From California grapes to South African oranges to Montgomery’s buses – boycotts are a respected tradition in America as a non violent way to promote change. The right to promote a boycott is protected by the US constitution which protects freedom of speech. But what about BDS – the movement to boycott Israel? Attempts to make it illegal have prompted a growing debate in the US over freedom of speech. Read more. (more…)
Any Canadian who tries to defend human rights for Palestinians knows that they run the risk of being called “anti-Semitic”. But when Prime Minister Trudeau (l) called out Dimitri Lascaris (r) a well known Palestinian human rights activist, accusing him of “vile anti-Semitic smears” a lot of people took notice. Is Lascaris guilty as charged, or is he being unfairly smeared by the Prime Minister? Read more.
SodaStream is an environmentally friendly product that puts fizz into ordinary tap water. It has been very popular. But many CTIP readers have a problem with Sodastream because it is made in Israel and they want to support the international movement to boycott Israel over its violations of Palestinian human rights. Two readers wrote in to say they have found some alternatives. Read more.
In diplomacy, words matter. After saying for years that Canada was an “ally” of Israel, that terminology was quietly dropped last month. We now say Canada is a “friend of Israel, and a friend to the Palestinian people”. That sounds balanced. CTIP’s research department has discovered some of the ways Canada puts that apparently “balanced” statement into practice. Read more…
Canada Talks Israel/Palestine 