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PROTEST! TRIO OF WAR CRIMINALS COMING TO TORONTO

PROTEST!
TRIO OF WAR CRIMINALS COMING TO TORONTO:
HENRY KISSINGER, SHIMON PERES, AND MICHAEL OREN
MAY 26, 2016
METRO TORONTO CONVENTION CENTRE
4:30 PM

EVENT PAGE: www.facebook.com/events/219223015127686

If your group would like to endorse this action, please email actions4palestine@gmail.com

On May 26, War Criminals Henry Kissinger, Shimon Peres & Michael Oren will be in Toronto to participate in what is called the “Spirit of Hope,” an event hosted by the “Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre” insidiously focusing on human rights, justice, freedom & democracy, all of which were denied to their victims.

HENRY KISSINGER: The mastermind of imperialist policies directly causing millions of deaths. He is responsible for massive blood-drenched crimes against humanity that swept across the Global South, from the operations of the Shah of Iran’s secret police, the brutal Pinochet years in Chile, the secret U.S. indiscriminate bombing of Cambodia & Laos, still murdering civilians *to this day,* the U.S.’s villainous Anti-Communist war against Vietnam and the entrenchment of apartheid in South Africa, amongst many other heinous crimes committed in East Timor and Bangladesh.

SHIMON PERES: Former Prime Minister & President of Apartheid Israel, whose extensive list of atrocities include serving in the Haganah, a Zionist Militia that massacred Palestinians during 1948-1952, the planning and execution of the Qana Massacre in Lebanon; the killing of Palestinians during the Aqsa uprising; involvement in the massacre of Jenin and gave the green light for Israel’s violent incursion against besieged Gaza in February of 2008.

MICHAEL OREN: Former Israeli ambassador to the US and former Israeli Occupation soldier who served during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, served again as the Israeli Occupation Spokesperson during Israel’s barbaric assault on Lebanon in 2006, as well as a stint posturing as “media relations officer” during the massacre of over 1,200 Palestinians in Gaza in 2008-2009, where he disseminated war propaganda and whitewashed Israel’s crimes to major media outlets, globally.

We call on all people of conscience to join together to let them know they are not welcome and demand justice for decades of unimaginable crimes against humanity perpetrated during their reigns of violence, terror and intimidation.

Let’s give them the “welcome” they deserve!

Endorsements include:
Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA),
Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA) York, and
SAIA UofT
International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN)-Canada,
Stop the Jewish National Fund (JNF)-Canada
Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) McMaster,
Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) Toronto
If your group would like to endorse this action, please email actions4palestine@gmail.com

What: Protest War Criminals
Where: Toronto Convention Centre
What Day: Thursday, May 26, 2016
What Time: We gather @ 4:30 PM

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TAKE ACTION: Urge your MPP to vote “NO” on the Private Member’s Bill 202, “Standing Up Against Anti-Semitism in Ontario”

An anti-BDS bill just passed first reading in the Ontario legislature, and is going to second reading tomorrow (May 19). The bill was drafted by Tim Hudak (Conservative) and Mike Colle (Liberal). For many reasons, including those outlined in our model letter below, we must stop this bill!

Please urge your MPP to vote “NO” on the Private Member’s Bill 202, “Standing Up Against Anti-Semitism in Ontario.” We have provided a sample model letter below for you to cut-and-paste and/or to modify as you wish. It is important that MPPs hear opposition before the vote on May 19. If you are able, please send your email before May 19, 2016.

Please also share this call-out for action to your networks as soon as possible.

INSTRUCTIONS ON SENDING IN 5 EASY STEPS

Step One
Write to your MPP and ask them to vote NO to Bill 202 – a short note will do. Or, you can copy/modify the model letter provided below. Make any modifications you want or use as-is. Note: Make sure you add your MPP’s name on the first line

Step Two
Write in Subject Line: Please Vote “NO” to PMB 202 “Standing Up Against Anti-Semitism in Ontario Act”

Step Three
Find your MPP’s email address using this link: http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/members/members_current.do?locale=en&ord=Member&dir=ASC&list_type=all_mpps

Click on the MPP’s name as highlighted on the list (sort by MPP or by Riding). Once located, click “Contact Details” below their picture to find/copy their email address.

Also add Premier Kathleen Wynne’s email at premier@ontario.ca

Step Four
CC fac4pal@gmail.com (so we can keep track of how many MPPs are receiving letters)

Step Five
Add your name, city, title and affilliation at the end of the letter – and press Send!
Continue reading →

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TAKE ACTION TODAY | City of Toronto: Don’t whitewash racist Israeli policy in the name of equity!

The City of Toronto has just confirmed its plans to participate – and to provide the keynote speaker through the Office of Equity, Diversity and Human Rights – in the upcoming conference, “Jerusalem as a Culturally Competent City,” in Jerusalem on May 17, 2016.

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat is the first speaker of the conference. In 2010, he told the Israeli Knesset (parliament) that the number of Palestinian residents in Jerusalem poses a “strategic threat”, citing a racist policy target of a 70-30 Jewish majority as “the government’s goal.” Just recently in October 2015, Mayor Barkat was roaming an East Jerusalem neighbourhood with a gun. A statement by the City of Jerusalem affirmed his actions saying that “the mayor encourages licensed gun owners to carry their weapons to increase security. He himself serves as a personal example of this.” These statements not only reflect the mayor himself, but the official policy of the City of Jerusalem towards the indigenous Palestinian population.

The Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA) believes that the City’s participation in a conference with speakers from Israeli settlements encourages settlement activity and undermines Canada’s responsibility to respect and ensure respect for international humanitarian law. It also undermines the Palestinian civil society call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS). In its letter dated May 8, 2016 to the City of Toronto, the General Union of Palestinian Women (one of over 170 signatory organizations on the 2005 BDS call) is clear in identifying the problem: “Your participation in this conference plays in the hands of Israel’s propaganda. Falsely presenting Jerusalem as a ‘culturally competent city’ masks the city’s reality: arbitrary killings of indigenous Palestinians and systematic discrimination with the explicit aim of ridding the city of its Palestinian residents. Equity cannot exist in Jerusalem until Israel’s systematic discriminatory laws are changed. We urge you to refrain from aiding our oppression: cancel your participation in this conference.”

CAIA formally reached out to the city of Toronto on April 30, 2016 to express its concern over the city’s participation in the conference and to request a formal meeting to discuss the issue. The city responded on May 6, 2016 to confirm that it will continue its participation, and has declined to meet with us.

TAKE ACTION NOW

Please join the CAIA in telling Toronto’s Mayor John Tory that there is no ‘equity’ in apartheid! Urge him to cancel the City of Toronto’s participation in the May 17th Jerusalem conference now by withdrawing the participation of the City’s Director of Equity, Diversity and Human Rights.

a) Sign the CAIA petition, “City of Toronto: Don’t whitewash racist Israeli policy in the name of equity!” and share it widely with your friends and networks.

b) Check out more information on this campaign here. Educate your friends, family and colleagues by sharing the information on this page including organizational list-serves, social media. Use the following: #EquityNotApartheid @John Tory

c) Send an email from yourself or your organization to Mayor John Tory – mayor_tory@toronto.ca – urging him to cancel the City of Toronto’s participation in the Jerusalem conference. Use the material from our campaign page in your email.

d) Join us at the rally at Nathan Phillips Square on Friday May 13, 2:30pm. Help us deliver the message to Mayor Tory in person, loud and clear! Invite your friends over Facebook here.

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Labour Struggles in Palestine & International Solidarity | Sunday, May 8, 2016 @ 1 pm | Ryerson University, Jorgensen Hall (Room 5)

The global labour movement has long criticized Israel for human and trade union rights violations and abuse of Palestinian workers, while workers in Palestine are resisting oppression and building a movement we can support. Trade unions and federations of labour in Canada are heeding the call for solidarity made by 170 Palestinian organizations for a Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign. Let’s discuss how we can continue to build this solidarity.

Speakers:

Natalie Guay, Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN)
Mike Palecek, Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW)
Mary-Jo Nadeau, Faculty for Palestine (F4P)

Moderated by:

Hassan Husseini, Ottawa CUPE District Council

Endorsed by:

Canadian Union of Postal Workers
Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA)
CUPE Ontario International Solidarity Committee
Faculty for Palestine (F4P)
International Alliance in Support of Workers in Iran (IASWI-Canada)
Take Back Labour
Ottawa CUPE District Council
and more…

Presented at:

LabourStart Toronto 2016 Conference: labourstarttoronto2016.wordpress.com

Note:

The event is FREE. To register online for your e-ticket (no charge), go to https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/labourstart-global-solidarity-conference-2016-tickets-19797886010

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Crackdown on BDS: Criminalization of Dissent? | Tuesday, April 26 @ 6:30 pm | United Steelworkers Hall, 25 Cecil Street, Toronto

On February 18, 2016 Canadian parliament passed a motion condemning “any and all attempts by Canadian organizations, groups or individuals to promote the BDS [Boycott Divestment Sanctions against Israeli apartheid] movement, both here at home and abroad.”

• What are the legal implications of this motion? Is BDS being criminalized?
• What is the political and transnational context?
• How have activists and university campuses been affected by the vilification of BDS?
• What does this mean for the BDS movement?

This speakers panel and discussion addresses this recent anti-BDS offensive including legal, campus-based, labour, and social movement reflections and analysis.

Organized by: Faculty for Palestine
Endorsed by: Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA) and U of T Divest

This event is wheelchair acccessible. Admission is Free. Invite your friends on Facebook here.

Continue reading →

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Black Lives Matter rally | Saturday, March 26, 4pm | 40 College Street

The Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA) stands in solidarity with Black Lives Matter-Toronto tent city.

We believe that an injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, and stand behind your demands for justice and police accountability. We are firm in our support of the Black Lives Matter Movement, and stand against anti-black racism, mass incarceration and police brutality and violence, all of which are far too familiar practices of Israel’s occupation and apartheid.

CAIA also calls on its members and supporters to join the Black Lives Matter rally on Saturday, March 26 4 p.m. at 40 College Street.

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BDS News: McGill Students Vote to Support Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement

On February 22 almost 900 students attending the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Winter 2016 General Assembly (GA) voted on, and passed, a motion in support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement with 58 per cent of the vote.

The BDS motion, brought forth by the McGill BDS Action Network, sought that the SSMU support BDS campaigns through the office of the VP External, and that the President lobby the McGill Board of Governors for “divestment from companies profiting from violations of Palestinian human rights” by bringing the issue up at every meeting. Last year, two similar motions were brought up at the Fall 2014 and Winter 2015 GAs, where they were, respectively, postponed indefinitely and voted down.

McGill holds investments in at least three companies that profit from Israel’s activities in the occupied territories: L-3 Communications, Mizrahi-Tefahot Bank, and RE/MAX. Following the GA vote a petition in solidarity McGill BDS received close to 2000 signatures.

Motions that pass at the GA need to be ratified online before they can be put into effect. On February 27 results of the online ratification process were announced with 2,819 votes (57 per cent) against the ratification and 2,119 votes (43 per cent) in favour effectively nullifying the motion.

In a statement published on its Facebook page following the ratification process, the McGill BDS Action Network, also known as McGill BDS, thanked it supporters and declared that “the fight is not over.” Melis Çağan, an organizer with McGill BDS, said, “Though we are disappointed with the outcome of the online ratification process, we are proud of the 2,119 students who stood for the rights of Palestinians… And that we have still made history. We passed the BDS motion on the same day as the [House of Commons of the Canadian] Parliament voted to condemn BDS. As history has shown, real change comes from the people and not from governments.”

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12th Annual Israeli Apartheid Week: “Our Struggles Unite” | March 8 -10, 2016 | Toronto

Mark your calendars! The 12th Annual Israeli Apartheid Week will take place in Toronto from March 8 to 10. Check back for updates and more details.

First launched in Toronto in 2005, IAW has grown to become one of the most important global events in the Palestine solidarity calendar. This year, IAW will take place in more than 150 cities across the globe. The week aims to raise awareness about Israel’s ongoing practices of apartheid, occupation and dispossession against the Palestinian people. Lectures, films, and creative actions will build support for the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement.

Inspired by the ongoing popular resistance across historic Palestine and the intersections being made globally between various struggles with Palestine, we hope to make Israeli Apartheid Week 2016 a powerful contribution to the Palestinian struggle for freedom and justice.

Tuesday, March 8: “Freedom is a Constant Struggle: Movement Intersections Across Palestinian, Indigenous, and Black Struggles”
Featuring: Amanda Lickers and Remi Kanazi, Ntuthuko Makhombothi
Organized by: UTGSU BDS Committee, CUPE 3902 BDS Committee
Location: University of Toronto, Rm 103 – Fitzgerald Building (150 College Street)
Time: 7 – 9 pm
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/187935918242314/
Contact: divest@utsgu.ca

Wednesday, March 9:
Film Screening: “Pressure Points: Israel, Berkeley and the Divestment Resolution”
Speakers: Laura Al Khoury and Ralph Haddad, BDS McGill student organizers
Co-sponsored by: Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP Ryerson)
Co-organized by: Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA),
Endorsed by: The Continuing Education Students’ Association of Ryerson (CESAR), Faculty for Palestine (F4P)
Location: Ryerson University, Rm RCC204, Rogers Communication Centre (80 Gould Street)
Time: 7 pm
trailer: https://vimeo.com/52124491
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/742843045816524/
Contact: endapartheid@riseup.net
The historic campaign for divestment on Berkeley campus depicted in the film is highly informative, documenting how a successful BDS resolution was eventually passed despite enormous opposition from Zionist organizers.
Students at McGill University are currently undergoing a similar campaign and challenges, so we are very fortunate to have two speakers from Montreal joining us to share their reflections on the campaign and the film.
Film Description: In 2010 students at the University of California Berkeley put forward a resolution advocating divestment from companies militarily supporting Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and the blockade of Gaza. PRESSURE POINTS includes footage from the UCB’s Student Senate proceedings and explores the historic significance of the campaign within the context of U.S. social justice movements. The public debates on the resolution and the senate votes marked a significant advance in the acceptance of boycott, divestment and sanctions as effective tools for ending the occupation and blockade.

Thursday, March 10: “The Politics of Divestment: Building Links Between Movements”
Organized by: Students Against Israeli Apartheid UofT, Arts & Science Students’ Union UofT
Location: University of Toronto, Rm 1101 – Sandford Fleming Building (10 King’s College Road)
Time: 6 – 8 pm
Contact: saia.opirg.uoft@gmail.com

Continue reading →

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PEN Canada Presents: Embattled Truths: Reporting on Gaza with Max Blumenthal

Wednesday, 24 February 2016, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
Atrium – Toronto Reference Library | 789 Yonge Street, Toronto
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1686776078269546/
Tickets*: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/embattled-truths-reporting-on-gaza-atrium-tickets-19745562509
*Book two free tickets at above link.
$15 suggested donation. All proceeds go to PEN Canada.

PEN Canada presents acclaimed US journalist Max Blumenthal, author of The 51 Day War: Ruin and Resistance in Gaza on the challenges of sifting truth from propaganda when reporting on conflict in the Gaza Strip. The event will also feature Toronto Star Foreign Affairs reporter Olivia Ward.

Searching for truth within the fog of war is particularly consequential in dispatches from Israel’s occupied territories. Depending on where we get our news, Gaza is either a terrorist haven and a legitimate military target, or a zone of unjustified violence against a captive civilian population.

This event is presented in partnership with the Toronto Public Library, Another Story Bookshop and Independent Jewish Voices in honour of Freedom to Read Week.

Continue reading →

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Palestinian Popular Resistance: Building (BDS)/ Student Movement

January 12, 2016

George Ignatieff Theatre – 15 Devonshire Place*
7 – 9pm
Admission is Free.
*This is an accessible venue.
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1499911840311028/

A new generation of Palestinians is marching on the footsteps of previous generations, rising up against Israel’s brutal, decades-old system of occupation, settler colonialism and apartheid. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have joined demonstrations taking place in dozens of cities across historic Palestine and in refugee camps in neighbouring Arab countries. Palestinians continue to struggle for their fundamental rights of freedom, self-determination, equality, and a right to return. As the resistance on the ground intensifies, university campuses remain central to building on the Palestinian solidarity movement. The call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) has recently made tremendous gains, in particular on university campuses and academic institutions. Both the American Anthropological Association (AAA) and the National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA) recently passed BDS resolutions, with an overwhelming majority.

On the evening of January 12th at 7pm, join the University of Toronto Graduate Students Union BDS Ad Hoc Committee, SAIA UofT, along with Noura Erakat and Nada Elia for a panel discussion on what is currently taking place on the ground in Palestine, and what we can do on campuses to support the resistance, and build on the Palestinian resistance movement.

Continue reading →

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City-wide rally: Solidarity with the Palestinian popular resistance – Boycott Israel now!

Date: Friday, October 16, 2015
Time: 6 pm
Location: Across from the Israeli consulate,180 Bloor Street West, Toronto
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/427332634128806/

Another round of escalating Israeli attacks throughout historic Palestine is being met with intensified Palestinian popular resistance. World governments, especially in the west, are calling this a “cycle of violence” where both sides are to blame, ignoring the root cause of the colonial conflict and their own complicity in enabling Israel to violate international law with impunity. But, as long as occupation and apartheid are allowed to continue, we will see neither justice nor peace in Palestine.

We need to hold Israel to account. We need to expose and challenge corporate and governmental complicity, particularly those that enable and profit from occupation and apartheid. Israel’s military machine, including its research arm, must face a comprehensive international military embargo, and all Israeli leaders, officers and soldiers who are involved in the commission of the current and past crimes must be prosecuted at the International Criminal Court as well as national courts that respect international jurisdiction.

Join Palestine House, the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid and other social justice organizations and people of conscience across Toronto in the streets this Friday, and add your voice to the worldwide condemnation of Israel’s crimes. Join us as we build the global movement for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions!

Free Palestine! Boycott Israel now!

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Challenge Harper, Mulcair & Trudeau! #RefugeesWelcome

Monday, September 28th, 5:30PM
Roy Thompson Hall, 60 Simcoe Street, Toronto
RSVP: http://bit.ly/1FoF79n

On September 28th, Harper, Mulcair and Trudeau will be participating in a televised pre-election Federal Leaders debate, sharing their visions of Canada’s Foreign Policy at Roy Thomson Hall in downtown Toronto. Canada’s foreign policy has destroyed people’s homes and communities abroad and particularly displaced Indigenous, Black, and other racialized people across the Global South. Join us as hundreds of others in a rally as we insist upon a new vision, one that is about flourishing communities, not displacement and profit.

#RefugeesWelcome means:

we are in solidarity with the Indigenous peoples who continue to fight ongoing colonialism, displacement and defend the land across Turtle Island and the Global South.
we oppose the narrative of “worthy” migrants that is rooted in disablelism, patriarchy, capitalism, and the anti-Black racism that values certain bodies on the move over others.
we believe in the freedom to move, return, stay for all peoples.
we celebrate the hundreds of thousands of people breaking borders in Europe and elsewhere in their search for freedom.

Canadian ‘foreign’ policy is increasingly built on exploitative trade deals, environmentally devastating resource extraction, the war on terror, militarism and displacement. On September 28th, let’s put forward our own vision of a more accountable and just world and a more collective humanity.

Our vision: #StoptheWar #EndMiningInjustice #BoycottApartheid

#ClimateJusticeNow #NoFreeTrade and racial, gender, economic justice for all.

*We humbly acknowledge that this action is taking place on traditional territories defended by Missisaugas of the New Credit, Haudenausaunee People and the Wendat Nation*

This rally is organized by No One is Illegal – Toronto and endorsed by a number of progressive social justice organizations, including the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid.

Continue reading →

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Refugees Welcome Rally & Teach-In

September 19, 2015 at 3pm
Bloor & Avenue – Meet outside of Royal Ontario Museum
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1067992483235452/
More information: www.refugeeswelcome.ca

#RefugeesWelcome
#StopTheWar
#EndDisplacement

Toddler Alan Kurdi’s tragic death by drowning on September 2nd is a call for urgent action on the global refugee crisis — the largest since World War II. This crisis isn’t inevitable. It is time for Canadian immigration and refugee policies to change. It is time for us to call for an end to the wars and environmental and economic collapse that forces people to become refugees and migrants.

As part of the month of #RefugeesWelcome actions called by 30+ cities across Canada, Toronto will be hosting a rally and teach-in with members from different refugee and migrant communities. Let’s share, learn, resist, and build. #RefugeesWelcome is a call to end all forces of displacement, all fortressed borders, and all migrant deaths – it is a call for the freedom to stay, move, and return.

Continue reading →

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GAZA: New Dynamics, Future Prospects with Dr. Sara Roy

Tuesday, October 6, 2015 at 7:30pm
Trinity St. Paul’s United Church
427 Bloor Street West (by Spadina station)
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/713275518805855/

More Information: www.necefsabeel.ca

NECEF Sabeel Canada is pleased to announce that Dr. Sara Roy of Harvard University will be speaking in Toronto on her extensive experience in Gaza for the 2015 James Graff Memorial Lecture.

This lecture will examine the unprecedented dynamics that have emerged in Gaza in the aftermath of last summer’s devastating war and its future implications. Dr. Roy will also explore how we can move beyond fear and militarism to envision something different: a world where dissent is mandatory and our capacity to witness is restored.

Sara Roy (Ed.D. Harvard University) is a senior research scholar at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies specializing in the Palestinian economy, Palestinian Islamism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She is the daughter of two holocaust survivors.

Tickets:
Online: $10 regular / $5 student or unwaged
At the Door: $15 regular / $10 student or unwaged
Continue reading →

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Commemorate al-Nakba this Friday, May 15th | Vigil Against Israeli Apartheid | Film screening: Jaffa, the Orange’s Clockwork

Friday, 15 May, 2015 marks the 67th Anniversary of al-Nakba, “the Catastrophe” in Palestine. This day commemorates the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their land in 1948 for the creation of the state of Israel. The trauma and memory of al-Nakba is still live as millions of Palestinians living inside and outside of Palestine wait to return to their ancestral lands, while thousands more continue to be expelled from their homes.

Palestine solidarity activists in Toronto will join thousands around the world to commemorate this day. We encourage all CAIA allies, supporters and BDS activists to show their solidarity by attending and participating in these events.

Vigil against against Israeli Apartheid
Friday, May 15th | 5 – 6 pm
Israeli Consulate | 180 Bloor Street West, Toronto

Bring your Palestinian flags and meet us at the northwest corner of Bloor and Avenue Road for a vigil against Israeli Apartheid!

—

TPFF Nakba Commemoration Film Screening: Jaffa, the Orange’s Clockwork
Friday, May 15th | 7 pm
Centre for Social Innovation | 720 Bathurst Street, Toronto
Admission: Free
Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/474065599416486/

Join the Toronto Palestine Film Festival in commemorating the 67th year of al Nakba with a special free screening of Jaffa, the Orange’s Clockwork. This screening will take place May 15th at 7pm at the Centre for Social Innovation Annex, with director Eyal Sivan in attendance via Skype. Continue reading →

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Rally in support of all the Palestinian Political Prisoners: Friday, April 17, 2015

Free all Palestinian political prisoners! Free all Palestinian children! Stop administrative detention!

As of February 2015, there were 6,200 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention centers, including 454 administrative detainees, 23 women and 163 children.

Join the rally this coming Friday in support of all the Palestinian Political Prisoners!

Time: Friday, April 17, 2015 at 6 p.m.
Where: Israeli Consulate, 180 Bloor Street West, Toronto
Invite your Friends on Facebook: www.facebook.com/events/966250920051880/

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Take action: Free Khalida Jarrar and all other Palestinian political prisoners!

On April 2 at approximately 1:30 a.m., dozens of Israeli occupation soldiers kicked down the door and raided the home of Khalida Jarrar, a prominent human rights advocate, member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, and board member of Addameer, a prisoners’ rights organization. Jarrar was taken to an undisclosed location and arrested without charge.

According to Suha Jarrar, Khalida Jarrar’s daughter, “my mother is an influential leader, feminist and activist. She speaks strongly and loudly against colonization and oppression. Her arrest is a reflection of Israel’s ongoing tactics to attack freedom of speech and silence those who speak freely against occupation and apartheid.”

Israel is currently holding 6,000 Palestinian political prisoners in detention, including 163 children under the age of 16. Jarrar’s arrest now brings the number of Palestinian Legislative Council members held in Israeli detention to 17, many of whom are being held without charge or trial. Palestinian political prisoners face systematic torture and persecution during their arrest and detention at the hands of the Israeli military.

The imprisonment of Palestinians, including Jarrar, is part of Israel’s system of occupation, colonization and apartheid. This is the same system that attacked Gaza this past summer, when Israel killed over 2,000 Palestinians and wounded thousands of others.

In response to Israel’s denial of Palestinian prisoners rights, Palestinian human rights organizations have called for the intensification of the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel. BDS targets corporations such as G4S, which maintains and profits from Israel’s prison system, and SodaStream, which is manufactured on an illegal Israeli settlement, further entrenching the occupation of Palestinians in the West Bank.

In response to Jarrar’s imprisonment, we vow to strengthen our BDS efforts to pressure Israel to free Jarrar and all Palestinian prisoners, and to respect international law. We urge our allies to join our efforts until Jarrar and all Palestinian prisoners are free.

Here’s how you can help:

Sign and share the petition (click here).
Click here to send a message to the Israeli Occupation Forces demanding Jarra’s immediate release, and to show them that the world is watching.
Contact your Member of Parliament (MP). Feel free to copy and paste the text below into an email. To find your MP and their contact information, please visit this link: http://www.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Compilations/HouseofCommons/MemberByPostalCode.aspx?Menu=HOC
Boycott, Divestment and Sanction (BDS)! Hold Israel accountable for its violations of international law. Don’t buy Israeli goods, and campaign to end investments in corporations that profit from the occupation. Learn more at http://www.bdsmovement.net.

Continue reading →

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Eleventh annual Israeli Apartheid Week – Toronto begins March 24th

Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) is an international series of events that seeks to raise awareness about Israel’s apartheid policies towards the Palestinians and to build support for the growing Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign.

IAW – Toronto will take place from March 24 – 28, 2015. Below is the Toronto program. For more information, please visit http://apartheidweek.org/toronto/.

Continue reading →

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Confronting Apartheids, Challenging Racisms, Building Solidarity: Palestine, Ferguson, Canada, South Africa

Sunday, December 14, 2014 |United Steelworkers Hall, 25 Cecil Street, Toronto | 3 – 6 pm
Facebook event page

As 2014 draws to a close, the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid invites you to join us for a public forum to mark annual International Human Rights Day where we will critically address key issues of injustice that have prevailed over the past year. Through a film screening and speakers panel, the year will be examined through the lens of confronting apartheids and racisms while also connecting across forms of popular resistance and global solidarity movements. From the Israeli state massacre in Gaza last summer, to the resurgence of Islamophobia and “anti-terrorism” laws after the October shooting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, to the non-indictment of the police officer responsible for the murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson it is increasingly urgent to share analysis, make connections across these events, understand the histories they are located in, and to build effective and collective ties for solidarity and change.

Save the date! Details on film and speakers panel t.b.a.

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Bed Bath & Beyond Canada: Drop SodaStream!

On August 10, 2014 Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid activists protested at the Bed Bath and Beyond store in downtown Toronto because they carry SodaStream products manufactured in the illegal Israel settlement of Ma’al Adumim. This action was part of the larger march and rally to protest Israel’s latest assault on Gaza.

To find out more about the SodaStream campaign, please visit:

Boycott SodaStream campaign: http://www.caiaweb.org/sodastream-campaign/
Sign on to the online CAIA petition, calling on Bed Bath and Beyond to drop Sodastream: https://www.change.org/petitions/bed-bath-and-beyond-canada-ltd-stop-selling-sodastream-products

Bed Bath & Beyond Drop SodaStream! [2:11]

Bed Bath & Beyond Drop SodaStream! from Cathy Gulkin on Vimeo.

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Solidarity With Gaza: City-wide Protest & March | July 30th, 6pm | Yonge-Dundas

End the assault on Gaza! Break the siege! Boycott Israel! Free Palestine!

Israeli forces have now killed more than 1,000 Palestinians (including over 170 children), wounded over 6,000 and displaced over 200,000 people in Gaza. Protests are being organized in cities around the world to respond to Israeli war crimes and to call for an immediate military embargo on Israel.

As they did during Israel’s attack on Gaza in 2008-09 that killed over 1400 Palestinians, the Canadian government is once again giving its full, uncritical support to Israel. Canada has supported Israel’s illegal siege on Gaza since it began over 7 years ago – never calling on Israel to end the blockage to allow food, medicine, building supplies and other necessities into Gaza. Canada continues to engage in free trade, particularly arms deals, with Israel. Canada is deeply complicit in the crimes being committed in Palestine.

The Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid is calling on all people of conscience to take action against Israel’s war crimes and Canadian support for these massacres.

Join us on the streets! Bring flags, banners, noisemakers and your voices!

Date: Wednesday, July 30th
Time: 6 PM
Location: Yonge-Dundas Square
(The nearest accessible TTC station is Yonge-Dundas and we will have accessibility marshals)
Facebook Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1448799872073952/?ref=notif¬if_t=plan_user_invited

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End the assault on Gaza! Break the siege! Free Palestine!

Protests are being organized in cities around the world to respond to the ongoing collective punishment of Palestinians. Since the July 7th, Israeli forces have killed more than 237 Palestinians (including 53 children) and wounded 1,770, destroyed 1,660 homes and displaced over 22,000 people. On Thursday, Israel significantly escalated their military offensive against the people of Gaza by launching a ground invasion.

In Toronto, the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA), together with Palestine House, are calling on all supporters of Palestinian human rights to join us at a rally in front of the Israeli consulate.

Date: Saturday, July 19th
Time: 2 – 4 PM
Location: 180 Bloor St W, across from the Israeli Consulate, in front of ROM (corner of Bloor and Avenue)
Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/588961491213095/?ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular

Bring Palestinian flags, banners, and your voices!

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Take action: Protest the assault on Palestinians!

Protests are being organized in cities around the world to respond to the ongoing collective punishment of Palestinians. Since the June 12 disappearance and killing of 3 Israeli settlers, Israeli forces and civilians have killed more than 10 Palestinian civilians and wounded 90 (including the brutal murder of 16 year-old Muhammad Abu Khdeir), carried out 60 airstrikes on Gaza, arrested over 500 people, as well as invaded more than 1000 homes.

When: Friday, July 11th @ 6 pm
Where: In front of the ROM, across from the Israeli Consulate (corner of Bloor & Avenue)
Share this event on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/594819810634425/

Bring Palestinian flags, banners, and your voices!

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