A new report from Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East calls on Canadian officials to suspend military sales to Israel, and investigate whether Canadian weapons have been used to kill Palestinian civilians. “It is shocking that Canadian officials have allowed military exports to Israel to accelerate over the past decade, given the undeniable evidence of Israeli human rights abuses,” said CJPME Vice President Michael Bueckert in a statement.
Huwaida Arraf is a civil rights attorney and activist running for congress in Michigan’s newly drawn tenth district. Michael Arria spoke with the Democratic candidate about growing up Palestinian-American, her human rights work, and why she has decided to get involved in electoral politics.
Three Palestinian young people share the tremendous challenges they face due to the Israeli occupation.
Zeina Hutchison reflects on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People: “Today and always I remember, I reflect, I cry, I rejoice and I am humbled by the strength, heart, determination, beauty and achievements of my people; the Palestinian people.”
After Gaza’s Chamber of Commerce announced it would begin accepting applicants for work permits to Israel, tens of thousands rushed to apply. One photo of the scene tells the story of the devastation the Palestinian economy is currently facing.
Small business owners in Gaza grapple with mounting debts and no means of income, after their enterprises were destroyed in the escalation with Israel last May.
Israel is facing widespread backlash for its dangerous decision to label six Palestinian human rights groups as terrorist organizations. “Supporters of Israel often say to critics, ‘Stop singling out Israel. Stop picking on Israel. Treat Israel like any other country,'” Mehdi Hasan said on his MSNBC news program. “Well, okay then. Let’s condemn them for doing this then because when our other allies, like Turkey or Saudi Arabia or Egypt, crack down on human rights groups, we condemn them for it. We criticize them. So why give Israel a pass?”
Ibrahim Atta looks out at a dusty field of grasses on a hot Gaza afternoon in early fall and declares this land was once a fertile “piece of heaven.” Twenty years ago, he was earning an income from selling produce grown on this nine-acre family plot, but today Atta is no longer able to safely access the farm. The last time he tried to reach the land was in 2015. Israeli forces positioned on the other side of the fence “fired two tear gas bombs just under my feet,” Atta said. “I left and have not gone again. I just look at it from a distance and can’t get close, they may kill me.”
Young evangelicals remain to be convinced of Christian Zionism. And they very well may not be.
When it rains, it pours—inside Zoher Alsayd’s living room, kitchen and bedroom to be exact. Like many Palestinians, the former house painter’s home was wrecked by airstrikes during the latest escalation between Israel and Hamas earlier this year in May. And this was not the first time his roof was destroyed. Alsayd belongs to a growing group of Palestinians whose homes were damaged to the point of becoming uninhabitable, not once, but multiple times over the course of these four conflicts with Israel over the last 13 years.