No. 12
February 20, 2024
Photo Review -- February 12 to 18
Global
March Demands Hands
Off Rafah!
London, emergency action
February 12
Around the world hundreds of thousands
of people took to the streets in more than 120 cities for
a
Global
March for Rafah on February 17, with some actions taking
place
also on
February 18. The actions followed a week of emergency
actions
demanding Israel stop the bombing of Gaza, cease its
attacks on
Rafah
from land, air and sea, where 1.4 million people are
seeking shelter,
and that
it not launch an all-out ground assault on
Rafah. They demanded action be taken immediately to end
the
genocide in
Gaza, for a ceasefire and the unrestricted flow of
humanitarian
aid to
Gaza.
CANADA
National
Capital Region
On February 17 more than a thousand people marched in Ottawa as part of the global day of action for Rafah. A spokesperson for the Palestinian Youth Movement spoke briefly at the Human Rights Monument, where people assembled at 2:00 pm before marching to the Israeli Embassy. She said:
"On the 133rd day of ongoing genocide, we stand unapologetically for our people in Gaza and all over Palestine. We stand here to expose the crimes that have been and continue to be committed in Rafah, across the Gaza Strip and all over our beloved Palestine.
"Last week, the Israeli occupation launched a genocidal assault on Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza, which shelters more than 1.4 million Palestinians, the majority of them displaced from other parts of Gaza. Over 70 Palestinians were martyred and more than 230 were injured in one night. [...] Airstrikes targeted homes and mosques where many took refuge. [...]
"[T]he Zionist entity is threatening a ground invasion in Rafah. Despite its being designated as a safe area... Netanyahu has now ordered an evacuation from Rafah. There is nowhere to evacuate beyond Rafah except to Egypt!
"Through his announcement, Netanyahu is reaffirming what we all know was the goal from the beginning -- for Palestinians to leave Palestine, never to return. Netanyahu's language and the occupation in action all reflect the final stages of ethnic cleansing. Meanwhile, Canada, the U.S. and the EU continue business as usual, continuing to fund and arm the genocidal Zionist entity."
She spoke also of how Canada has decided to cut funding to UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which provides relief and support to over 6 million Palestinians in 60 refugee camps across Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. She said this attack on UNRWA is a form of collective punishment for Palestinian resistance.
She reiterated the people's demands to end the genocidal assault on Gaza and the siege on Gaza, for a complete and total end to the occupation, and that Canada enforce an immediate arms embargo and immediately reinstate UNRWA funding. She said, "Our people refuse -- and they have refused for the past 76 years -- to submit to the fate of permanent exile. [...] Each and every one of us has a role to play in the struggle for liberation. We will remain steadfast in our pursuit of complete liberation until Palestine is free."
Hands Off Rafah Now! From the River to the Sea, Palestine Is Almost Free! From the Sea to the River, Palestine Will Live Forever! We Will Not Be Pushed Aside! We Stand With Gaza, Side by Side! and We Will Free Palestine Within Our Own Lifetime! were among the slogans heard in the march.
February 17
St. John's
February 17
Halifax
On
February 17, more than 250 people gathered in Victoria
Park,
Halifax to
denounce the ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza
being
carried out
by the Israeli Zionists with the backing of the U.S.,
Britain
and other
imperialists. The end of the park closest to Spring
Garden Road
was
filled with Palestinian flags, and pro-Palestine signs.
The
rally began with music and chants of Free, Free Palestine! From the
River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free! Gaza, Gaza
Don't You
Cry, We
Will Never Let You Die! From Halifax to Palestine
Occupation
Is a
Crime! Resistance Is Justified When People Are
Occupied!
and others. Among the participants was a large contingent
from
the
South Shore ceasefire group.
There were speakers
from the Atlantic Canada Palestinian Society, which
organized
the
rally. A Mi'kmaw speaker gave the land acknowledgment and
spoke
eloquently of the similarities in the struggle of the
Palestinians and
that of the Indigenous Peoples of North America.
A
member of Alternative Jewish Voices followed, who
introduced
herself as
a proud anti-Zionist Jew. She spoke of the fraud of
Zionism
being
conflated with
Judaism and criticized Israel for being anti-Semitic.
A
march down Spring Garden Road to Peace and Friendship
Park
followed the
rally. All along the way, chants and calls were heard,
and a
number of
pro-Palestinian cafes and restaurants were promoted.
February
17
Quebec
Rimouski
February
18
Quebec City
February 17
Montreal
People in their hundreds assembled in downtown Montreal on February 18 with their Palestinian flags, placards and banners for the 20th consecutive week. A representative of the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) spoke first. He told the crowd, "Human rights are often presented as a universal reality but the truth is that their application is often selective and discriminatory. [...] This government and others claim to respect human rights while these countries are actively exporting the weapons that serve this genocide and feed the hate and provoke the war crimes. What human rights do we have when Palestine has been colonized for over 75 years?"
He said, "Human rights should not be used as political means or as an excuse to justify unjust actions. They should be respected and protected in all circumstances, without discrimination or selectivity. Because all human beings are equal, each person has the right to fight for freedom. Each people has the right to fight for its independence. Each people has the right to regain its dignity."
More slogans resonated from the crowd, among them: One: We Are the People, Two: We Won't Be Silenced, Three: Stop the Bombing, Now, Now, Now! Free, Free Palestine! and "Ceasefire Now!
A speaker from Palestinians abroad told the crowd, which had swelled to close to a thousand by then, "Today is the 134th day of the ongoing genocide." He said. "The resistance of our people over there is still ongoing and they are fighting back for the sake of our dignity. Our people over there are on the front lines. We are fighting on behalf of all humanity around the world [...] because this is a call to justice."
Participants, now numbering close to 1,300, took to the streets for over two hours. In front of Quebec Premier François Legault's office, it was announced that two petitions had been tabled February 15 at the Quebec National Assembly with nearly 12,000 signatures demanding that the Quebec office in Israel be closed. They were ignored by the Minister of International Relations, Martine Biron, a former Radio-Canada journalist, who said such an office was still needed because it "is the gateway to the Middle East."
The march ended at the Quartier des spectacles. Here a
yoga
teacher was presented to the crowd as having been laid
off by
her
employer because she advocated for peace in Palestine but
it has
not
stopped her from coming out every week to march in
support of
Palestine. The event ended with a call
from PYM organizers to attend a fundraising dinner on
February
23. To
book tickets, click
here.
February 18
Ontario
Toronto
On February 17, more than 3,000 Torontonians
marched despite the cold in solidarity with the people of
Gaza
and
Palestine, and to demand an end to Canada's complicity in
Israel's
genocide against them. The organizers stated that the
action was
one of
many taking place across Canada and around the world.
The
main demand of the action was for an arms embargo on
Israel and
that
Canada stop selling arms to Israel. Some of the other
demands
were for
an immediate ceasefire; that Canada and other donors
restore
funding
for UNWRA; and that Canada respect international law and
do its duty as a party to the Genocide Convention. As a
party to
the
Genocide Convention, Canada has a responsibility to end
its
complicity in Israel's actions in Gaza, including arms
sales and
other
forms of support.
The rally began outside Union
Station, where organizers informed everyone that the
Toronto
Police
Services had threatened them with a $10,000 fine if
anyone stood
on the
truck with the sound system that leads the marches. For
19 weeks
organizers have used the truck bed as a stage from which
to
speak, and
to guide marchers and marshals so that everyone is safe.
This
threat
against the organizers was denounced by the crowd as an
unacceptable
violation of the right to free speech.
The march
proceeded along Front Street to the CBC building with
slogans
such as Every Time the
CBC
Lies, a
Neighbourhood in Gaza Dies! denouncing the CBC
for
spreading disinformation about the Palestinian
resistance, as
well as
those taking part in demonstrations in Canada, and
justifying Israel's crimes.
Throughout the march,
participants shouted slogans including From the River to the Sea,
Palestine Will Be Free!; From the Sea to the River,
Palestine
Is
Forever!; and In Our Millions, in Our Billions, We Are
All
Palestinians!
February 14
February
17
Sudbury
About
30 citizens and residents of the City of Greater Sudbury
held a
rally
on February 14, Valentine's Day, in front of Sudbury
Liberal MP
Vivienne Lapointe's office. They opposed Israel's
genocide
against the
Palestinian people and the Canadian government's support
for it.
Several
participants carried placards adorned with watermelons
and
Palestinian
flags that set out their demands, including Stop
Arming
Genocide! and
Justice for the Palestinian People!
In
a short statement entitled "Free Palestine," the
organizers
urged
Sudburians to write to Prime Minister Trudeau, MP
Lapointe and
other
politicians urging the Canadian government to "1) call
for an
immediate
end to Israel's military assault on Gaza; 2) immediately
restore
Canada's funding for UNRWA to provide critical essential
aid to
Gaza;
and 3) immediately suspend all military and other aid to
Israel."
Participants
regarded the event as a success and are planning to hold
regular
events
in Sudbury in support of the Palestinian people.
February
14
London
February
18
Grimsby
February 18
Alberta
Edmonton
February 17
Calgary
February 18
British
Columbia
Vancouver
The
newly formed choir of Independent Jewish Voices in
Vancouver
joined the
nightly vigil for Palestine on February 16 in Robson
Square, on
the
south side of the Art Gallery.
The songs were very moving,
some of the words and stanzas based on Black resistance
songs
from the
era of the civil rights movement in the U.S. -- "breathe
together,
march together."
They sang of Palestine being free,
and for an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza. One
song was
based
on a quotation from James Baldwin and began "These are
all our
children, every one."
Other people at the vigil
joined in the singing, while passersby watched and
listened. A
row of
flickering candles and signs opposing genocide and the
siege of
Gaza
was the backdrop.
On February 17, a bicycle rally --
VanBike4Palestine -- started from Science World at 11:00
am.
Palestinian flags attached to the bikes fluttered in the
wind as
the
participants toured around the city for two
hours.
A
rally and march was held February 17, starting at Canada
Place
at the
harbourside, as part of the Global March for Rafah taking
place
around
the world.
February 17
Kamloops
February 13
UNITED
STATES
Washington,
DC
February 17
Boston,
MA
February 14
Detroit, MI
February
14
Indianapolis, IN
February
18
Atlanta, GA
February 13
Dallas,
TX
February
18
San Francisco, CA
February 14
Los Angeles, CA
February 12
EUROPE
England
London
February 12
February 17
Glasgow,
Scotland
February 17
Fans of Celtics FC,
February 17
Wales
Cardiff
February 13
Amsterdam,
Netherlands
February 16
February 17
Helsinki,
Finland
February 17
Germany
Berlin
February 14
February 17
Munich
Protests
during Munich Security Conference,
February 17.
Auschwitz, Poland
February 16
Paris,
France
February 14
Madrid, Spain
February 17
Rome, Italy
February
16
ASIA
Yemen
Sana'a
February 16
Istanbul, Türkiye
February 17, Turkish
humanitarian relief organization announces it will send
ships to
Gaza
to deliver aid.
Jordan
Amman
February 16
Jordan Valley
February 16, protesters block highway demanding halt to food shipments to Israel.
Japan
Tokyo
February 18
Kobe
February 18
Jakarta, Indonesia
February 16
LATIN
AMERICA
Mexico
Mexico City
February 17
Monterrey
February 17
Mazatlan
Sinaloa
February 17
Guadalajara
February 17
Querétaro
February 17
Tixtla, Guerrero
Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers' College,
February 12
El Higueral Chalatenango, El Salvador
February 14
Quito, Ecuador
February
15
Buenos Aires, Argentina
February
16
OCEANIA
Australia
Melbourne
February 17
Sydney
February
17
(Photos: TML, PYM, Quds, Shehab, Canada Palestine
Assn, AA,
G. Bell, @saram_photos, Collectif Eglantine,
@actionforhealthliberation, cpsa_london, @905palestine,
@nayalijs, @palestinesolidaritykamloops, @dmvpym,
Jewish Voice
for Peace, @peopleseye.ojopopular, sahouraxo,
@demilitarize.atl, bayareapym, @pymlaocie, PSC Updates,
@afrazzledscot, leylahamed, voice_wales,
ADG-Zuid-Holland, P.
Hannson, montecruzfoto, shutelbitdownde, IU Madrid
Centro,
@yalla_roma, @SSSSRR101, kawakami_takuya,
@BataRealGold,
@sucklaver, yumikasumi, @AdityaMandagie, Platforma
Comun por
Palestina, Resumen Latinoamericano, Prensa Latina,
Equador con
Palestina, WACA, drmazhell, MattH093, D.
Manners)
(To access articles individually click on the black headline.)
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca