The Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) expresses its deepest sympathies with the people of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem who have suffered so much once again at the hands of the Israeli bombardments and crimes against humanity perpetrated in the recent period. The current aggression of the Israeli occupiers began with their criminal incursion into the Al Aqsa Mosque where they attacked the worshippers in retaliation for the people’s opposition to state-instigated terrorist actions of settlers dislodging people from their homes. The likes of the U.S. President and appeasers such as the Government of Canada give those committing the crimes the green light by blaming the Palestinian Resistance for “the escalation of violence.” They seek to justify Israel’s crime of genocide by declaring it has “the right to self-defence.” But the world has said No! It has hailed the Palestinian Resistance and raised the call to Stop the Crimes!

We express highest regards for the Palestinian Resistance. We state categorically that if it were not for the Palestinian Resistance, including the actions of those the Zionists and U.S. imperialists and the likes of the Government of Canada call terrorists, the Zionists would get away with their crime of ethnic cleansing. They would get away with their schemes to expel the Palestinians from their homeland. What suits the Zionists and U.S. imperialists is for the world to never know what is really going on.

But the Palestinian Resistance does not permit these crimes to take place with impunity. Their actions have smashed the power of the threat that Israel has the monopoly on the use of force and by its actual use of force on a terrible scale to try to get them to submit. Their valiant defiance reveals the true aim of the Israeli Prime Minister: to let nothing stop him from achieving the destruction of the Palestinians. Their resistance has revealed that the Zionists will stop at nothing to realize their mission of occupying all of Palestine to create a so-called Jewish homeland. It has also exposed the fraud of the stands of the U.S. imperialists and former colonial powers, which give Israel a green light to commit these crimes. The statements of the U.S. President that Israel has “the right to self-defence” have received massive worldwide condemnation. So too Canadians have condemned Canada’s appeasement of the U.S. imperialists and Zionists.

Thanks to the Resistance, the entire world can see that the way forward is to STOP the crimes and those who commit the crimes, not negotiate with them.

Calls for de-escalation to give peace a chance are ill-placed when the record of the Zionists since the Nakba in 1948 has shown without a shadow of a doubt that the state of Israel has no interest in maintaining agreements, resolutions and peace treaties. Their aim has been and continues to be genocide, destruction, and wrecking, not living in peace.

Even in Tel Aviv placards have appeared demanding peaceful coexistence. It is not the peoples who promote genocide and violence. It is the Zionists who would not be able to carry out these crimes if it were not for the green light and material support they get from the U.S., Britain and other countries such as Canada. The actions of the world’s people have not only condemned the crimes, but defied the disinformation campaigns which seek to diffuse, criminalize and smash the Resistance Movement.

The stand of the U.S. President exonerating the crimes committed by Israel is the death knell of his administration’s alleged concern for human rights, peace, democracy and freedom. The people of the United States and the world have rejected his irrational excuses and made it clear that those who commit crimes and permit the commission of crimes will not be exonerated.

Long Live the Palestinian Resistance!
The Zionist Crime of Genocide Will Not be Absolved!

May 24, 2021

For all their laments about the violence and civilian lives lost in Gaza and Israel, the U.S. and Canada stand exposed as shameless enablers of Israel’s war crimes and crimes against humanity. Under the hoax of upholding high ideals they refuse to condemn Israel’s collective punishment of the Palestinians it has trapped inside Gaza, asserting that Israel has a right to defend itself against those who are resisting its crimes against the Palestinian people such as the annexation of more and more of their lands as part of its policy of ethnic cleansing.

Far from the U.S. or Canada holding Israel to account for its violations of international law and scores of UN resolutions, including the resolution that established the state of Israel, they are its biggest enablers. The U.S. role is well known, but Canada’s less so. In addition to selling weapons to Israel, successive Canadian governments have allowed the open recruitment within Canada of Canadian youth by the Israeli Defence Forces, despite it being an offence under Canadian law to recruit or induce anyone to join the military of a foreign country. But that is not all. In January 2020 the Canadian ambassador to Israel actually organized a dinner party at the embassy in Tel Aviv for Canadians serving in the Israeli military, saying the embassy was very proud of what they were doing and wanted to continue supporting them.

The trumpeting of Canada's close friendship and shared values with Israel carried on even as its security forces invaded the Al Aqsa mosque in East Jerusalem and fired tear gas, stun grenades and rubber-coated steel bullets at those worshipping inside -- in the midst of Ramadan. It continued throughout Israel's 11-day killing spree and destruction of Gaza. How can there be negotiations with a Netanyahu for whom mass murder and destruction is a preferred strategy for achieving his aims? How are calls to "de-escalate" genocide and ethnic cleansing even rational, let alone acceptable? War crimes and violations of international humanitarian law must be stopped in their tracks, not "scaled back"! The Palestinian people have every right, as the massive worldwide protests are making clear, to resist such heinous crimes and the occupation itself. The Palestinian people are undertaking responsibility not only for their own future generations and themselves, but for humanity itself.

If not for the rockets of the Palestinian resistance, Israel would keep on getting away with the crimes that have been the hallmark of its occupation, and that its enablers help cover up. It is the Palestinian people's steadfast refusal to submit and their determination to continue resisting until liberation that have won them the unprecedented support of people all over the world in defence of their just cause. The outrage directed toward the Israeli Zionists has extended to their enablers as well. Speakers, slogans and signs carried at the mass demonstrations that have filled the streets of cities all over the U.S. and Canada have made clear that in spite of all their attempts to portray themselves as peacemakers and champions of human rights, the statements from the likes of U.S. President Biden, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Canada's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister are irrational ramblings of those who have no arguments or principles worthy of the name. They have much to answer for, both to the Palestinian people and the peoples of their own countries.

Sea of Humanity in Montreal

On May 22, 2021 the people of Montreal again took to the streets to stand with the Palestinian people's resistance.

On Saturday, May 15, thousands of Montrealers joined with the Palestinian people to say: Free Palestine! Resistance Is a Right! Long Live the Struggle of the Palestinian People! End the occupation! and Occupation Is a Crime! and to denounce Canada's unacceptable silence regarding the Israeli state's genocide against the Palestinian people.

The day of action began at 11:00 am, as over 200 cars amassed on Sherbrooke Street at the corner of Calixa-Lavallée, arriving from the east and west, honking their horns non-stop, all united in support of the just struggle of the Palestinian people. The caravan of cars then turned onto Sherbrooke Street, heading west towards the Israeli consulate located on Westmount Square. Cyclists and passers-by stopped to greet the caravan.

At around noon, thousands of people gathered in front of the Israeli consulate to denounce the bombings, police attacks and the destruction and dispossession of Palestinian homes carried out by the state of Israel over the past few days. The Palestinian community and their thousands of allies voiced their aspirations for peace, for an end to the occupation and demanded justice for Palestine. The youth were front and centre of the action and amongst other things, were prominent in their flag-waving and in offering water to demonstrators out in the heat and the sun.

This human sea was resplendent with Palestinian flags, along with those from several other countries, in addition to placards equally rich in their messages of greetings, uncompromising support for the Palestinian people and condemnation of the crimes being committed by Israel. The demonstrators then marched as one along St. Catherine Street to Canada Place.

At 5:00 pm, hundreds of people could still be seen lingering at Canada Place and in the surrounding streets, as if no one wanted to see an end to this bright day of unequivocal support for the Palestinian people, aware of the irrefutable justness of their action.

On Saturday, May 15 at 1:00 pm, people from all walks of life, from Ottawa and Gatineau, came out in their thousands to denounce the most recent heinous attacks against the Palestinian people by Israel and to reaffirm once again Palestine's right to resist.

Under the banner "Nakba 73: Resistance Until Liberation," several organizations called on all families, communities, organizations, and friends of Palestine to join them at the Human Rights Monument to denounce the renewed attacks by Israel in Sheikh Jarrah and commemorate 73 years of the ongoing Nakba. These organizations were the Palestinian Students' Association of Carleton University, Students for Justice in Palestine @ Carleton U, and the Association of Palestinian Arab Canadians. The event was organized "to let our government know we demand them to take action and speak up about attacks on our people in Gaza, Jerusalem, West Bank and all of Palestine." 

The call also pointed out: "As we approach the 73rd anniversary of the Nakba, the ethnic cleansing and forced expulsion of Palestinians continues, and is only becoming more evident in the Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah. There, at the heart of Palestine's capital, Palestinian families are confronting the threat of imminent expulsion from their homes as the Israeli regime attempts to move Zionist settlers into the area. As we mark 73 years of Nakba, we recognize the Nakba itself to be an ongoing catastrophe, not a completed one. We commend our people's steadfast resistance and stand with them as the struggle for liberation continues."

One of the speakers pointed out that the destruction and killing at this time by Israeli occupation forces will undoubtedly go down in history as one of the darkest moments. The situation is such, he said, that it can no longer be claimed that it is a religious issue, one between Muslims and Jews. He said that for 4,000 years, Muslims and Jews were nothing but friends and helpful to each other. "Don't let them paint our people as some sort of anarchists because they hide some rocks in a mosque to defend themselves from the most powerful military force on the planet," he said, to ongoing applause and to the chant "Free, free Gaza!" He gave a call to go all out to appeal to everyone to make the situation in Palestine as widely known as possible and to develop further actions to support the courageous Palestinian people and denounce these crimes against humanity by Israel.

More than 5,000 people, mostly youth, many from the Palestinian community and allies from all walks of life, took part in a militant rally and march in Toronto on May 22 to stand with the heroic Palestinian people's resistance to Israel's desperate and futile efforts to extinguish their right to be.

The five-hour long action was organized by the Palestine Youth Movement and began with a rally at Dundas Square where speeches and slogans celebrating the courage and determination of the Palestinian people and confidence in their victory over their Zionist aggressors permeated the downtown.

The march then began moving northbound, occupying all of Yonge Street with 20 people marching abreast to the Israeli consulate. The action was organized to the hilt with marshals keeping the police away from the participants, water and snacks provided, and first aid stations along the way to ensure that everyone was looked after. Throughout the march without stop, slogans were chanted in Arabic and English including They Got Tanks, We Got Rocks, We Won't Back Down in Sheikh Jarrah! We Don't Want Two States, We Want 48! Gazans Holding Up Their Keys, Right of Return for Refugees! Hey Trudeau You Will See, Palestine Will be Free! Free, Free Palestine! and many others. Many people along the sidewalks raised their fists or applauded in support.

At the Yonge and Bloor intersection, outside the Israeli consulate, the protesters were met with mounted and mobile police unit barricades. The protesters raised the level of their chanting of slogans accompanied by the beat of drums. They sat down and held the intersection for an hour before returning on Yonge to Dundas Square.

At the end of the action which energized everyone's spirits for being one with the Palestinian people's resistance, the organizers from the Palestine Youth Movement thanked everyone for their participation. They called on everyone to speak to their neighbours and friends and inform them of the historic Palestinian struggle against the genocidal policies of the Israeli Zionists. They also asked everyone to take actions such as writing and phoning their Members of Parliament and the Prime Minister to demand that Canada stop supporting Israel while it carries out crimes against the Palestinian people with impunity and in violation of international laws.

Thousands Rally on Nakba 73

Nathan Philips Square in front of Toronto City Hall was a sea of Palestinian flags as thousands upon thousands rallied on May 15 at the call of the Palestinian Youth Movement to mark the 73rd year of the Nakba. So many responded that they flooded the Square and spilled out onto Bay and Queen Streets around City Hall. The rally condemned Israeli brutality against the Palestinian people, expulsions, occupation and the annexation of Palestinian territory and destruction of their homes and stood as one with worldwide support for the Palestinian resistance to the latest violence and terror, unleashed in a cowardly fashion by the Zionist state of Israel in an effort to crush the resistance and extinguish the Palestinian people's right to be.

One banner in Nathan Phillips Square was close to 100 feet long. Many youth even scaled the concrete arches over the wading pool and boldly waved Palestinian flags, banners and placards in acts of defiance, affirming the struggle of the Palestinian people for their national rights and dignity. The resolute determination of the Palestinian resistance was in the air, palpable, as thousands of people of all ages, particularly youth, shouted out Viva Viva Palestina! From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will be Free!, Free, Free, Palestine! and other slogans, filling the evening air with the spirit of the heroic Palestinian people.

The Canadian state's support of Zionism and its contempt and fear of the Palestinian people -- as well as of the Canadian people's just stands against imperialist aggression, occupation and dispossession -- was evident in the heavy police presence. This included the riot squad, a large group of police on horseback and outfitted for action, and K-9 units. They had a police surveillance helicopter hovering overhead and two camera-equipped drone units surveying the square. To what avail when virtually everyone had masks because of the pandemic? If it was intended to intimidate, it failed miserably.

The action signalled that the Palestinian resistance will not be defeated and that the Palestinian people continue to inspire all humanity to stand with them as they affirm their right be, expressed in their resistance and affirmation of their right of return.

Responding to the call of Palestine House "to protest the ongoing ethnic cleansing of our people," many thousands of people participated in a militant rally and march on the evening of May 18 to oppose the latest escalation of killing, violence and brutality being perpetrated by the Zionist state of Israel against the Palestinian people in Gaza and the Occupied Territories. The action had broad participation from Canadian working people who joined as one to denounce Israeli state violence and genocide against the Palestinian people, and also to denounce the Trudeau government's silence and support of Israeli crimes.

Youth were front and centre in the action -- organizing and leading the chants -- which began in Celebration Square at Mississauga City Centre and continued with a march through the main streets nearby. The air reverberated with slogans such as Netanyahu You Will See, Palestine Will Be Free! From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free! From Afghanistan to Palestine, Occupation is a Crime! and many others. Along the way, many onlookers joined the march and others expressed their support by raising their fists.

The unity in action and resistance raised the spirits of everyone who participated and strengthened their resolve to continue to organize actions and speak out to end Israeli state terrorism, racism and violence against the heroic Palestinian people and uphold their right to be.

Al Nakba Day saw at least 1,000 people of all ages come out to march through Windsor's downtown streets from the flagpole at the foot of Ouellette Avenue on the riverfront to City Hall for a rally, and back again. The demonstration, including security and traffic control for the march, was organized by the Palestinian Solidarity Group. The police looked on but provided no assistance. Participants chanted and shouted slogans in English and Arabic as they marched, with patriotic songs also filling the air. Others followed along in their vehicles, honking their horns and flying Palestinian flags. 

At City Hall the lawn was filled with a sea of people -- probably the most to ever gather in that space. They listened attentively and applauded the impassioned speeches of two young Palestinian women, a representative of the Windsor Peace Coalition, and an activist with the youth-led Palestinian Solidarity Group, who read out the demands of the group. Speakers condemned Israel's genocidal rampage in Gaza and its violent ethnic cleansing campaign, as well as Canada's refusal to hold Israel to account for these crimes and its many other violations of international law. They denounced the Trudeau government's outrageous call for "both sides" to de-escalate and its misrepresentation of who is the aggressor by emphasizing the occupier's "right to assure its security." Any time support was expressed for the Palestinian people's resistance and struggle for liberation it met with an enthusiastic response from the crowd.

Rally in solidarity with Palestinian people, May 23, 2021

Edmonton responded to the call for A Day of Action in solidarity with the Palestinian Uprising and General Strike on May 18. Despite the pouring rain, which turned to snow, close to 1,000 people participated in a militant socially-distanced march.

May 18, 2021 day of solidarity march

This was the second event in the city to stand with the Palestinian people. On May 15, more than 1,000 cars joined in a car caravan travelling from north to south on the Anthony Henday Ring Road and north through the city to its starting point, honking horns, waving Palestinian flags and scarves. Cars were decorated with flags, posters expressing support for the Palestinian Resistance, the conviction that Palestine Will Be Free, From the River to the Sea, and the determination to Free, Free Palestine!

Organizers said they had expected a few hundred cars to join the caravan. Beyond filling the parking lot designated as the muster point, cars filled the streets in every direction long before the scheduled start time.

The youth responded to the overwhelming and unprecedented numbers of people participating by providing direction to the long lines of cars to take different routes to access the Anthony Henday ring road where everyone finally came together. Although travelling in separate vehicles, the spirit was of everyone marching as one, with many vehicles playing music of resistance and expressing the right of the Palestinian people to be, greeting each other as cars met and passed, and keeping up horn honking for hours. People watching from their homes as the caravan made its way back through the city reported that it took three hours for all the cars to pass by. 

On May 19, reflecting the concern of many Prince George residents, more than a hundred people rallied -- on short notice -- to show support for the Palestinian people in their struggle against Israeli brutality, occupation and eviction from their land.

Standing on the boulevard and on both sides of a busy street, participants waved Palestinian flags and carried placards with slogans that included "Free Palestine," "In Solidarity with the People of Palestine," and "End Imperialism Now."

People passing by in cars and trucks honked and waved in support. In their comments, organizers of the rally pledged to keep up their opposition to the Israeli attacks which people around the world are condemning.

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Around the World

Italian and South African Dockworkers Refuse to
Offload Cargo from Israeli Ships

Dockworkers in the Italian city of Livorno refused to load an arms shipment onto the Asiatic Island, a ship belonging to the Israeli company Zim Integrated Shipping. The L'Unione Sindacale di Base (USB) trade union said in a statement that the port would not be an accomplice in the massacre of Palestinians as the cargo contained weapons and explosives that could be used to kill the Palestinian population.

Dockworkers in Durban, South African refused to offload cargo from an Israeli ship in a show of solidarity with Palestinians, and in protest at the military aggression against the besieged Gaza Strip.

The dockworkers' South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU) will not discharge the cargo belonging to Israel's Zim Integrated Shipping, following a call from the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions, the Union said.

The South African Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Coalition also demanded that the South African government-owned Transnet port company stop transportation of goods to or from the Israeli-occupied territories through South African ports.

"We do not want Israeli ships or goods in South African ports and shops," Roshan Dadoo, a member of the South African BDS Coalition, told London-based Middle East Eye online news outlet.

"We salute our dockworkers and will continue to work in struggle with them to ensure that South Africa becomes an 'apartheid free zone'," Dadoo added. She said the coalition hopes that the South African government "takes their lead from the dockworkers and immediately cuts all ties -- trade, diplomatic, cultural, academic and sport -- with the oppressive Israeli regime."

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa issued a statement saying, "[W]e stand with the Palestinian people in their quest for self-determination, but also in their resistance against the deprivation of their human rights and the denial of their dignity,"

He noted that the sight of a group of Palestinian families forced out from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of the occupied East Jerusalem al-Quds to make way for Israeli settlements reminded him of what happened to millions of South Africans, including his own family, during the apartheid era.

"It was a pain and humiliation faced by my own family, and by many South African families. My family was forcibly moved to different parts of the country on two occasions," Ramaphosa stated.

He said being forced from one's home at gunpoint is a trauma not easily forgotten, which is carried across generations.

(South African Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Coalition and agencies)

At least 53 militant demonstrations took place across the United States on May 15 alone. Protests continue, including in Dearborn, Michigan when the U.S. president went there on May 18 and repeated unacceptable support for the crimes committed by Israel by claiming they are self defence. Also on May 15, in London, England, 100,000 people participated in the biggest protest in support of Palestine since 2014. In Paris, France and Berlin, Germany demonstrators were brutally dispersed by police using water cannons. In Greece, protests were held in Athens while a hundred Greek unions demanded that the crimes against the people of Palestine STOP NOW. In Lebanon a group of youth with Palestinian flags climbed the border wall with Israel to show their solidarity.

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Protest against U.S. support for Israel's crimes during Biden's visit on May 18, 2021

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Videos

The Martyrdom of Gaza

- May 2021 -

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The Catastrophe May 15, 1948