No. 24
November 2023
The Imperialists' Security Dilemma
• Values Which Permit Crimes Against Humanity Do Not Provide Canada's Democracy with Legitimacy
• Testimony Puts Blame on Israel for October 7
Mass Deaths and Destruction
• Israel's Crimes Continue Despite
"Humanitarian Pauses"
Photo Review, November 16 to 19
• Worldwide Opposition to Israel's Crimes
Against the
Palestinian People
The Imperialists' Security Dilemma
Values Which Permit Crimes Against Humanity Do Not Provide Canada's Democracy with Legitimacy
This weekend, on November 17-19 , the despicable 15th Annual Halifax War Conference -- called an international security forum -- took place. The anti-war forces organized in No Harbour for War and the Atlantic Canada Palestine Association militantly denounced the event with 500 people gathering in Halifax Peace and Freedom Park across from the conference. This is a gathering that regularly brings to Halifax those responsible for the most heinous war crimes, promoters of U.S./NATO-led regime change, colour revolutions, reaction and neo-Nazism in Ukraine and elsewhere. This year, such figures include Ehud Barak, a former Israeli general and prime minister. The conference also features so-called experts of all kinds from departments of defence, military colleges, think tanks, monopoly media and representatives of governments. The conference proceedings represent the vantage point that the U.S. is the indispensable nation, and that of other imperialist and former colonial powers such as Britain, France and Germany, as well as Japan, and their appeasers such as Canada and countries under their tutelage. Its aim is to provide solutions to the imperialists' security dilemma which is basically how to dominate the world and keep the peoples of the world without a say over the crucial matters of war and peace, crime and punishment, the environment, and so on. One of the characteristic features of those who participate in this forum is to justify the crimes which are being committed against humanity today in the name of their own superior values.
The
imperialists and their officials and experts in government and the
fields of defence, security and intelligence are filled with
imperialist arrogance and angst stemming from a morbid preoccupation
with defeat. The Security Forum is incapable of even formulating how
problems pose themselves, let alone providing any of the problems in
which their system is mired with solutions. This was
clear in the remarks of Canada's Defence Minister, the former
Toronto Chief of Police Bill Blair, at the opening of the Security
Forum on November 17. He said that the war in Ukraine and "the Israel-Hamas
conflict in the Middle East" are the result of "a breakdown in
international law in an increasingly dangerous and violent world."
Of course, analyzing the cause of this breakdown is beyond the purview of the experts who are stuck in the mire of old formulations and thinking designed to keep the peoples of the world under the sway of major powers. These old formulations and thinking no longer describe what is taking place in the world, let alone help the U.S. and its NATO allies to cope with their security dilemma.
On
this occasion, progressive forces once again denounced this so-called
security forum. No matter what discussions the participants of the forum
hold, no matter what plans they put in place, they will never succeed
in convincing anyone that the values of the U.S. imperialists, Britain,
Canada and the former colonial powers of Europe are the values of the
peoples of the world who are striving for peace, freedom and
democracy. The crisis of legitimacy of their system in which there
system is mired is deeper than ever. With the current crimes being
committed against
Palestine, it is getting deeper by the day and is clearly beyond repair.
In this regard, one of the urgent matters this international security forum is not dealing with is how to hold Israel to account for the crimes it is committing with U.S. backing against the Palestinian people -- not only since October 7 but for the past 75 years. There is no denying that the conditions the World Health Organization (WHO) has witnessed in Al-Shifa Hospital following the Israeli bombing and invasion and killings in that facility are of the same calibre as those that soldiers who liberated survivors of the concentration camps found when they arrived there on the last days of World War II. Horrific crimes, unspeakable inhumanity, a consciousness deprived of everything human beings have given rise to in their historic march to humanize the social and natural environment which today is so much needed, so much wanting.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) are carrying out heinous crimes against the people of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem while their backers, with their stranglehold on the United Nations Security Council, let this happen, citing Israel's alleged right to self-defence. They legitimize Israel by claiming Hamas is terrorist and that their aim is to eliminate the headquarters of the terrorists. As usual there is no evidence of terrorism, except that of Israel itself.
Heinous crimes committed in the name of civilized values and high ideals allege the U.S.-style democracy is superior and must be followed by all. It is all they've got to maintain their hegemony but these values and this democracy are in utter shambles. Despite their attempts to portray Hamas as a terrorist organization, evidence brought forward by Israeli newspapers Ha'aretz and Yedioth Ahronoth now shows that mass deaths of Israeli civilians and destruction on October 7, when Hamas launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood to hit military targets, were carried out by what is called "friendly fire" -- the IDF forces purposely shooting without any regard for friend or foe. In its military operation on October 7 Hamas did not decapitate babies, or rape women or commit the other crimes which the Israeli propaganda machine has accused it of carrying out. These are the lies repeated by those who know they are lies. They are following the example of the "War on Terror" of the U.S. imperialists and George W. Bush after 9/11 which the peoples of the world rejected.
So too they reject current attempts to confound the right of the
Palestinian people to resist their occupation, which is recognized
under international law, with terrorism, which it is not.
Putting the Palestinians on trial to divert attention from
Israeli actions is the trick perpetrated by the imperialist powers
and their media, also typical in Canada, as if this can justify
cold-blooded massacres and indiscriminate bombings, use of white
phosphorous and the like.
So too the CNN video purporting to show a Hamas headquarters under the Al-Shifa Hospital has been shown not to be credible. Furthermore, the statements of Israeli leaders clearly show intent which makes their actions, and those of their accomplices, clearly judiciable.
The crimes against Palestine are all based on a huge historical fraud. The state of Israel has never once applied the terms of its foundation by United Nations Resolution 181, passed on November 29, 1947. According to this resolution, the British Mandate for Palestine was partitioned into Arab and Jewish states, and international status for the City of Jerusalem as the joint capital of both states.
As stated by UN Secretary-General António Guterres at the opening session of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People in 2022, "There is no plan B." Yet Israel has continued, since its founding, to displace and dispossess the Palestinian people, in its ongoing program of genocide.
Israel's grave violations of international law have been exacerbated with Zionist settlers and extremists taking over the government, including the office of the prime minister. They are committing ever more heinous crimes against the Palestinians, such as brutal armed seizures of ancestral homes during the night or at the crack of dawn. Elders, men, women and children are thrown into the streets, while anyone who resists is arrested or killed in cold blood.
Canadians are demanding that officials and media which promote Israel's so-called right to self-defence must explain themselves for never discussing the duties of Israel as an occupying force. They should explain why they cower before threats that they will be accused of hate crimes if they criticize Israel and why instead they try to provide justifications for what cannot be justified. All of this is done in the name of defending Canadian values. However, despite the use of state force and judicial abuse to criminalize those who act according to their conscience when they denounce the crimes Israel is committing, values which condone crimes against humanity will not provide the Canadian democracy with the legitimacy it craves.
Meanwhile, the peoples of the world face the crucial question which requires solution -- how to end the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank and restore the legitimate borders of the state of Palestine with its capital in Jerusalem in line with UN resolutions and international law. As international relations are held hostage to U.S. hegemony, crimes and veto, time after time the UN General Assembly passes resolutions demanding justice for Palestine and nothing happens.
Canadians reject their government's silence on Israel's crimes in Gaza and the West Bank since October 7. This silence follows the federal government's adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of anti-Semitism in 2019. This definition is actively used to falsely claim that anyone criticizing Israel's crimes against Palestine is anti-Semitic and a hate-monger. Since then, the Trudeau government has been intent on implementing plans to strengthen the Canada Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code to more effectively combat what it calls online anti-Semitism and hate and legitimize its use of police powers to criminalize conscience and speech.
Canadians decry the silence, complicity and appeasement of the U.S. war agenda and Israeli crimes. This includes its hosting of the 15th Annual Halifax War Conference where all kinds of criminals and promoters of imperialist war make and share calculations about how to maintain the legitimacy of their system and silence all those who do not conform to their criminal values.
Across the the
country, Canadians reiterate their support and admiration for the
Palestinian people's acts of heroism which express the necessity to find
a way forward to end these crimes once and for all. Today and going
forward, we are all Palestinians! The peoples' voice, our voice, is
decisive.
Testimony Puts Blame on Israel for October 7
Mass Deaths and Destruction
Aerial view of damage caused by Israel Defense Forces on October 7, 2023, falsely attributed to the Palestinian
Resistance.
Israel is past-master at inciting hatred and revenge-seeking
against the entire people of Palestine by attributing heinous
crimes to Hamas and then saying that all Palestinians should be
made to pay for these crimes. First it calls Hamas a terrorist
organization and then pins acts of terrorism on it which, in
fact, it never committed. In the case of Hamas' October 7
military operation which broke through Israel's apartheid wall,
Israeli newspapers have been carrying reports and interviews
which tell the story of what happened that day.
An Israeli Air Force (Reserve) Col. Nof Erez has described Israel's actions on October 7 as a "mass Hannibal" event, in reference to a controversial directive ordering Israeli commanders to kill their own soldiers to prevent them being taken captive. In an interview with Ha'aretz on November 15, Col. Erez discussed the response of Israel's fleet of Apache attack helicopters as Hamas fighters infiltrated military bases and settlements in an effort to take soldiers and civilians captive back to Gaza. He describes how the pilots opened fire on multiple places along the border fence to prevent Hamas from taking the captives back, killing both Hamas fighters and Israelis. As a result, "The Hannibal directive was probably deployed because once you detect a hostage situation, this is Hannibal," he said. A 2003 Ha'aretz investigation of the directive concluded that "from the point of view of the army, a dead soldier is better than a captive soldier who himself suffers and forces the state to release thousands of captives in order to obtain his release."
On November 19, the same newspaper published the report of an Israeli security assessment based on an investigation by police which concluded that an Israeli military helicopter had opened fire at the music festival, the Supernova Sukkot Gathering, taking place near kibbutz Re'im, about five kilometres from the wall the Israeli occupiers built to keep the people of Gaza imprisoned. This military helicopter is responsible for the wounding and killing of many Israelis participating in the festival, Ha'aretz said citing the report.
Another Israeli newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, also published a report on Israeli Air Force helicopters intervening in the attack carried out by Hamas from Gaza on October 7. The newspaper reported that the Israeli forces "found it difficult to identify Hamas militants." Helicopter pilots "used artillery" against civilians at the festival, it said. To divert attention from the instructions given to the Israeli military to fire indiscriminately, the usual justification is given about Hamas hiding amongst Israeli civilians. "The Hamas terrorists were instructed to slowly blend in with the crowd and not to move under any circumstances," the newspaper report said. "In this way, they tried to fool the air force into believing that those below were Israelis. This deception worked for a while, until the Apache helicopters had to break free of all restraints. The pilots found it difficult to distinguish who was a terrorist and who was an Israeli," the report added.
The newspaper said that "when they realized that, some of them
decided to use artillery shells against the terrorists
independently, without getting permission from their superiors."
The police report estimated that the number killed at the
festival was 364, but did not reveal their
identities.
In fact, since October 7, eye witness reports have made it
clear that the propaganda of Israel which Canada repeats ad
nauseam is not true. Investigations into how many military
people and how many civilians were killed also show there were
no babies and that gruesome charred remains were due to Israel's
heavy artillery, not Hamas. The amount of destruction caused was
also beyond the scope of the kind of artillery Hamas was carrying.
Massive destruction caused by Israel Defense Forces on October 7, 2023
at the Kfar Aza Kibbutz, falsely attributed to the Palestinian
Resistance, who do not possess heavy artillery nor could they bring
heavy weaponry when they crossed the border fence by paraglider, that
could have done such damage.
Israel's Crimes Continue
Despite
"Humanitarian Pauses"
Thousands
of patients, displaced persons and staff take flight after being forced
out of Al-Shifa Hospital at gunpoint by the Israel Defense forces,
November 18, 2023.
After the announcement of "humanitarian pauses" to relieve the suffering and starvation of the people of Gaza, Israel continues to escalate its atrocities with fresh attacks on hospitals, mosques, UN schools and the forcible expulsion from Al-Shifa Hospital of thousands of patients and others sheltering there, at a time when nowhere in Gaza is safe and there is no refuge to be found. Al-Wafa Hospital, an elder care facility was bombed and the medical director died in that strike. Dozens died in the Israeli bombing of the Gaza Mosque.
Reports also inform that the Resistance has been inflicting considerable losses on Israeli forces, a truth that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and Israeli government think they can deny and hide from public view. According to official announcements the Israeli government acknowledges some 60 IDF soldiers have died since October 7. However, this weekend the director of the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery, as the person responsible for the burial of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza, disclosed that "We are now going through a period where every hour there is a funeral, every hour and a half a funeral, I was asked to open a large number of graves. Only in the Mount Herzl cemetery did we bury 50 soldiers in 48 hours."
Former Israeli Defense
Minister Avigdor Lieberman's assessment is that "The war cabinet has
lost the north." News agencies report that by this he meant that Israel
is currently facing one of the greatest military defeats in all of its
previous wars against not only the Palestinians but also Arab armies.
The total lack of credibility of official Israeli reports about the
progress of the battles reveals its inability to document any
significant achievement.
For its part, the Resistance has documentation showing numerous Israeli tanks being blown up or damaged in direct hits, especially using Yassin105 anti-artillery missiles, along with other improvised rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs). According to satellite images analyzed by Al Jazeera, 383 military vehicles entered Gaza at the start of the ground operation on October 27. By November 8, it was confirmed that 136 military vehicles had been partially of fully destroyed. By November 12 the number of vehicles partially or fully destroyed by the Palestinian Resistance since the beginning of the ground operation amounted to more than 160. The Israeli military on the other hand has not been able to establish permanent and defensible military bases inside Gaza. All it has to show is carnage and an ability and penchant to massacre Palestinians.
At the United Nations
On November 17, the representative of the State of Palestine addressed the Fifth Meeting of 2023 of the High Contracting Parties on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), which refers to the signatories to the Convention. In a powerful speech titled "Never again is now, "Palestine's UN representative Nada Abu Tarbush vehemently addressed Israel. She confronts Israel's actions in Gaza, highlighting the dismissal of Palestinian identity. Abu Tarbush sharply criticizes Israeli officials' statements, accusing them of viewing all 2.3 million Gazans as legitimate targets. She challenges Israel's claim of adhering to international law, pointing out the alarming justification of over 11,350 deaths, including children, journalists, and UN staff. Her presentation can be viewed here.
Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on November 17 addressed the UN General Assembly. After presenting the statistics of recent Palestinian victims of the Israeli offensive, he highlighted some salient protection points: 1) many civilians are unable to comply with the Israeli forces' instructions to move elsewhere in the face of imminent bombardment; 2) the current Israeli proposal for a so-called "safe zone" is untenable: the zone is neither safe nor feasible for the number of people in need; 3) the imminent total depletion of fuel supplies is leading to the collapse of water, sewage and crucial health care services, and could end the trickle of humanitarian assistance that Israel has to date permitted to enter Gaza.
Massive outbreaks of infectious disease seem inevitable, and the civilians "are facing the immediate possibility of starvation." Türk reiterated various principles of International humanitarian law: 1) All parties must, at all times, distinguish between civilians and combatants, and between civilian objects and military objectives; 2) Attacks directed at civilians or protected civilian objects – such as hospitals -- are prohibited; 3) Indiscriminate attacks are prohibited; 4) attacks disproportionate to the probable military advantage -- as constantly risked by Israel's use of explosive weapons with wide-area effect in densely populated areas -- are prohibited; 5) Forced displacement is prohibited.; 6) taking and holding of hostages is prohibited; 7) Collective punishment -- as in the case of Israel's blockade and siege imposed on Gaza -- is prohibited; 8) No one is above the law ... All serious allegations of multiple and profound breaches of international humanitarian and human rights law – whoever commits them – demand rigorous investigation and full accountability.
Türk expressed deep concern over IDF-backed settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Recalling the clear position of the overwhelming majority of members of the General Assembly, he said, "These repeated calls by the global community must not be ignored, but implemented at once. There must be a ceasefire on humanitarian and human rights grounds, and an end to the fighting -- not only to deliver urgently needed food and provide meaningful humanitarian assistance, but also to create space for a path out of this horror."
In the U.S. Congress
U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar has introduced legislation to block the sale of $320 million worth of bomb kits to Israel, in the midst of its onslaught on the Gaza Strip. "It is the responsibility of Congress to exercise oversight over weapons sales. That is why we must not allow weapons sales that will be used to directly violate U.S. and international law, human rights, and our own moral standing in the world, the congresswoman said." The resolution is co-sponsored by Representativess Cori Bush, Summer Lee, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Delia Ramirez and Rashida Tlaib, all of whom have criticized U.S. support for the Israeli military's conduct in Palestine.
It is also endorsed by several movements and organizations such as Veterans Against War, Americans for Justice in Palestine action, Amnesty International USA, Centre for Jewish Nonviolence, and the U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations.
Photo Review, November 16 to 19
Worldwide Opposition to
Israel's Crimes
Against the Palestinian People
CANADA
Halifax
Some
500 people participated in a militant two and a half hour rally outside
the Halifax International Security Forum, November 19, denouncing
the war conference and standing in solidarity with the Palestinian
people. The event was organized by the Atlantic Canada Palestine Society in
collaboration with No Harbour for War.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and and Halifax Mayor Mike
Savage were both present at the conference. They, along with Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau and Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston, were
rightly accused by protestors
of support for Israel's genocide of the Palestinian people.
Speakers at the rally included representatives of Independent Jewish Voices,
No Harbour for War, Voice of Women and others. Through their speeches,
slogans and signs, the demonstrators made clear that Halifax is no
harbour for war, and that Haligonians stand firmly with the Palestinian
people on the side of peace, freedom and justice, and that they have a
right to defend themselves and resist the Zionists and their occupation.
November 19
Montreal, QC
Protest shuts down the Jacques-Cartier Bridge, November 16.
On November 18, a huge crowd once again gathered at Dorchester Square in downtown Montreal to demand an immediate ceasefire. This is also the demand of the world's peoples and the majority of governments.
Speaker after speaker denounced the war crimes committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip, with the full complicity of the Canadian and U.S. governments and the former European colonial powers such as France and Great Britain, which created the conditions for the partition of Palestine at the beginning of the 20th century. A speaker representing Independent Jewish Voices said, "As Jews, "we refuse to allow crimes and genocide to be committed in our name." To the cheers and applause of the crowd, estimated at 8,000 to 10,000 people, she added, "We are all in this together, Palestinians and non-Palestinians, because "We will not be free until Palestine is free!
"Here in
Montreal, various forces are trying to maintain a wall of fear between
the Jewish and Palestinian communities. Our response to them is that we
refuse to be their hostages, and that we stand in solidarity with
Montreal's Palestinian, Arab and Jewish communities," she said. She
recalled that people in Montreal, as in the rest of Canada, have been
attacked for daring to take a principled stand in defence of the
Palestinian people, who are being dehumanized as a means of justifying
mass murder. She added that when it comes to fighting anti-Semitism, we
must never lose sight of the Gaza Strip. "How can we claim to defend
the Jewish community while denying the same protection to the
Palestinian people?" she asked, to applause from the ever-growing
crowd.
She spoke of courage as being the acts of coming together daily in the streets, speaking out against injustice in the face of untold pressure here in Canada not to tell the truth. "Being courageous," she noted, "also means declaring 'From the river to the sea' at a time when activists are arrested for daring to call for the liberation of Palestine and equal rights for all!" The crowd responded over and over: From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free!
She made an appeal to elected representatives: "The least you can do is take a stand and speak out on what's happening. It is your responsibility as elected representatives to represent the will of the people and preserve human dignity everywhere. For six weeks you have failed us, tried to silence us, repressed us and ignored our calls for an immediate ceasefire and an end to the illegal occupation. Every day that you remain silent out of apprehension or fear is just one more day of starvation and death for the people of Gaza." Her advice to Justin Trudeau is: "Stop bending over backwards to bullies and war criminals who, in the face of such unimaginable suffering în Palestine, want to impose silence, and add your voice to ours and demand a ceasefire now!" She ended, "From coast to coast, let's put an end to the illegal occupation and to Canadian complicity!"
A young woman of Palestinian origin reminded the crowd that a people's collective memory is precious and must be preserved, even in tragic situations such as those currently being experienced by the Palestinian people. She announced a project to record the names of all Palestinians who have died since October 7, along with their ages, where they died and the circumstances that led to their deaths.
The
crowd then marched for over two hours, chanting slogans such
as We Are All
Palestinians!, with many passers-by taking photos and
others displaying Palestinian flags from the balconies of their homes,
and motorists honking their horns. The march ended in front of the
Israeli Consulate, where more speeches were heard in support of the
Palestinian people. The action concluded with organizers calling on all
participants to come out in large numbers to a national march on
Parliament Hill in Ottawa at 1:00 pm on November 25.
For information on how to travel to Ottawa by bus from Montreal, Toronto or Mississauga, click here.
November
18
Ottawa
Close to 10,000 people gathered on Parliament Hill on November 19 and marched through downtown Ottawa to demand freedom for Palestine. Before the march, young adults and children once again led the way in chanting for a ceasefire now, to end the ongoing genocidal bombing campaign on Gaza, to end Canada's complicity in Israel's war crimes and for a free Palestine, from the river to the sea!
Representatives of the Palestinian Student Associations at Carleton University and the University of Ottawa pointed out that we are continuing to witness the Canadian government arming and supporting the Zionist State of Israel as it commits genocide against the people of Gaza. They said that the death toll of Palestinians murdered by Israel has climbed to over 12,000 people, including 500 children, and is rising every hour and that the Canadian government is aiding and abetting the genocide that is unfolding right before our eyes.
"Prime Minister Trudeau, is it acceptable to you that a two-year orphan had both his legs amputated without anaesthesia because of a bomb dropped on him by a regime you aided and abetted for the past 40 days? Is it acceptable to you, Prime Minister Trudeau, that dozens of babies are slowly dying because the incubators no longer function? Prime Minister Trudeau, are you ready to go down in history as a Prime Minister who allowed the genocide of Palestine to take place?" they asked.
Next to speak were two Palestinian children who read a poem Then, a Palestinian Was Born.
They were followed by a former physician from Pakistan and now mental
health advocate from the Canadian Health Care Workers' Alliance for
Gaza. She reminded everyone that November 20 is International Children's
Day, when the call is made for concerted efforts to provide children of
the world with the support and protection they need. She said the
children of Gaza are facing a range of challenges such as physical harm,
displacement, loss of family members, destruction of education and
long-term psychological trauma, that they are subjected to inhumane
treatment and punishment. "On this day," she said, "we demand an
immediate ceasefire and the restoration of basic human necessities like
electricity and water and to stop the relentless killing of children in
Gaza. Ceasefire now!"
NDP MP Matthew Green (Hamilton Centre) was invited to speak. He said, among other things, that he was to personally deliver letters from over 500 Palestinian families and dozens of civic organizations to the Prime Minister and to Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marc Miller and Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly for an urgent call for a family reunification program in response to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The letters call upon the government of Canada to expand its immigration pathways for faster family reunification and for displaced persons in Gaza to be reunited with their families in Canada, following the examples used for Ukrainian nationals.
A spokesperson for the Palestinian Youth Movement thanked Green for coming out and speaking in support of Palestinians, but said that she wanted to highlight to all politicians and to all MPs that a ceasefire is not enough, that an end must be put to Zionist colonization and occupation of the Palestinian homeland. She also pointed out that the violence of the occupier should never be equated to the rightful resistance of a colonized people. She said: "Not only do we demand a ceasefire, we demand active decolonization. The Zionist project of Israel is, and always has been, a settler colonial project and has to be called out as such. We need an end to the occupation, an end to the siege of Gaza, an end to Canadian arms sales to Israel and an end to the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement, and, more importantly, the right of return for all refugees, a free Palestine, from the river to the sea!"
She then announced the
upcoming National March on Ottawa for
Palestine on November 25 at 1:00 pm, for which people will come from
cities across Canada.
"I promise you, the tide is turning. We are witnessing a glimpse into the future, where we can return to Palestine, a liberated Palestine, where we can enjoy the fruits of our liberation struggle. The government can choose to ignore us, but the people are rising up from every corner of the globe to demand a free Palestine. We have a duty, a responsibility as people within the imperial core, to fight against this imperialist violence, to confront Zionism as it exists right here in Canada. It is our role in the wider struggle for the liberation of Palestine and we have to continue to show up tirelessly for our brothers and sisters of Gaza," she said.
She ended by stating that November 25 will be the biggest pro-Palestinian protest in Canada's history. "It will be written about in the history books and everyone has a role to play. The world is rising to demand freedom for the Palestinian people. We will not rest until we see a free Palestine!"
November 19
Protest at the Prime Minister's Office, November 16
ONTARIO
Toronto
November 16
Demonstration outside CBC building, November 18, standing with
health care workers in Gaza.
As part of the ongoing actions in support of the people of Gaza and Palestine, thousands of people from Toronto and as far away as Hamilton and Pickering, participated in a rally and march on November 18. The event was organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement with the support of numerous other organizations. The event started in front of the U.S. Consulate on University Avenue where the organizers affirmed that they will not be silent and will continue to organize and demand an end to the genocide being carried out by the U.S.-backed Israeli government.
At the action, an Indigenous woman activist living in Toronto, who has family in Gaza, called out the brutal colonial regime that is Canada as part of western imperialism, which is complicit in the brutal killing that is going on in Gaza. She highlighted the longstanding solidarity between the Indigenous Peoples of Canada, who have been historically subjected to brutal and inhumane conditions, to the similar situation faced by the people of Gaza and Palestine. It is one and the same genocidal system that dehumanizes us, to displace us from our lands, and to oppress us, she added and this system has to go.
Two of the main chants along the march were Ceasefire Now! and From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free! Other chants included End the Siege of Gaza Now! and It Is not an Occupation, It Is Not a War, It Is Genocide!
The action denounced the cowardice of politicians -- starting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Joe Biden -- for their silence in the face of Israel's ongoing massacres of Gazan civilians -- more than 12,000 killed with half of them children, with many more injured. Speakers condemned the ongoing war crimes being committed by Israel, which has violated every right that humanitarian law says they are obligated to guarantee for a people under occupation by the Geneva Convention of 1949.
The CBC and other media outlets were also denounced for repeating the disinformation and lies of the Zionist state of Israel and being the mouthpiece for the justifications of the heinous crimes of that country and its U.S. sponsors.
The participants marched up University Avenue, then past the University of Toronto and through Chinatown, waving a sea of Palestinian flags and chanting slogans along the way. Many people out shopping and along the sidewalks raised their fists in support. The action turned eastward onto Queen Street past various banks including Royal Bank, Scotia Bank and CIBC branches where the protesters put stickers to denounce the billions of dollars that these financial institutions are investing in the U.S.-Israeli war machine that is killing innocent people in Gaza.
At the end of the action, the organizers proclaimed that these actions will continue until Palestine is Free and invited everyone to Ottawa on November 25 for the National Day of Action on Parliament Hill.
November 18
Barrie
November 18
London
November 19
Windsor
For two hours on Saturday November 18 members and supporters of Windsor4Palestine waved Palestinian flags from two pedestrian walkways above busy stretches of Huron Church Road/Highway 401 and the E.C. Row Expressway.
Large banners calling for a ceasefire and for
Canada to stop
funding war crimes were attached to the Huron Church overpass,
while activists
stood on both sides of the road waving flags and holding a banner
saying End
the Genocide in Gaza. Huron Church is the access road to
the Ambassador Bridge, the
busiest border crossing between Canada and the U.S. Truck drivers
heading to
and from the bridge were among the many people who honked their
horns and waved
as soon as they saw the Palestinian flags flying and mounted on
the sides of
the overpass. Truckers and other motorists travelling on the
expressway responded
in the same way to those standing on the overpass there. Windsor
West NDP Member
of Parliament, Brian Masse, in whose riding the actions took
place, attended
the one on Huron Church Road.
Children who accompanied their parents drew and wrote messages of support for the Palestinian people and their cause on the floors of both walkways, one of which is used primarily by students of nearby Assumption High School.
Simultaneous actions on two overpasses on November 18 -- on Huron
Church Road/401 leading to Ambassador bridge and on the E.C. Row
Expressway.
Kitchener-Waterloo
November 19
ALBERTA
Calgary
On November 19, Calgary's weekly rally, organized by Justice for Palestinians (JFP) and Voice of the Oppressed began at Calgary City Hall, followed by a militant march through the downtown. Over 5,000 people took part, making it the largest protest since the actions began. Organizers noted that Calgary has held actions for the past six week, part of actions in dozens of cities across Canada and hundreds around the world, part of the millions taking non-stop action for a ceasefire, an end to the genocide and the siege of Gaza. In Calgary in the past week, sit-ins were held at two MPs' offices, petitions have been signed and circulated, and meetings have been held with elected officials calling on the to take a stand.
Immediately following opening remarks, lead organizer of Justice for Palestinians Wesam Khaled addressed the demonstration, regarding his arrest by Calgary police following the November 5 rally and the staying of charges on November 17. His arrest was based on accusations that the longstanding protest chant "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" constituted "offensive anti-Semitic comments." He was warmly welcomed back after having been barred from taking part in protests until the charges were stayed.
Wesam expressed his appreciation for the immense amount of support he received after his arrest. He went on to provide clarity on what the chant "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" means.
"Palestinians have not known freedom since the establishment of the
Zionist Israeli state, since the violent expulsion of the people of that
land that the establishment of that state necessitated, and the denial
of their rights to return to that land, and their political and human
rights under occupation. They have been denied to the Palestinian people
in their homeland since 1948. And our call 'From the river to the sea,
Palestine will be free,' is a call for freedom. It is not a call for
racism, it is not a call to commit violence against anyone, it is a call
for freedom. It is a call for an end to racism, it is a call for an end
to the violence built on a just peace with the Palestinian people
living in equality in that land, with all of the people who call
Palestine their homeland, starting their own land. That's what that
chart represents." These comments also met with massive chants and
approvals from those gathered.
Wesam pointed out that the charges against him were stayed, not dropped. It means the authorities "can reactivate [the charges] at any point over the next 12 months. So they've got this hanging over me. But it's not going to stop me and it's not going to stop any of us. And the truth is, our power is not built around me, or any of the leaders here. Everyone here is a leader. Our movement is built on the power of the people. And it doesn't matter that I was arrested, it doesn't matter if they arrest me again, because we know, we understand something that these tyrants will never understand that when you knock one of us down, there are 1,000 more of us."
Among the other speakers was a man and his young daughter who have recently arrived in Calgary from Gaza. He said he was in Gaza during the war and didn't think he would survive to be here. He described the horror of being at home during the bombing -- no food, no water, no electricity, underneath everything. He said, "Imagine your family being under the rubble and there is nothing you can do." He explained that many of his family members are still in Gaza and ended his moving account of the living hell the people of Gaza are living through saying, "Gaza Needs Your Help!" and "Justin Trudeau Wake Up! That's Enough!"
Thousands marched throughout downtown Calgary chanting slogans non-stop, Free, Free Palestine, Ceasefire Now! as well as chants charging Biden and Trudeau with responsibility for genocide and that Israel is a terrorist state. The people filled blocks and blocks down the Stephens Avenue Mall and filled the sidewalks and roadway of 9th Avenue NW chanting From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free. While the open mic session of the rally was being organized some kept on marching north to 4th Avenue and Macleod Trail.
There was a very heavy police presence downtown, which included officers mounted on horseback. This has been the case at all the demonstrations standing with Palestine, and was for purposes of intimidation, which has not succeeded.
Media reports indicate that five people were arrested by the Calgary Police Service (CPS). Three demonstrators have been charged with assaulting a peace officer and a fourth person was charged with obstructing a peace officer. A fifth person was released without charges. Police tried to justify the arrest of those who carried on marching saying that traffic had been halted on 4th Avenue SE, and claimed that the behaviour of the crowd was "escalating." They did not report that the entire 9th Avenue -- a major roadway in downtown Calgary had been closed down for the march and that at the action the week before at Macleod Trail and 4th Avenue SE, where the Harry Hays federal building is located, the same roadway had been shut down with no charges laid.
It is not acceptable that the CPS and various levels of the Canadian state set themselves up as judge and jury of what they deem as acceptable when it comes to the people defending their right to protest and exercising their right to stand for what they know to be a just cause.
November 19
Edmonton
November 18
BRITISH COLUMBIA
Vancouver
November 18
Victoria
November 19
Duncan
More than 200 community members from Cowichan and other towns and cities on Vancouver Island gathered in Duncan on November 18 for a march and rally "to declare in definite terms their love, regard and care, very enthusiastically, for the people of Occupied Palestine." Speakers included long-time activists for a Free Palestine and a representative of the Palestinian Youth Movement in Nanaimo and others. They spoke of the history of the three-generation struggle of the Palestinian people and the current situation in Gaza, denouncing "the murderous actions of the IOF (Israeli Occupation Forces) backed up by all Western nations to one degree or another." Organizers distributed a letter signed by the federal NDP caucus at the Constituency Office of their local MP. The letter calls for a ceasefure and organizers said, "We are still waiting for the [federal] government itself to take the same position and the fact they have not is truly disgusting." Participants marched and called for a Ceasefure Now! Free Free Palestine! and From the River to the Sea -- Palestine Will be Free! before dispersing at a local park, enthusiastically agreeing to march again the following weekend.
November 18
UNITED STATES
New York
City
November 16
November 17
November 19
Chicago, IL
November 18
Denver, CO
New Haven, CT
November 17
Baltimore, MD
November 17
Philadelphia, PA
November
17
Ann Arbor, MI
November
17
Washington, DC
November
17
November 19
Palm Beach, FL
November 19
Atlanta, GA
November
17
Memphis, TN
November 17
Dallas, TX
November 19
San Antonio, TX
Los Angeles, CA
November
17
San Francisco, CA
November 17
Berkeley, CA
November 16
San Jose, CA
November 19
San Diego, CA
November 19
Sacramento, CA
November 18
LATIN
AMERICA
Havana, Cuba
November 18
Mexico City
November 16
San Jose, Costa Rica
November 19
São Paulo, Brazil
November 17
Bolivia
Cochabamba, November 16
La Paz, November 16
ASIA
Sana'a, Yemen
November 18
Aqaba, Jordan
November 17
Rabat, Morocco
November 16
Manama, Bahrain
November 18
Lahore, Pakistan
November 19
Seoul, Korea
November 17
Tokyo, Japan
November 17
November 19
OCEANIA
Australia
Melbourne, November 19
Sydney, November 19
Perth, November
19
New Zealand
Dunedin, November 18
Auckland, November 19
EUROPE
England
London, November 17
London, November 18
Corby, November 18
Dorchester, November 18
Liverpool, November 18
Margate, November 18
Newcastle, November 18
Nottingham, November 18
Oxford, November
18
Rochester, November 18
Sheffield, November 18
Truro,
November 18
Scotland
Edinburgh, November 17
Glasgow, November 18
Abergavenny, Wales
November 18
Ireland
Dublin, November 18
November 18
Reykjavik, Iceland
November 18
Helsinki, Finland
November 19
Lausanne, Switzerland
November 19
Netherlands
Rotterdam, November 16
Amsterdam,
November 17
Rotterdam, November
19
Germany
Berlin, November 19
Düsseldorf, November 19
France
France's labour central estimates 60,000 people gathered in Paris, November 18, with an additional 40,000 assembling in dozens of other towns across the country. Despite torrential rain, the protesters marched through central Paris, holding banners reading, Halt the Massacre in Gaza and West Bank, Immediate Ceasefire. "France must immediately call for a ceasefire so that the guns go silent," said CGT union secretary general, Sophie Binet, one of several union leaders who addressed the rally.
Paris,
November 18
Toulouse, November 18
Lisbon, Portugal
November 18
Spain
Madrid, November 18
Barcelona, November 18
Madrid, November 19
Alcorcón, November 19
Athens, Greece
November 17
(Photos: TML, PYM, S. Hersh, WBW, Palestine House Toronto, A. Latif, Chubby Roots, A. Pettman, FTT-np, M. Golden, agimediata, Answer, USMOVIC, uspcn, Solidarity Ervin, J. Mayall, @baltbeat, whatcandicesays, B. Alverez, MXGMN, drgloryjjjjj, PSL, MLK50 Memphis, @hannahhh, movement photographer, lultoto, @berkeleyside, M. Dacher, joeorephoto, @machine_wisdom, R.M. Ojeda, M. Golden, activistcamera, A. Redes, F. Edwards, Shehab, @Free_Bird, H. Naqvi, Peoples Assembly, A. Naim, N. Sasaki, @akaWACA, Solo Monk, Tass, @punisheddiacomo, E. Starshine, L. Lew, @5Pillarsuk, SW, AltymcaltaIt, T Law Journo, pcdsbs, J. Kopite, PSC, thegreen_raven, @kareem79, kentpbp, SLF Palestine, G. Martin, @PeruginiNic, @ahlam8814, @CitizenKev61, R. Muhareb, Mary Lou McDonald, eldarwish90, @brandonancbrowne, C. Mullaly, @Memonoptra, @Palcif48, @Murphylsr, Zaid Revolution, @SpriterMonitor, Rijnmond, Doorbraakeu, News Alaine, act4pal5, A. pertus, Online Pal, Collectif PV, Dorion Mffe, Esquerda, Montecruzphoto, @PeMjia, Mas Alcoron, disorderisti)
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