Letter to Justin Trudeau: A Whole-of-Government Approach to Ending Canadian Involvement in Israeli Settlements
Montreal, May 16, 2024 - CJPME has sent a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urging that Canada end its involvement in Israeli settlements in Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Click here to download the full letter as a PDF, or click here for CJPME's position paper with recommendations.
Read moreCanada-Israel Free Trade Agreement bolsters Israel’s West Bank annexation attempts: CJPME report
Montreal, September 27, 2023 — A new report by Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) warns that Canada’s trade policy with Israel operates as if Israel had already annexed the occupied Palestinian territories (OPT), bolstering Israel’s attempts to annex the territory. Titled “Annexing Palestine Through Trade,” the report shows that through the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement (CIFTA), Canada has been treating all trade with the OPT as if it were “Israeli,” thus violating international law and rewarding Israel’s illegal settlement activity. CJPME’s report demonstrates that CIFTA’s benefits to Palestinians are grossly outweighed by its harms, and urges that the trade deal be suspended until Israel complies with international law.
Israel's extremist right-wing government
CJPME Factsheet 237, created August 2023: This factsheet introduces the right-wing extremist coalition parties of the Israeli government. It outlines their domestic policies, particularly the LGBTQ community in Israel and Palestinians in the Occupied Territories. The factsheet also explores their ideology on the issue of Palestinian self-determination and how Canada has responded to the extremist and racist policies of Israel's right-wing government.
Read more
CJPME welcomes Trudeau comment that Netanyahu visit “not on the table,” but urges wider boycott
Montreal, July 21, 2023 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) welcomes a recent comment from Prime Minister Trudeau that an invitation for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is “not on the table right now.” The comments came one day after the postponement of a planned phone call between Trudeau and Netanyahu, which has not yet been rescheduled. CJPME reiterates its call for Canadian politicians to stand up for Palestinian human rights by boycotting Israel’s dangerous and extremist government, and urges Trudeau to cancel his upcoming call with Netanyahu.
Letter to Ambassador Stadelbauer regarding Israeli Settler Terrorism
Montreal, June 29, 2023 - CJPME has sent to Lisa Stadelbauer, Canada's Ambassador to Israel, regarding a recent statement by Canada on Israeli settler terrorism.
Click here to download the full letter as a PDF
Read moreCJPME Condemns Liberal MP for Working with Far-Right Israeli Lawmaker
Montreal, June 28, 2023 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is condemning Liberal Member of Parliament Anthony Housefather for his recent meeting with Simcha Rothman, a far-right member of Israel’s extremist government. Rothman is leading Israel’s “judicial coup” and has defended racial discrimination and recent settler violence against Palestinians. Housefather shared a photograph of himself with Rothman during a meeting yesterday for their joint ‘Task Force’; Rothman describes himself as a co-chair of the group while Housefather is listed as a Steering Committee member. CJPME urges the government and Liberal caucus to repudiate Housefather for working alongside Rothman and to condemn all forms of far-right extremism.
Canada’s arms exports to Israel at the third-highest level on record, amid heightened violence
Montreal, June 12, 2023 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is extremely concerned to learn that Canada sent more than $20 million in military exports to Israel last year, despite Israel’s 3-day bombing of the occupied Gaza Strip and heightened Israeli violence in the occupied West Bank. According to Canada’s newly released annual report on military exports, Canada exported $21,329,783.93 in military goods to Israel in 2022. Even when adjusted for inflation, this makes 2022 the third-highest year for Canadian military exports to Israel on record, after 2021 ($27,861,257) and 1987 ($28,716,528).* CJPME reiterates its call for Canada to immediately suspend all military trade with Israel.
MPs Must Boycott Visit of Far-Right Israeli Minister: CJPME
Montreal, May 26, 2023 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is calling on Members of Parliament to boycott meetings with Israel’s far-right Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli, who will be visiting Canada next week. Chikli is a far-right extremist and anti-Palestinian racist who has called for the suppression of the Palestinian national identity and has said that annexing the occupied West Bank – explicitly illegal under international law – would be “excellent.” CJPME reiterates its call for Canada to boycott meetings with Israel’s far-right regime, which would send a strong message in support of human rights and international law.
CJPME Welcomes Parliamentary Study on Human Rights in Palestine and Israel
Montreal, May 17, 2023 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) welcomes a new parliamentary study into how Canada can support human rights in Palestine and Israel, as approved yesterday by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development. A motion brought forward by NDP MP Heather McPherson was approved in a vote of 6-3 with one abstention, with support from the Bloc Québécois and most Liberal MPs. The forthcoming study, which is believed to be the first of its kind in decades, will explore “the actions that Canada should take” to promote human rights and international law in the region. CJPME thanks MP McPherson for her leadership in bringing this motion forward.
CJPME: Canada Must Condemn Israel’s Assassination of Palestinians and their Families in Gaza
Montreal, May 9, 2023 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is calling on the Canadian government to condemn Israel’s unprovoked acts of aggression in the occupied Gaza Strip. Overnight, Israel unilaterally broke its ceasefire with Islamic Jihad to conduct extrajudicial killings of three of its leaders, deliberately targeting units in residential buildings and killing them with their families as they slept. 13 Palestinians were killed in the attack, including 4 children and 4 women, and another 18 were injured. Further casualties have been reported from renewed airstrikes today. In addition to a formal condemnation, CJPME urges Canada to immediately suspend all military trade with Israel, among other concrete measures to hold Israeli officials accountable for this massacre.