No. 18
November 2023
Photo Review -- October 29-November 3
The World Stands with Palestine!
Ottawa, October 29, 2023
CANADA
St. John's
October 29, 2023
Halifax
Quebec City
Montreal
Close to 500 people showed up on November 1 in front of Montreal's DoubleTree Hilton Hotel, where Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly was scheduled to speak.
People of all ages, mainly youth, carried placards and banners that read It's Not Complicated, It's Genocide, It's Not Conflict, It's Occupation!, Murdering More Than 2,700 Children Isn't Fighting Terrorism!, Break the Wall of Silence of the Canadian Government on the Crimes Committed by Israel! Slogans were chanted, such as End the Siege on Gaza Now!, Ceasefire Now!
Organizers spoke about the rising opposition to the silence of MPs in face of the destruction, terror and war crimes committed against the people of Gaza by the Israeli army, with the full support of the Biden administration. They mentioned that on Monday, October 30 alone, activists staged simultaneous protests and sit-ins at 17 constituency offices in 12 Canadian cities advocating for an immediate ceasefire and a halt to Canada's ongoing financial and military support of Israel.
Inside the hotel, Minister Joly had been invited by the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations to speak on the topic of "Canadian diplomacy amidst geopolitical uncertainty" to a room of selected guests.
It was reported that during her speech, she emphasized that "We will always support a two-state solution, where the Israeli and Palestinian peoples can live side by side in peace and security, and where the Palestinians' right to self-determination will be respected." Faced with the growing opposition of Canadians across the land to her government's silence to the demand for an immediate ceasefire, Joly drew a distinction between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's "humanitarian pause" and a ceasefire. "A ceasefire is when hostilities come to a complete end and the parties come to an agreement. It's always easier when two states are at war. Here, we're faced with a state, Israel, and a terrorist organization, Hamas. A ceasefire is therefore more difficult to obtain," she explained, in lockstep with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has always rejected the idea of a ceasefire. This is the typical double-talk the Trudeau Liberal government has become accustomed to serving the mass media, that have no shame in repeating the mantra that the resistance movement of Palestinians to the ongoing illegal occupation of their land for the last 75 years is nothing less than terrorism.
For more than three hours, people stood outside in the bitter cold, hoping to denounce Melanie Joly as she left the hotel. Her staff organized her escape through another exit in the huge Desjardins building complex without her having to face the angry crowd. Organizers of the protest made sure to remind everyone to mobilize for the National Day of Action in support of Palestine on Saturday, November 4, at 2:00 pm.
Picket outside hotel where
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly was speaking, November 1,
2023.
Vigil at McGill University for
Gaza, November 2, 2023
Sherbrooke
More than 150 people gathered at the Lac des Nations in the city of Sherbrooke on Sunday, October 29, to express their support for the struggle of the Palestinian people against the Zionist occupier. Slogans such as Free, Free Palestine!, Stop the bombing! and Stop the genocide! were chanted by demonstrators all the way to the office of the of the federal MP for Sherbrooke, Élisabeth Brière. Children placed stuffed animals to remind the Trudeau government that children in Palestine are dying under Israeli bombs.
Ottawa
Over 11,000 youth, students, workers and families from Ottawa and Gatineau gathered on Parliament Hill to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and denounce the genocide of the Palestinian people. Demonstration slogans included Stop the Genocide! Palestine Will Live! Trudeau, tu verras! Palestine Will Be Free! and "Ceasefire Now! Among these slogans, those denouncing the Trudeau government's complicity, its shameful refusal to demand a ceasefire and its active support for the Zionist state were particularly topical, since at the time this demonstration was taking place the Department of National Defence confirmed the presence in Israel of soldiers from Canada's Special Operations Forces (CANSOFCOM) because of the "risk of escalation of hostilities."
Demonstrators marched through the streets of downtown Ottawa for over two hours. They marched past the Prime Minister's office on Elgin Street before returning to Parliament Hill.
Toronto
A rally and march held by the Palestine Youth Movement on
Sunday, October 29 began in front of the U.S. consulate.
Speakers at the rally denounced the ongoing U.S.-backed Israeli
indiscriminate bombing and siege of Gaza, the brutal killing of
thousands of children, women and men, as well as Canada's
complicity in this genocide. Messages of support and solidarity
for the protest included one from Toronto Friends of Cuba
expressing Cuba's decades-long solidarity with the people of
Palestine.
The speeches were punctuated with slogans, including Ceasefire Now!, Lift the Siege of
Gaza Now!, It Is Not A War, It is Genocide!, Free, Free
Palestine! and others. As participants marched through
the downtown area, they filled the air with these and other
calls to support the Palestinian people. The action concluded at
Bay and King amongst the big banks and financial institutions
such as the Royal Bank, CIBC and Scotia Bank which are invested
in the Zionist state of Israel and have a stake in the
atrocities being committed.
On October 30 the entrance to the INKAS manufacturing facility and global headquarters in Toronto was blocked. The action took place in response to a call from Palestinian workers and demanded Canada stop arming Israel, calling for an arms embargo. Canada awarded 315 permits for a total of $21.3 million worth of military goods and technology to be exported to Israel in 2022. INKAS highlights in promotional materials that their Israeli division has "supplied the government of Israel with more command & control units than any other supplier in history."
October 29, 2023
Sit-In at Defence Minister Bill
Blair's office, October 30, 2023.
Sit-in at Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia
Freeland's office, October 30, 2023.
Inkas plant, October 30, 2023
London
Windsor
A long procession of cars, estimated to number around 300, drove from central Windsor east to the Town of Tecumseh on Sunday, October 29 in an action billed as Windsor Drives for Gaza. They flew Palestinian flags or had them taped on their vehicles along with signs, including many saying Ceasefire Now!
On November 1 a vigorous action was held in front of the office
of the Liberal Member of Parliament for Windsor-Tecumseh to hold
the Trudeau government to account for supporting Israel’s
genocidal assault on the people of Gaza, especially at the
United Nations where it abstained from voting on a resolution
calling for an immediate and sustained humanitarian truce, and
intervened to try and undermine a united vote to provide cover
for Israel. Speakers expressed indignation at the shameful role
Canada is playing and demanded that the government start
representing the people who want Israel to be stopped, instead
of serving as an accomplice to genocide by doing the bidding of
the U.S.
During the rally participants plastered the door and windows of
the MP’s office with signs saying Ceasefire Now and the names of
some of the more than 8,000 (at that time) Palestinians killed
by Israeli bombs since October 7. Others lay on the ground
covered in sheets spattered with red paint, or carried small
bundles representing the women and children who make up the
majority of Israel's victims. Organizers encouraged everyone to
come out again and bring others with them to a rally and march
on November 4 coinciding with similar actions taking place
across the country that day.
Car rally, October 29, 2023
November 1, 2023
Edmonton
In Edmonton, more than 2,000 people participated in a rally and
march to Stand with Gaza. People gathered at Churchill Square to
demand an end to genocide in Gaza, and the ethnic cleansing of
Palestinians, to stop all Canadian funding and weapons sales to
Israel, to get humanitarian aid into Gaza now, and to end the
illegal occupation of Palestinian people and land.
Following speeches at Churchill Square, more and more people
joined as the march filled the westbound lanes of Jasper Avenue,
Edmonton's main street, and then returning to Churchill Square
for more speeches. The proceedings included solemn remembrance
of the more than 8,000 Palestinians murdered by Israeli criminal
bombing and destruction of Gaza, with the reading of names.
Speakers condemned the Canadian government for its support for
Israeli war crimes and cowardly refusal to support the UN
ceasefire resolution. Speakers, chants and signs all carried the
message that the Palestinian people's fight for the right to be
can never be crushed, can never be eliminated, and that all the
disinformation and attempts to silence people have not succeeded
and far from it, the world is one with Palestine.
October 29, 2023
Calgary
On October 29 around 1,000 Calgarians held a rally and march,
demanding Palestine's right to be, calling for ceasefire and
demanding a stop to the unprecedented indiscriminate and
barbaric bombing of Gaza. Speakers said that the Canadian
government does not speak in our name with its support for
Israeli war crimes and cowardly refusal to vote for cease-fire,
and made it clear that the people will not be silenced or
criminalized. They marched through downtown chanting We Are With You Gaza! We Are With
You Palestine!, Free, Free Palestine!, From the River to the
Sea Palestine Will Be Free! and many more slogans.
October 29, 2023
Vancouver
Sit-In at Jagmeet Singh's constituency
office, October 30, 2023
UNITED STATES
New York City
October 29, 2023
November 1, 2023
Detroit, MI
Denver, CO
October 29, 2023
Dallas, TX
Houston, TX
Austin, TX
McAllen, TX
Worchester, MA
Newark, NJ
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Orlando, FL
Nashville, TN
San Francisco, CA
San Jose, CA
LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN
Mexico
Buenos Aires, Argentina
ASIA
Palestine
Dura, November 3, 2023
Ein Sarah, November 3, 2023
UN Refugee office, Ramallah,
November 3, 2023
Amman, Jordan
November 3, 2023
Sitin near Israeli Embassy, November 3, 2023
Beirut, Lebanon
October 29, 2023
Beirut, Lebanon, November 3, 2023
Sana'a, Yemen
November 3, 2023
Istanbul, Turkey
Car caravan, November 3, 2023
Baghdad, Iraq
Muskat, Oman
November 3, 2023
Doha, Qatar
November 3, 2023
Casablanca, Morocco
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
October 29, 2023
OCEANIA
Australia
Melbourne, October 29, 2023
Australia
Sydney, October 29, 2023
New Plymouth, New Zealand
EUROPE
England
Sit-in at Liverpool Station in London, October 31, 2023
Birmingham, October 29, 2023
Germany
Berlin, October 29, 2023
Nuremburg, October 29, 2023
The Hague, Netherlands
October 29, 2023
Athens, Greece
October 29, 2023
Ireland
Derry, October 29, 2023
Dublin, November 3, 2023
Paris, France
November 2, 2023
Nicosia, Cyprus
Fans at football game, October 29, 2023
Lisbon, Portugal
Spain
Valencia, October 29, 2023
Madrid, October 29, 2023
Granada, October 29, 2023
(Photos: TML, Shalaan, M. Gil, action Anti-imperialiste, @palsolidaritysit-in, WBW, M. Abdullah, apaulagetics, SaltyMajurista, Wafa, Shehab, A. Azikiwe, @grace_eliz1, S. Karoussa, @BahiraR, Hadiha, CPUSA, @GreenRgv, @RealChrisBalch, @whitstrub, @adrianwhocodes, @lexibigforhead, D.J. Lancasio, Kyle S. Chak, @jazzriad, N. Hussain, @FalanXRPAngel, M. Haami, Sisters Uncut, P. Botski, @mamasmsim, @yassariya, @spekkie_master04, PAME, IRSP, A. Mayor, L. Dhearg, ISPC 48, B. Gutteres, @evilsouat, L. McKeenhan, A. Podemos, @mattriemland)
(To access articles individually click on the black headline.)
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca