June 21, 2018 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) opposes the TD Ottawa Jazz Festival’s “Focus Israel” series sponsored by the Israeli embassy in conjunction with the Canada-Israel Cultural Foundation. The “Focus Israel” series is set to begin tonight and will run until Sunday, June 24^th.  CJPME calls on the festival organizers to reconsider collaboration with the state of Israel – a state whose policies are regularly called out for human rights abuses by Amnesty International and other human rights organizations. 

Montreal, September 6, 2017  — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) congratulates UNIFOR, Canada’s largest private-sector union, for the passage of a BDS motion at its recent convention. Resolution no. 5, entitled, “Palestinian Self-Determination and the Movement for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions,” was put forth by the Oshawa-based Local 222 and was “easily” adopted at the Unifor Canadian Council, held in Winnipeg from August 18-20^th. 

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?” 

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.  

CJPME Political Blog, December 21, 2016: The Green Party convention this past weekend offered a win for everyone. Sort of. The convention was held to clarify the Greens’ position vis-à-vis economic pressure on Israel for its human rights abuses.  Green leader Elizabeth May was so opposed to an August resolution condemning Israel’s human rights abuses that she had threatened to resign.  Influential party activists sought to preserve their August win while maintaining party unity.

Montreal, Dec. 5, 2016  — Over the weekend, at a federal Green Party Special General Meeting (SGM), Green members voted 84% in favour of economic sanctions on Israel because of its violations of Palestinian human rights.  “This is a landmark decision in Canadian politics,” declared Thomas Woodley, President of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East.  “This vote reflects Canadians’ anger about the West’s failure to bring peace in Israel-Palestine, and a desire to see an end to Israel’s human rights abuses.”  While the new resolution does not specifically cite the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS), its precepts align perfectly with those of BDS, including calls for boycotts, divestment and sanctions.  

Montreal, December 1, 2016  — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) denounces the passage of an Ontario motion condemning BDS.  The BDS movement – standing for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions – seeks to non-violently pressure the Israeli government to fulfill its human rights obligations under international law.  “This motion will surely put a chill on free speech in Ontario vis-à-vis Israel’s human rights abuses,” asserted Thomas Woodley, President of CJPME.  “It is a sad day when Ontario seeks to censure individuals for their political views.”

Montreal, November 30, 2016  — Earlier this week, an open letter signed by Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein and other notables encouraged Canada’s Federal Greens (GPC) to maintain economic pressure on Israel for its human rights abuses against Palestinians.  This letter demonstrates the global interest in the GPC’s recent resolutions on Israel-Palestine – resolutions that thus far distinguish the party from other Canadian parties.  Political writer and pundit Chomsky, and writer and environmental activist Klein were joined by dozens of other international and Canadian activists.  

Montreal, November 11, 2016  — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) applauds the proposed Green Party of Canada (GPC) resolution on Israel-Palestine.  The proposed resolution was emailed to party members Wednesday, and was a result of collaborative work between the GPC shadow cabinet and other party human rights activists.  “We are pleased to see a fair-minded and inclusive resolution which addresses the concerns of both Israelis and Palestinians, and speaks to the long-standing human rights issues in the region,” declared Thomas Woodley, President of CJPME.