Montreal, August 27, 2014 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) welcomes the announcement of a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. The ceasefire was slated to begin yesterday. It was brokered by Egypt and Qatar. According to Al Jazeera news network, the deal includes an immediate easing of Israel's blockage of crossings into Gaza. The Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza will also be opened. CBC reports that under the deal, aid and reconstruction materials will be allowed in, and Palestinians will be allowed to fish up to six nautical miles offshore, up from three. Discussions on the creation of a seaport and airport will take place in a month, when indirect talks between Israel and Palestinians will resume.

Montreal, August 25, 2014 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) condemns human rights atrocities being committed by ISIS (“Islamic State of Iraq and Sham”), an armed extremist group, in northern Iraq. According to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, and other human rights groups, ISIS has been ruthlessly carrying out widespread ethnic and religious cleansing in the areas under its control. Its violations include targeted killings, forced conversions, abductions, trafficking, slavery, sexual abuse, destruction of religious and cultural sites, and the besieging of entire communities because of ethnic, religious or sectarian affiliation. Among those directly targeted are Christians, Yezidis, Shabaks, Turkomen, Kaka’e and Sabaeans.

Montreal, July 25, 2014  — Yesterday, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) issued a document (http://cjpme.nationbuilder.com/israels_arguments) called How to respond to Israel’s pet arguments. CJPME hopes to help concerned Canadians better understand the context of the Israeli assault on Gaza and respond to common arguments used by proponents of Israel to prolong the assault. CJPME hopes that individuals in the public sphere will consider the information provided and regard such arguments more critically in the future.

Montreal, July 24, 2014 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) believes that the leaders of Canada’s major political parties have betrayed Canadian values in their response to the violence between Israel and Gaza. “The statements by political leaders of recent weeks demonstrate no nuance of understanding of the broader situation between Israel, Gaza and the Palestinians,” asserts CJPME President Thomas Woodley. “In its own way, each political party has declared unquestioning support for Israel, and unexamined condemnation of the Palestinians. This is not principled, nor does it respect the precepts of international law in the broader context.”

Montreal, July 14, 2014 - Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) supports the UN call for a ceasefire, and shares its concerns about the high civilian casualties among Palestinians. According to international reports, 172 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military. The UN estimates that 77 percent of the victims were civilians. Meanwhile, no Israelis have been killed.

Montreal, March 17, 2014  — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) welcomes the University of Windsor students’ recent decision to support divestment from companies implicated in Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories. CJPME notes that this is the first time that such a decision has been taken by a campus-wide referendum, rather than by the student association’s council.  CJPME laments U of W President Alan Wildeman’s current attempt to discredit the referendum, and believes his actions are in response to coercive pressure from donors who are hostile to Palestinians and Muslims.  “It is lamentable that in this day and age, a university president is making vague threats against a student organization because the results of a student referendum are not to his own liking, or to that of certain donors,” says CJPME President Thomas Woodley.

Montreal, Dec. 2, 2013  — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) has withdrawn its  invitation to Green Party leader Elizabeth May to speak at its  Ottawa fundraiser Dec. 5^th.  The decision was taken  following the release of the full transcript of an interview May gave to the Jewish Tribune.  “When we invited May, we had assumed that she would present a position that was closely aligned to the official Green Party position on the Middle East and Israel-Palestine,” stated CJPME President Thomas Woodley.  The Green Party’s ‘Vision Green’ policy document on Israel-Palestine is clear in its intent to uphold international law, to promote the creation of a Palestinian state, and to seek to end the blockade of Gaza.  “Unfortunately, May’s comments to the Jewish Tribune indicated that she intended to stray surprisingly far from the ‘Vision Green’ platform in her speech at our event,” continued Woodley.  “As such, we felt it would be inappropriate to host her as a keynote speaker.”

Montreal, October 24, 2013  — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) intends to appeal the Toronto Transit Commission’s (TTC) rejection of ads about various aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  CJPME learned Monday, Oct. 21, that its ads had been rejected by TTC staff. The centerpiece of the ads is a series of four maps depicting Palestinian loss of land over the past six decades, ultimately obstructing the creation of a viable Palestinian state.  In its rejection, TTC staff asserted that CJPME’s ads did not comply with the guidelines of the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards, but did not specify what aspects of the ads were non-compliant.  

In April 2013, thanks to the generosity of its many supporters, CJPME raised $35,000 to be able to post its “Disappearing Palestine” ads in two major cities across Canada.

Sadly, through various strategies, the transit companies and ad agencies have tried to prevent the ads from being posted. Early in September, CJPME's legal counsel sent a letter demanding that the transit authorities in question respect its constitutional rights to post these ads. On October 21, the transit authorities have however conveyed their decision to reject the ads.

Montreal, November 29, 2012  — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East is delighted that the UN General Assembly has granted Palestine “observer state” status at the UN. The vote represents a significant step forward for the international recognition and self-determination of the Palestinian people.  While the vote does not confer full member-state status for Palestine, it will give the Palestinians access to several new legal and diplomatic tools by which they can further their aspirations for full statehood.