As we continue to grieve a year of genocide against the people of Gaza, we continue to resist. Around the world, millions of people have opposed Israel’s attacks on Gaza and Lebanon by marching, advocating, and engaging in civil disobedience. While it can be easy to sink into despair as the violence continues, our actions are powerful.
In the past year, the Canadian government has bowed to public pressure and made significant policy shifts in relation to Israel. Canada has stopped approving weapons export permits to Israel. The Canada Revenue Agency has revoked the charitable status of several Zionist organizations and is investigating others. Parliamentarians are discussing the recognition of Palestinian statehood. On November 20, Canada finally broke a pattern of pro-Israel votes at the United Nations by supporting motions condemning Israel’s illegal settlements and affirming the rights of Palestinian refugees to their properties. These policy changes would not have happened without sustained grassroots campaigns.
While the Canadian government portrays itself as a defender of human rights, it continues the aggressive criminalization of the Palestinian solidarity movement. Since October 2023, the Toronto Police Service (TPS) has arrested 97 people for their participation in solidarity actions. The TPS has used increased funding for the investigation of hate crimes to persecute pro-Palestine activists. Rather than arresting people engaging in civil disobedience at demonstrations or direct actions, police have targeted solidarity organizers using strategies aimed at maximizing uncertainty and anxiety in their lives. The TPS has often surveilled and harassed organizers for months and then arrested them on multiple charges.
In many cases, the TPS has obtained arrest warrants and held onto them for months in order to arrest multiple organizers immediately before planned mobilizations. (See CPT’s statement regarding CPT Canada coordinator Rachelle Friesen’s arrest. Legal proceedings in her case continue.) The TPS has arrested activists at their workplaces and in night-time raids of their homes. In addition to the trauma of arrest and the financial stress of legal issues, solidarity activists often also face threats and harassment from militant Zionists. Some have lost their jobs.
Thankfully, arrested activists have formed a tight-knit community of support, as Friesen describes in an interview with the Blueprints of Disruption podcast: fundraising for legal fees and other expenses, forming mutual support pods, and ensuring no one is left alone after arrest. This community of solidarity transforms the violence of the settler colonial Canadian state into a space for connection, healing, and justice.
Please pray:
- For an end to genocide in Gaza
- For policy shifts in the Western countries enabling Israeli attacks
- For the dismantling of settler colonialism and the growth of global solidarity
- For support, healing and courage for solidarity activists
- For wisdom and courage to act in solidarity as you can
