Israel and Palestine

Note: See also, International conflicts and peace.

Unitarians across Canada are concerned for peace in the Middle East. We deplore the treatment of Palestinians but we also hold that it is important that Israel exist.

CUSJ endorses #StopJNF campaign

by

CUSJ is proud to have endorsed the #StopJNF campaign, which seeks to revoke the Jewish National Front (JNF) Canada’s charitable status and expose, challenge and stop the JNF’s discriminatory and harmful activities.  As explained in the campaign website, the JNF is a private corporation whose lands were obtained through exploitative land sales and often-violent, forced … Read more

Opinion: Israel has taken the wrong path

by

Jake Javanshir is an Iranian Jew whose family emigrated to Israel in 1950. Jake knows Israel well: he grew up there and served in the army, and he has many family members there still. Jake confides that, years ago, he became disillusioned with Israeli politics and moved to Canada. He has visited Israel a few … Read more

CUSJ commends Rev. Eklof for broaching a “taboo” topic: the BDS movement

by

This post was modified on November 9th to include details of Rev. Eklof’s correspondence with a local synagogue. The Unitarian Universalist Church of Spokane in Washington state, created quite a stir recently when they hosted the Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East (UUJME) who showed the film  “Occupation of the American Mind” to the congregation. … Read more

Trudeau: Impose sanctions to end the blockade, end the bloodshed

by

In the face of the Land Day massacre (March 30 2018), CUSJ was one of 40 groups that wrote a joint letter to Canadian politicians. In addition, CUSJ President has personally written to Prime Minister Trudeau on behalf of CUSJ, asking him to discontinue the odious Canadian tradition (because, after 70 years, that is what it … Read more

In the face of the Land Day massacre, Canada must impose economic sanctions on Israel

by

On March 30, 2018, Israeli soldiers massacred at least 17 Palestinian civilians engaged in peaceful protest, and wounded 1400 others… as the world community stood by, aghast. And yet, this was “Just another day at the office” according to the IDF: Today, over 40 community groups and civil society organizations, including CUSJ, delivered an open … Read more

CUSJ president attends TO rally in solidarity with Palestine

by

On December 9 2017, CUSJ President Margaret Rao attended a Toronto rally in defense of Jerusalem’s continued status as a shared capital city and spiritual home to Jews, Palestinian Christians and Muslims alike. This is her report. A large crowd of Palestinian Canadians and Palestinian-friendly Jewish, Christian and labour leaders were on hand. It was … Read more

CUSJ supports Palestinian BNC statement regarding Jerusalem

by

CUSJ was shocked to learn of US President Donald Trump’s sychophantic plan to recognize occupied Jerusalem as the “capital of Israel”. We echo the sentiments of the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC), whose statement appears below. [This] plan to recognize occupied Jerusalem as the “capital of Israel” is an appalling attempt to give legitimacy to Israel’s … Read more

Balfour gave away something that was not his to give

by

In his infamous tome The Prince, Machiavelli could have been presaging Lord Balfour’s Declaration when he wrote: ”You can be much more generous with what does not belong to you or your subjects, as Cyrus, Caesar and Alexander were. This is because giving away what belongs to others in no way damages your reputation; rather, it … Read more

Palestinian children suffer

by

CUSJ has added its voice to the No Way to Treat a Child – Canada campaign, coordinated by Defense for Children International – Palestine, which aims to influence Canadian voters and decision-makers in an effort to end Israeli military occupation and secure a just and viable future for Palestinian children living in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Palestinian … Read more

March 15th a sad anniversary for Palestinians

by

May 15, 2017 marked the 69th anniversary of the 1948 Nakba, the mass expulsion of Palestinians from their homeland. Between 1947 and 1949, Zionist paramilitaries, and subsequently Israeli forces, made 750,000 to one million indigenous Palestinians into refugees to establish a Jewish-majority state in Palestine. The Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC) calls … Read more

Israeli smear campaign shows that BDS is working

by

The Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC), of which CUSJ is a member, has reported this week that peace activist and BDS movement co-founder Omar Barghouti was arrested, interrogated and harassed by Israeli authoriites. This seems to be part of the Israeli government’s campaign to criminalize the BDS movement, intimidate activists and stop free speech. CUSJ has issued a statement, copied below. … Read more

Canadian Gov’t: Don’t be passive and complicit in the face of Israel’s violations of international law

by

March 20, 2017 The Honourable Chrystia Freeland Minister of Foreign Affairs,House of Commons,Ottawa K1A 0A6 Sent by EmailDear Minister Freeland: We come together to express our grave concern regarding actions taken by the government of Israel since the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 2334, and to call the Canadian government to take a strong stance … Read more

Trudeau government favours bulldozers over BDS

by

One year ago, February 2016,  CUSJ President Margaret Rao wrote to Prime Minister Trudeau, urging him to overturn the anti-BDS motion that was introduced by the Conservative government. He did not grant our wish… But at least the UN acted, passing Resolution 2334 condemning Israeli settlements on Palestinian terroritory as a flagrant violation of international … Read more

Anti-BDS motion pushback continues: Letter thanking MP Andrea Horvath

by

The moral arc bends towards justice, but not, alas, in a timely manner, BDS supporters would agree, as the struggle to achieve justice and peace in Israel and Palestine, through peaceful means, continues. Several political and Social Justice groups, including CUSJ, co-signed a letter, reproduced below, to Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horvath (and members of the Caucus) in … Read more

CUSJ joins the Canadian BDS Coalition in support of Palestine

by

In January 2017, CUSJ joined the Canadian BDS Coalition (BNC), which endorses the Palestinian Civil Society Call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS). The Coalition’s Basis of Unity (BOU) statement affirms that non-violent punitive measures (that is, boycott, divestment and sanctions) should be maintained until Israel meets its obligation to recognize the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination and … Read more

CUSJ and other orgs support the GPC pro-peace resolution

by

CUSJ joined a host of signatories in saluting the Green Party of Canada for its motion in support of freedom, justice and equality in Israel/Palestine. This formal nod of appreciation to the GPC was announced in a press release on Nov. 28th, sponsored by the Palestine House and Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA) at York University (Toronto). … Read more

BDS is lawful and paves the way for peace, say 68 signatories to CJPME letter

by

Perhaps you remember the anti-BDS motion that passed in Parliament on February 22nd 2016? Or a similar bill, Bill 202 that was passed and then defeated in the Ontario legislature in May? Such bills are doubtless drafted in order to keep strong ties (the bonds of trade) between Canada and Israel, and, indeed, in the case of … Read more