The following is a statement that was distributed as a promotion for Sunday’s upcoming rally.
Join us this Sunday, October 15th at 1 pm in front of Hamilton City Hall to show your solidarity with the Palestinians trapped in Gaza. Following Israel’s formal declaration of war on Gaza, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant described Palestinians as “human animals” and imposed a military siege on Gaza, which will prevent food and humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza. Israeli bombing in the context of such an inhumane siege will likely result in a genocide in Gaza.
SUPPORT THE JUST DEMANDS OF GAZANS!
Gazans are demanding:
– an end to Israel’s illegal 16-year-long blockade of the coastal enclave which has caused immense hardship, poverty, death, and unemployment for Gazans;
– the release of all Palestinian political prisoners. Israel, which is widely recognized as an apartheid regime, currently holds about 6000 Palestinian political prisoners, including seniors, pregnant women, and children under 13, many of whom have never had their day in court but are incarcerated under a British colonial “administrative detention” law that permits Israel to hold them in prison for decades. Conditions for prisoners are abysmal and include torture and solidarity confinement;
– Israel and its settler colonists keep “Hands off the Al Aqsa Mosque” in Jerusalem, the third holiest shrine in the Islamic world. Israeli soldiers and settlers have repeatedly defiled the mosque, preventing Palestinians from attending services, strip-searching and beating up worshippers inside the mosque compound.
WORK FOR A COMPREHENSIVE, JUST, AND LASTING PEACE!
Today is the opportune time to accomplish what many member states of United Nations have been trying to achieve for decades: a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in the Holy Land that would bring to an end the cycle of violence between Israelis and Palestinians, which has taken the lives of tens of thousands of civilians on both sides. All the details of such a peace arrangement are already codified in numerous UN resolutions and include an end to Israel’s blockade of Gaza, the removing of illegal Jewish settlements on the West Bank, and statehood for Palestine. Now is the moment to bring a lasting peace into reality! We call for an immediate ceasefire and the start of negotiations!
WE CALL ON THE NDP TO HOLD THE TRUDEAU GOVERNMENT TO ACCOUNT!
Under Jagmeet Singh, the New Democratic Party, which is holding its federal convention this weekend in Hamilton, has failed in its duty to Canadians. As an opposition party, it is supposed to hold the government to account. However, rather than criticize the Trudeau government for being partisan in this instance and supporting the Israeli side, Jagmeet Singh’s very first reaction was to be partisan himself and come down on the side of Israel.
This is not what Canadians want or expect. Many public opinion polls have consistently showed that most Canadians support the Palestinian cause, oppose illegal Israeli settlements and its Gaza blockade, and support statehood for Palestine. The occasional statement of concern by Foreign Policy Critic Heather McPherson is not enough. We expect the NDP to reflect Canadians’ majority views and actually to work for a comprehensive peace, based on UN resolutions, which Canada is on record as having endorsed in the past.
SHUT DOWN HATE!
Jews and Arabs lived together in peace in Jerusalem for hundreds of year before the State of Israel came into existence. It can happen again under the proper circumstances.
Our rally this Sunday is NOT directed against Hamilton’s Jewish community, its members, or its institutions. Judaism and Zionism are two different things. In fact, many Jews have already indicated they will participate in our rally.
If you agree with the above, please join us!
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 15TH, 2023
1 PM
IN FRONT OF HAMILTON CITY HALL
71 MAIN STREET WEST
sponsored by:
– Hamilton Coalition To Stop The War (hcsw.ca hcsw@cogeco.ca)
– Palestinian Association of Hamilton
– Independent Jewish Voices (Hamilton)
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