Montreal, May 29, 2017  — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) congratulates the Bloc Québécois’ visionary proposal calling Canada to recognize an independent Palestine.  In a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa this morning, the Bloc announced a motion inviting the House of Commons to express support for Palestine as an independent state.  “136 of 193 nations already recognize Palestine as an independent state,” stated Thomas Woodley, President of CJPME, “So it is only natural for Canada to support international law and join the international consensus in support of Palestinian self-determination.”   Continue reading

Montreal, May 26, 2017  — CJPME applauds the Bloc Québécois’ decision to introduce a motion in support of Palestine, as announced publicly this week.  The current leader of the Bloc Québécois, Martine Ouellet, and the former leader and MP for Pointe-de-L’Île, Mr. Mario Beaulieu will be hosting a press conference on Parliament Hill Monday to make the announcement.  Strongly supported by CJPME and other groups advocating for Palestinian human rights, the Bloc’s announcement suggests it is prepared to take a strong stand in support of international law in the Israel-Palestine conflict.   Continue reading

Montreal, March 17, 2017 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) congratulates the students at King’s University College (KUC) in London, ON for their successful vote to boycott and divest from companies involved in the oppressive Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory.  While the vote passed with a 75 percent majority, the meeting failed to reach quorum, and the follow-up action on the vote is unclear.  At the meeting, 355 students voted yes to the question, “Do you as a King’s student support calling upon the KUCSC to lobby King’s administration to boycott and divest from any and all companies and products complicit with Israeli occupation based on principles of human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption and change the responsible investment policies to reflect these lobbying efforts?”  Continue reading

Montreal, March 2nd, 2017 — A second batch of results from an EKOS survey of Canadian attitudes towards Israel reveals a dramatic schism between Canadian government policy and Canadians’ deep concerns about Israeli violations of international law. The first release on Feb 16th revealed Canadians’ mostly negative opinion of the Israeli government and their feeling that Canada’s government was pro-Israel. This release reveals overwhelming acceptance of sanctions and boycotts as “reasonable” means to pressure Israel to adhere to international law. Continue reading

Montreal, February 17, 2017 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) urges Canadian MPs to support the motion M-103 condemning Islamophobia. This motion, put forward by the liberal MP Iqra Khalid, calls on the “government to condemn Islamophobia and all forms of systemic racism and religious discrimination.”  The motion also recommends the creation of a committee to study how to combat Islamophobia and other forms of systemic racism and religious discrimination.  It also calls on the committee to gather hate crime data, and assess the needs for impacted communities. Continue reading

Montreal, February 17, 2017  — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) and partners released new survey results yesterday which indicate sharp disagreement between Canadians’ attitudes and government policy on Israel.  The survey, conducted by EKOS and Associates, suggests that Canadian government policy on Israel is not representative of most Canadians’ views.   All survey results, a summary report, and charts can be accessed at http://survey.cjpme.org. Continue reading

Montreal, Ottawa, February 16, 2017 - A new public opinion survey on the Israel/Palestinian conflict reveals a dramatic disconnect between the policies of the Canadian government and public opinion. The survey, conducted by EKOS and Associates, raises serious questions about Canadian policies and the assumptions that underlie them.  Continue reading

Montreal and Ottawa, February 15, 2017  — A coalition consisting of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME), Independent Jewish Voices Canada (IJV), Murray Dobbin and Dimitri Lascaris will issue a report, and hold a press conference call tomorrow, February 16, to release and discuss the results of a new survey contrasting Canadian public opinion on Israel and Palestine with government policy toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Continue reading

Montreal, February 14, 2017  — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) congratulates Green Party (GPC) leaders and members for the overwhelming ratification of a party resolution which calls for economic pressure and potentially sanctions on Israel for its failure to respect the human rights of Palestinians.  The resolution was ratified with over 90 percent support.  Although the resolution was passed at a GPC party convention in early December, a newly instituted on-line ratification process gave all party members the opportunity to vote on the resolution.   Continue reading

Montreal, February 8, 2017  — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) again implores the Trudeau government to publicly condemn yet another step in Israel’s dispossession of Palestinians from the West Bank.  Right-wing coalition members of the Israeli government forced the bill, and it passed 60-52 in Israel’s parliament – the Knesset.  Israel’s so-called “Regulation Bill” was slammed as a means to “legalize theft” of Palestinian land. “The Trudeau government’s ongoing silence on this, and other recent Israeli steps to dispossess Palestinians is unconscionable,” declared Thomas Woodley, President of CJPME.  Continue reading