US President Joe Biden made a major foreign policy speech at the United Nations on Tuesday. He reiterated unequivocal US support for “an independent Jewish state”, but said a state for the Palestinians is a “long way” away. Why doesn’t the USA promote the liberal democratic ideals of tolerance, equality, democracy and human rights in Israel/Palestine as it claims to do elsewhere? Why does it reject this approach and insist on a separate Jewish State? Ottawa researcher and author Stephen Gowans thinks he knows why… Read more and see our interview…

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Erin O’Toole’s Conservatives are hoping to draw support from both within and outside the Canadian Jewish community – from hardline “Israel-right-or-wrong” Zionists to liberal Zionists who support Israel but who feel some sympathy for the plight of the Palestinans. Their program tries to straddle the divide. Read more..

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Movie watchers around the world (including Canadians) were thrilled when US GI Steve McQueen escaped from a German prison camp in the award winning 1964 movie “The Great Escape”. We admired the determination, patience and courage he and his fellow prisoners showed in digging an escape hole under the very noses of his hated Nazi captors. Palestinians are reacting the same way to the news this week that 6 political prisoners have escaped from a notorious Israeli jail. Read more.

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While Israel publicly supports a 2 state solution, it continues to take over more and more land. Most observers think that it is not possible for Palestinians to have a real state on the tiny amount of land they still control. However, Canada like most of the Western world, has stubbornly remained committed to the 2 state idea while seeming to ignore Israeli expansion. Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) has just issued a policy paper calling Canada’s policy into question. CTIP interviews CJPME’s Michael Bueckert about the thinking behind the new policy recommendations. Read more and watch the video interview.

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Dr. Tarek Loubani is a Palestinian Canadian. He was born in Kuwait of Palestinian refugee parents. He frequently goes to Gaza where he works as an emergency room doctor at al Shifa hospital in Gaza City. On June 29th, the Ottawa Forum on Israel Palestine organized a zoom based expert panel of Canadians to discuss his work with Dr. Loubani. Watch the video interview….

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