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 Demonstration: End the siege on Gaza! End Israeli Apartheid!
DATE: SUNDAY JANUARY 25th
TIME: 13h00 carré Cabot
LOCATION: Corner St. Catherine | Atwater
(metro Atwater) Montreal, Quebec
مظاهرة تضامنيَّة مع الشعب الفلسطيني في قطاع غزَّة
يوم الأحد 25 كانون ثان/يناير
عند الساعة 01:00 بعد الظهر بداية من شارع سان كاترين و آت ووتر
نأمل من الجميع المشاركة في هذا الاحتجاح Around the world, major demonstrations in solidarity with Palestine are taking place, from Europe, to the Middle East, to Latin America. In response to the Israeli military invasion of the Gaza Strip, the grassroots movement in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for liberation has been reignited.
Israeli military actions have consistently targeted civilians and civilian infrastructure throughout Gaza, a war crime under international law; from U.N. schools, to apartment buildings, nowhere in Gaza is now safe from Israeli military aggression. Since December 27th, approximately 1200 Palestinians have been killed and approximately 5000 injured, the majority civilians, sparking international outrage against Israel and Israeli apartheid. Now, while Israel has called for a unilateral ceasefire, it is clear that the siege of Gaza continues: Israeli troops remain in Gaza and Israel continues its brutal siege of the region, denying civilians freedom of movement and access to food, medical care, and employment. 
Israeli apartheid
Apartheid is the word that is being increasingly used to describe this stated which traps the Palestinian population within a small territory and lays siege to it; which colonizes Palestinian land and separates it into small interconnected parcels reminiscent of the bantustans of apartheid South Africa. This analysis has been adopted by an ever-growing chorus of public figures, including former US President Jimmy Carter and veterans of the South African anti-apartheid struggle, such as South African archbishop Desmond Tutu and Ronnie Kasrils, a South African Jew and former minister in the South African government between 2004 and 2008.
Join us for a major demonstration building on previous protests, which have united tens of thousands in Montreal, to build a movement in solidarity with Palestine and against Israeli apartheid.
Join us to denounce the ongoing Israeli occupation in Palestine, which constitutes a violation of United Nations Resolution 242.
Join us to call for an immediate end to the Israeli siege of Gaza.
Join us to denounce the direct complicity of the US and Canadian governments with the Israeli war crimes in Gaza.
The complicity of the Canadian and Québecois governments
The complicity of the Canadian government has been extremely clear. It has been outlined in statements from Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon, who have consistently defended Israel's war crimes, whether against civilians in Lebanon in 2006 or in Palestine in 2008.
Futhermore, both the governments of Canada and Québec stand in direct complicity with the Israeli apartheid system, which systematically discriminates against the indigenous Palestinian population. The Quebecois and Canadian governments recently deepend their relations with Israel, increasing bilateral economic, military, political, cultural, educational and scientific links. This fall, Jean Charest's Liberal government inked a bilateral trade deal with Israel, an action which stands in stark contrast to the growing international calls for an economic boycott of the Israeli government in light of ongoing Israeli war crimes and systematic discrimination in Palestine.
At this moment, we must instead reaffirm our commitment to continue mobilizing friends and allies in Québecois and Canadian social movements to respond to the 2005 call by over 170 Palestinian civil society organizations for a comprehensive international campaign of boycott, sanctions and divestment (BDS). This is a strategy inspired by the international movement against South African apartheid, which in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s played a major role in bringing an end to that racist regime.
Join us on the streets in Montreal in solidarity with the Palestinian people of Gaza and to call for an end to Israeli apartheid!
* this demonstration is organized by:
Association québécoise des organismes de coopération internationale (AQOCI)
Alternatives
Association pour une Solidarité Syndicale Étudiante (ASSÉ)
Société Bolivarienne du Québec – Bolivarian Society of Quebec
Canadian Muslim Forum, le Forum musulman canadien (FMC-CMF)
Canadian Palestinian Foundation of Quebec – la Fondation Canado- Palestinienne du Quebec (CPFQ)
Canadian Union of Postal Workers – Syndicat des travailleurs et travailleuses des postes (CUPW-STTP)
Collectif d'abord solidaires
Fédération nationale des enseignantes et enseignants du Québec (FNEEQ)
Muslim Students Association, Concordia University
Palestinian and Jewish Unity – Palestiniens et Juifs Unis (PAJU)
Parole Arabe
Québec Solidaire
Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights – Solidarité pour les droits humains palestinien (SPHR-SDHP)
Tadamon!
* this demonstration is endorsed by:
la Coalition pour la Justice et le Paix en Palestine – Coalition for Justice and Peace in Palestine (CJPP) |
