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.  

This position paper defines Islamophobia, and discusses the implications and manifestations of Islamophobia, as well as the way politicians should treat the issue. 

Between January 25 and February 2, 2017, EKOS Research Associates conducted a national on-line survey of 1,000 Canadians to explore attitudes toward Israel, Palestine, and related issues here in Canada.  EKOS statistically weighted all the data by age, gender, education and region to ensure the sample’s composition reflects that of the actual population of Canada, based on census data.  The margin of error associated with the sample is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.  The results summarized below are based on respondents who expressed an opinion.   

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.

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 16, 2016  — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) congratulates the Canadian government’s decision today to renew funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) – the UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees.  Earlier today, Canada’s Minister of International Development, Marie-Claude Bibeau announced that Canada is contributing $25 million to support the organization’s work.  “The Trudeau government has finally differentiated itself from the Harper government in regards to the Middle East,” declared Thomas Woodley, president of CJPME.