No. 27
December 2023
Photo Review, November 20 to 30
Today and Going Forward, We Are All Palestinians
CANADA
National
Demonstration November 25 -- Parliament Hill, Ottawa
The Palestinian Youth Movement estimates that more than 100, 000 people took to the streets of Ottawa to demand an end to the occupation of Palestine, in Canada's largest pro-Palestine demonstration held to date. Coming from all corners of Canada and Quebec, people assembled on Parliament Hill at 1:00 pm on November 25. They were joined by a strong contingent of anti-Zionist rabbis from New York.
The demonstration
was held at the very moment a temporary truce was achieved by
Palestine, with a first exchange of prisoners, in which Israel
released
women and children held
prisoner in Israeli jails. Holding thousands of prisoners in
jail,
including women and children,
is an ongoing practice of the Israeli Zionist State. The
significance
of the truce and of the
growing demand for a ceasefire and to end the occupation was
best
captured by a young
woman speaking on behalf the Palestinian Youth Movement, who
said:
"Salute to the children, to the refugees, who shall return home. Salute to our prisoners who are the compass of our struggle, and salute to our martyrs. Brothers and sisters, comrades, yesterday the world woke up to glorious news. Thirty-nine of our prisoners have been released from the Zionist prisons. This is thanks to the brave people of Gaza who have shown the world that to rise up and resist your oppressor is to suffer in order to triumph.
"The people of Gaza have shown us that our freedom and dignity are priceless. Our prisoners, who were denied food and water and even life itself are now among the free. Thirty-nine prisoners are liberated and they have ushered us into a new era. This is the era of liberation. The era where all the walls will fall, where the whole world has no other choice but to watch in awe as a small, brave nation brings the so-called indestructible army to its knees.
"We are here today, in our tens of thousands on Parliament Hill to demand a ceasefire, an end to the siege of Gaza, an end to Canadian complicity, the release of our prisoners and an end to this sickening occupation. Today, we have shut down the capital, Ottawa.
"November 25 will go down in history as the date when the people of Canada refused to be complicit in this genocide. We're here because we stand for justice and freedom and we are not naïve enough to think that they would offer us justice. But we are brave enough and bold enough to know that justice is ours to take. Justice belongs to the people, it belongs to the righteous, it belongs to the brave, it belongs to Palestine and it belongs to you.
"We are
here because we don't just believe in liberation. We will work
for it.
We, the Palestinian
Youth Movement and the movement for liberation have sprung from
the
earth on which we
were displaced across North America and Europe, creating a new
generation of Arab and
Palestinian youth that stand tall against Zionism. It is these
efforts
across the globe that have
made our movement one of steel, of heart, of principle and
dignity.
"The movement of the free people of the world has spoken. We no longer believe the lies of the political class. Canada, which pretends to uphold democracy and human rights, is now facing us, the people, who can see right through this hypocrisy. This so-called democracy has allowed our tax dollars to fund this genocidal project; it exports weapons that kill the people of Palestine. Every bomb that falls, every weapon in the hands of an Israeli soldier makes the list of martyrs grow longer and longer, and we have had enough!
"So, this is the message to Parliament: this is not a protest; this is a prosecution trial. And we, the people, charge you with genocide!
"The Western world will try to make us think we are powerless. They will call us terrorists and animals, but that is what they called the Vietnamese people who died to liberate their land against the U.S. Empire. This is what they called the Native peoples, those who fought apartheid in South Africa, the Algerians. Millions, just like you, refuse to stay silent.
"History has shown us that when we organize and fight, we can bring the most powerful empires to their knees. For 75 years, this occupation has tried to wipe us off the face of this earth, tried in every way imaginable to eradicate our people. We may not have U.S.-funded weapons, Western-manufactured bombs, but we have something that no bomb, no tank, no gun can kill. We have something to fight for!
"The people of Palestine are not just fighting for their liberation. They are fighting to liberate the entire world from this fascist project called Zionism. Every day our people in Palestine, our people in the refugee camps and in the prisons show us how liberation cannot be imprisoned, and it cannot be destroyed. So, know this. The movement has only begun to scratch the surface and the youth are getting organized by the day and we will never stop until every inch of Palestine is free!"
Her words were taken up by tens of thousands of voices shouting in unison: Enough Is Enough! We Charge You with Genocide! Free, Free Palestine!
Halifax
November
26
Saint John
November 29
Rimouski
November 26
Quebec City
November 29
Montreal
November 25
Health care workers day of action,
November 30, 2023
Toronto
November 29
Around
200 health care workers participated in a vigil at Queen's Park
in
Toronto as part of countrywide actions November 30 to honour the
health
care workers killed by Israel in Gaza. The names of all the
workers and
their occupations were read out. A number of the health care
workers
present had themselves worked in Gaza. Messages received from
doctors
and other health care workers in Gaza were read out.
People
spoke of the horrendous conditions faced by their colleagues in
Gaza
and their valiant fight to defend life, which is an example for
health
care workers everywhere. They also expressed their confidence
that the
Palestinian people will prevail and Palestine will be free.
Organizers
stressed the importance of speaking out on the situation in
Palestine
among their peers.
Health care
workers
vigil for fellow health care workers in Gaza, November 30
Mississauga
November
22
Hamilton
Health care workers' day
of action November 30
Sudbury
November 26
Niagara Falls
November
25
Windsor
November 25
November 26
To
mark the UN’s International Day of Solidarity with Palestine,
during the afternoon of November 29 people in Windsor and
Detroit,
Michigan held joint actions -- “From Turtle Island
to Palestine” -- on the riverfront of both the Canadian and
U.S. sides of the Detroit River.
The Windsor action
was attended by a number of First Nations members and Amberley
John,
Cultural Coordinator of the Can-Am Indian Friendship Centre and
Cultural Consultations Assistant at the University of Windsor,
addressed the gathering. Participants at this action chalked the
names
of some of the 6,000 Palestinian children murdered by Israeli
occupation forces since October 7 on the riverfront
walkway.
Earlier that same afternoon as part of a
provincewide action, students at Vincent Massey Secondary School
walked
out of their classes in support of the Palestinian cause and
marched to
a nearby plaza where they held a rally to demand a ceasefire and
an end
to the genocide.
November 29
Regina
Rail blockade, November 29
Calgary
Thousands participated in a rally at Calgary City Hall and march on November 26 demanding a permanent ceasefire and end to the genocide in Gaza. Speaker after speaker spoke of the Palestinian people's courageous resistance and the justness of their cause. They also condemned the police brutality against men, women and children at the November 19 demonstration.
One speaker, from Gaza and long-time Calgarian, who has lost almost his entire family to the Israeli Zionist bombing in Gaza, addressed the shameful dehumanizing double standard in the mainstream media where, for example, the hostages to be freed are "women and children," while the Palestinians to be freed are "prisoners," or "women and people aged 18 and younger." He reported that a group of Canadians, whose relatives in Gaza have been killed, injured or otherwise affected by the Israeli army since October 7 or who continue to be stranded in the occupied Palestinian territories plan to bring legal action against Canadian governmental and military officials, including the Prime Minister, the Foreign Affairs Minister, the Attorney General, the Commissioner of the RCMP, and the Director of Public Prosecution for aiding the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Israel. They are demanding, among other things, that the Canadian government immediately issue a public statement condemning Israeli breaches of international law and call for an immediate ceasefire and end to the Gaza blockade, the Israeli occupation of Palestine, and the crime of apartheid imposed on the Palestinian people by the Israeli government.
A witness to the police assaults November 19 said to the rally, "We do not apologize for protesting peacefully and no amount of silencing, surveillance or intimidation will stop us." She said politicians have made the same mistakes over and over again with the Indigenous Peoples, and the Chinese, Japanese, Black, and Muslim peoples. She said that they don't know that a people of integrity cannot be broken and the people of Palestine will not be silenced.
Children from Gaza were invited to join the last speaker, whose older brother was hospitalized following the November 19 demonstration. He thanked the police who beat his 13-year-old brother and a pregnant woman, for making them feel unsafe as children – just like Gaza – and for teaching them there are no rights for children and for having shown their true face. He compared his life to that of his Palestinian cousins and promised to continue standing with them. He closed with several chants, including Free, Free Palestine! and From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will be Free!
The march proceeded down Macleod Trail to 4th Avenue, across the flyover bridge to Memorial Drive, across Reconciliation Bridge, and down 4th Avenue, paused at the Harry Hays federal building – site of the police violence on November 19 – then returned to City Hall.
November 26
Edmonton
November
26
Vancouver
Vigil for
all the martyred health care workers in Gaza organized by
Healthcare
Workers for Palestine at the Convention Centre on November 21.
November 21
November 25
Nanaimo
November 29
UNITED
STATES
New York
City
November 24
November 26
Sharon, MA
November
25
Cleveland, OH
November 20
San Diego, CA
November 24
Los Angeles, CA
November 25
LATIN
AMERICA
Pinar
del Rio,
Cuba
November
29
San Juan, Puerto Rico
November 29
Mexico City, Mexico
November 29
Bogota, Colombia
November 29
Quito, Ecuador
November 29
Buenos
Aires, Argentina
November 26
Santiago, Chile
November
30
ASIA
Nablus,
Palestine
November 24
Sana'a, Yemen
November 24
Amman, Jordan
November 24
Baghdad, Iraq
School children stand
with those in Gaza, November 23
Philippines
Manila
November 25
Ermita
November 25
Kabukicho, Japan
November 29
AFRICA
Tangiers,
Morocco
November 29
Durban, South Africa
November 26
OCEANIA
Hobart,
Australia
November 25
Auckland, New Zealand
November 26
EUROPE
England
London
November 25
Manchester
November 25
Altrincham
November 25
Bolton
November 25
Stockport
November 25
Scotland
Edinburgh
November 25
Glasgow
November 25
Dundee
November
25
Cardiff, Wales
November 25
Ireland
Belfast
November 25
Cork
November 25
Derry
November 25
Vienna, Austria
November 25
Berlin, Germany
November 25
France
Paris
November 25
Toulouse
November 25
Montpellier
November 25
Mulhouse
November 25
Lisbon, Portugal
November 29
Milan, Italy
November 25
Bucharest, Romania
November 25
Moscow, Russia
November 28
(Photos: TML, PYM, Saint John Palestine Solidarity, Collectif Paix, Z. Sarker, E. Gabriel, Health Workers Alliance for Palestine, Applewood for Palestine, Palestine House Toronto, Windsor for Palestine, Canada Palestine Assn, Nanaimo Palestine Solidarity, Neturei Karta, PAME, JVP Boston, Y.R. Cordero, M. Rivera, observatorioDHP, PCC, Revista Crisis, Free_Bird, Comunidad Palestina en Chile, Shehab, Bulatlat, ILPS, La Sallian, Samidoun, Wafa, drooghead, H. Khan, PSC, J.P. Needham, GMF_Palestine, B. Leipold, khooyinghooi, @iain_00, F. J. Kerr, B. Jewell, voice_wales, Cairde Palestine, R. Gerard, M. Barry, MuseumFree Derry, sasoyassin, kmqkate, mortada_foto, collectif_PV, N. Oziol, Misginaislam21, PCP, bizzeeilish, S. Trudel, Spriter Monitor)
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca