Hundreds rally in downtown Toronto, against Israel's illegal plan to further annex the Palestinian West Bank
Photo Credit: (Aidan Jonah / The Canada Files)
Written by: Aidan Jonah
Hundreds of protesters came out to downtown Toronto yesterday, in solidarity with Palestinians in their fight against the latest Israeli attempt to annex Palestinian land.
The context
On May 25, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to annex further parts of the occupied West Bank, in violation of international law, beginning on July 1. In protest, Mahmoud Abbas announced that the Palestinian Authority (PA) was officially ending its security co-operation with Israel.
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.
Canadians have a strong desire for resistance to Israeli annexation and apartheid in general. An EKOS poll commissioned by Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East found that 42 per cent of Canadians want to impose economic and/or diplomatic sanctions against Israel. Sanctions against Israel are popular among supporters of the NDP (68 per cent), Green Party (59 per cent), Bloc Quebecois (54 per cent), and Liberal Party (42 per cent).
Meanwhile three out of four Canadians (74 per cent) think that oppose Israeli annexation of Palestinian territory.
The protest
The rally was co-organized by Courage, Palestine House, Independent Jewish Voices Canada, CJPME, and multiple other activist groups.
Barry Weisleder, Federal Secretary of Socialist Action Canada said he helped organize this rally to help “expose the continuation of the Israeli settler state’s campaign of ethnic cleansing against Palestinians.”
The rally was placed in front of the Toronto Israeli embassy to “make it clear that there is significant opposition to the annexation of the West Bank,” according to Hammam Farah, a member of Palestine House’s executive board.
Farah recalled the traumatic dispossession of his family’s home and property in Gaza, by the Israeli military. He called for the Canadian government to take concrete actions, such as imposing sanctions against Israel and suspending the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement, if Israel continues its move towards annexation.
Julius Arscott, of Socialist Action was harassed by a Israeli apartheid supporter while speaking, but was able to condemn the long history of Israeli annexations of Palestinian land, while drawing attention to the importance of the solidarity between the Black Lives Matter and Palestinian liberation movement.
Suzanne Weiss, a Holocaust survivor and member of Independent Jewish Voices Canada called annexation of the West Bank a “crime against humanity.”
Miguel Figeroa of the Canadian Peace Congress emphasized the efforts of Palestinians to end Israel’s colonial occupation of Palestine through peaceful measures. Figeroa emphasized that “having exhausted all other avenues have a right to resist occupation, [Palestinians] have a right to resist repression, and criminalization by any means at their disposal.” He promised the unconditional support of the CPC in support of the Palestinian struggle to attain freedom from Israeli apartheid.
Despite further efforts of pro-Israeli apartheid disruptors to ensure clashes, the rally proceeded peacefully. The rally concluded after more than an hour of passionate speeches, and condemnations of Israel’s plan to annex further parts of the Palestinian West Bank.
More Articles