Canada’s politicians are wary of criticizing Israel. So is much of Canada’s media. As a fringe group called Queers Against Israeli Apartheid found when they were banned from using their name in Toronto’s annual Gay Pride parade, the established order has little patience for those deemed overly critical of the Jewish state.
That’s why My Name is Rachel Corrie, a play about an American pro-Palestinian activist killed by Israeli troops, was cancelled in Toronto three years ago (another theatre troupe eventually staged it).
Israel’s bloody attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla on 31 May killing at least nine and injuring dozens of activists carrying humanitarian aid to the blockaded Gaza Strip, has already intensified global actions for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel until it respects international law and human rights, including endorsement by major trade unions in several countries.
The Gaza Freedom Flotilla was on an honorable, peaceful mission in solidarity with the Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip, challenging the Israeli-imposed blockade that has deprived them of basic necessities and the ability to travel outside their densely populated enclave for four years.
Photo: Alaa Badarneh Palestinian woman clashing with Israeli soldier in 2004 during a demonstration against the controversial security barrier near the West Bank village of Al-Zawiya, north west of Qalqilya city.
Dear Ms. Conradi, Montreal Middle East solidarity collective Tadamon would like to extend its warm congratulations to the members of the Fédération des Femmes du Québec (FFQ) (Québec Federation of Women). At its most recent convention on May 29 and 30, 2010 in Québec City, the Federation’s members voted unanimously in favour of a historic resolution in support of the global campaign of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) against Israeli apartheid.
Photo Gaza sign in Bosnia day after the Israeli massacre of the freedom flotilla.
Only a few days since Israel’s illegal and fatal act of aggression against the Gaza Freedom Flotilla,, BDS-related reactions around the world were quick and qualitatively consequential.
Building on 5 years of international BDS activism since the Palestinian Civil Society Call for BDS was launched on 9 July 2005, a year and a half since Israel’s war crimes in Gaza, when its base criminality and status was revealed to the world, and months after the watershed UN Goldstone report, international civil society’s tolerance of Israel’s impunity and war crimes has grown very thin.
Photo Palestinians waited at a fence for food to be distributed near the rubble of their destroyed homes in eastern Jabaliya, in northern Gaza. The area was heavily damaged during the 22-day Israeli bombing during the winter in 2008/2009.
Early Monday (May 31) on the international waters of the Mediterranean Sea, at least nine people were killed and dozens more wounded when Israeli soldiers raided a flotilla of ships carrying 10,000 tonnes of humanitarian supplies and more than 600 activists to the Gaza Strip. The activists were trying to break Israel’s three-year blockade of Gaza, which has reduced food and medicine entering the tiny coastal territory to a fraction of what is needed.
Dear Prime Minister Harper, I am writing to you on behalf of the 54,000 members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers. You will be aware that the Israeli navy, in an act of piracy in international waters, has hijacked the international flotilla of ships which was attempting to deliver essential humanitarian aid to Gaza. The aid includes construction materials which would enable the people of Gaza to rebuild the homes destroyed by Israel in Operation Cast Lead in 2009.
May 2010 Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee.
Photo Yian Huang Israeli solider arrests Palestinian youth on Palestinian lands.
Occupied Palestine, May 26 2010 – The Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC), strongly condemns the actions taken by Canadian state bodies, university administrations and pressure groups to defund, repress and otherwise attempt to weaken groups and individuals that provide assistance to, or campaign in solidarity with, Palestinians. Such blatantly anti-democratic measures are not only repulsive per se; they are forms of complicity with Israeli violations of international law and Palestinian rights and have far reaching adverse consequences for civil liberties. The BNC believes that this repression in Canada must be brought to an end.
Conseil central du Montréal métropolitain of the Confédération des syndicats nationaux
Photo: Active Stills Palestinians protest against Israel’s apartheid wall in Bil’in.
Montreal Middle East solidarity collective Tadamon would like to extend its warm congratulations to the delegates of most recent convention of the Conseil central du Montréal métropolitain of the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CCMM-CSN), which took place from May 17 to 21, 2010. At the convention, the 297 delegates voted, nearly unanimously, in favour of a historic resolution in support of the global campaign of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) against Israeli apartheid.
