View this in pdf format Montreal, December 01, 2025 — The Anti-Racism Program of the CJPME Foundation (ARPCF) condemns the decision by the YMCA of Greater Halifax/Dartmouth to rescind its 2025 Peace Medal from longtime peace and human rights activist Rana Zaman. The ARPCF argues that this decision, taken after targeted pressure from pro-Israel lobby groups including B’nai Brith and the Atlantic Jewish Council, represents a deeply troubling act of anti-Palestinian racism. Rana Zaman, a Muslim community leader, was selected for the award in recognition of her decades of grassroots humanitarian work. The YMCA’s decision, which appears to be based on her public advocacy for Palestinian rights and criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza, raises serious concerns about respect for free expression and seems at odds with the Peace Medal’s stated values of peace, inclusion, and justice.

View this report in PDF format. On November 2, 2023, Hani Alaf, a Syrian-Canadian postgraduate student at Humber College, engaged in a peaceful protest by placing stickers around the Lakeshore campus. These stickers, which displayed the Palestinian flag along with the phrase "Boycott Israeli Apartheid," were intended to highlight and protest against Israel’s systemically racist policies in Palestine.[1] Alaf’s action was a form of political expression rooted in international human rights advocacy. However, the college's response was swift and severe. Two days after the stickers were posted, while Alaf was in class, he was approached by a member of the college's public safety department. He was instructed to leave the campus immediately. Alaf reported that he was accused of spreading hate speech, engaging in antisemitic rhetoric, and vandalizing property.[2] This reaction by the college sparked a significant controversy, as it appeared to conflate his support for the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions Movement and anti-apartheid stance with antisemitism and hate speech, raising concerns about the college’s suppression of political expression and academic freedom. The incident quickly escalated, leading to a broader discussion on the rights of students to engage in political protests without fear of undue penalization. The punishment taken against Alaf, which many perceived as an infringement on his freedom of speech, catalyzed a series of organized protests and expressions of solidarity by other members of the Humber College community.