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Montreal, Jun 27, 2024 — The Anti-Racism Program of the CJPME Foundation (ARPCF) condemns the recent deportation order of aid worker Majeda Sarassra as an act of anti-Palestinian racism (APR) that denies Palestinian experiences and criminalizes Palestinian everyday life under Israeli military occupation. Sarassra was a West Bank-based employee of the International Relief Fund for the Afflicted and Needy Canada (IRFAN-Canada), where she worked part-time in the city of Bethlehem. Her role involved distributing financial aid to children whose fathers had died, providing crucial support to needy families in Palestine. By targeting Sarassra for her employment with IRFAN-Canada, Canadian authorities are effectively penalizing her for participating in humanitarian efforts within the context of her life under Israeli occupation. This action not only dismisses the lived realities of Palestinians but also undermines their right to provide aid and support within their communities.

This incident highlights the broader issue of Canadian institutions targeting Palestinians for practicing their everyday lives under occupation. "Sarassra's role in distributing money to children who lost their fathers was a legitimate humanitarian effort, yet it has been stigmatized as a terrorist activity due to her association with IRFAN-Canada," said Jamila Ewais, lead researcher with the ARPCF. The ARPCF believes that this type of persecution perpetuates the harmful assumption that Palestinians, by virtue of their identity and circumstances, are inherently suspicious and linked to terrorism, regardless of their actual actions or intentions. In addition to Canada’s recent discriminatory barriers with temporary via applications from Palestinians in Gaza, with the order against Sarassra, it threatens to deport Palestinians who have been living in Canada for years instead of acknowledging their plight and facilitating their quest for a secure place to live and escape the Israeli occupation.

The ARPCF notes that the Canadian government systematically scrutinizes all Palestine solidarity work, even when conducted by Canadian charities or NGOs, presuming such efforts to be linked to terrorist groups. According to the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association (ACLA) definition of APR, defaming Palestinians, their actions, or their allies as inherently terrorist is discriminatory. This common practice not only impedes Palestinian efforts to alleviate the consequences of the Israeli occupation but also obstructs nearly all humanitarian efforts related to Palestine. Several reports have shown that NGOs and pro-Palestine advocacy work in Canada are frequently targeted, put under suspicion, and suspended without clear justification. Moreover, this situation exemplifies double standards, as 10% of Canadian foreign charity donations go to Israel, which is accused of numerous human rights violations against Palestinians, including plausible genocide in Gaza. Despite these accusations, Canada has not investigated any of these charities for links to human rights violations, simply because they fund Israeli interests and entities.

In response to the deportation order, Sarassra has appealed the decision to the Federal Court, challenging the grounds of her inadmissibility and the mischaracterization of her humanitarian work as terrorism-related. The ARPCF demands an immediate halt to her deportation and calls for a thorough review of the criteria used to label individuals as members of terrorist organizations based on their humanitarian efforts. The ARPCF emphasizes the need for fair and transparent procedures to ensure that no individual is unjustly targeted or deported without clear and substantiated evidence of wrongdoing.

About the ARPCF – The mandate of the Anti-Racism Program of the CJPME Foundation (ARPCF) is to create public awareness about racism in Canada.  This mandate falls in line with the Foundation’s broader purpose of monitoring and combating manifestations of racism, xenophobia, and discrimination by increasing public awareness of such biases.

For more information, please contact Jamila Ewais, 514-389-8668
ARPCF, [email protected]  www.cjpmefoundation.org

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