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Montreal, Oct 8, 2024 — The Anti-Racism Program of the CJPME Foundation (ARPCF) calls on Canadians institutions – school boards, universities, police departments, etc. – to extend equal concern and protection to all Canadians affected by the events in Palestine and Lebanon, over the past year.  The ARPCF is aware of statements issued by various public institutions highlighting those impacted by the “events of Oct. 7, 2023,” but often such statements appear to ignore the concerns of many ethnic Canadians.  The ARPCF points out that the events of Oct. 7, 2023 occurred in a broader context of military occupation, colonialism, foreign interference, and other influences, that have deeply affected the region for decades.  The ARPCF believes that such refusal to acknowledge this broader context is an example of anti-Palestinian racism, among other forms of racism. 

“Canadian institutions and community leaders must recognize that Palestinian resistance actions on October 7, 2023, occurred as an inevitable reaction to the prolonged Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories,” asserted Jamila Ewais, Lead Researcher of the ARPCF. “The absence of meaningful global intervention to hold Israel accountable under international law has left Palestinians with few options for seeking justice in the face of occupation and aggression.”  The ARPCF points out that resistance movements – like that of the Palestinians – arise from the desperate need for autonomy and survival under oppressive conditions. "The portrayal of these actions as threats to global security, particularly by Canadian institutions, oversimplifies the complex dynamics at play and constitutes a pervasive and systemic form of anti-Palestinian racism."

On the first anniversary of October 7, a number of Canadian institutions and police departments have enacted security measures that treat the commemoration of this date as a potential emergency and threat. This heightened state of alert, including increased policing and institutional shutdowns, is clearly a discriminatory response that unfairly associates Palestinian and pro-Palestinian movements with extremism and terrorism. Such actions not only exacerbate tensions but also perpetuate a harmful narrative that vilifies an entire community fighting for its basic rights and recognition.

According to an Arab Canadian Lawyers Association 2022 report, Anti-Palestinian racism takes many forms, including:

• erasing the human rights and equal dignity and worth of Palestinians
• defaming Palestinians and their allies with slander such as being inherent violent, anti-democratic, and/or supportive of terrorism
• denying the 1948 dispossession of Palestinians
• justifying violence against Palestinians

The ARPCF urges Canadian institutions to abandon all racially biased responses to the Palestinian liberation movement. Canadian institutions need to educate themselves on the history and context of the Palestinian experience.  The ARPCF believes that the Canadian discourse on the Middle East needs to be reframed, recognizing that Palestinian actions are directed solely against their occupiers and have never posed a threat to Canada or its citizens. Canadian bodies should focus on promoting understanding and dialogue rather than escalating fear and alienation through disproportionate security measures.