calls on the Trudeau government to refer violations of international law in Palestine-Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC). Both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly have made reference to international law in their statements and Tweets since Saturday, noting that the actions of all parties must be “in accordance with international law. With mounting evidence of egregious violations of the Fourth Geneva Conventions committed by both Hamas and the Israeli military in recent days, Canada must push for full accountability for any violations by all of the parties involved. As of this afternoon, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, including at least 290 children, while 1,200 Israelis have been killed in the attack by Hamas. Continue reading

Montreal, October 10, 2023 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) urgently calls the Canadian government to push for a de-escalation of violence between Israel and Hamas, starting with an immediate ceasefire. Hamas attacks on Israel on Saturday resulted in over 900 Israeli deaths, and up to 100 prisoners and hostages; Israeli airstrikes in Gaza since then have so far killed 770, many of them civilians, including at least 140 children. Like many, CJPME fears that there will continue to be extreme and unnecessary bloodshed for both sides as Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that he is “just getting started,” and is reportedly preparing for an imminent ground invasion that could last weeks.  Continue reading

Montreal, October 9, 2023 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) calls on Israel and its allies to define their endgame as the renewed Hamas-Israel violence enters its third day.  Following a Hamas attack on Israel on Saturday which resulted in over 800 Israeli deaths, and up to 100 prisoners and hostages, Israel has struck back with airstrikes, killing at least 560 in Gaza, including many civilians. The calls for a ceasefire from CJPME and others have been ignored, and Israel and its Canadian supporters seem intent only in extracting a price from Palestinians, making no distinction between civilians and militants. While Israel has declared its intent to retaliate forcefully, observers demand to understand Israel’s endgame, as entering yet another cycle of violence will do nothing to bring peace or security to either Israelis or Palestinians.  Continue reading

Montreal, October 7, 2023 — Like many other Canadians, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) condemns the violence against civilians in both Israel and the occupied and besieged Gaza Strip. Hamas resistance forces entered Israel earlier today, targeting both Israeli military personnel as well as civilians. Israeli forces responded to Hamas’ attack by targeting both militant actors and civilians in indiscriminate strikes in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. In Canada, CJPME is particularly troubled by the double standard evident in the immediate response from many Canadian politicians, which is quick to denounce Hamas’ actions today but remains silent on Israel’s decades of brutal military occupation and apartheid against Palestinians. Continue reading

Montreal, October 7, 2023 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is urging the Canadian government to support calls for a ceasefire and a negotiated resolution following today’s escalation of violence between Hamas and Israel. Hamas launched an unprecedented surprise attack on Israel early this morning (“Operation Al-Aqsa Flood”), firing 5,000 rockets and using ground fighters to capture areas in Israel, killing at least 40 people and injuring hundreds. In response, Israel appears to be using this crisis as a pretext to escalate its devastating violence on the people of the occupied and besieged Gaza Strip, with retaliatory airstrikes already killing more than 198 and injuring at least 1000. CJPME calls on the international community to address the root cause of this escalation by demanding an end to Israel’s blockade and apartheid policies, which have made a violent response inevitable. Continue reading

Montreal, October 5, 2023 — Products originating in the occupied Palestinian territories (OPT) must be properly labelled as such, argued Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) in a submission to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). CJPME submitted its opinion as part of the CFIA’s public consultation into the labelling of “food products from contested territories,” which was launched to resolve the problem of ‘Product of Israel’ labels on goods from illegal Israeli settlements. CJPME argues that any future labels must clearly indicate that such goods are from territories which are occupied, and distinguish between trade with the occupying power and the occupied population Continue reading