Montreal, June 11, 2021  — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) opposes Quebec's unilateral adoption of the controversial IHRA definition of antisemitism, which conflates antisemitism with criticism of Israel and therefore poses a threat to free speech on issues related to Israel's human rights abuses. On June 9, the Quebec government announced that it was unilaterally adopting IHRA. This decision was taken without public input or debate, just days after a motion in the National Assembly to endorse IHRA was blocked by Québec solidaire. Continue reading

Montreal, June 10, 2021  — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is calling on Green Party of Canada (GPC) leader Annamie Paul to abandon her toxic, anti-Palestine approach to politics before it destroys the party, following the departure of MP Jenica Atwin. Atwin’s decision to leave the GPC comes in the wake of vile attacks against her by Annamie Paul’s senior advisor and spokesperson, who slandered Atwin as antisemitic and vowed to “defeat” her in retaliation for appropriate criticism of Israeli apartheid. Despite Annamie Paul’s insistence that this incident had nothing to do with Atwin leaving, a statement from the GPC caucus confirmed that it “created the conditions that led to this crisis.” Continue reading

Montreal, June 4, 2021 - Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME), the Canada Palestine Foundation of Quebec (CPFQ) and Independent Jewish Voices Canada (IJV) congratulate Québec Solidaire for rejecting a non-binding motion in Quebec’s National Assembly this morning which would have adopted language from the dangerously-flawed and widely-rejected International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism. In rejecting this motion, Québec Solidaire is the only party in the National Assembly to have taken a firm position both against antisemitism and against the silencing of Palestinian voices. Continue reading

June 3, 2021 - Below is a statement from CJPME in support of Javier Davila, a Toronto anti-oppression educator who is being disciplined and investigated for sharing information on Palestine. Download a PDF version of the statement here. Continue reading

June 3, 2021 - Below is a statement from CJPME in response to attacks on Green MPs from a senior advisor to Green Party leader Annamie Paul. CJPME calls on Paul to defend her MPs, stand up for the right of Greens to criticize Israel, and to release a new statement which clearly condemns Israeli violations of Palestinian human rights. Download a PDF version of the statement here. Continue reading

Amid an escalation of violence in Palestine-Israel, legislators from Europe and North America came together earlier today to talk about how to elevate the issue of Palestinian human rights in the global public discussion.  The meeting was the first for the multi-partisan “Inter-Parliamentary Task Force to Promote Palestinian Human Rights,” which is composed of 23 legislators from 10 countries, including the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Italy, Finland, Belgium and several other European countries. 13 representatives came together for the first meeting, including MPs Niki Ashton and Paul Manly (Canada), MP Tommy Sheppard (UK), MP Veronika Honkasalo (Finland), the Podemos International Secretariat (Spain) and the Offices of Representative Betty McCollum (US) and MP Fotini Bakadima (Greece). Continue reading

May 18, 2021 - Below is CJPME's statement on anti-Palestinian violence in Toronto. A false story was distributed by pro-Israel groups, the press, and condemned by journalists, depicting a peaceful Palestinian protest as hateful, while portraying a hate group member as a victim. CJPME calls on officials to apologize to the pro-Palestinian community for their false and demeaning statements.  Download a PDF version of the statement here. Continue reading

** UPDATE MAY 17: Today we learned that Green MP Paul Manly made two attempts to call for an emergency debate in Parliament last week. We greatly appreciate these efforts, and hope that the Bloc will join the Greens and NDP in their call for a debate. We continue to urge the party leadership of both the Greens and Bloc to endorse an arms embargo on Israel ** Montreal, May 17, 2021  — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is urging the leadership of the Bloc Québécois (BQ) and Green Party of Canada (GPC) to match the recent commitments of the New Democratic Party (NDP) by endorsing an arms embargo on Israel, and by calling for an emergency Parliamentary debate on Israeli violence. While individual BQ and GPC MPs have made positive statements in support of Palestinian human rights, CJPME notes that the party leadership must do more to push the government for concrete action. Continue reading

Montreal, May 13, 2021  — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) welcomes the recent call from the leadership of the New Democratic Party (NDP) in support of a ban on weapons sales to Israel. Yesterday NDP leader Jagmeet Singh asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to respond to an escalation in violence in the Middle East by banning arms sales to Israel, and NDP foreign affairs critic Jack Harris said in a statement today that this ban should be maintained “until the end of the illegal occupation.” CJPME congratulates the NDP for putting forward concrete proposals to end Israeli violence and oppression against the Palestinians, and urges all members of parliament and political party leaders to join in the call for an arms embargo. Continue reading

Montreal, May 11, 2021  — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is urging Members of Parliament to call for an emergency debate on the imminent forced evictions and escalating violence in Jerusalem. Israel’s insistence on carrying out racist mass evictions against Palestinians in Jerusalem, its violent response to Palestinian protests over the evictions, and its repeated raids on the Al Aqsa mosque during Ramadan have escalated tensions and triggered international indignation and outrage. In the absence of a clear plan from the Canadian government to address Israel’s violations, CJPME urges Parliament to show leadership and debate Canada’s response to this human rights emergency. Continue reading