For over nine months the US-sponsored Israeli genocidal war has continued in Palestine. For nine months people around the world have taken to the streets in their own countries to demand an end to it. In Toronto, communities have participated in demonstrations, sit-ins at offices of our Members of Parliament, pickets at weapons manufacturers, disrupting and shutting down political fundraisers, rail blockades to prevent the transportation of Israeli weapons, sing-ins at shopping malls, sit-ins at banks, the list goes on and on. We are a community that refuses to be silenced and refuses to be ignored.
Having made an impact, the state has tried to step in, attempting to crack down on actions that call for an end to the genocide. In Toronto, since October, over 70 people have been arrested for their support of Palestine. Some of these arrests have taken place at protests, but others have occurred months after specific actions, where police either called or knocked on people’s doors. The Toronto Police Service is attempting to criminalize people out of the movement—yet we will not stop, we will not rest.
So today, we pray for energy and stamina to keep going in this fight. But above all, we pray for an end to the genocide and a free Palestine.
