“Should Canada support BDS?” There is growing debate in Canada over the international movement to boycott Israel, known as BDS. In March, the federal government adopted a motion “denouncing” BDS. But a resolution in the same direction failed in the Ontario legislature in May. Canada Talks Israel Palestine (CTIP) wants to encourage a thoughtful discussion: We offer a $1000 prize for the best essay. Read more. (more…)
Canadian Politics
Liberal Minister’s letter implies continuation of Harper policy on denying funding for Palestinian refugees

Among the millions of new refugees displaced by the war in Syria are hundreds of thousands of existing refugees – Palestinians who have been stuck in camps in Syria and Lebanon since 1948. They depend on UNRWA, a UN organization, for the basics of survival. But in a recent letter, Liberal minister Marie Claude Bibeau seems to say that the Liberals are not in any hurry to reverse the Harper government’s decision to cut off UNRWA funding. Read more. (more…)
Canadian Mennonites call for economic sanctions against Israel

By a show of hands, the biennial Assembly of the Mennonite Church Canada meeting in Saskatoon in early July, voted overwhelmingly to call on the Canadian government to apply economic sanctions against Israel for its continued occupation of Palestinian territory. Read more. (more…)
World council of Social Democratic Parties “recognizes” non-violent boycott of Israel

Canada’s NDP is one of 153 social democratic parties around the world who are members of the “Socialist International” (or SI). At its semi-annual meeting at the United Nations in Geneva on July 1 -2, 2016, the SI council expressed for the first time support for the growing international movement to boycott Israel. Read more… (more…)
Trudeau pays emotional visit to Auschwitz

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, accompanied by Foreign Minister Stephane Dion and several leading members of the Canadian Jewish Community. His emotional visit will clearly play a role in his government’s approach to the Israel/Palestine issue. Read more. (more…)