Montreal, October 30, 2024 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) and Fayaz Karim are pleased to announce the dismissal of a defamation lawsuit filed against them in April 2024. The lawsuit was filed by Lisa Levitan, an Ontario teacher who formerly worked at Knoxdale Public School in Ottawa. In her lawsuit, Levitan sought $1 million in damages. She also sought an injunction requiring CJPME and Mr. Karim to delete their public statements about her. Continue reading

Montreal, October 28, 2024 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is calling on the Canadian government to take decisive and meaningful action against Israel in response to its escalating war on the United Nations. The Israeli Knesset is currently adopting two far-reaching laws that seek to block the UN aid agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) from operating in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. Such laws, if both are passed and fully implemented, will have a devastating impact on Palestinians already facing genocide. CJPME believes that this attempt to dismantle a critical UN humanitarian institution amounts to an appalling violation of the UN Charter and should serve as grounds for Israel’s expulsion from the UN. Continue reading

Montreal, October 24, 2024 — In a letter sent today to Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) urges the Canadian government to retract the inclusion of Samidoun (Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network) from the Public Safety Canada terrorist entities list. CJPME challenges Canada’s lack of evidence to support the arbitrary designation against Samidoun, and expresses concerns that Canada appears to be cracking down on what is essentially political speech. You can read the full letter here. Continue reading

Montreal, October 24, 2024 - CJPME has sent a letter to Minister of Public Safety Dominic LeBlanc expressing concerns over the criminalization of Samidoun and the implications for the Palestine solidarity movement.  Click here to download the full letter as a PDF. Continue reading

Montreal, October 18, 2024 - CJPME has sent a letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly urging Canada to stop Israel's plan for the liquidation and ethnic cleansing of North Gaza.  Click here to download the full letter as a PDF. Continue reading

Montreal, October 16, 2024 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) calls on the Canadian government to urgently intervene to stop Israel’s attempted elimination of the Palestinian presence in Northern Gaza. With the world’s attention distracted by Israel’s attacks on Lebanon, Israel has ordered the forced displacement of 400,000 people and appears to be implementing its so-called “General’s Plan” to “cleanse” Northern Gaza of Palestinian life. CJPME believes that time is running out to prevent Israel from committing a historic massacre and reiterates its call for direct Canadian diplomatic intervention and a comprehensive two-way arms embargo on Israel and sanctions on Israeli leaders.  Continue reading

Montreal, October 7, 2024 — On the one-year mark of Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) laments the failure of the Canadian government to achieve a ceasefire and stop Israel’s murderous actions. With more than 42,612 Palestinians killed in Gaza and with Israel expanding its deadly attacks against the Lebanese people, CJPME believes that Canada’s continued inaction in response to Israel’s deliberate mass killing of civilians shows that it has failed to learn any lessons from the last year. CJPME urges Canada to respond to genocide by cutting off its ties with Israel, including through the imposition of a two-way arms embargo and sanctions on Israeli leaders. Continue reading

Montreal, October 1, 2024 — With a regional war unfolding in the Middle East, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) decries the Trudeau government’s failed approach to Israeli belligerency over the past year.  CJPME believes that there’s a clear line between Israel’s horrific collective punishment against Palestinians following last year’s Oct. 7 attack by Hamas – considered a genocide by many – and the outbreak of regional war today.  Just hours ago, Iran launched a massive missile attack on Israel, citing Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders.  Israel’s subsequent vow of widespread retaliation will only plunge the region into greater misery and despair.  Continue reading

Montreal, September 30, 2024 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) continues to call on Canada to pressure Israel for a permanent ceasefire, both in Lebanon and Palestine.  While Israel’s carnage continues in Palestine, and its bombing of much of Lebanon has caused hundreds of thousands of Lebanese to flee their homes, the massive airstrikes in residential parts of Beirut are particularly horrific and inhumane.  Canada announced a paltry $10 million in aid to Lebanon on Saturday, but CJPME considers this mere tokenism as long as Canada refuses to use its military and economic relationship with Israel to end that country’s violence.  Recent figures from the Lebanese government indicate that Israel has killed more than 1,000, and injured 6,000 more in the past two weeks. It added that a fifth of Lebanon’s population – one million people – have fled their homes.  Continue reading

Montreal, September 25, 2024 — Three days into a murderous Israeli offensive against Lebanon, and following the killing of two Canadians in Lebanon by an Israeli airstrike, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is scandalized that Canada has still failed to call for a ceasefire. CJPME points out that under the UN Charter there is no provision that allows for a country to bombard its neighbour. And while both Israel and Hezbollah have launched attacks against one another, the BBC reported in July that between 8 October 2023 and 5 July 2024, Israel had carried out over 6000 attacks in Lebanon, about five times the number of Hezbollah attacks on Israel. CJPME considers that unless the Trudeau government is happy to see growing casualty numbers in Lebanon – currently at more than 600 dead – it should immediately pressure our allies the US and Israel bring an end to the violence. Continue reading