To help us understand APR, its definitions, implication, importance of connection to the Nakba and how it evolved after Oct 7 I am joined by lawyer Dania Majid, co-founder and president of the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association, best known for defining APR in her 2022 publication Anti-Palestinian Racism: Naming, Framing, and Manifestations. She is also the artistic director of the Toronto Palestinian Film Festival.

On January 22, 2025, CJPME and over 60 civil society organizations sent a letter to Ontario Premier Doug Ford expressing outrage over the persecution of pro-Palestine activists, and calling for the so-called "Hate Crimes Working Group" to be dismantled.

View open letter in pdf format.

Montreal, January 22, 2025 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is raising the alarm about a widely shared article on antisemitism in Canada which is riddled with inaccuracies and promotes hateful views against supporters of Palestinian rights. Written by Canadian journalist Terry Glavin and published in the US-based The Free Press, the article “The Explosion of Jew-Hate in Trudeau’s Canada” claimed to investigate a rise in antisemitism in Canada, but spread misinformation to create a false narrative that targeted Muslim and Palestinian Canadians. CJPME is concerned that, according to analytics on X, millions of people have engaged with an overtly Islamophobic, anti-Palestinian article that promotes dangerous rhetoric.

Montreal, November 18, 2024 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) strongly condemns the media-fueled outrage surrounding the inclusion of the Arabic song Haza Salam during a Remembrance Day ceremony at Sir Robert Borden High School in Ottawa. CJPME is deeply concerned by the media's role in amplifying unfounded backlash against the song, as well as its failure to report on a potential hate crime that followed this sensationalist coverage. CJPME believes that by stirring up an unfounded and polarized response to the song, Canadian media has perpetuated anti-Palestinian racism.   

CJPME Factsheet 245, published June 2024: This factsheet explores various facets of anti-Palestinian racism (APR), detailing how it manifests at institutional, structural, and systemic levels within Canadian society. It underscores the absence of formal definitions of APR in federal policy, highlighting instances where Canadian institutions perpetuate discriminatory practices against Palestinians, impacting their rights, immigration policies, and public perception.

Montreal, March 3, 2023 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is calling on the Park West School and the Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE) to immediately issue an apology for their racist ban on the Palestinian traditional scarf, or Kufiyah. During a cultural event at Park West School, students celebrating their Palestinian heritage by donning the Kufiyah were told by their school principal to remove the scarf, claiming it “represents the colours of war.”

Montreal, November 14, 2022 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) and Canadians United Against Hate (CUAH) are calling on the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) to take accountability for an incident of anti-Palestinian racism that occurred when it issued its school dress code on Oct. 31.  In the on-line FAQ for the new school dress code, a “Free Palestine” t-shirt was used as an example of school dress which would “promote or incite… violence.”

CJPME Factsheet No. 227, published July 2022: This factsheet provides an overview of the Anti-Palestinian Racism framework that was recently introduced by the Arab-Canadian Lawyers Association (ACLA). It looks at the importance of defining anti-Palestinian racism, and provides real-life examples of Palestinians and their supporters who have been subjected to this form of racism. 

Montreal, May 18, 2022 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) welcomes a ground-breaking new report on anti-Palestinian racism which was published this month by the Arab-Canadian Lawyers Association (ACLA). Based on extensive community consultation, the ACLA report provides, for the first time, a working description of anti-Palestinian racism which can be used as a starting point towards identifying and challenging its manifestations throughout Canadian society. The report discusses anti-Palestinian racism as a “distinct” form of racism which impacts Palestinians and non-Palestinians, and which “aims to censor and erase Palestinians and their narratives from the public sphere.”

Montreal, March 25, 2022  — Below is a letter from CJPME to McGill University. The letter raises concerns over McGill University's threat to terminate its Memorandum of Understanding with the Student Society of McGill University (SSMU). Click here to download a PDF of the letter.