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Write letter to Canadian Members of Parliament & Diplomats in support of Palestine Human Rights Defender

Prominent Palestinian human rights defender Mahmoud Nawajaa was taken from his family by Israeli occupation forces during a night raid.

Take a moment to write a letter to Canadian elected officials and diplomats.

Send letter:

https://actionnetwork.org/letters/write-letter-to-canadian-members-of-parliament-diplomats-in-support-of-palestine-human-rights-defender/

The Trudeau government’s complicity gives Israel carte blanche to commit human right abuses and international law violations without impunity.

Under Article 1 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, all High Contracting Parties, which includes Canada, are required to take action to ensure respect for the Convention “in all circumstances.”  

Note: The Canadian BDS Coalition and Just Peace Advocates join together for this letter writing campaign.

In this circumstance, at the very least, the transfer of Mahmoud, as is the case of other prisioners, as a civilian from the occupied area to the occupier’s own territory is a war crime as defined by the Fourth Geneva Convention, Article 49.

Let us remind the Canadian government that the Fourth Geneva Convention provides for the protection of civilians who find themselves under the rule of a foreign power in the event of an international and internal conflict.

The Fourth Geneva Convention is based on the universally accepted principle that parties to a conflict should ensure that people living in an occupied territory should continue to live in as normal a manner as possible and in accordance with their laws, customs and traditions.

Articles 42 and 78 of the Fourth Geneva Convention permit administrative detention only if the security of the Detaining Power makes it absolutely necessary.The practice of administrative detention by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory contravenes fundamental human rights. Israel uses administrative detention in a highly arbitrary manner without even basic safeguards in place which also leads to other, grave human rights violations.
The Canadian government needs to stop providing impunity to Israel, and to call for administrative detainees that are held on account of their political views or their activities carried out in resistance to the occupation be released promptly and unconditionally.

Background of Mahmoud Nawajaa’s detention

#FreeMahmoud #BDS

Mahmoud Nawajaa, a prominent Palestinian human rights defender, has been dragged away from his family by Israeli occupation forces in a night raid on Thursday July 30 and is currently held in Israel’s Jalameh high-security interrogation center, denied access to lawyers.

Mahmoud’s arrest comes in the context of Israel’s plans for de jure annexation of much of the occupied Palestinian West Bank, on top of its decades-long de facto annexation and apartheid. His arrest is part of Israel’s attempts to clamp down on human rights defenders, such as Mahmoud, and constitutes yet another element of Israel’s apartheid regime.

Mahmoud is one of the more than 4,700 Palestinian prisioners in Israeli jails. In the current circumstances, with the COVID19 virus spreading, mass detention aggravates health and safety risks to all detainees, adding to the common culture of torture and degrading as well as inhumane treatment of Palestinians in Israeli jails.

The Canadian context:

The Trudeau Liberal Government has expressed that it does not support boycotts, divestments or sanctions, despite these actions and opinions being civil liberties and constitutional rights.

Over 60 federal members of parliament have said they are against further annexation of the “West Bank” of Palestine.

Canada touted itself as the world leader who would help countries fight and recover from Covid-19, during its bid for the United Nations Security Seat, but this does not seem to extend to Palestine, nor Palestinian prisoners.

Under Article 1 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, all High Contracting Parties, which includes Canada, are required to take action to ensure respect for the Convention “in all circumstances.”  

See BDS National Committee for more information.

See Al-Haq for more information.

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The “Deal of the Century” and Israel’s push for absolute apartheid against Palestine: The Netanyahu/Trump Annexation Plan

The Canadia BDS Coalition agrees with Bruce Katz. As we approach July 1st and threatened annexation, “it is high time that sanctions be imposed on Israel. Specifically in terms of its long-term process of ethnic cleansing and dispossession of lands enacted against the Palestinians.” The defacto annexation has been in place for decades. It is not about sanctions if annexation occurs, it is about santions because of decades long ongoing war crimes, settler colonialism, and apartheid.

Join events across the country over the next few days:

Vancouver – June 26, 5pm

St-John, NB – June 27, 1pm (In front of City Hall)

Toronto – June 27, 3pm

Montreal – June 27, 4pm

Ottawa – June 28, 3:30pm

St-Catherines – July 1, 2pm

Toronto – July 4, 3pm

The “Deal of the Century” and Israel’s push for absolute apartheid against Palestine: The Netanyahu/Trump Annexation Plan

June 25, 2020

Written by: Bruce Katz

As we approach July 1 – the proposed date for the onset of the government of Israel’s plan for annexing the illegal Israeli settlements in the Palestinian West Bank and the entire Jordan Valley – it is less than certain that Netanyahu will go forward with the annexation.

Israel has received a stern warning from over 1, 000 diplomats representing a number of European countries and though the House Republicans in the U.S, Congress have endorsed Israel’s annexation plan, the Trump administration is wavering. Netanyahu, in his usual guileful manner, has hinted at a ‘partial’ annexation but faces a growing crescendo of protesters in Israel opposed to the proposed annexation of the West Bank.

This is an appropriate moment to review the nature of that annexation plan included in the proposed ‘Deal of the Century’. It is essentially the blueprint for the creation of a permanent Palestinian Bantustan-state in eternal subjugation to an Israeli apartheid state.

This so-called Trump ‘peace plan’ was devised by the Netanyahu administration in Tel Aviv and rubber-stamped by three devoted Zionists close to Donald Trump. These three were his lawyer David Friedman ,who was appointed US ambassador to Israel, another lawyer by the name of Jason Greenblatt, former special envoy to Israel and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. No Palestinian, no Arab, no Muslim was involved in this so-called peace plan. In reality, this is not a peace plan but rather reflects the wish to carry out the Greater Israel project to annex the West Bank and the Jordan Valley.

The deployment of the plan is set to strengthen Trump’s position with his Christian-Zionist fundamentalist base and the right-wing of the Jewish community. Netanyahu, facing his third election within the past year will benefit as well. The main opposition candidate, Benny Gantz, has also welcomed the plan to annex the Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the Jordan Valley. The recent election resulted in a Netanyahu-Gantz coalition government.

Contrary to Kushner’s claim to adopt “an unconventional approach”, Yehuda Shaul underlines in Foreign Policy online :

The Trump plan is actually as traditional as possible. In fact, it closely resembles another plan published over 40 years ago. In 1979, the World Zionist Organization published a plan entitled “Master Plan for the Development of Settlements in Judea and Samaria, 1979-1983”, written by Matityahu Drobles, former member of the Knesset for the liberal Herut bloc – a precursor of  today’s Likud Party – and the head of the colonial division of the World Zionist Organization, the body responsible for planning and building illegal settlements.

Drobles’ plan was essentially a detailed attempt to execute the colonial expansion plan of then Minister of Agriculture Ariel Sharon. This task was carried out with zeal over the next four decades successive Israeli governments, placing 640,000 settlers in key areas of the West Bank. Trump’s vision is actually Drobles 2.0.

The Drobles Plan essentially said that state land and uncultivated land must be seized immediately to colonize areas between “minorities,” to minimize the possibility of an Arab state.

There is an even more sinister dimension of the Netanyahu/Trump Deal of the Century – although it is largely under-reported in the mainstream media – envisions the “transfer” of Arab villages in northern Israel, home to 20 per cent of Israel’s non-Jewish population, to the false Palestinian “state” – and the “transfer” of the citizenship of their residents.

This plan, which follows the logic of the “Jewish nation-state law” adopted by Israel, is not only an outrage, but follows the rising trend of ethno-supremacist ideology in many regions of the world.

One of the most important examples is India, where the new “registration” law planned by the Hindu nationalist government threatens the citizenship rights of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Muslims and other minorities who have lived there for centuries.

The Drobles project reached its second stage with the Oslo Accords which, unlike the narrative that has been conveyed since 1990 by our corporate media, was not a peace plan either. The Oslo process was not based on the idea of creating a Palestinian state – only pretending to offer one while building up a completely different reality on the ground. Above all, it offered “economic peace” – the same language used in Trump’s false peace plan.

It is true that, unlike the disingenuous Deal of the Century – to be imposed on the Palestinians without their consent and without any previous negotiation – there was a good deal of negotiations leading up to the Oslo Accords. Much of what was on the negotiating table at Oslo remained there and was never applied. The Oslo Accords set in place the ‘infrastructure’ for completing the annexation of most of the West Bank and the entire Jordan Valley.

Israel’s Oslo strategy was based on transforming fragments of the occupied Palestinian territory into free trade areas to exploit the captive Palestinian workforce. Through Oslo, the West Bank was divided into three: sectors A, B and C. Thus, the Israeli domination by the army and the settlers was completed on 62 per cent of the West Bank, that is to say Zone ‘C’ which includes, of course, the best agricultural land, water sources and mineral wealth in the West Bank and the Jordan Valley.

Gaza, completely isolated from the West Bank and East Jerusalem by the illegal and criminal blockade that has lasted for close to 14 years, has been described by prominent Israeli journalist Amira Hass as a ‘concentration camp’. Israeli historian Ilan Pappe called the deplorable living conditions in Gaza  an “incremental genocide”, that is, a slow-fire genocide.

Beyond the fragmentation of the West Bank via the Oslo process, the masterpiece of Israeli strategy was the creation of the Palestinian Authority. It continues to be the “guardian” of the West Bank as an open-air prison, which guarantees the continuity of Israel’s grip on the illegal occupation of the West Bank. It also keeps the Palestinian people in increasingly shrinking enclaves by way of Israel’s security matrix.

Recently, Mahmoud Abbas stated that the Palestinian Authority (PA) was officially ending its security co-operation with Israel. In fact, the security entente with Israel continues on the ground. The PA was created by Oslo, and meant to exist for five years while preparing the creation for a permanent elected Palestinian government. It is too integrated into the web of the Oslo Accords to break away from its security deal with Israel. The PA is kept afloat by Washington’s funding (Canada’s contribution to the Israel-PA security deal comes in at a few million dollars) so it finds itself permanently between a rock and a hard place.

Throughout the Oslo process in the 1990s, in addition to the occupation of the Palestinian territories, the Israeli authorities insisted on their desire to “dialogue” and establish real peace.

They talked about giving land to the Palestinians in exchange for peace, while creating irreversible facts on the ground and while asking the Palestinians to be “realistic”. They were to be “reasonable” and therefore to accept to suffer all these new violations perpetrated by Israel while it was “negotiating,” as reported by the media.

In short, this is the same language as that of the Trump plan, to tell the Palestinians to be realistic, to be reasonable and to accept to live in the Bantustan state which has been prepared by Israel for at least the past 40 years.

However, the false Oslo peace plan could not formalize the control and fragmentation of the West Bank and the annexation of the Jordan Valley, which had always been coveted from the start of the Zionist project in Palestine. Now redundant, Oslo was to be replaced by another false peace plan which would formalize and make the Israeli apartheid system permanent. This false plan is called the Trump Deal of the Century, a vision of permanent apartheid that formalizes a Palestinian Bantustan state or, if you like, a Palestinian reservation that resembles Canada’s reservations for its Indigenous peoples.

The Netanyahu/Trump Annexation Plan in summary

The Deal of the Century document is roughly 180 pages, of which 150 pages deal with economic statistics and analyses that even economists would struggle to understand, all to show how much the standard of living for Palestinians would be helped by this so-called ‘Peace Plan.’

The real political question at the heart of the debate is completely removed in addition to the question of international law, which should direct all negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis. In passing, the sole Palestinian instance having the mandate to negotiate on behalf of the Palestinian people is the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), not the Palestinian Authority.

Under Oslo, in principle, Israel was supposed to withdraw from the occupied Palestinian territories as a prerequisite for the creation of a Palestinian state. Under the Trump plan, this condition does not even exist. Israel immediately gets the land it wants by annexing all of its illegal settlements as well as the Jordan Valley, and it would get even more land later, unless the Palestinians accept a long list of impossible preconditions.

For example, the Palestinians would have no army and in addition would be forced to accept the permanent presence of the Israeli army in order to maintain its security control; the Palestinian state would have no control over its borders, and therefore no control over its foreign relations and trade.

It would be deprived of control over its offshore waters which include large deposits of natural gas, no control over its airspace. This Palestinian “state” would exist on only 15% of historic Palestine, being just a collection of enclaves connected by tunnels and bridges.

This false state would still be deprived of its most fertile land, of its sources of water still under the sway of Israel, deprived of access to the Dead Sea and its mineral industries, still exploited by Israel. So the Palestinian economy would continue to be entirely under the control of Israel.

East Jerusalem, including its holy places, would be isolated from the Palestinian state, which would instead have its capital outside the city in Abu Dis, a small suburb that would be renamed Al-Quds. The Trump plan even suggests that Israel and Jordan would eventually share sovereignty over the Al-Aqsa mosque complex, the third holiest place in the world for Muslims. All this to allow extremist Jews who believe the mosque is on the former site of the Temple of Solomon – who want to demolish the mosque and replace it with the temple – can pray there.

In addition, the Palestinians will have to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, thereby sanctioning the dispossession and colonization of the Palestinian people. There would be no Palestinian Right of Return. Yet that is exactly what United Nations Resolution 194 requires. This resolution was adopted in 1948.

The Netanyahu/Trump Plan requires the Palestinian Authority to strip the families of political prisoners and Palestinians killed by the IDF of their social benefits. If the Palestinians do not concede all that is asked of them within four years of the initial application of the Trump plan, Israel will be free to seize and annex even more Palestinian land as it sees fit.

Of course, the Palestinians will be blamed for being “unreasonable”. The media and various political establishments will say, as was said at Camp David, that “Israel has no partner for peace.” In short, the Palestinians are invited to disappear in one way or another.

The Palestinians however, will never consent being disappeared.  This Trump plan, this permanent apartheid document, promises a major escalation of violence and further destabilization of the region, in keeping with the fascist and racist vision of the Deal of the Century.

It is high time that sanctions be imposed on Israel. Specifically in terms of its long-term process of ethnic cleansing and dispossession of lands enacted against the Palestinians. More recently against the Bedouin in the Negev and its apartheid system imposed on the beleaguered Palestinian population, in flagrant defiance of international law.

Bruce Katz is a founding member and current co-president of PAJU (Palestinian and Jewish Unity), a Montreal-based pro-Palestinian solidarity organization.PAJU is a member of the Canadian BDS Coalition.

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In solidarity for justice for Ejaz Choudry

The Canadian BDS Coalition condemns the use of excess force by the Peel Regional Police that resulted in the murder of Ejaz Choudry on Saturday, June 20, 2020.

According to his family Ejaz Choudry had mental health issues and they called the non-emergency line for help. Reports and videos show police barricaded the apartment, refused to let family members in, and, without waiting, immediately fired at least 5 rapid shots. See The video footage.

The Canadian BDS Coalition  joins with the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), The Muslim Council of Peel (MCP), and The Urban Alliance of Race Relations (UARR) in demanding from Chief Nishan Duraiappah that the officer responsible for firing the bullets that killed Ejaz Choudry be taken off the force immediately.

We ask people to add your voice to NCCM call for Justice for Ejaz. 

With the murder of Ejaz Choudry, the police killings of six indigenous people in Canada since April, the recent killing of Regis Korchinski-Paquet in Canada and George Floyd in the USA, it is a continous demonstration of police impunity that targets and kills racialized people in both in the US and Canada. 

The Canadian BDS Coalition condemns the inherent racism in the police system and we stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and the call to

  • end police brutality
  • address systemic racism and injustice
  • recognize that white supremacy underlies the bias, violence and brutality against Black, Indigenous and other racialized lives
  • defund and demilitarize the police
  • reallocate funding and resources to community-based programs

The Coalition recognizes the role the militarization of police plays in this blatant misuse of power, and condemns the training of Canadian police by Israeli security forces in Israel and Canada, and the elected officials and police leadership that funds and enables it.

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How Canadian MPs in the Canada-Israel Inter-Parliamentary group are at the table of apartheid

By Bruce Katz

https://www.thecanadafiles.com/the-middle-east/cmpic

In the U.S, pro-Israel organizations often fund the exchanges between U.S. police and their Israeli counterparts. The same is true of similar organizations in Canada vis-à-vis Canadian police forces. They are partners in violence and systematic racism. (2)

Imagine then, a group of Canadian Members of Parliament representing four of the five federal parties sitting in the House of Commons, implicitly, if not explicitly, supporting Israel’s brutal apartheid regime by participating in the Canada Israel Inter-parliamentary Group which functions as little more than an internal pressure group the function of which is to normalize and consequently whitewash Israel’s apartheid regime. Within this group sit 19 members of the Bloc Québécois (of 32 Bloc Québécois MPs sitting in the House of Commons), 18 Conservative MPs, 16 Liberal MPs, 2 New Democrats and 9 Senators. (3)

Aux États-Unis, les organisations pro-israéliennes financent souvent les échanges entre la police américaine et leurs homologues israéliens. Il en va de même pour des organisations similaires au Canada vis-à-vis des forces policières canadiennes. Ils sont partenaires de la violence et du racisme systématique. (2)

Imaginez alors, un groupe de députés canadiens représentant quatre des cinq partis fédéraux siégeant à la Chambre des communes, soutenant implicitement, sinon explicitement, le régime brutal d’apartheid d’Israël en participant au Canada Israel Inter-parliamentary Groupqui fonctionne comme groupe de pression interne dont la fonction est de normaliser et, par conséquent, de blanchir le régime d’apartheid d’Israël. Au sein de ce groupe siègent 19 députés du Bloc québécois (sur 32 députés du Bloc québécois siégeant à la Chambre des communes), 18 députés conservateurs, 16 députés libéraux, 2 néo-démocrates et 9 sénateurs. (3)

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Statement of solidarity with Black Lives Matter

The Canadian BDS Coalition believes in ending racial inequality, thus we support and stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. We as a coalition believe in the importance of cross-solidarity across movements, thus we support and call on for an IMMEDIATE and INDEPENDENT inquest into the death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet.. Regis Korchinski-Paquet died when she fell from the balcony of a Toronto highrise while Toronto Police Services were on the scene.

The Canadian BDS Coalition also supports the arrest and charging of Derek Chauvin, the officer who is on film murdering George Floyd. As well, we support the call for systematic change to the police system.  

We condemn the training of Canadian police officers in Israel, and the delegations of law enforcement and government leaders under whose leadership this happens.

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Bryan Adams Waking Up the World With Xenophobia

Bryan Adams is making news again and it’s not flattering.

In 2017, the Canadian BDS Coalition launched the UNPLUG FROM APARTHEID CAMPAIGN. Roger Waters, Checkpoint 303 and about 25 other artists all asked Adams to cancel his tour dates in Israel. Boycott from Within and many other groups and indviduals asked Adams to cancel. Information pickets happening Toronto, and other locations around the world including at several of Adam’s European concert stops.

Adams went ahead and played  in Tel Aviv and Jersualem in December 2017 despite these requests and the  huge cultural boycott campaign asking him not to travel there.

Initial Adams said he would meet with the Coalition, but then went silent. In the end he did not respond to any of the calls, not even the final request to be in touch with Boycott from Within to learn more.

Back in 2014 he did speak out against Israel’s attack on Gaza, but totally ignored the UNPLUG call when this was raised.

However, Adams has shown that he has a political conscience in the past. In 2016 he cancelled a Mississippi tour date because of the state’s anti-LGBT laws.

The cancelling of the Mississippi concert and the tweet re Gaza in 2014–these are  both admirable acts.  However, one has to ask, why did Adams go ahead play in Israel in 2017? We will have to continue to wonder as Adams never responded to those questions when the UNPLUG FROM APARTHEID campaign asked him in 2017.

These are facts that Adams cannot ignore.

Now, in 2020 Adams is in the news again for racist, xenophobic comments about China and COVID 19 that he posted on his web site www.bryanadams.com.

In the same post Adams then encouraged people to become vegans. Perhaps Adams would like to let Vibe Israel know that vegan-washing is not cool!

Adams had recently announced some of his upcoming concert dates had been postponed until October 2020 because of COVID-19. Let’s hope that gives him some time to think about why his 2017 behaviour was that of a PEP–progressive except Palestine. Although his latest move leaves us wondering about the label progressive at all.

There was great criticism of his comments and although he eventually did apologize, his reasoning that he only meant to promote veganism is weak.

One of the Canadian BDS Coalition members said “I am a vegetarian who often eats vegan and I also support justice for Palestine and oppose the 53 year occupation. Adams’ comments about China were still up on his web site the last time I checked. Those who haven’t seen them should visit the site and leave comments.”

Check out the 2017 UNPLUG FROM APARTHEID CAMPAIGN

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At Ramadan and all year support #BDS, don’t buy Israeli medjoul dates

Learn more about what to consider when purchasing Medjoul Dates in Canada to ensure they are not from Israeli companies, and to ensure you are purchasing Palestinian product. Steps you can take, and tools to assist you in letting retailers know that you expect them to not carry Israeli Medjoul dates or any Israeli products.

If you know of other Israeli product coming into Canada, or of Palestinian product that is available in Canada, please contact us at bdscoalition@gmail.com and we will up date our information.

Also, if you are aware of any retailers carrying Israeli product please let them that supporting Israeli apartheid and war crimes is not okay, and if you wish you can let us know and we can also follow up.

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#Nakba72: Sanctions not statements is what is required

#Nakba72 like every day, our thoughts are on Right of Return, our hearts are with Palestine and our actions are for sanctions on Israel until right of return is realized.

A few things to check out and participate in over #Nakba72

  1. Check out the interview about  Canadian BDS Coalition  with Karen Rodman, Hanna Kawas and Bruce Katz!

Canada Files talked about the state of the Canadian BDS movement, Israeli apartheid during COVID-19, the Canadian federal politics of BDS and the Green Party’s leadership race.

2. Palestine is indivisable: a virtual rally by Al-Quds Committee, a member of the Canadian BDS Coalition

3. #QudsistheReturn Key

4. BNC events

Online Nakba Day Rally – May 15, 9 PM Palestine time: With speakers and performers including DAM, Janna Jihad, Diana Buttu, Roger Waters and Ken Loach. Organized by Palestine Solidarity Campaign (UK), Jewish Voice for Peace (US), South African BDS Coalition, and the BDS Movement.

5. Nakba event with various partners who are members of the Canadian BDS Coalition including Independent Jewish Voices, and Socialist Action, as well as others including Courage and Palestine House.

Canadian BDS Coalition is endorser of this event.

Independent Jewish Voices Canada's photo.

6. Never Forgotten: 72 Years of Restistance.

https://www.ampalestine.org/

7. Petition to the Government of Canada

Almost 1000 signatures. Petition to the Canadian Government calling for end of blockage on Gaza and aligning voting at the United Nations with the rest of the international community. Thanks to Paul Manly for sponsoring.

Whereas:

  • The Palestinian people in Gaza have been under blockade for 13 years;
  • This has resulted in accelerated de-development, and led the United Nations to indicate that Gaza would be unlivable by 2020;
  • COVID-19 has grave potential for human catastrophe in this most densely populated area of the world;
  • Article 56 of the Fourth Geneva Convention specifically provides that an occupier has the duty of ensuring and maintaining the measures necessary to combat the spread of contagious diseases and epidemics; and
  • Under Article 1 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, all high signatories, of which Canada is one, are required to take actions to ensure that violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention do not occur under any circumstance.

We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to request that Israel immediately lift the blockade on Gaza to enable medical and humanitarian aid during the COVID-19 pandemic, and insist that Israel permanently end its blockade of Gaza; and vote at the UN General Assembly in alignment with the majority of the international community taking a stance in line with international law and human rights for Palestinians.

https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-2565

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#BoycottPuma Round 3: Puma Canada what’s up!

#Boycottpuma Round 3: Online Rally of Solidarity With Palestinians Ahead of PUMA Shareholders Meeting!

As the coronavirus pandemic spreads, Puma’s already deeply immoral support for Israel’s ever-expanding illegal settlements takes on a more sinister dimension.  Puma’s exclusive licensee in Israel, Delta, was listed in the UN database of complicit settlement companies. The UN considers all Israeli settlements in the occupied territory a war crime.

Puma is the main sponsor of the Israel Football Association (IFA), which includes teams in Israel’s illegal settlements on occupied Palestinian land.

We invite you to join us in ROUND 3 of Give Puma the Boot including specifically writing to Puma Canada.

To PUMA Canada

Sent by email and registered mail with signature required.

We await Mr. Maguire’s response from letters send in 2019.

So we wrote again on May 1, 2020.

You can also write to Mr. Maguire HERE

May 1, 2020

mark.maguire@puma.com

Mark Maguire

Sr. Vice President Sales & Country Lead

175 Galaxy Blvd, Suite 201
Toronto, Ont, M9W 5R7

Dear Mr. Maguire

As we mentioned in our email and registered letter to you in October 2019, we are still waiting for a response to the email sent to you on June 11, 2019. 

We had appreciated your response to our earlier email, but it left several questions, thus our email back to you on June 11, 2019.  We still would ask for a response to the following:


Are you saying that there is no support of any kind that goes to the Israel Football Association (IFA)?  You mention that support does go to Israeli National Teams.  Which teams are these?  You also mention support to football club Hapoel Beer Sheva.  As well, you mention NO support goes to the Israeli Premier/Japanika League.  We would ask you to clarify and make a definitive statement that NO support has gone to the Israel Football Association.


The Israel Football Association has teams in Israeli settlement in occupied Palestine, which is part of the territory of the Palestinian affiliate.  This is occupied territory under international humanitarian law (the Fourth Geneva Convention).   The international call to PUMA is to withdraw support to the Israeli Football Association until it withdraws teams from these illegally occupied lands. If there has been no support to the Israel Football Association in any form from PUMA including through local distribution partners, we would welcome that news. It is not clear in your message that this is the case, so we would appreciate further information in this regard.  If PUMA is announcing its withdraw of funding from the Israel Football Association through your correspondence would you please make this clear, and also indicate if you will be making a public notification in this regard.

As the coronavirus pandemic spreads, Puma’s already deeply immoral support for Israel’s ever-expanding illegal settlements takes on a more sinister dimension.  Puma’s exclusive licensee in Israel, Delta, was listed in the UN database of complicit settlement companies. The UN considers all Israeli settlements in the occupied territory a war crime.

Puma is the main sponsor of the Israel Football Association (IFA), which includes teams in Israel’s illegal settlements on occupied Palestinian land.

Puma shareholders should also know that supporting Israeli apartheid comes with costs!

A Puma attorney recently admitted to a Palestinian rights supporter that the #BoycottPuma campaign is making their lives “miserable.”

See the letter provided to the CEO of Puma from 200 Palestinian sports teams.  We provide this again to you, and ask you to take leadership to speak to the CEO and other leadership of Puma to insist that Puma to end its sponsorship of the Israel Football Association (IFA) due to its deep complicity in Israel’s violations of international law and Palestinian human rights.

Israel’s settlement enterprise and associated military checkpoints and walls force Palestinian families from their homes, limit access to clean water and impede travel to hospitals and clinics. Puma’s claim of a “devotion to universal equality” could not ring more hollow.

Sincerely,

the Canadian BDS Coalition

bdscoalition@gmail.ca

www.bdscoalition

Check out Canadian BDS Coalition letters to Puma Canada and other actions during

Give Puma the Boot: Round 2

Give Puma the Boot: Round 1

And join in the Global Campaign Round 3

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What to do when you find Medjoul from Israel or without appropriate trusted label. Tell your local store KHALAS.

Contact your local retailer and let them know you insist that they stop carrying Israeli product. How to determine if from Israel check here

Template you can use to send email to your local retailer/store owner in:

English

Arabic

Just copy & paste text from the above links to send email.

This year we know that there is a good supply of fresh 2019 Medjoul harvest from importers/suppliers bringing product from trusted Palestinian sources. Please do your due dilligence to be sure that you do not buy product that comes from the Israeli company Hadiklaim via NBF or other sources, or from any other Israeli provider. All Medjool that are coming from these Israeli companies are from illegal settlements on occupied Palestinian land.

Steps you can take

Read more detail including actual “sightings” of medjoul from Israeli company Hadiklaim

Step 1, check the label, and if it says product of Israel, do NOT buy.

Step 2, check the label and see if it includes a country of origin. The product must have a country of origin but many do NOT. Do NOT buy if it does not have country of origin listed on the package.

There is at least one supplier in Canada, National Best Food/NBF which imports from Hadiklaim, an Israeli company. Who Profits has clearly documented the source of Hadiklaim’s dates as coming from occupied Palestine and Golan. Also, several countries have had victories of cutting ties to Hadiklaim such as South Africa.

Step 3: Print & provide this letter to the owner and/or manager of the store. Indicate the product and concerns in the template, or use letters above to email in English or Arabic.

Step 4: Provide pictures of the product including the labels (all sides of the box, and shelf labels), along with the store name/address and if possible website, to bdscoalition@gmail.com. We will use this information for further follow up with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and/or with the store.

Step 5: Tell your friends and your family what you have found, and make them aware of what to look for in regard both product of Israel (dates, other fresh fruits & vegetables, other products). For more info check out Economic Boycott Resource.

Final Step: look for appropriate alternative ideally from Palestine.

Labels you can trust for Medjoul Dates include:

If you know others please contat bdscoalition@gmail.com so we can update our list.

Lara (their product of Palestine from Al-Rwad, Sadra from Jordan)

Green World (from Al-Rwad),

Heritage (From Al-Rwad)

Al’ard,

Palestine Just Trade (from Al-Rwad),

Jericho Delights (via USA). From Damen’s Farm

Palestine Gardens – Sinokrot Holding

If you see Israeli medjoul product (including those who are mascarading with no country/being sold with a label on shelfsaying Jordan for example) please take action–talk to the store manager/owner, don’t buy the product, ask them to stock Palestinian product from a trusted source, lets your friends and family know to avoid these products and insist that the store buy from a trusted supplier of Palestinian (or Jordanian) product.

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Afraid of BDS, Céline Dion? Serendipitous January cancellation of your Beirut concert due to fear of “situation” six months later in Lebanon

We noticed! But saw nothing on Ms. Dion’s official website or social media! What happened to your scheduled concert for Beirut Ms. Dion?

This obsure article provides the answer.

In January, Ms. Dion, you were afraid of the sitution in Lebanon so you cancelled your July concert!

Seems BDS is a scary thing for someone bound and bent on playing to APARTHEID.

Check out the letter sent in November 2019 by over 50 artitsts to Ms. Dion coordianted by the Canadian BDS Coalition. Even though we did hear back Ms. Dion , maybe your handlers did hear your fellow artists, and decided the situation in Beirut would not look good for you as BDS call mounted on July 31, just before your August 4-5 concerts in Tel Aviv?

Individuals wishing to write to Ms. Dion can do so HERE. Thanks CJPME for this campaign. There are close to 5K signatures.

Artists who wish to join in adding their name to the call to Ms. Dion can continue do so HERE.

Beyond the November call from fellow artists, Ms. Dion heard direclty from Palestinian artists and form Israeli citizens.

In February 2020 50 Palestinian artists told Celine Dion to not play in Tel Aiv.

Message from Boycott! Supporting the Palestinian BDS Call from Within (aka Boycott from Within) in March 2020.

The Canadian BDS Coalition call to Canadian artist Céline Dion

Céline, the Canadian BDS Coalition would welcome your response, which we would be pleased to convey to your fellow artists. We would also welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss the situation in Palestine and the art washing under Brand Israel. We expect more artists will join in the call. We also understand you have received a letter from Palestinian artists directly. Read more HERE

The Beruit concert would have seen BDS actions mounting as Ms. Dion prepared to play her APARTHEID concert.

Why did you not choose to share info on your own official site Ms. Dion?

Of course your current North American concerts are cancelled, or as you say “going to be rescheduled.” One would expect you would also be cancelling your European concerts shortly given situation with Covid-19.

We did notice that you quietly backed out of Beirut.

A signal that you were afraid of the mounting BDS call for you to cancel your Tel Aviv aparthied concerts scheduled for several days later! Seems you left it to venue to announce, rather than you making your own statement!

Was also reported by Arab News.

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Ramadan 2020: Be sure you know where your Medjoul dates are from!

This year we know that there is a good supply of fresh 2019 Medjoul harvest from importers/suppliers bringing product from trusted Palestinian sources. Please do your due dilligence to be sure that you do not buy product that comes from the Israeli company Hadiklaim via NBF or other sources, or from any other Israeli provider. All Medjoul that are coming from these Israeli companies are from illegal settlements on occupied Palestinian land.

What you need to consider.

Step 1, check the label, and if it says product of Israel, do NOT buy.


Fruit and vegetables are one of Israel’s biggest exports and all Israeli agricultural exporters are complicit in Israel’s violations of international law as they operate on stolen Palestinian land.

In case of Medjoul the products are from the Jordan Valley in occupied Palestine, and therefore from an illegal settlement on stolen land. These are not from Israel, these are from illegal settlements.

Step 2, check the label and see if it includes a country of origin. The product must have a country of origin but many do NOT. Do NOT buy if it does not have country of origin listed on the package.

There is at least one supplier in Canada, National Best Food/NBF which imports from Hadiklaim, an Israeli company. Who Profits has clearly documented the source of Hadiklaim’s dates as coming from occupied Palestine and Golan. Also, several countries have had victories of cutting ties to Hadiklaim such as South Africa.

Some products from NBF do say “Product of Israel” but others especially in stores where Arabs and/or Muslims shop have NO country of origin listed. The product simply says “imported by NFB.”

This seems to be illegal under Canadian legislation and regulations, and this was reported to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) during Ramadan in 2019. The CFIA has launched investigation in summer 2019, but had not reported back on the complaint at time of posting.

In many cases these NBF products also do not include the other mandatory labeling information such as a “nutrition fact table” or health & nutrition information, and also don’t include mandatory information in both bilingual languages. This was included in the complaints made to the CFIA.

In several cases product was found to have “Product of Jordan” on the shelf, but the boxes the bulk product was coming from was labeled NBF with no indication of country. When asked verification was not provided, and no indication that there is any organization from Jordan providing this product. Again this was reported to the CFIA.

Step 3: Print & provide this letter to the owner and/or manager of the store. Indicate the product and concerns in the template.

Or currently with Covid-19, you may wish to send email:

Template you can use to send email:

English

Arabic

Just copy & paste text from the above links to send email.

Step 4: provide pictures of the product including the labels (all sides of the box, and shelf labels), along with the store name/address and if possible website, to bdscoalition@gmail.com. We will use this information for further follow up with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and/or with the store.

Step 5: tell your friends and your family what you have found, and make them aware of what to look for in regard both product of Israel (dates, other fresh fruits & vegetables, other products). For more info check out Economic Boycott Resource.

Final Step: look for appropriate alternative ideally from Palestine. Labels you can trust are

Lara (their product of Palestine from Al-Rwad, also Sedra Dates – Sedrat Al Montaha Dates Trading Co. from Jordan)

Green World (from Al-Rwad),

Heritage (From Al-Rwad)

Al’ard,

Palestine Just Trade (from Al-Rwad),

Jericho Delights (via USA). 

Palestine Gardens – Sinokrot Holding

If a Medjoul product not from a trusted Palestine source, then verify that it is indeed from Jordan or the USA, or another trusted location. If you are not sure, please contact us at bdscoalition@gmail.com

Product you should avoid as they are packaged by Hadiklaim include:

BOMAJA BLUE

GOLDEN VALLEY

JORDAN RIVER

LA PALMA

KING SOLOMON

These are some products that have been seen in 2019 an 2020 including at Raba Markets (Missisauga and Toronto locations) , Al-Quds Market (Mississauga), Arz Fine Food (1909 Lawrence Ave E, Scarborough), and  Kabul Farms (230 Parliament St, Toronto)

Sold by National Best Food. Seen labelled as “Product of Israel”
Jordan River from National Best Foods. Sold without country of Origin. No it is not from Jordan. It is from the occupied Palestinian Jordan valley, from Israeli settlement via Hadiklaim.
More Jordan River from National Best Foods without country of origin. Don’t be fooled into thinking it is from Jordan. These are from Isreali settlement via Hadiklaim,
Golden Valley from National Best Food/NBF. No country of origin Packaged by Hadiklaim.
Sold in 5 KG and bulk. Store owners/managers report having been told it is from Jordan & thus, label from Jordan on their shelf. No country of origin. From NBF. Don’t be fooled into thinking this is from Jordan–ask for specifics about grower & exporter if you are told from Jordan.
Golden Valley Medjoul Dates (SEMI-DRY)
Golden Valley from Hadiklaim via NBF. No country of origin indicated in a number of cases. Sometimes have label saying “Product of Israel.” These do have bilingual info.
Image result for costco dates medjool israel
Medjoul “Product of Israel” label from Costco
Ameri Premium Dates by National Best Foods, no country of origin
Oriental dates, no country of origin
National Best Food, Golden Valley, no country of origin
Imported by National Best Foods. La Palma is brand of Hadiklaim in Israel. No country of origin.
Imported by National Best Foods. La Palma is brand of Hadiklaim in Israel. No country of origin.

We have written to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) on May 7, 2019 asking CFIA to look into several concerns.

Concerns Raised with Canadian Food Inspection Agency:

Country of Origin

Our understanding of the requirement for fresh fruits and vegetables, which would include dates is that “Product of [Name the country of origin]” needs to be included. 

We take this information from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) website;

The country of origin represents the country in which the fresh fruits or vegetables were grown. The country of origin must be shown on the principal display panel (definition) of imported prepackaged fresh fruits or vegetables and in close proximity to the declaration of net quantity or the grade name. The country of origin declaration must be shown in boldface type in the same size characters as those prescribed for the grade name [269(1), 270(1), 271, SFCR].

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/food/requirements/labelling/industry/fresh-fruits-and-vegetables

What we have seen includes: i) indicating from Israel when in fact from settlements in occupied Palestine; ii) no country of origin;  iii) indication on shelf that is from Jordan based on verbal but not verified information; iv) possibly other countries being listed on product.

Nutrition Labeling, Nutrition & Health Claims

We understand that specific requirements in regard to Nutrition labeling including the Nutrition Fact Table are required, with serving sizes and daily intake. 

What we noticed was that in many cases under various brands this information was completely missing.  The one exception seemed to be the Organic brand.

Bilingual Requirements

Our understanding is that the CFIA requirements are than mandatory information including country origin, sizes, business name, nutritional information, nutrition and health claims, and best before dates need to be included in both English and French.

What we noticed is this information is missing on essentially all the products observed.

Request to Canadian Food Inspection made indicating we would appreciate your attention to as quickly as possible addressing this, especially since Ramadan 2019 is underway, and people are purchasing dates for breaking fast/Iftar and Eid.

See letter sent to Canadian Food Inspection Agency

The letter was sent by registered mail as well as email to CFIA. A follow up letter was been sent by email on May 27, 2019, asking for information on when we would expect to receive a response. We were told it was referred to VP of Operation at CFIA. A follow up on August 4, resulted in another letter from Mithani Siddika, the President of CFIA, indicating that the Toronto Regional Office has launched an investigation. The Toronto Region confirmed this on the phone, but to date has not provided any feedback. In March 2020, President Siddika has been asked for an update on the complaint.

RESPONSE from CFIA: in April 2020, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has responded that it has worked with NBF to address labeling issues, however also indicated that Medjoul are considered “dried” and so do not need a country of origin. We have asked for clarification as Medjoul Dates (or other dates) would not normally be considered dried. We do note that Hadiklaim now is indicating on their website that Medjoul are semi-dried. We are seeking clarifcation

Letters were sent in 2019 to several stores in GTA that were carrying NFB or other products that are from Israeli settlements,, and in many cases were missing accurate labeling required under Canadian law. This included letter to Arz in Scarborough, Rabba Foods and Al Quds Market in Mississauga. NO responses were received.

If you see Israeli medjoul product (including those who are mascarading with no country or being sold as from Jordan for example) in these or other stores this Ramadan please take action–talk to the store manager/owner, don’t buy the product, ask them to stock Palestinian product from a trusted source, lets your friends and family know to avoid these products and insist that the store buy from a trusted supplier of Palestinian product.

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Canadian BDS Coalition submission to the United Church of Canada Taskforce on Palestine

Canadian BDS Coalition

…working together to promote justice for Palestinians.

www.bdscoalition.ca

bdscoalition@gmail.com

March 15, 2020

Dear Rev Dr Martha Ter Kuile and Task Force members:

We in the Canadian BDS Coalition were pleased to learn that the United Church of Canada is reviewing the appropriateness of your existing policy, UCC Policy on Palestine and Israel as of 2019, specifically the three points: support for Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state; use of apartheid to describe Israeli actions and policies in Occupied Palestine; and altering your position on BDS. 

We appreciate the opportunity to address each of these points and we hope that our input will be helpful to your task force as you update your policy to be responsive to the injustice and oppression waged against the Palestinian people..

The Canadian BDS Coalition is an intersectional community of groups in Canada that support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. We are Christians, Jews, Muslims, Secular Humanists, Universalists, a plurality of people of professed faith and of none, but with a common commitment to justice and peace in Palestine and Israel based in the universal values of treating others the way we wish to be treated, loving our neighbours as ourselves and doing justice where there is injustice, standing in solidarity with the oppressed, giving voice to the voiceless, and taking actions that give practical expression to those values.

The Canadian BDS Coalition is comprised of civil society groups that formed in answer to the 2005 call of Palestinian civil society to the world for BDS. BDS is a time-honoured means of peaceful resistance against odious systems of settler-colonialism, occupation, and apartheid, that history has taught us is effective in bringing down unjust systems. Our cause is the cause of the Palestinian people who have suffered under systemic oppression, ethnic cleansing, dispossession, forced population transfers, and denial of basic human rights for more than 70 years under Israeli aggression.

It is in this capacity that we wish to be included in your consultation.

The 2017 Palestinian Christian Call

The Canadian BDS Coalition understands your review was prompted by the call made from the Palestinian Christian community in June 2017 as part of the “50 Years of Occupation” call to the World Council of Churches and Christians around the world.  In particular, the National Coalition of Christian Organizations in Palestine issued an open letter to the World Council of Churches (WCC) in June 2017. The June 2017 call spoke of the urgent situation of the people in Palestine saying, “this could be our last chance to achieve a just peace.” 

We have read the

open letter from The National Coalition of Christian Organizations in Palestine (NCCOP) to the World Council of Churches and the ecumenical movement.

The 2018 Call to Canadian Christian Community

In November 2018, realizing that there had been silence from the Canadian Christian community the Canadian BDS Coalition supported  a call for the Canadian Christian community to take immediate and decisive action in response the 2017 letter from the Christian Palestinian community.

This call was to the Canadian Council of Churches, Canadian Christian denominations, congregations and organizations asking them to implement the items identified by their Christian partners in Palestine in the June 2017 letter.  Specifically:

  • recognize Israel as an apartheid state;
  • condemn the Balfour declaration as unjust; 
  • take a clear theological stand against any theology or Christian group that justifies the occupation and privileges one nation over the other based on ethnicity or a covenant;
  • revisit and challenge religious dialogue partners; 
  • defend the right of Palestinian Christians to resist the occupation creatively and nonviolently; support BDS.
  • publicly and legally challenge Christian organizations that discredit our work and  legitimacy
  • lobby, advocate and develop active programs towards justice and peace for the people of Palestine

The Canadian BDS Coalition asks you to consider these points in the work of your Task Force.

Acting on the Call of Palestinian Christians

The Canadian BDS Coalition would hope that your Task Force recommendations will align with the requests from your partners in Palestine through their 2017 Call.  This is the bare minimum required to support human rights and international law.

The Canadian BDS Coalition also hopes your Task Force is considering the Kairos document from 2009. in your deliberation.  The Canadian BDS Coalition supports fully the calls from the Palestinian Christian community through the Kairos 2009 document as well as the 2017 call to the World Council of Churches. We would urge your Task Force to also recommend this support to the United Church leadership.

Transparency regarding the United Church of Canada Agreements with B’nai Brith and other zionist groups

As part of your policy reconsideration it would also seem imperative that you recommend the end of the agreement from May 1973 with B’nai Brith and the United Church of Canada, and also the end of any formal or implied subsequent agreements with other groups such as the former Canadian Jewish Congress.  These should be publicly declared as no longer being operative by the United Church leadership.  This is important in order to prevent the fear that is faced by those within and outside church; this includes those who are shut down and silenced as Palestinians and allies. One recent example was the Palestinian Youth Movement event being cancelled by Trinity St. Paul church in the summer of 2019.

Response to the Three Points Raised by Your Task Force

We particularly think it is important for you to reconsider your position on the three issues raised, namely the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, the use of the term apartheid, and the attitude towards BDS.

1.       Israel as a Jewish State

People not states have the right to exist. According to the Israeli group Adalah there are over 70  pieces of legislation confirming such discrimination against non-Jewish citizens of Israel.  The Nation-State which is Israeli Basic Law (openly proclaims not only that Israel is a Jewish state, and the state of all Jewish people, but that it is specifically NOT the state of all its citizens, and that ONLY the jewish people have the right of self-determination in the state of Israel.  Non Jewish Palestinians today constitute half of the people living under Israel’s rule. Over 20% of its own citizens are Palestinians. For the United Church of Canada to continue to take a stance recognizing the state as Jewish would be shameful, and is discriminatory towards Palestinians.

2.       Use of the term apartheid  

We expect you have heard from others that “Apartheid” is now a well-defined legal concept that refers to a system of practices in a legally and legislatively sanctioned system, under which one group has policies and practices of segregation, separation  and discrimination for the purpose of establishing or maintaining domination of one group against another and such policies include legislative measures designed to divide the population by the creation of separate reserves and ghettos for the members of one racial group or groups . 

This crime as you may know is prohibited under Protocol 1 of the Geneva Convention of 1977, and is designated as a crime under Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.  It is also prohibited under the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of apartheid adopted by the UN in 1973.

The three elements for such a crime include:  

a.       creating a regime for the domination by one group over another group,   

b.       by the creation of a separate and unequal system of governance to the detriment of the victim group and its members, and  

c.       committing various violations of the rights of the victim group including enslavement, forced transfer of the population, deportation, torture , persecution and other violations against any identifiable group based on political, national , ethnic cultural or gender grounds.

In the West Bank of Palestine today two distinct groups of civilians exist under the rule and control of Israel:  the indigenous Palestinian population and the Jewish settlers. Apart from the blatant illegality of these Jewish settlements under international law, and the fact that these settlements are largely established on lands stolen from the Palestinians, the system of governance in the West Bank of the oPt itself clearly fits the legal definition of apartheid. If anything approaches a system of injustice creating suffering, it is this apartheid system in the West Bank. As indicated in point 1 above, the Nation State Basic law along with the 70+ laws that discriminate against non-Jewish Israeli citizens are clearly apartheid at work. 

To call it by its proper name is the least that the United Church of Canada can do. The insistence of the United Church of Canada over the years to say that using “apartheid” is not helpful speaks of the zionist influences within and on the United Church of Canada, and leaves the  United Church of Canada badly out of step with international law and human rights. We surely hope you are not saying “apartheid” cannot be used as an excuse to avoid speaking truth, just because the powerful would find it objectionable! 

3.         Boycotts, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS).  

We understand the United Church of Canada has indicated it accepts the principles behind BDS as proper nonviolent tactics for addressing and combating the systemic injustices involved in the Israeli occupation and as legitimate tools for influencing Israeli policies.  Thus, the United Church of Canada’s objections against BDS seem very misguided. 

For the United Church of Canada further suggests that the BDS “as a whole involves too broad a spectrum of participants with significantly varied and sometimes unacceptable goals” is to misrepresent the historic nonviolent tactics of boycott, divestment and sanctions.  

The essence of BDS is to provide an alternative nonviolent method pressuring Israel which has so far successfully defied international law. It also provides churches and others a means of promoting their values of freedom, equality and justice. BDS allows citizens and institutions to take action through boycotts and divestment when their own governments fail to pressure Israel into ending its occupation policies, providing equality to all citizens, and to upholding the universal right of return of refugees.  

Boycotts and divestment have been used against other countries, and their rulers have also had to face sanctions over human rights violations.  Israel should not be exempt from such pressures and consequences. 

In Canada at any time there are at least 20 countries being sanctioned under the United Nations Act and the Emergency Economic Measures Act. In this sense, Israel is not unfairly singled out, but rather, Israel is being unfairly exempted from the universal requirements we impose on other countries.   

It would be  a shame if the United Church of Canada does not take a clear call, now over a decade after the 2009 Kairos call from Palestinian partners, to show this clear leadership including support for boycott, divestment and sanctions related to end of occupation, ensure equal rights and release the right of return.  

The Canadian BDS Coalitions calls on your Task Force to seriously consider why NO action has been undertaken to the motion at your General Council 40 in 2012, and subsequently at General Council 41 in 2015, to implement the divestment call approved by the United Church of Canada grassroots, and to make clear recommendations to support the grassroots movement within the church in support of the full BDS call made by Palestinian civil society in 2005.

We would be available to discuss in further detail, and do urge the United Church of Canada to take the courageous leadership it is known for on many issues, and stand with the call made by the Palestinian Christian community for full support of BDS and a clear naming of the Israeli settler-colonization and apartheid regime.

Sincerely,

The Canadian BDS Coalition

Cc:

The Right Reverend Dr. Richard Bott, Moderator, United Church of Canada

Nora Sanders, General Secretary, United Church of Canada;

Reverend Michael Blair, Executive Minister, Church in Mission, United Church of Canada; Member of Task Force

Rev. Brenna Baker, Member of Task Force

Right Rev. Jordan Cantwell, Member of Task Force

Rev. Jim Cairney, Member of Task Force

Wendy Gichuru, Program Coordinator, Africa and Middle East Partnership Program, United Church of Canada

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From Israeli citizens to Celine Dion – please cancel your performance in Tel Aviv

Message from Boycott! Supporting the Palestinian BDS Call from Within (aka Boycott from Within). Also see below.

Check out the letter sent in November 2019 by over 50 artitsts to Celine Dion coordianted by the Canadian BDS Coalition.

Artists who wish to join in adding their name can do so HERE.

Individuals wishing to write to Ms. Dion can do so HERE. Thanks CJPME for this campaign.

In February 2020 50 Palestinian artists told Celine Dion to not play in Tel Aiv.

March 2020 from “Boycott from Within”

Dear Céline Dion


We are Israeli citizens, active against Israel’s policies of racism, occupation, and apartheid. We find it most unfortunate that you are scheduled to perform in Israel, at HaYarkon Park in Tel Aviv. Any performance in Israel and in Tel Aviv at this time amounts to a political statement, and this statement would be in favour of Israel’s racist apartheid policies. We would therefore ask you to reconsider your decision, and postpone your concert here to a time when justice and equality in human rights prevail.

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs intends to use your concert to market Israel as a ‘cool hip’ place, in order to whitewash the crimes committed by Israel on a daily basis, just 45 minutes from Tel Aviv, in the West Bank, and in the Gaza strip. In the West Bank, Israel is violently repressing millions of people to perpetuate its illegal sprawling settlement enterprise. The Gaza strip is the world’s largest open-air prison, where more than two million people live under siege and bombardment, with inadequate, toxic water supplies and a lack of electricity.


In fact, even the chosen venue for your concert is tainted with the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people. As noted recently by a group of Palestinian artists:  

“HaYarkon Park itself is built on the ruins of the ethnically-cleansed Palestinian village of Jarisha, whose indigenous inhabitants were forcibly expelled in 1948 and never allowed to exercise their UN-stipulated right of return by Israel’s apartheid laws.”


At this time, the moral choice is clear. On the one hand, one could boost the Israeli government, the Trump Administration, and the global far-right, who support Israel’s Islamophobia, war crimes, and violations of international law. On the other hand, one could stand with the Palestinian people, with human rights groups all over the world, and with several international institutions which are trying to uphold basic human rights in our region.


Just like the times of struggle to end apartheid in South Africa, prominent international artists will go down in history for good or bad, based on the decision whether to play in a hub of racism and apartheid. Our Palestinian colleagues have also cite Nelson Mandela’s statement that “Palestine is the greatest moral issue of our time”. We believe this statement is still valid. 

By cancelling your performance in Tel Aviv, you can help not only the Palestinian people to make progress in their struggle for freedom and equality, but also help oppressed people all over the world, looking for a source of inspiration and encouragement, in a global struggle for justice, dignity and equality!


We would gladly address any questions or comments you may have.

Signed,

Boycott! Supporting the Palestinian BDS Call from Within

(aka Boycott from Within)

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Canadian BDS Coalition call to speak out against Trump’s plan of impunity for Israeli war crimes

March 8 2020

The Trump plan for Palestine explicitly gives a further green light to continued Israeli war crimes and settler colonization.  Trump devised  this plan with Israel with one aim–to further cement Israeli apartheid rule over Palestinians.  The Canadian BDS Coalition calls on people across the country to speak out against the recent Trump plan for Palestine.  It is no deal of the century, it is the steal of century at best.

The Canadian BDS Coalition supports the BDS National Committee (BNC) when it says this plan “ is the final nail in the coffin of the moribund ‘peace process’, making #BDS the most effective response.” 

The Canadian BDS Coalition calls for ending international complicity through measures of accountability.  This include bringing Israeli officials to trial at the ICC.  

The Canadian BDS Coalition calls Canada to hold Israel accountable through the grassroots driven movement for Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS).  For the Canadian government or others to condemn BDS is to show complicity with war crimes, and blantant disregard for Canada’s own domestic law as well as accountability under international law.

The Canadian BDS Coalition calls on the Canadian government  to show accountability through both international and domestic law. Specifically:

Domestic Law: Canadian sanctions laws implement United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions regimes under the United Nations Act, as well as Canadian autonomous sanctions regimes under the Special Economic Measures Act. Under the Special Economic Measures Act, sanctions are required when gross and systematic human rights violations have been committed in a foreign state.  This so so-called “deal of the century” provides a signal for impunity to the continued war crimes and human rights violations against the Palestinian people, and so the Canadian BDS Coalition calls on the Canadian government to put economic sanctions and an military embargo to hold Israel accountable for its systemic human right violations.  

International Law: Under Article 1 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, all high signatories in which Canada is one are required to take actions to ensure that violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention do not occur under any circumstance.  Thus, the Canadian BDS Coalition calls for Canada to make a clear statement in regard to its accountability under Article 1 related to the the war crimes committee by Israel  The Coalition calls on the government of Canada to what ever is required including putting in place the provisions under the Special Economic Measures Act in this regard, including sanctions and military embargo until at least illegal settlements are removed from occupied Palestine and the Syrian Golan, and until the apartheid Nation Law   and other racist Basic Law is revoked, and until the right of return is realized.

The Canadian BDS Coalition calls on civil society to stand against this impunity to the continued war crimes and human rights violations against the Palestinian people.   Thus, the Canadian BDS Coalition calls on all people of conscience and the international community at large to respond to these plans by intensifying campaigns for Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions.  This includes a clear call to the Canadian government that sanctions be put in place as required under our own domestic law and our international law accountability related to the gross systemic human rights and international law violations by the Israeli government.

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Solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en nation and land defenders

February 28, 2020

The Canadian BDS Coalition expresses our total solidarity with indigenous rights and land defenders. we stand in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en nation and land defenders at the Unist’ot’en Camp and Gidimt’en and across Turtle Island who continue to resist Canada’s colonial incursions of their unceded territories. 

Wet'suwet'en

We denounce the Canadian governments for their colonial violence and their callous disregard of indigenous rights. We understand the struggles of the indigenous people of this land and the indigenous people of Palestine have always been against the supremacist settler colonialist mentality, that has at its roots lack of respect for indigenous rights and dignity. 

We also honour the brave resistance of our indigenous sisters and brothers all through their history and know that they believe, as we do, in defending their land to their last breath. We are deeply grateful for the Wet’suwet’en people for their indomitable spirit, and their tireless defence of the land and water resources. 

The Canadian BDS Coalition stands firmly with the indigenous people on Turtle Island in your struggle for your land and ancestral rights.  We stand united with you in the struggle against settler colonialism, racism, corporate criminality and your inalienable rights for justice and self-determination.

We  join with the BDS National Committee in their statement of solidarity Palestinians stand in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en nation

February 29, 2020

The Canadian BDS Coalition  in expressing its solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en people, led by their hereditary chiefs, standing up for sovereignty, includes opposition to pipeline construction across their unceded, ancestral lands.  As proponents of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, we stand with Indigenous people who are asserting their rights, and fighting to end occupation and neo-colonial rule, including by blocking railway lines, highways, bridges and major ports.  

For that reason, among others. our Coalition opposes the Canadian government’s bid to obtain a seat for the Canadian state on the United Nations Security Council.  

In addition, we celebrate the withdrawal of Teck Frontier’s proposal for a huge tar sands project in Alberta — at least in part due to the impact of mass protests across the Canadian state in solidarity with Indigenous people and against imminent climate catastrophe. 

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Courage Céline, Fellow Artists ask you to say NO to Apartheid

The following message has been send to Céline Dion today from almost 50 fellow artists to Céline Dion on International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

Céline , the Canadian BDS Coalition would welcome your response, which we would be pleased to convey to your fellow artists. We would also welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss the situation in Palestine and the art washing under Brand Israel. We expect more artists will join in the call. We also understand you have received a letter from Palestinian artists directly

Artists who wish to join in adding their name can do so HERE.

Individuals wishing to write to Ms. Dion can do so HERE. Thanks CJPME for this campaign. Almost 5,000 letters sent!

February 17, 2020: 50 Palestinian artists tell Celine Dion to not play in Tel Aiv.

November 29, 2019

Dear Céline,   

As fellow artists we rejoice in your “Courage” world tour you have undertaken.   However, there is a country on the tour whose actions undermine the values we as fellow artists espouse very deeply. We are dismayed that you have chosen to schedule performances in Israel, a state that practices apartheid.

We write to ask you to cancel your August 2020 concert performances in Israel.

In 2018, Israel proclaimed the Nation State Law to officially enshrine ethnic/racial  discrimination in Israel’s Basic Law — the state’s constitutional equivalent. The legislation stipulates that “Israel is the historic homeland of the Jewish people and they have an exclusive right to national self-determination in it.”  It also establishes Hebrew as Israel’s official language, and downgrades Arabic — a language widely spoken by Arab Israelis — to a “special status.” It also enshrines that “Jewish settlement as a national value” and mandates that the state “will labor to encourage and promote its establishment and development.”  In addition, there are over 60 additional laws that discriminate directly or indirectly against Palestinian citizens in Israel and/or Palestinian residents of the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) on the basis of their national belonging.  

On October 23, 2019, Michael Lynk, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for the OPT told the United Nations General Assembly that decisive international action was needed, and the “international community has a responsibility and legal obligation to compel Israel to end its 52 year-long “occu-annexation” of Palestinian territory and to remove barriers preventing Palestinian self-determination.”  We call on you to join fellow Canadian, Michael Lynk, in leading the way showing this decisive international leadership against Israeli settler-colonialism and war crimes.

When international artists perform in Israel, they help to create the false impression that Israel is a “normal” country like any other. This is the call from Palestinian writers, artists and cultural centers. There is a growing number of anti-colonial Israelis and people worldwide who support the Palestinian civil society BDS call including the cultural boycott of Israel.  We are glad to be part of this support and urge you to join by cancelling your concerts in Israel.

Celine, you have been sensitive to social causes in the past and so we urge you to show real courage and say “no” to performing in Israel, a state that is practicing apartheid, ongoing illegal settler-colonialization and war crimes.

We wish you every success in this world tour and trust that you will not allow it to be used by Israel to “artist-wash” its brutality and crimes against entire populations.

Sincerely,

Roger Waters, musician

Bashar Murad, Palestinian Musican Artist & Video Director

Adnan Joubran, Palestinian Musican

Trio Joubran, Palestinian Musicians

Abby Martin, Creator of The Empire Files

Mohammad Ali, @Socialist Hip Hop, Toronto

Juan D. Toledo, Toronto based Chilean Flamenco Guitarist/Composer

Danielle Ravitzki, singer & composer, New York and France

Joe Mcgill, Visual Artist and Poet, Helsinki Finland

Rehab Nazzal, Palestinian-born multidisciplinary artist 

Andrew Fellus, Artists Against Apartheid, NYC Chapter

Richard Fung,  video artist, Toronto

Huda Salha, visual artist-  interdisciplinary, Toronto (Palestinian-Canadian)

Thurston Moore, founder of Sonic Youth

David Peters, The Overpass

Cathy Gulkin, filmmaker

Rifat Audeh, film maker, Director – The Truth: Lost at Sea film 

Sarah Abu-Sharar, Storyteller & Expressive art therapist, Canada

Alisa Gayle-Deutsch, pianist, Canada

Jessie Stein, musician, member of the group The Luyas

William Shookhoff, vocal coach, pianist, conductor, Canada

John King, composer/guitarist, NYC, US

Kathy Wazana, Documentary Filmmaker

Dr. Joel E. Rubin, musician and ethnomusicologist, US and Switzerland

Raymond Deane, composer and author, Ireland.

Dónal Lunny – Musician, Ireland

Cora Venus Lunny – musician, Ireland

Honor Heffernan – Singer/Songwriter, actor, Ireland

Trevor Knight, Composer, musician, Ireland

Cecily Brennan, visual artist, Ireland

Aviad Albert, musician, Israeli citizen

Meiron Egger, musician, Israel citizen

Guy Elhanan, theatre artist, Israeli citizen

Anat Even, filmmaker, Israeli citizen

Jonathan Ofir, violinist and conductor, Israeli citizen

Michal Sapir, musician and writer, Tel Aviv

Itamar Shapira, Flamenco guitar, Israeli citizen

Yonatan Shapira, musician, Israeli citizen

Nirit Sommerfeld, singer, actress, author, Israeli citizen

Lia Tarachansky, journalist, filmmaker, Naretiv Productions, Israeli citizen    

Eyal Vexler, cultural producer, Israeli citizen

Mary Ellen Davis, cinéaste, enseignante, programmatrice (Montréal)

Rachida Lamrabet, lawyer and author

Reem Kelani,Palestinian singer, musician and broadcaster

Chris Somes-Charlton, artist manager

Wally Brooker – musician, journalist, Toronto

Avi Hershkovitz, filmmaker. Israeli citizen

Eyal Sivan, filmmaker, Israeli citizen

Hamutal Veronica Song, author and cultural researcher, Israeli citizen

Karen Zack, photographer, Isreaeli citizen

Zaina Arekat, musician, Bahrain

A Blue Pail, Musician, Ottawa

Stephen Kerr Fine Art Painter, Hamilton, Ontario

Susana Khalil Activista, investigadora y articulista. Latino-árabe Venezuela-Palestina

Hundred Year Old Man , Leeds post-metal, Leeds UK

Johnny Gagnon, A Blue Pail, Canada

Francis Collins, folksinger, San Francisco

 

29 novembre 2019

Chère Céline,

En tant que collègues artistes, nous nous réjouissons de votre tournée mondiale « Courage » que vous avez entreprise. Cependant, il y a un pays de votre tournée dont les actions portent atteinte aux valeurs que nous partageons très profondément. Nous sommes consternés que vous ayez choisi d’organiser des représentations en Israël, un État qui pratique l’apartheid.

Nous vous écrivons pour vous demander d’annuler vos concerts en août 2020 en Israël.

En 2018, Israël a proclamé la Nation State Law qui consacre officiellement la discrimination ethnique / raciale dans la loi fondamentale israélienne – l’équivalente d’une loi constitutionnelle. La législation stipule que « Israël est la patrie historique du peuple juif et qu’il jouit du droit exclusif à l’autodétermination nationale ». Cette loi établit également l’hébreu comme langue officielle d’Israël et abaisse l’arabe – une langue largement parlée par les Arabes israéliens à un « statut spécial ». Elle stipule également que « l’établissement des colonies juives est une valeur nationale » et stipule que l’État « travaillera à encourager et à promouvoir l’établissement et le développement des colonies ». En outre, plus de 60 lois supplémentaires discriminent directement ou indirectement  les citoyens palestiniens en Israël et/ou des résidents palestiniens du Territoire palestinien occupé (TPO) en raison de leur appartenance nationale.

Le 23 octobre 2019, Michael Lynk, rapporteur spécial des Nations Unies pour les TPO, a déclaré à l’Assemblée générale des Nations Unies qu’une action internationale décisive était nécessaire et que « la communauté internationale a la responsabilité et l’obligation légale de contraindre Israël à mettre fin à ses 52 ans de « occu-annexion » du territoire palestinien et à éliminer les obstacles empêchant l’autodétermination des Palestiniens. Nous vous invitons à suivre votre compatriote canadien, Michael Lynk, et vous joindre à ce leadership international contre le colonialisme et les crimes de guerre israéliens.

Lorsque des artistes internationaux se produisent en Israël, ils contribuent à créer la fausse impression qu’Israël est un pays « normal » comme les autres. Ceci constitue un appel lancé par des écrivains, des artistes et des centres culturels palestiniens. Un nombre croissant d’Israéliens anticoloniaux et de personnes dans le monde entier soutiennent l’appel de la société civile palestinienne lancé par le BDS, notamment le boycottage culturel d’Israël. Nous sommes heureux de faire partie de ce soutien et vous prions instamment de le faire en annulant vos concerts en Israël.

Céline, vous avez été sensible aux causes sociales dans le passé et nous vous demandons donc de faire preuve d’un véritable courage et de dire « non » aux représentations en Israël, un État pratiquant l’apartheid, la colonisation illégale et les crimes de guerre en cours.

Nous vous souhaitons beaucoup de succès dans cette tournée mondiale et espérons que vous ne permettrez pas qu’Israël se serve de vous comme « artist-wash » ou pour camoufler sa brutalité et ses crimes contre des populations entières.

Cordialement,

Roger Waters ,musicien

Bashar Murad, artiste musicien palestinien et Réalisateur de vidéo

Adnan Joubran, musicien palestinien 

Trio Joubran, musiciens palestiniens 

Abby Martin, Créatrice de The Empire Files 

Mohammad Ali, @socialiste Hip Hop, Toronto 

Juan D. Toledo, guitariste / compositeur de flamenco chilien basé à Toronto 

Danielle Ravitzki, chanteuse et compositrice, New York et la France 

Joe Mcgill, artiste plasticien et poète, Helsinki, Finlande 

Rehab Nazzal, artiste multidisciplinaire née en Palestine 

Andrew Fellus, Artistes contre l’apartheid, Chapitre de New York 

Richard Fung, artiste vidéo, Toronto 

Huda Salha, artiste plasticienne – interdisciplinaire, Toronto (Palestinienne-Canadienne) 

Samah Sabawi, dramaturge, auteur et poète 

Thurston Moore, fondateur de Sonic Youth 

David Peters, Le passage supérieur 

Cathy Gulkin, cinéaste 

Rifat Audeh, cinéaste, réalisateur – The Truth: Lost at Sea film  

Sarah Abu-Sharar, conteuse et thérapeute d’art expressive 

Alisa Gayle-Deutsch, pianiste 

Jessie Stein, musicienne, membre du groupe The Luyas 

William Shookhoff, coach vocal, pianiste, chef d’orchestre

John King, compositeur / guitariste, New York, États-Unis

Kathy Wazana, réalisatrice de documentaires

Dr. Joel E. Rubin, musicien et ethnomusicologue, États-Unis et Suisse

Raymond Deane, compositeur et auteur, Irlande.

Dónal Lunny – musicien, Irlande

Cora Venus Lunny – musicienne, Irlande

Honour Heffernan – auteur-compositeur-interprète, acteur, Irlande

Trevor Knight, compositeur, musicien, Irlande

Cecily Brennan, art visuel, Irlande

Aviad Albert, musicien, citoyen israélien

Meiron Egger, musicien, citoyen israélien

Guy Elhanan, artiste de théâtre, citoyen israélien

Anat Even, cinéaste, citoyen israélien

Jonathan Ofir, violoniste et chef d’orchestre, citoyen israélien

Michal Sapir, musicien et écrivain, Tel Aviv

Itamar Shapira, guitariste (flamenco), citoyen israélien

Yonatan Shapira, musicien, citoyen israélien

Nirit Sommerfeld, chanteuse, actrice, auteure, citoyenne israélienne

Lia Tarachansky, journaliste, cinéaste, Naretiv Productions

Eyal Vexler, producteur culturel, citoyen israélien

Mary Ellen Davis, cinéaste, enseignante, programmatrice (Montréal)

Rachida Lamrabet, avocat et auteur

Reem Kelani, Chanteur palestinien, musicien et animateur

Chris Somes-Charlton, gestionnaire d’artiste

Wally Brooker -musicien, journaliste, Toronto

Avi Hershkovitz,  cinéaste, citoyen israélien

Eyal Sivan, cinéaste, citoyen israélien

Hamutal Veronica Song, auteur et chercheur culturel, citoyen israélien

Karen Zack, photographe, citoyen israélien

Zaina Arekat, musicienne, Bahrain

A Blue Pail, artiste , Ottawa

Stephen Kerr, Peintre des Beaux-Arts, Hamilton, Ontario

Susana Khalil Activista, investigadora y articulista. Latino-árabe Venezuela-Palestina

Hundred Year Old Man , Leeds post-metal, Leeds UK

Johnny Gagnon, A Blue Pail, Canada

Francis Collins, folksinger, San Francisco












—

					

		
		
	

							
	

				

			Featured post		

				

			
						

				#RaptorsDontGo Campaign Has Been Successful
			

								


				

			

Statement of Canadian BDS Coalition





October 22, 2019





The Canadian BDS Coalition is pleased to announce that the #RaptorsDontGo campaign has been successful. Our campaign was launched in June 2019, immediately following the Raptors victory in the NBA championship; and after team co-owner Larry Tanenbaum received extensive coverage in the Israeli media stating he would bring the team to visit Israel if they won the championship. The Israeli Embassy in Ottawa highlighted the issue, and tweeted the Raptors promising “we’ll call you…to help with the arrangements”.





However, the 2019-20 NBA new season has now begun and there has been no reported public team visit; and continued silence from all of the team owners on this issue.





The campaign from the onset seemed to strike a chord with many people, both in Canada and globally. Although the Israeli lobby has engaged in other sportswashing events, this particular attempt struck many as an incredibly blatant and crude exploitation of a popular victory for an overt political agenda.





#RaptorsDontGo took off on social media and the Coalition would like to thank all of the individuals and groups who helped the campaign become so popular so quickly. Our petition gathered over 6500 signatures, a parallel petition in the U.S., started by CodePink, had over 2700 people sign on, and Jewish Voice for Peace also picked up the campaign on social media.





The Chair of BDS Vancouver, Aiyanas Ormond, stated in an open letter: “Around the world poor and oppressed people have embraced basketball as a sport of the people, and basketball players, many of whom come from poor and struggling backgrounds, have an important history of taking progressive positions and giving back to their communities. From Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Bill Russel’s stand with Mohammed Ali against the draft and the Vietnam War to public and collective statements against police brutality against Black people in America, NBA players have stood on the side of social and racial justice.”





Why exactly the Raptors team never went on the “promised trip” may have been the result of several factors, not the least of which was the quick and overwhelmingly negative response by so many basketball fans. This must surely have been noticed by the team’s owners – Bell 37.5%, Rogers 37.5% and Tanenbaum’s company Kilmer Sports 25%. Although Tanenbaum’s entity may not be impacted by public opinion on this issue, Bell and Rogers certainly are and have their broader business agenda to consider.  Also, the protests that happened in Israel after the police shooting of an Ethiopian teenager on June 30, 2019, some referencing slogans of the Black Lives Matter movement, would have been a politically damaging backdrop for such a team visit.





The Canadian BDS Coalition is grateful that this visit did not materialize, as it would have given legitimacy to Israel’s war crimes. We feel the #RaptorsDontGo campaign also demonstrated the strength of popular grassroots campaigns that can mobilize to achieve justice for Palestinians. As with the Boycott Puma campaign, that calls out that company’s sponsorship of the Israeli Football Association which includes teams from the illegal settlements, the push-back on sportswashing of Israel’s dispossession of a whole nation and people is a critical part of the struggle for Palestinian rights.





Check out articles





 Activists declare victory in #RaptorsDontGo campaign in Mondoweiss by Marion Kawas on October 23, 2019





RaptorsDontGo Campaign Announces Victory! in the Palestine Chronicle by Marion Kawas on October 24, 2019

					

		
		
	

							
	

				

			Featured post		

				

			
						

				#BoycottPuma Round Two
			

								


				

			

Join Second Global Day of Action, October 26





October 25, 2019, the Canadian BDS Coalition attempted to deliver this letter to Mark Mcquire the Head of Puma Canada, but the office had moved.  We have emailed the letter, and have found current address, so will arrange for hard copy to be delivered early next week.  See letter HERE.  Contact Mark Mcquire  the Head of Puma Canada at mark.maguire@puma.com  










 Groups around the world are gearing up for the second day of action protesting Puma’s support for Israel’s illegal settlements on stolen Palestinian land. Join them on October 26!   Led by 
Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI)





Across the world, fans of fair play and sports for everyone are joining the call from Palestinian teams and athletes to boycott sportswear manufacturer Puma until it ends support for Israel’s illegal military occupation and denial of Palestinian human rights.





Puma is the main sponsor of the Israel Football Association (IFA), which proudly includes and advocates on behalf of teams in Israeli settlements pushing Palestinian families off their land. Israeli settlements are illegal and constitute a war crime under international law.





Last June, the Canada BDS Coalition joined groups in more than 20 countries joined the first Global #BoycottPuma Day of Action, with protests at Puma shops and offices and at Puma-sponsored teams. On social media, #BoycottPuma was THE most tweeted Puma-related hashtag that day.





We’re back for round two.  





Do you own Puma Sportware?   If so JOIN in the rebrand campaign.  #RebrandPuma Check out details here










The Canadian BDS Coalition has been in touch with Puma Canada HQ during Round 1





Round 1:





Registered Mail 





June 7, 2019  (along with emails)





PUMA Canada





Mark Mcquire





355 Admiral Blvd, Unit 4
Mississauga, ON L5T 2N1  





copies to: Communication Executives, Kerstin Neuber and Rober Bartunek,Berek Communications, and Customer Service.  





Dear Mr. Maquire, PUMA Canada





We write to your as Canadians concerned that Puma sponsors the Israel Football Association (IFA), which includes teams in illegal Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land in violation of international law.
 
Puma’s endorsement of the IFA gives legitimacy to Israel’s illegal settlements pushing Palestinian families off their land.
 
As long as Puma sponsors teams in illegal Israeli settlements, we will respect the call from Palestinian athletes to boycott Puma.  We ask you to do the same.





We ask Puma Canada to recognize that the majority of Canadians are calling for boycotts, divestment and sanctions related to the illegal acts of Israel.  





The 2017 EKOS poll showed 





  • Canadians believe overwhelmingly that sanctions are a reasonable way for Canada to censure countries violating international law and human rights,
  • Given the UN Security Council’s recent condemnation of illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory, a strong majority of Canadians believe that government sanctions on Israel would be reasonable
  • In the context of Israel’s ongoing violations of international law, a very strong majority of Canadians believe that the Palestinians’ call for a boycott of Israel is reasonable, and
  • Far more Canadians oppose than support Parliament’s February, 2016 decision to condemn individuals and groups who promote the Palestinian call for a boycott of Israel.





Surely removing PUMA’s support for IFA  is not only the ethical, moral and legal step to take, but also good for business.  





We expect that people across Canada, along with those around the world will be making this very clear to Puma as we move towards International #BoycottPuma Day of Action, June 15, 2019.





We would be pleased to meet with you and members of your team here in Canada to discuss.





On behalf of the 





Canadian BDS Coalition





(over 30 member groups across Canada)





www.bdscoalition.ca





Response from Puma Canada and Puma International





on June 11, 2019





Dear Sir or Madame,





Thank you for reaching out to PUMA.





PUMA supplies the Israeli National Teams via a local distribution partner to compete in international competitions, and the football club Hapoel Beer Sheva through the end of the 2018/19 season. To claim we have any other official connection or association be it to the Israel Premier League, the Japanika League, or any other Israeli club team is incorrect.





Broadly speaking, PUMA continues to support and outfit athletes from all backgrounds, regardless of race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation and national origin. As a brand concerned only with the power that Sport has to bring people together, PUMA does not support any political direction, political parties or governments. Our devotion to universal equality is aligned with the fundamental principles of our #REFORM platform.






We welcome the opportunity to help everyone compete in sports no matter who they are or where they are from.





Request for clarification from the Canadian BDS Coaliiton





 On Tue, 11 Jun 2019 at 10:21, Canadian BDS Coaltion <bdscoalition@gmail.com> wrote:






Thank you Kristina and Mark for your timely response.






Would you please clarify your response.  Are you saying that there is no support of any kind that goes to the  Israel Football Association (IFA)?  You mention that  support does go to  Israeli National Teams.  Which teams are these?  You also mention support to football club Hapoel Beer Sheva.  As well, you mention NO support goes to the Israeli Premier/Japanika League. .
Would you please clarify and make a definitive statement that NO support has gone to the Israel Football Association.






The Israel Football Association has teams in Israeli settlement in occupied Palestine, which is part of the territory of the Palestinian affiliate.  This is occupied territory under international humanitarian law (the Fourth Geneva Convention).   The international call to PUMA is to  withdraw support to the Israeli Football Association until it withdraws teams from these illegally occupied land. If there has been no support to the Israel Football Association in any form from PUMA including through local distribution partners we would welcome that news. It is not clear in your message that this is the case, so we would appreciate further information in this regard.  If PUMA is announcing its withdraw of funding from the Israel Football Association through your correspondence would you please make this clear, and also indicate if you will be making a public notification in this regard.






See:  https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/01/10/fifa-must-take-strong-stance-against-israeli-settlement-clubs





Round Two:





We have not heard from you!





October 15, 2019 by email





Dear Mr. Maguire






We did not hear back from you with clarification to our June 11th email.  






Now that we are approaching the next round of give Puma the Boot later in October, we would welcome your clarification.






Best, 





Canadian BDS Coalition





What can you do





  1. Check out the BNC information and action page.  
  2. The Canadian BDS Coalition has registered, but individual groups are also encouraged to register their own actions 
  3. Share Facebook post from @BDSCoalition.
  4. Share tweets from @Canadian_BDS
  5. Write Mark Mcquire  the Head of Puma Canada at mark.maguire@puma.com  





Let Puma Feel the Pressure





Puma is feeling the pressure. To sideline criticism, Puma is resorting to ridiculous claims, including a “devotion to universal equality.”





A “devotion to universal equality” must mean not sporting with apartheid! It requires Puma to end its:





  • complicity in whitewashing Israel’s illegal land grabs that rob Palestinians of territory and natural resources.
  • support for Israel’s occupation infrastructure that denies Palestinian athletes their rights to freedom of movement and to practice sports.
  • sponsorship of the Israel Football Association.





This year’s Palestine Football Cup has been postponed indefinitely because Israel has denied permits for virtually all players from the winning team of the Gaza League to travel to the occupied West Bank for the finals. Just last week, Israeli forces raided a family football tournament in occupied East Jerusalem, preventing it from going ahead.





Puma’s iconic leaping cat is profiting from Israel’s ever-expanding illegal settlement enterprise and its denial of basic Palestinian human rights.





Join us as we step up pressure on Puma to live up to its claim of promoting social justice.

					

		
		
	

							
	

				

			Featured post		

				

			
						

				#IVotePalestine
			

								


				

			






 I VOTE FOR FREEDOM, JUSTICE AND EQUALITY





Click to:
JOIN THIS FB EVENT PAGE AND PLEDGE #IVotePalestine










In the upcoming Canadian general election scheduled for October 21, 2019, we commit to vote for candidates and parties that:
•	Support Palestinian human and national rights including the inalienable right to self-determination.
•	Oppose Israeli ethnic cleansing, war crimes and apartheid.
•	Recognize the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality.
•	Respect, protect and promote the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194.
•	Support ending Israeli occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the Wall.
•	Oppose Canadian tax-deductible status for the Jewish National Fund JNF, HESEG Foundation and all Zionist organizations that are disguised as charities while supporting the Israeli military and settlements.
•	Recognize the rights of Canadians to support the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions BDS movement as a non-violent strategy to force Israel to abide by UN resolutions and all international humanitarian laws, and 
•	Oppose condemning or criminalizing people or organizations who support the BDS Movement.





JE VOTE POUR LA LIBERTÉ, LA JUSTICE ET L’ÉGALITÉ
REJOIGNEZ CETTE PAGE D’ÉVÉNEMENT FB ET PRENEZ UN ENGAGEMENT #IVotePalestine
Lors des prochaines élections générales au Canada, prévues pour le 21 octobre 2019, nous nous engageons à voter pour les candidats et les partis qui:
• Soutiennent les droits de l’homme et les droits nationaux des Palestiniens, y compris le droit inaliénable à l’autodétermination.
• S’opposent au nettoyage ethnique israélien, aux crimes de guerre et à l’apartheid.
• Reconnaissent les droits fondamentaux des citoyens et citoyennes arabo-palestiniens d’Israël à la pleine égalité.
• Respectent, protègent et promeuvent le droit de retour des réfugiés palestiniens et la repossession de leurs propriétés, conformément à la résolution 194 des Nations Unies.
• Supportent la fin de l’occupation israélienne et de la colonisation de toutes les terres arabes ainsi que le démantèlement du mur.
• S’opposent  au statut d’organisme de bienfaisance, déductible d’ impôts au Canada,  pour le Fonds national juif ( FNJ), la Fondation HESEG, et toutes les organisations sionistes déguisées en œuvres de charité qui soutiennent l’armée israélienne et les colonies de peuplement.
• Reconnaissent le droit des Canadiens d’appuyer le mouvement BDS (Boycott Désinvestissement et Sanctions) en tant que stratégie non violente pour forcer Israël à se conformer aux résolutions de l’ONU et à l’ensemble du droit international humanitaire, et
• S’opposent à la condamnation ou à la criminalisation des personnes ou des organisations qui soutiennent le mouvement BDS.





Here are the hosts and endorsers of the campaign





Alliance of Concerned Jewish Canadians

APAC – Association of Palestinian Arab Canadians

Canada Palestine Association

Canadian BDS Coalition

Canadian Unitarians for Social Justice

Coalition against Israeli Apartheid, Victoria

Independent Jewish Voices

Independent Jewish Voices – Winnipeg

Just Peace Advocates/Mouvement Pour Une Paix Juste

Justice for Palestinians, Calgary

Mid-Islanders for Justice and Peace in the Middle East

Oakville Palestinian Rights Association OPRA

OPIRG Guelph

Palestine Just Trade

Palestine Solidarity Working Group (Sudbury)

Palestinian and Jewish Unity (Montreal)

Palestinian Canadian Congress

Peace Alliance Winnipeg

Regina Peace Council

Socialist Action

St. John’s Solidarity with Palestine

United for Palestine – Toronto/GTA










This event page will update voters on the positions of individual candidates and parties regarding these issues.














#IVotePalestine:  Roger Waters on Canadian Policy and BDS from Canadian BDS Coalition on Vimeo.





PRINT to provide to candidates seeking your vote.  Let them know what is important to securing your vote.





Write to your local candidates. CLICK HERE to download letter which you can customize.





To find your candidates check out Election Canada and then in order to find candidate info for your riding go to specific political parties through the links provided.





You can also find candidates for the following parties at the links:





Liberal Party of Canada





New Democratic Party





Conservative Party of Canada





 Bloc Québécois 





Green Party of Canada






					

		
		
	

							
	

				

			Featured post		

				

			
						

				#IVotePalestine
			

								


				

			






I VOTE FOR FREEDOM, JUSTICE AND EQUALITY





Click to:
JOIN THIS FB EVENT PAGE AND PLEDGE #IVotePalestine










In the upcoming Canadian general election scheduled for October 21, 2019, we commit to vote for candidates and parties that:
• Support Palestinian human and national rights including the inalienable right to self-determination.
• Oppose Israeli ethnic cleansing, war crimes and apartheid.
• Recognize the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality.
• Respect, protect and promote the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194.
• Support ending Israeli occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the Wall.
• Oppose Canadian tax-deductible status for the Jewish National Fund JNF, HESEG Foundation and all Zionist organizations that are disguised as charities while supporting the Israeli military and settlements.
• Recognize the rights of Canadians to support the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions BDS movement as a non-violent strategy to force Israel to abide by UN resolutions and all international humanitarian laws, and
• Oppose condemning or criminalizing people or organizations who support the BDS Movement.





JE VOTE POUR LA LIBERTÉ, LA JUSTICE ET L’ÉGALITÉ
REJOIGNEZ CETTE PAGE D’ÉVÉNEMENT FB ET PRENEZ UN ENGAGEMENT #IVotePalestine
Lors des prochaines élections générales au Canada, prévues pour le 21 octobre 2019, nous nous engageons à voter pour les candidats et les partis qui:
• Soutiennent les droits de l’homme et les droits nationaux des Palestiniens, y compris le droit inaliénable à l’autodétermination.
• S’opposent au nettoyage ethnique israélien, aux crimes de guerre et à l’apartheid.
• Reconnaissent les droits fondamentaux des citoyens et citoyennes arabo-palestiniens d’Israël à la pleine égalité.
• Respectent, protègent et promeuvent le droit de retour des réfugiés palestiniens et la repossession de leurs propriétés, conformément à la résolution 194 des Nations Unies.
• Supportent la fin de l’occupation israélienne et de la colonisation de toutes les terres arabes ainsi que le démantèlement du mur.
• S’opposent au statut d’organisme de bienfaisance, déductible d’ impôts au Canada, pour le Fonds national juif ( FNJ), la Fondation HESEG, et toutes les organisations sionistes déguisées en œuvres de charité qui soutiennent l’armée israélienne et les colonies de peuplement.
• Reconnaissent le droit des Canadiens d’appuyer le mouvement BDS (Boycott Désinvestissement et Sanctions) en tant que stratégie non violente pour forcer Israël à se conformer aux résolutions de l’ONU et à l’ensemble du droit international humanitaire, et
• S’opposent à la condamnation ou à la criminalisation des personnes ou des organisations qui soutiennent le mouvement BDS.





Read more:





In run-up to Canada’s elections, Palestinian activists launch ‘#IVotePalestine’  by Marion Kawas, August 21, 2019, MONDOWEISS





Time to Breach the Wall of Silence on Supporting Israeli War Crimes!  by Marion Kawas, August 25, 2019, THE PALESTINE CHRONICLES





Why Palestine looms large in Canada’s election campaign by Jeremy Wildeman, October 3, 2019, MIDDLE EAST EYE





Encouraging response from the NDP see HERE





Here are the hosts and endorsers of the campaign





Alliance of Concerned Jewish Canadians

APAC – Association of Palestinian Arab Canadians

Canada Palestine Association

Canadian BDS Coalition

Canadian Unitarians for Social Justice

Coalition against Israeli Apartheid, Victoria

Independent Jewish Voices

Independent Jewish Voices – Winnipeg

Just Peace Advocates/Mouvement Pour Une Paix Juste

Justice for Palestinians, Calgary

Mid-Islanders for Justice and Peace in the Middle East

Oakville Palestinian Rights Association OPRA

OPIRG Guelph

Palestine Just Trade

Palestine Solidarity Working Group (Sudbury)

Palestinian and Jewish Unity (Montreal)

Palestinian Canadian Congress

Peace Alliance Winnipeg

Regina Peace Council

Socialist Action

St. John’s Solidarity with Palestine

United for Palestine – Toronto/GTA












 





This event page will update voters on the positions of individual candidates and parties regarding these issues.





#IVotePalestine: Roger Waters on Canadian Policy and BDS from Canadian BDS Coalition on Vimeo.





PRINT to provide to candidates seeking your vote. Let them know what is important to securing your vote.





Write to your local candidates. CLICK HERE to download letter which you can customize.





To find your candidates check out Election Canada and then in order to find candidate info for your riding go to specific political parties through the links provided.





You can also find candidates for the following parties at the links:





Liberal Party of Canada





New Democratic Party





Conservative Party of Canada





Bloc Québécois





Green Party of Canada

					

		
		
	

							
	

				

			Featured post		

				

			
						

				Victory: The Current is Cut Between Hydro-Québec and Israel Electric
			

								


				

			

The Coalition BDS Québec has announced that Hydro-Québec has declined to renew an agreement with its Israeli counterpart, Israel Electric.





“This victory is important for us in Quebec,” John Philpot, an international lawyer and a member of the Coalition BDS Québec, told The Electronic Intifada.  Check out full article in Electronic Intifada.





 The Coalition BDS Québec  reports that “During the summer of 2019, in response to a  request for a meeting  with Hydro-Québec’s new Board Chair, Ms. Côté, when we were warned of an upcoming hearing at the Commission d’accès à la information, the Executive Vice-President – Corporate and Legal Affairs and Head of Corporate Governance wrote to us , “without commenting in any way on the point of view expressed in [our] correspondence,” that the HQ-IEC agreement , due May 22, 2019, has not been renewed !” In addition, the entire content of the agreement is finally communicated to the Coaliton, and the hearing at the CAI is therefore canceled.





On August 27,   the Coalition BDS Québec  published a press release.  Hydro Quebec immediately sent a letter , signed by its chief – Public Affairs and Media, stating that the decision not to renew the HQ-IEC agreement had no political impact, which we doubt strongly.





The Rest of the Country





The Canadian BDS Coalition has been in touch with the approximately 40 electric companies across Canada, and has heard from some they do NOT have any working agreements with Israel Electric, but are waiting to hear from others.  Follow up with take places with those who have not confirmed that they are not in relationship with Israel Electric. 










Photo:  Israeli warplanes make a ceremonial flyby of the Israel Electric Corporation’s Orot Rabin coal-fired generating station, to mark what Israel calls its Independence Day, May 2017. The power company is deeply complicit in Israel’s violations of Palestinian rights. (via Facebook) Electronic Intifada 




					

		
		
	

							
	

				

			Featured post		

				

			
						

				Boycott TEVA – Apartheid is BAD Medicine
			

								


				

			

 The Canadian BDS Coalition joins in the  BDS Vancouver campaign Boycott TEVA-Apartheid is Bad Medicine.  LIKE the FACEBOOK PAGE to follow the campaign.





Boycott TEVA, the Israeli pharmaceutical company that is one of the largest generic drug manufacturers in the world. 





Order a strip of our “No TEVA” stickers for free by clicking on the Send Message button at the top right of this page and letting us know where to send your Boycott TEVA kit. Or just tell your regular pharmacy to put a permanent “No TEVA” note on your file! 





 










Who Profits provides the following information regarding Teva, a global pharmaceutical company and the world’s largest generic drug manufacturer. The company develops, produces and markets generic, innovative and branded drugs. Teva currently operates in approximately 60 countries with an estimated 45,000 employees worldwide.





Teva is the largest commercial (and industrial) company on the Israeli market by equity, net profit, operating income and market value. The company is also the largest provider of healthcare products and services in the Israeli market, by sales volume. Teva distributes healthcare products and services, including consumer healthcare products, hospital supplies, dialysis equipment and disposables, diagnostics and home care services. An Israeli subsidiary – Salomon, Levin and Elstein, provides logistical support for Teva’s sales and distribution activities in Israel, including the distribution of third parties of several multinational pharmaceutical companies. READ MORE on WHO PROFITS about TEVA.










“Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. agreed to pay $85 million to settle an Oklahoma lawsuit…Oklahoma said J&J and Teva helped create a public-health crisis from opioid abuse that killed thousands of its residents.”  Read more HERE.










 TEVA is also BigPharma and has been recently named in an anti-trust lawsuit in the U.S., as helping to “mastermind a sweeping conspiracy among generic drugmakers to raise the price of medicines”  Read more HERE.





#BoycottTeva 

					

		
		
	

							
	

				

			Featured post		

				

			
						

				Canadian Coalition Joins with AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL Call to Trip Advisor to pull out of the Israeli illegal settlements
			

								


				

			

Tell TripAdvisor to pull out of illegal Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine 





The Canadian BDS Coalition stands in solidarity with Amnesty International TripAdvisor campaign to





 Ask Stephen Kaufer, CEO of TripAdvisor Inc. to stop listing or promoting properties, activities and attractions located in illegal Israeli settlements or run by settlers in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.





CLICK HERE TO SIGN  AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PETITION





Image result for amnesty international







TripAdvisor lists more than 70 different properties, activities and attractions in illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). By doing so, TripAdvisor is boosting the settlement economy and contributing to settlement expansion. The company’s promotion of settlements as a tourist destination helps to “normalise” and legitimise them to the public. Settlements are illegal under international law – their creation amounts to a war crime. Settlements are on stolen Palestinian land. They should not be tourist destinations.








					

		
		
	

							
	

				

			Featured post		

				

			
						

				Message From Israeli citizens to the Toronto Raptors – Please do not help Israel whitewash its occupation and apartheid crimes
			

								


				

			






Learn more & sign in solidarity the statement from  Supporting the Palestinian BDS Call from Within (aka Boycott from Within)  










Please sign and share the petition that has now over 6 K signatures.  Tell the #RaptorsDontGo.










The statement below can be found on the the Supporting the Palestinian BDS Call from Within website.





July 2019





Dear Raptors,





We are Israeli citizens, active against the occupation, apartheid, and colonialism policies of successive Israeli governments towards the Palestinian people [1]. Many of us are basketball and NBA fans. We note that some of you have already spoken out in favor of turning down an invitation to the White House under the racist President Donald Trump. We congratulate you for making the right decision.





However, we are alarmed by reports about your team’s visit to Israel. We believe such a visit would serve the Israeli government in its attempts to whitewash its racist policies. We therefore call on you not to take part in it. 





The Palestinian people have been facing Israel’s colonial brutality for decades. Hundreds of thousands of them were violently driven out of their homes in Palestine in 1948, in a catastrophe known as the Nakba [2]. As of now, millions of Palestinians are living under Israel’s military occupation or siege in the Gaza strip and the West Bank. Gaza is the world’s largest open-air prison, with appalling human rights conditions. Israel has inflicted death or horrific injuries on tens of thousands of civilian protesters in the past 15 months [3]. The West Bank is home to hundreds of thousands of Israeli settlers living at the expense of millions of Palestinians whose land is being robbed [4]. Inside Israel, Palestinian citizens are facing growing explicit racism, as manifested recently by the enactment of the so-called “Nation-State law”, which denies them equality and legitimizes discrimination against them in everyday life. 





We note that numerous athletes have said no to invitations to propaganda junkets in Israel. One example occurred in February 2017, when over half of a delegation of NFL players pulled out of an all-expense paid trip to Israel, following comments by the Israeli tourism minister claiming they would become “ambassadors of goodwill for Israel”. Michael Bennett, the first player to withdraw, noted in a public statement:





“I will not be used in such a matter…I want to be a ‘voice for the voiceless,’ and I cannot do that by going on this kind of trip to Israel.” [6]





We call on Raptors players to stand with the oppressed, from North America to Palestine. Please join millions of people worldwide in the struggle for justice and equality for the Palestinian people. Please say no to Donald Trump and his racist policies, and to Benjamin Netanyahu and his racist policies. Please say no to a Raptors junket to Israel!





We will gladly address any questions or comments you may have





Sincerely,





Boycott! Supporting the Palestinian BDS Call from Within (aka Boycott from Within)





[1] http://www.boycottisrael.info





[2] https://zochrot.org/ 





[3] https://www.btselem.org/press_release/20190318_gaza_demonstrations_investigations_charade





[4] https://www.btselem.org/topic/freedom_of_movement 





[5] https://www.adalah.org/en/tag/index/1456





[6] https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/feb/15/nfl-players-israel-trip-michael-bennett

					

		
		
	

							
	

				

			Featured post		

				

			
						

				Roger Waters Adds Voice to #RaptorsDontGo
			

								


				

			





 Roger Waters sends a personal message about the proposed trip to Israel for the Toronto Raptors. 










Michael Bennett, when he turned down Brand Israel sports washing, quoted 1968 Olympian John Carlos saying “There is no partial commitment to justice, you are either in or you are out.” Michael Bennettt said I am in.





Roger Waters asks the Toronto Raptors players to join the commitment to justice, and say no to going to their co-owners offer of a Brand Israel trip. 





Roger Water speaks to Toronto Raptor fans  and all people concerned about justice to join him in the call to the Raptors players to say no to sports-washing and say no to the proposed brand Israel trip offer by Raptor co-owner Larry Tanenbaum.





Join with Roger and let the Raptors know you are on the side of justice. Sign the petition.











					

		
		
	

							
	

				

			Featured post		

				

			
						

				#RaptorsDontGo  Say No to Brand Israel Sports-washing: A Success!!!
			

								


				

			

Breaking news, October 22 The Raptors did not go!  Check out statement here.  Read more in Mondoweiss





The Canadian BDS Coalition calls on each of the Raptors to say NO to this offer by Tanenbaum.  Say no to being used as an ambassador to sports-wash an aggressive ongoing colonization complete with apartheid, genocide and war crimes.  





CLICK HERE TO: SIGN AND SHARE PETITION  to Toronto Raptor Players and Coach.  We have reached over  6K signatures. 





Updates:  





Message from Israeli Citizens to the Toronto Raptors:  Please do not help Israel whitewash its occupation and apartheid crimes










Roger Waters Add His Voice to #RaptorsDontGo










NOTE: June 27, 2019:  The Canadian BDS Coalition earlier this week officially requested clarification from all the owners of Maple Leaf Sports Entertainment (MLSE), the parent body of the Toronto Raptors, as to whether a trip to Israel for the team was under consideration or had already been approved. To date, no response has been received, but we will post any answer from them when available. In the absence of a reply confirming that such a trip will NOT be happening, we will continue our campaign to say #RaptorsDontGo to Israel.





Owners of MLSE are Bell 37.5%, Rogers 37.5% and Kilmer Sports (holding company of Larry Tanenbaum) 25%.





Read more:  July 1, 2019, Mondoweiss article by Marion Kawas Sports-washing and the Toronto Raptors










Our campaign #SayNo #SkipTheTrip is gaining momentum with CodePink & Jewish Voices for Peace on board. And more media covering it, including Quds News Network and the Palestine Chronicle.







Toronto Raptors: Please #SkipTheTrip to Israel

















Background





The Raptors  billionaire co-owner, Larry Tanenbaum, said he  would bring @Raptors to visit if they win the @NBA title, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.





 Tanebaum a founder of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs is the chairman of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd., which is the parent company of the Raptors as well as the National Hockey League’s Toronto Maple Leafs,  Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC, the CFL Toronto Argonauts. He also currently serves as the board chairman of the NBA, and as a member of the board of governors of the NHL and Major League Soccer.





Israel’s Sport 5 reported last week that during a low-key visit to Israel in April, Tanenbaum told several people he met that “If we win the NBA championship, I will come with the Toronto Raptors to visit the Holy Land.” 





The Call





The Canadian BDS Coalition calls on each of the Raptors players to say NO to this offer by Tanenbaum.  Say no to being used as an ambassador to sports-wash an aggressive ongoing colonization complete with apartheid, genocide and war crimes.  





Learn about cultural including sports boycott check the Palestinian Campaign for Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel guidelines.





Follow the Canadian BDS Coalition at:





Twitter: @Canadian_BDS





 Facebook: @BDSCoalition





Tweet, Tag 





@Raptors @NBA





to be in touch with Raptors and other click HERE 










CHECK OUT OPEN LETTER TO THE RAPTORS





Open Letter to Toronto Raptors:
“Please take this opportunity to stand with Palestinians in their struggle for freedom..”










June 15, 2019






Dear Toronto Raptors,





We are writing to you as long-time fans to urge you to uphold Palestinian human rights and not to travel to Israel. Since 2004 Palestinian civil society organizations have called for the academic and cultural boycott of Israel until such a time as Israel recognizes the Right of Return of over 5 million Palestinian refugees and their descendants displaced in the process of Israeli colonization and occupation of Palestine; ends its occupation and colonization of the West Bank and its siege of Gaza; and dismantles the Apartheid system of racial discrimination and segregation for Palestinian citizens of Israel.





Around the world poor and oppressed people have embraced basketball as a sport of the people, and basketball players, many of whom come from poor and struggling backgrounds, have an important history of taking progressive positions and giving back to their communities. From Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Bill Russel’s stand with Mohammed Ali against the draft and the Vietnam War to public and collective statements against police brutality against Black people in America, NBA players have stood on the side of social and racial justice.





Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, its settlements and its Apartheid Wall are a war crime. The siege of Gaza, and the death and misery meted out on an effectively jailed civilian population, is a crime against humanity. And its system of racial discrimination and segregation is a form of Apartheid, as articulated by survivors of South African Apartheid including Desmond Tutu and Mandla Mandela (grandson of the great freedom fighter Nelson Mandela).





As NBA Champions, you have the opportunity to use your stature and influence to make the world a better place for the young people all over the world who admire you. Please take this opportunity to stand with Palestinians in their struggle for freedom and liberation, and do not travel to Israel.





Aiyanas Ormond,
Coordinator, BDS Vancouver-Coast Salish Territories










Check out and share the following articles





Middle Eastern Monitor  Please #SkipTheTrip to Israel, Toronto Raptors





The Palestine Chronicle  Toronto Raptors: Please #SkipTheTrip to Israel















Thanks JEWISH VOICES FOR PEACE For Your One Question Poll





Jewish Voice for Peace
Take the poll HERE





An Open Letter to the NBA Champion Toronto Raptors





You have achieved something truly historic and Raptors fans are forever grateful, now please skip the White House and Doug Ford





Let Toronto NOW Magazine that along with Ford & Trump, they forgot “Bibi” Send comments HERE Tweet @nowToronto










Stay tuned for more News and Actions. 






					

		
		
	

							
	

				

			Featured post		

				

			
						

				Take the Pledge: Give PUMA the Boot Until It Ends Support for Illegal Israeli Settlements
			

								


				

			

Let Puma know you will respect the call from Palestinian athletes to #BoycottPuma until it ends support for illegal Israeli settlements pushing Palestinian families off their land.





JOIN INTERNATIONAL DAY: JUNE 15th–Give PUMA the Boot!










Breaking NEWS as RAPTORS Go Into Game 5! and NOW WIN the NBA championship!






Raptors Danny Green!  is sponsor of PUMA. 





Tweet to him at   @DGreen_14  #BoycottPuma  










Let Puma know you will respect the call from Palestinian athletes to #BoycottPuma until it ends support for illegal Israeli settlements pushing Palestinian families off their land.





Tweet the pledge to give Puma the boot! 





Tweet on INTERNATIONAL DAY





Puma is the only international sponsor of the Israel Football Association (IFA), which includes teams in illegal Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land.





Puma’s endorsement gives legitimacy to Israel’s illegal settlements pushing Palestinian families off their land and its attacks on Palestinian sports. Israeli snipers ended the careers of dozens of Palestinian athletes in Gaza in 2018 alone.





Palestinian teams and athletes are calling for a boycott of Puma until it ends its sponsorship of the IFA.





Puma’s own assessment of its human rights track record identified “sponsorship activities” as one of its “weak spots.”





Give Puma the boot! Join social media actions or write to Puma today!





 Tweet the image above and post on Facebook and Instagram





TAKE THE PLEDGE:





Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) campaign: on the BDS National Committee website:   https://bdsmovement.net/boot-puma 










In Canada we have sent the following letter:





Attention :  Mark Maguire, Senior Vice President Sales & Country Lead Puma Canada






PUMA Canada





Attention: Senior Management





355 Admiral Blvd, Unit 4
Mississauga, ON L5T 2N1  






copies to: Communication Executives, Kerstin Neuber and Rober Bartunek, Berk Communications, and Customer Service.  Please ensure copy goes to Mr. Maguire,  & the Canadian team of PUMA.





Dear Mr.  Maguire, PUMA Canada






We write to your as Canadians concerned that Puma sponsors the Israel Football Association (IFA), which includes teams in illegal Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land in violation of international law.

Puma’s endorsement of the IFA gives legitimacy to Israel’s illegal settlements pushing Palestinian families off their land.

As long as Puma sponsors teams in illegal Israeli settlements, we will respect the call from Palestinian athletes to boycott Puma.  We ask you to do the same.
We ask Puma Canada to recognize that the majority of Canadians are calling for boycotts, divestment and sanctions related to the illegal acts of Israel.  
The 2017 EKOS poll showed 





  • Canadians believe overwhelmingly that sanctions are a reasonable way for Canada to censure countries violating international law and human rights,
  • Given the UN Security Council’s recent condemnation of illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory, a strong majority of Canadians believe that government sanctions on Israel would be reasonable
  • In the context of Israel’s ongoing violations of international law, a very strong majority of Canadians believe that the Palestinians’ call for a boycott of Israel is reasonable, and
  • Far more Canadians oppose than support Parliament’s February, 2016 decision to condemn individuals and groups who promote the Palestinian call for a boycott of Israel.





Surely removing PUMA’s support for IFA  is not only the ethical, moral and legal step to take, but also good for business.  





We expect that people across Canada, along with those around the world will be making this very clear to Puma as we move towards International #BoycottPuma Day of Action, June 15, 2019.






We would be pleased to meet with you and members of your team here in Canada to discuss.





On behalf of the Canadian BDS Coalition
(over 30 member groups across Canada)





www.bdscoalition.ca





ACTION YOU CAN TAKE





to:  k Maguire , Sr. Vice President Sales & Country Lead Puma Canada  
 mark.maguire@puma.com,
 
Copies to:
customerservice@puma.com,
robert.bartunek@puma.com,
puma@berkcommunications.com,
kerstin.neuber@puma.com
bdscoalition@gmail.com





snail mail  





 PUMA.com
355 Admiral Blvd, Unit 4
Mississauga, ON L5T 2N1 





Tweet: @pumacanada





OR call PUMA at  1-888-565-PUMA (7862). 





Collective action works! Earlier this month, thanks to thousands of you, UNICEF announced it does not support the EuroAsia Interconnector electricity cable plugging Europe into Israel’s illegal settlements. Let’s do this again!





Let’s convince Puma to live up to its claim of supporting equality and social justice!










FOLLOW UP WITH PUMA:





We received response from Mr. Maguire and also from PUMA communications in Germany on June 11th saying:





Thank you for reaching out to PUMA.





PUMA supplies the Israeli National Teams via a local distribution partner to compete in international competitions, and the football club Hapoel Beer Sheva through the end of the 2018/19 season. To claim we have any other official connection or association be it to the Israel Premier League, the Japanika League, or any other Israeli club team is incorrect.





Broadly speaking, PUMA continues to support and outfit athletes from all backgrounds, regardless of race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation and national origin. As a brand concerned only with the power that Sport has to bring people together, PUMA does not support any political direction, political parties or governments. Our devotion to universal equality is aligned with the fundamental principles of our #REFORM platform.






We welcome the opportunity to help everyone compete in sports no matter who they are or where they are from.





We responded with the following and await response: 





 Thank you Kristina and Mark for your timely response.






Would you please clarify your response.  Are you saying that there is no support of any kind that goes to the  Israel Football Association (IFA)?  You mention that  support does go to  Israeli National Teams.  Which teams are these?  You also mention support to football club Hapoel Beer Sheva.  As well, you mention NO support goes to the Israeli Premier/Japanika League. .
Would you please clarify and make a definitive statement that NO support has gone to the Israel Football Association.






The Israel Football Association has teams in Israeli settlement in occupied Palestine, which is part of the territory of the Palestinian affiliate.  This is occupied territory under international humanitarian law (the Fourth Geneva Convention).   The international call to PUMA is to  withdraw support to the Israeli Football Association until it withdraws teams from these illegally occupied land. If there has been no support to the Israel Football Association in any form from PUMA including through local distribution partners we would welcome that news. It is not clear in your message that this is the case, so we would appreciate further information in this regard.  If PUMA is announcing its withdraw of funding from the Israel Football Association through your correspondence would you please make this clear, and also indicate if you will be making a public notification in this regard.






See:  https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/01/10/fifa-must-take-strong-stance-against-israeli-settlement-clubs










Save the Date! International #BoycottPuma Day of Action, June 15, 2019











TAKE ACTION







Raptors Danny Green!  is sponsor of PUMA. 





@DGreen_14 





See: https://www.thestar.com/sports/raptors/2019/03/09/why-the-raptors-are-ankle-deep-in-the-shoe-business.html 






Perfect time to tweet lots!  Also, post in message on his FBhttps://www.facebook.com/DannyGreenNBA/  

Tweet to Raptors, and NBA as well.  Include messages on those tweeting/ posting about Raptors! including @JohnTory #JustinTrudeau @Raptors @NBA #WeTheNorth


Be sure to tag @BDS_Coalition  @BDSMovement  #BoycottPuma
Retweet from @BDS_Coalition 







Further Actions:






1.  What Athletes and Other Sports Figures in Canada, professional, amateur or local can you be in touch with who will publicly support BDS?  Who in your own community that is involved in sports (or other leadership, cultural roles)?  






2.  Canadian figures that have or have had PUMA sponsorship. 





 Tweet, FB, email them.  Make it clear they are supporting a company that aid war crimes.  Tweet to them!





Graham DeLaet





@GrahamDeLaet





Andre De Grass





@De6rasse





Goat lord





@the weeknd





If you can find others be sure to let us know to include





.3.  Store carrying PUMA in Canada






@SportChek






@hudsonsbay





@footlocker





Tweet, FB, email, go into local stores, etc.  Let them know carrying PUMA is not cool, and that they are not with majority of Canadian.






Let us know about other stores carrying product, and any feedback you receive.

					

		
		
	

							
	

				

			Featured post		

				

			
						

				Canadian Human Rights Activists Congratulate the Government of South Africa on Downgrading Relations with Israel
			

								


				

			

Pro-Palestinian groups and other civil society organisations demonstrate, in Durban on 2 June, 2018 [Twitter]





The following release has been provided to South Africa BDS





Release, May 27, 2019 





The Canadian BDS Coalition, a coalition of over 30 national and regional groups across Canada, congratulates the government of South Africa on their resolve for justice for the Palestinian people in their decision to downgrade diplomatic relations with Israel. 





To the government of South Africa and the brave BDS South African people, who stand tall for justice for the Palestinians, in spite of all the difficulties and back lash which it entails, we  say thank you.  We are aware of your tireless stand and work for so many years. We commend you for for taking a stand to support human rights and international law, in saying no to Israel’s apartheid regime. 





We have the same aspirations here in Canada, but unfortunately it is very difficult to have the politicians of all levels in North America to overcome their fear, their politics and have the courage to stand for what is right.  This is despite an EKOS poll in 2017, shows that two-third of Canadians support Sanctions on Israel.  A more recent EKOS poll showed 58% of Canadian Jewish people felt Sanctions on Israel would be reasonable. 






Contact: 





Canadian BDS Coalition





bdscoalition@gmail.com





www.bdscoalition.ca





Action:  Send a letter to editor personally or from your own organizations to the following Media





to;
 bdletters@bdlive.co.za,
letters@dailymaverick.co.za,
letters@mg.co.za,
starletters@inl.co.za,
omphitlhetse.mooki@inl.co.za,
ctletters@inl.co.za,
letters@sundaytimes.co.za,
tellus@thetimes.co.za 
cc:administrator@bdssouthafrica.com,
Media@presidency.gov.za










Several articles you may wish to read:





Gideon Levy





Business Live 





Daily Maverick

					

		
		
	

							
	

				

			Featured post		

				

			
						

				Cross-Country Day of Action Naming Canadian Complicity in Supporting Israeli War Crimes and Apartheid.
			

								


				

			

#Nakba71 #BDS #Rightof Return





 Saturday, May 18 people joined together from Victoria, British Columbia to St. John’s, Newfoundland to mark a Cross Country Day of Action to name Canadian complicity in regard to war crimes and apartheid by the state of Israel on the people of Palestine. #Nakba71 #BDS










A few pictures and sharing of events:





Victoria saw a successful rally of about 100 people with massive banners, music, speeches and chants at the BC Legislature.   Several cruise ships were in port and visitors had a chance to learn about Palestine and BDS.





Image may contain: one or more people, sky, tree, crowd and outdoor










Vancouver Nakba 71 seminar and BDS wine picket with Gaza born journalist and author Ramzy Baroud and Palestinian filmmaker Sobhi Al-Zobaidi.  See HERE for more details.





Image may contain: 3 people, people sitting, screen and indoor





Image may contain: outdoor





Image may contain: 2 people, people standing, crowd and outdoor





Image may contain: 3 people, people smiling, people standing










 St. John’s Newfoundland. Remembering # Nakba71. Standing in solidarity with the people of Palestine. Calling for #BDS. Calling for end of Canadian complicity with war crimes and apartheid of the state of Israeli.  A reading of the destroyed towns & cities of historic Palestine during Nakba 1948.





Image may contain: 11 people, people smiling, people standing and outdoor





Winnipeg: Film Screening of 1948 Creation & Catastrophe, followed by peaceful action.  Winnipeg sumud as they zionists came into the theatre and had counter action.  





Image may contain: 1 person, shoes and outdoor





Montreal. May 12, in solidarity with the mothers of Palestine.  About 300 people joined.















 





Saint Johns New Brunswick saw a gathering which provided leaflets/information, and speeches at the Old City Market. 





Toronto about 400 people joined to commemorate Nakba Day and denounce ongoing Zionist crimes against the Palestinian people.   Starting at Dundas/Yonge and moving up Yonge to Israeli consulate where action closed off Yonge/Bloor in front of Israeli consulate for about 30 minutes.





























					

		
		
	

							
	

				

			Featured post		

				

			
						

				Cross Country Day of Action in Solidarity Against Canadian Complicity with Israeli War Crimes and Apartheid
			

								


				

			

News Release, May 17, 2019





Tomorrow, Saturday, May 18 people will join together from Victoria, British Columbia to St. John’s, Newfoundland to mark a Cross Country Day of Action to name Canadian complicity in regard to war crimes and apartheid by the state of Israel on the people of Palestine.  





These events commemorate seventy-one years since the original Nakba which saw  the expulsion of over 700,000 Palestinians from their homeland and recognize the ongoing colonization of remaining Palestine in similar pattern of Judaization of the West Bank including East Jerusalem and the total siege and destruction of Gaza.





Events have happened during the week including a vigil last Sunday in Montreal.  Tomorrow, street actions and other events are planned across the country including for Victoria, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto, Saint John and St. John’s.





The Day of Action enjoys the support of dozens of labour unions, anti-war, social justice, faith, community and political organizations.  The day of action supports boycott, divestment and sanctions against the Israeli state and economy, until:  the occupation with its associated war crimes is ended;  the apartheid regime is replaced with equal rights for all citizens within Israel and Palestine; and the right of return is realized for Palestinian.   





The majority of Canadians agree that Canada needs to take action under its responsibility under Article 1 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. In this regard, a 2017 EKOS poll showed that two-thirds of Canadians support sanctions being placed by Canada on Israel in regard to international law and human rights violations.





The Canadian BDS Coalition includes national, regional and local groups from across the country.





Contact: bdscoalition@gmail.com

					

		
		
	

							
	

				

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				NAKBA71: St. John’s Newfoundland.  Saturday, May 18.
			

								


				

			

Join Cross Canada Call Against Canadian Complicity with Israeli War Crimes & Apartheid.





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When:  Noon on Saturday May 18 





Where: at the War Memorial in downtown St. John’s on Duckworth Street 





Join as to read the names of the Palestinian villages destroyed in 1947-1949.





 Join us and bring friends. 





We will have a petition to the Government of Canada with respect to the three demands of BDS:





1. The Government of Israel ends the occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantles the Wall
2. The Government of Israel recognizes the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and
3. The Government of Israel respects, protects, and promotes the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194.











Palestinian Solidarity, St. John’s.  See FACEBOOK

					

		
		
	

							
	

				

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				Ramadan 2019:  Be sure you know where your dates are from!
			

								


				

			

Step 1, check the label, and if it says product of Israel, do NOT buy.   






Fruit and vegetables are one of Israel’s biggest exports and all Israeli agricultural exporters are complicit in Israel’s violations of international law as they operate on stolen Palestinian land. 





In case of Medjoul the products are from the Jordan Valley in occupied Palestine, and therefore from an illegal settlement on stolen land. These are not from Israel, these are from illegal settlements.  





Step 2, check the label and see if it includes a country of origin.  The product must have a country of origin but many do NOT.  Do NOT buy if it does not have country of origin listed on the package.





There is at least one supplier in Canada, National Best Food/NBF which imports from Hadiklaim, an Israeli company.  Who Profits has clearly documented the source of Hadiklaim’s dates as coming from occupied Palestine and Golan.  Also, several countries have had victories of  cutting ties to Hadiklaim such as South Africa.





Some products from NBF  do say “Product of Israel” but others especially in stores where Arabs and/or Muslims shop have NO country of origin listed.  The product simply says “imported by NFB.”  This seems to be illegal under Canadian legislation and regulations, and this has been reported to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.  In many cases these products also do not include the other mandatory labeling information such as a “nutrition fact table” or health & nutrition information, and also don’t include mandatory information in both bilingual languages.  





In several cases  product was found to have “Product of Jordan” on the shelf, but the boxes the bulk product was coming from was labeled NBF with no indication of country. When asked verification was not provided, and no indication that there is any organization from Jordan providing this product.





Step 3:  Print & provide this letter to the owner and/or manager of the store.  Indicate the product and concerns in the template.  





Step 4: provide pictures of the product including the labels (all sides of the box, and shelf labels), along with the store name/address and if possible website, to bdscoalition@gmail.com.  We will use this information for further follow up with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and/or with the store.





Step 5: tell your friends and your family what you have found, and make them aware of what to look for in regard both product of Israel (dates, other fresh fruits & vegetables, other products).  For more info check out Economic Boycott Resource.





Final Step:  look for appropriate alternative ideally from Palestine.  Labels you can trust  are Lara (their product of Palestine), Green World (just arrived May 2019, indicates from Palestinian Authority), Alard, Palestine Just Trade, Jericho Delights (via USA).  Do you know others?  If not from Palestine, then verify that from Jordan or USA if Medjoul, or consider another source from country of origin you are comfortable with.  










Product you should avoid  as they are packaged by Hadiklaim include:





 BOMAJA BLUE





GOLDEN VALLEY





JORDAN RIVER





LA PALMA





KING SOLOMON 





These are some products that have been seen in the last few weeks:





Sold by National Best Food.  Seen labelled as “Product of Israel”






Jordan River from National Best Foods.  Sold without country of Origin.  No it is not from Jordan.  It is from the occupied Palestinian Jordan valley.  





More Jordan River from National Best Foods without country of origin.  Don’t be fooled into thinking it is from Jordan.





Golden Valley from National Best Food/NBF.  No country of origin   Packaged by Hadiklaim.





Sold in 5 KG and bulk.  Store owners/managers report having been told it is from Jordan & thus, label from Jordan on their shelf.  No country of origin.   From NBF.  Don’t be fooled into thinking this is from Jordan–ask for specifics about grower & exporter if you are told from Jordan.






Golden Valley Medjoul Dates (SEMI-DRY)
Golden Valley from Hadiklaim via NBF.  No country of origin indicated in a number of cases.  Sometimes have label saying “Product of Israel.”  These do have bilingual info.





Image result for costco dates medjool israel
Medjoul “Product of Israel” label from Costco










Ameri Premium Dates by National Best Foods, no country of origin





 Oriental dates, no country of origin 










National Best Food, Golden Valley, no country of origin





Imported by National Best Foods.  La Palma is brand of  Hadiklaim  in Israel.  No country of origin.





We have written to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) asking them to look into several concerns.





Concerns Raised with Canadian Food Inspection Agency:





Country of Origin





Our
understanding of the requirement for fresh fruits and vegetables, which would
include dates is that “Product
of [Name the country of origin]” needs to be included.  





We take
this information from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) website;





The
country of origin represents the country in which the fresh fruits or
vegetables were grown. The country of origin must be shown on the principal
display panel (definition) of imported prepackaged fresh fruits or vegetables and
in close proximity to the declaration of net quantity or the grade name. The
country of origin declaration must be shown in boldface type in the same size
characters as those prescribed for the grade name [269(1), 270(1), 271, SFCR].





http://www.inspection.gc.ca/food/requirements/labelling/industry/fresh-fruits-and-vegetables





What we have seen includes: i) indicating from Israel when in fact from settlements in occupied Palestine; ii) no country of origin;  iii) indication on shelf that is from Jordan based on verbal but not verified information; iv) possibly other countries being listed on product.





Nutrition Labeling, Nutrition & Health Claims





We understand that specific requirements
in regard to Nutrition labeling including the Nutrition Fact Table are required,
with serving sizes and daily intake.  





What we noticed was that in many cases under various brands this information was completely missing.  The one exception seemed to be the Organic brand.





Bilingual Requirements










Our understanding is that the CFIA requirements
are than mandatory information including country origin, sizes, business name,
nutritional information, nutrition and health claims, and best before dates
need to be included in both English and French.





What we noticed is this information is
missing on essentially all the products observed.





Request to Canadian Food Inspection made indicating we would appreciate your attention to as quickly as possible addressing this, especially since Ramadan 2019 is underway, and people are purchasing dates for breaking fast/Iftar and Eid.










See letter sent to Canadian Food Inspection Agency





The letter was sent by registered mail as well as email to CFIA.  A follow up letter has been sent by email on May 27, 2019, asking for information on when we would expect to receive a response.










Letters have been sent to several stores including Arz in Scarborough,  Rabba Foods and Al Quds Market in Mississauga.  Responses are awaited.






					

		
		
	

							
	

				

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				Victory: The Current is cut Between Hydro-Québec and Israel Electric
			

								


				

			

The Coalition BDS Québec has announced that Hydro-Québec has declined to renew an agreement with its Israeli counterpart, Israel Electric.





“This victory is important for us in Quebec,” John Philpot, an international lawyer and a member of the Coalition BDS Québec, told The Electronic Intifada.  Check out full article in Electronic Intifada.





 The Coalition BDS Québec  reports that “During the summer of 2019, in response to a  request for a meeting  with Hydro-Québec’s new Board Chair, Ms. Côté, when we were warned of an upcoming hearing at the Commission d’accès à la information, the Executive Vice-President – Corporate and Legal Affairs and Head of Corporate Governance wrote to us , “without commenting in any way on the point of view expressed in [our] correspondence,” that the HQ-IEC agreement , due May 22, 2019, has not been renewed !” In addition, the entire content of the agreement is finally communicated to the Coaliton, and the hearing at the CAI is therefore canceled.





On August 27,   the Coalition BDS Québec  published a press release.  Hydro Quebec immediately sent a letter , signed by its chief – Public Affairs and Media, stating that the decision not to renew the HQ-IEC agreement had no political impact, which we doubt strongly.





The Rest of the Country





The Canadian BDS Coalition has been in touch with the approximately 40 electric companies across Canada, and has heard from some they do NOT have any working agreements with Israel Electric, but are waiting to hear from others.  Follow up with take places with those who have not confirmed that they are not in relationship with Israel Electric. 










Photo:  Israeli warplanes make a ceremonial flyby of the Israel Electric Corporation’s Orot Rabin coal-fired generating station, to mark what Israel calls its Independence Day, May 2017. The power company is deeply complicit in Israel’s violations of Palestinian rights. (via Facebook) Electronic Intifada 





The Campaign (Archives)





Sign this  petition





to say NO to Hyrdo-Québec





It has been a year since the partnership between Hydro-Québec and Israel Electric was revealed by BDS-Québec.  See post from May 2017





Let’s cut the current between Hydro-Québec and Israel Electric!





https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/HQ_IEC_partnership_agreement_en/





Sign the petition to demand that Hydro-Québec terminate its agreement to cooperate on cyber security with Israel Electric Corporation signed  May 22, 2017.





This memorandum of understanding is acontract between two states: Quebec and Israel. 





The cooperation agreement was signed as part of the May 2017 economic mission to Israel and Palestine by Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard, in his presence. Hydro-Québec refuses to disclose the content of its partnership agreement with IEC in contravention of the Act respecting access to documents held by public bodies and the protection of personal information to which it is subject.





Why this is important





  • IEC is working closely with the National Cyber Security Authority on military cyber defenses (IDF), intelligence services (Mossad) and the Water Authority. IEC’s security IS Mossad.
  • A “partnership” in cyber security with Israel means “a pact with the Mossad and a pact with Israel’s apartheid regime”.
  • Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) – a state-owned corporation – shares responsibility for the State of Israel’s abuses towards the Palestinian population:





  • IEC regularly cuts electricity in Gaza.
  • IEC frequently cuts electricity in the West Bank.
  • IEC electrifies the separation wall between Israel and Palestine.
  • IEC has supplied electricity to illegal settlements in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967.
  • IEC supplies the Israeli army with electricity.
  • Since 1948, Israel has repeatedly violated with impunity resolutions adopted by the United Nations and the United Nations Security Council and continues to ignore the International Court of Justice’s condemnation of its policies.





Gaza has been under an illegal blockade for 10 years. In recent weeks Israel has adopted the official policy of ‘shoot-to-kill’ in Gaza, targeting and shooting Palestinian demonstrators seeking to improve their living conditions and to end the blockade:





  • Bullets and targeting were aimed to kill and maim as hollow bullets exploded on penetrating bodies: 112 killed, 13, 500 wounded (1029 women), 7,618 by gunshots, with 32 amputations and more coming.
  • Israeli snipers have targeted and killed journalists wearing identifiable press jackets
  • Israeli snipers have targeted and killed medical personnel, both doctors and paramedics
  • No Israeli was killed





In signing its memorandum of understanding with Israel Electric Corporation, Hydro-Quebec – and the Quebec state – makes themselves complicit in these crimes. Please sign the petition demanding that Hydro-Quebec cancel its partnership with Israel Electric Corporation!





Sign:





https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/HQ_IEC_partnership_agreement_en/





To learn more about the cooperation of Canada’s energy industry read this IT World Canadaarticle that provides details about Toronto Hydro, IESO (Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator), and the Canadian Electric Association, as well as Canadian energy sector.





Israel in Toronto





November 18, 2016 · 





Israel enjoys a close relationship with Canada’s electricity sector. Last year, a delegation of Canadian electricity companies, government officials, and regulators visited Israel.





Yesterday, Israel in Canada‘s Ambassador Rafael Barak, Nissan Amdur (Israel’s Economic Attache to Canada), and Yosi Shneck (Senior Vice President and CIO of the חברת החשמל לישראל Israel Electric Corporation), participated in IESO – The Electricity Outlet‘s Executive Briefing on Cybersecurity in Toronto.

					

		
		
	

							
	

				

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				Accessibility Washing of Israeli War Crimes
			

								


				

			

Accessibility Tour to a State that Inflicts Disability and Violates International Law





Join in sending a letter to Holland-Bloorview, March of Dimes, and AODA saying SHAME on ACCESSIBILITY WASHING.





It only takes a minute or two, and you can customize if you wish.





CLICK HERE   to send your letter saying NO to accessibility washing!





 Israel is responsible for disabling and murdering countless Palestinians. In the past few months alone, Israeli snipers have targeted journalists, paramedics, people with disabilities, women and children with fatal sniper shots during the Great March of Return. Over 200 Palestinians have been killed, and tens of thousands have been injured, often with non-fatal shots to the chest, back, or legs, ending in disability.  





 Still that is where Holland-Bloorview (Canada’s leading children hospital for rehabilitation), March of Dimes, Ontario government accessibility leadership went to learn about accessibility.  SHAME.

























SHAME





Join in sending letter to:






Dear Holland Bloorview and  March of Dimes, executives & board of directors, and Government of Ontario senior accessibility officials




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