Montreal, February 15, 2023 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is urging the Canadian government to take immediate action against Israel’s decision to authorize nine new illegal settlements and construct ten thousand new settler units in the occupied West Bank. On February 14, Canada’s foreign affairs minister Mélanie Joly issued a statement saying that Canada is “concerned” by Israel’s decision and that it “strongly opposes the expansion of settlements.” This followed similar statements from the United States and several European countries. However, CJPME believes that concrete action is necessary to stop Israel’s settlement plans, including sanctions against the Israeli officials who are responsible. Continue reading

Montreal, February 8, 2023 - Below is a letter to Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade of Canada, Mary Ng, requesting an explanation for her meeting with Ofir Akunis, a minister in Israel's far-right government. "This meeting raises troubling human rights concerns given the Israeli government’s espousal of supremacist views, its intentions to illegally annex the occupied West Bank, and the growing recognition that Israel’s practices amount to the crime of apartheid under international law." Click here to download the letter as a PDF. Continue reading

Montreal, January 30, 2023 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is urging the Canadian government to strongly condemn Israel’s plans for collective punishment against Palestinians, following a week of heightened violence sparked by Israeli aggression. Israel’s far-right government is preparing to punitively target the family members of a Palestinian attacker who killed 7 Israelis in an East Jerusalem settlement, which took place one day after a deadly Israeli military raid on the Jenin refugee camp which killed at least 10 Palestinians. CJPME warns that Israel’s plan for collective punishment is prohibited under international law, and that such oppressive measures will only inflame further violence. Continue reading

Montreal, January 20, 2023 - CJPME sent a letter to the English Montreal School Board (EMSB) regarding the false and harmful remarks made by a guest speaker to a history class at Westmount High School, dismissing Israel's well-documented human rights record. Read the full letter below, or click here to download a PDF version. Continue reading

Montreal, January 11, 2023 - Below is a letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly requesting an explanation for Canada's vote against a UN resolution to seek an ICJ opinion on the legality of Israel's occupation. "In this critical moment, the UN General Assembly vote provided Canada with a missed opportunity to stand up for its stated principles of international law. By voting instead with Israel and against the resolution for an ICJ opinion, Canada stood by the brutal occupying power – now led by fanatical pro-settler extremists and annexationists – to protect its actions from legal scrutiny." Click here to download the letter as a PDF.  Continue reading

Montreal, December 21, 2022 — With the announcement of the formation of Israel’s 37th government, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is calling on the Canadian government to expel the Israeli ambassador to demonstrate that it is distancing itself from Israel’s new far-right regime. CJPME notes that the coalition led by Prime Minister-elect Benjamin Netanyahu, who enshrined Israel’s deeply racist Nation-State Law and whose plans to annex significant portions of the occupied West Bank remain “on the table,” is propped up by even more extreme, far-right elements. The Religious Zionism party (including Jewish Power), whose leaders have promoted vigilante violence, racial segregation, the annexation of the West Bank and the deportation of “disloyal” Israelis and Palestinians alike, is the third largest party in the Knesset and a major coalition partner. Expelling the Israeli ambassador would send a clear and unambiguous signal that the new government’s stated intentions to violate human rights and international law are completely unacceptable. Continue reading

Montreal, December 14, 2022 — Canadian human rights organizations are denouncing a Toronto speaking tour which features an Israeli settler organization with ties to Israel’s most extreme anti-Palestinian politicians. The Israeli NGO Regavim, which promotes the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements and campaigns for the demolition of Palestinian homes and schools, will be hosted in Toronto throughout the week by several Canadian pro-Israel groups. Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME), Independent Jewish Voices Canada (IJV), and the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association (ACLA) are condemning the decision to platform such an extreme perpetrator of anti-Palestinian racism, and call on all Canadians to denounce Regavim’s hateful agenda. Continue reading

Montreal, Dec. 8, 2022 — In observance of International Human Rights Day, celebrated annually on December 10th, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is calling on the Canadian government to defend the human rights of the Palestinian people.  CJPME points out that the human rights violations committed against the Palestinians by the Israeli government are particularly long-standing, deeply entrenched, and well-documented, and deserve immediate international attention. Unfortunately, despite the urgency required to address Israel’s abuses, CJPME notes that Canada has repeatedly chosen to ignore them Continue reading

Montreal, December 5, 2022 - CJPME sent a letter to Saint John City Councillors, to express gratitude to the City of Sain John for raising the Palestinian flag on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Read the full letter below, or click here to download a PDF version. Continue reading

Montreal, November 29, 2022 — On this International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) declares its steadfast support for the human rights and the national aspirations of the Palestinian people, whether those living under Israeli military occupation, those living in Israel, or those living as refugees in the diaspora. CJPME’s position is representative of numerous public opinion polls which demonstrate clearly that Canadians want their government to support Palestinian human rights. As such, CJPME also calls on the Canadian government to heed public opinion and its own supposed allegiance to the “international rules-based order,” and to stand with Palestinians by opposing Israeli apartheid. Continue reading