November 29 marks the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, as recognized by the United Nations. This day has been observed since 1977, to recognize November 29, 1947 when the General Assembly adopted the partition of Palestine and designated the land as a new country. The Nakba, the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians during the 1948 war, swiftly followed.
It is clear the ethnic cleansing of Palestine has been going on for a very long time, and that the claims of genocide made against Israel are well-founded.
pipikwan pêhtâkwan would like to restate our unwavering support for the Palestinian people. Decolonization is an ethical priority for our company – support for a decolonized world goes beyond just Turtle Island. We build strength in our solidarity across global movements challenging settler colonialism. No one is free until we are all free.
Much has happened since October 2023, and since we released our first statement on this subject.
- Since October 7, 2023 , at least 44,363 Palestinian people have been murdered; 17,492 of them children. 105,070 have been injured and more than 11,000 are missing.
- Israel invaded Lebanon on October 1, 2024. 3,823 people have been killed in the days since, and more than 15,800 have been injured. A ceasefire was declared early the morning of November 27, 2024.
- Between October and December 2023, the greenhouse gas emissions generated from Israel’s bombings, warplanes, artillery, rockets, etc were greater than the annual emissions of over 20 nations most vulnerable to climate change.
- On November 21, 2024 the International Criminal Court (ICC) rejected Israel’s requests and issued arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu, President of Israel, and Yoav Gallant, former Minister of Defense (he was removed by Netanyahu on November 5, 2024) for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed between October 8, 2023 and May 20, 2024.
- The following day, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said publicly that Canada will “abide” by an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
- Netanyahu dismisses the arrest warrants as antisemitic.
It is important to call a genocide a genocide. We do not take time annually as a country to remember our veterans, our ancestors and the historical wrongs of the world only to look away as history repeats itself in the present day. Wanting freedom from conflict for both Palestinian and Israeli people, calling out settler colonialism, or advocating for lasting peace is not antisemitic. Palestine has long been home to people identifying as Muslim, Jewish, Christian, and more. To ignore this is to be influenced by propaganda spread and supported by states seeking power and control in the Middle East since the 1880s.
We continue to stand with the diverse voices, including Jewish voices, advocating for peace and liberation. We continue to uplift Palestinian voices and elevate their calls to action publicly and internally. Our organization lost a large contract due to our last blog post about Palestine and the blog may have prevented others from working with us. However, that does not deter us from continuing to live by our values and to seek justice for all. We continue to dream of building a decolonized and just world for all people as we dedicate ourselves to unraveling the confines of today’s society which harm us all.
We urge you to continue to call and email our elected officials to demand a permanent ceasefire in Palestine now:
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – (613) 992-4211 | justin.trudeau@parl.gc.ca
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland – (613) 992-5234 | chrystia.freeland@parl.gc.ca
Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly – (613) 992-0983 | melanie.joy@parl.gc.ca
Minister of International Development Ahmed Hussen – (613) 995-0777 | ahmed.hussen@parl.gc.ca
