Anthony Issa / أنطوني عيسى 🇵🇸🇱🇧

"Canada should not be propping up media corporations owned by an American hedge fund with ties to a Republican donour, let alone allowing them to use public subsidies in order to perpetuate anti-Palestinian racism in tabloids masquerading as news. Postmedia regularly attempts to cast grassroots Palestinian organizations as 'foreign proxies.' But, in reality, it is the chain itself that answers to the interests of a right-wing hedge fund owner and the desires of the Zionist lobby. Canadian public opinion has shifted decisively in favour of Palestine as Israel's genocide continues without accountability. Canadians would be better served if those public dollars went toward independent journalism, rather than a media corporation that answers to the interests of its American owner and the Zionist lobby."

We have written to the CBC requesting a change to the misleading title of their article "Why a spate of gun-for-hire shootings in Toronto were likely paid for by Iran." What the investigation in the article confirms is that the shootings are linked by a multi-layered gun-for-hire network. What is not established through the facts in the article is any concrete link to Iran. Instead, this appears to be entirely in reference to intelligence reports from Canada (CSIS), the FBI, and the UK, which have raised concerns regarding alleged Iranian-linked plots against Jewish-Canadians. These reports themselves originate from an American federal court complaint which alleges that two attacks in Canada were ordered by an Iraqi national named Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi with potential links to Iran, who had been arrested in Turkey and extradited to the United States. The complaint cites multiple conversations between al-Saadi and an undercover FBI agent. These are allegations based on undercover FBI operations, not criminal findings. Given the fact that the courts have not decided on a verdict, there is still no conclusive evidence connecting Iran to the shootings in Canada. Unfortunately, the article does not discuss the unconfirmed status of these allegations, but appears to treat them as sufficient evidence to support the article’s thesis, as reflected in the article’s title. Reporting this as “likely” based on the evidence to date unfortunately adds fuel to rising Islamophobia in Canada, whose proponents use these anti-Iran conspiracies to normalize and justify anti-Muslim hate.

After being 'battle-tested' on Palestinians under occupation, a drone from Israeli weapons company Elbit Systems is about to start surveilling the Arctic as part of the Canadian Coast Guard. We continue to call on Canada to cancel all contracts with this company, which a UN report has named as being complicit in genocide. nunatsiaq.com/stories/articl…

A letter from CJPME's Media Accountability Project to the Winnipeg Sun: The @winnipegsun's editorial opinion that the federal government has abandoned Jewish Canadians by clarifying its position on anti-Zionism is simply not true. The minister’s October 16 letter only clarifies that criticism of Zionism and Israeli government policies is not automatically antisemitic and that lawful political expression must not be discouraged. Although I agree that a private clarification is insufficient while the Public Safety Canada report remains unchanged, I disagree that anti-Zionism is the same as antisemitism. It is completely legitimate to oppose Zionism, which is the political ideology behind the creation of the state of Israel. Like all nationalist ideologies rooted in colonialism, it is not simply benign. Zionism is experienced by Palestinians as dispossession and oppression, due to the historic planned mass ethnic cleansing of historic Palestine by Zionist forces, and Israel’s ongoing crimes of occupation, apartheid, and genocide. Anti-Zionism is a legitimate form of expression against concrete injustices against the Palestinian people. We cannot allow our government to silence these perspectives. The government should amend the document to clarify that anti-Zionism and criticism of Israel are not inherently antisemitic.

Cette semaine, la porte-parole de @QuebecSolidaire , @RubaGhazalQS , a porté un keffieh palestinien lors de sa prestation de serment à l'Assemblée nationale du Québec. Un moment fort. Mme Ghazal est une réfugiée d'origine palestinienne et une fervente défenseure des droits de la personne. Québec solidaire a aussi soutenu la campagne Votons Palestine. QS s'est engagé à fermer le bureau du Québec à Tel-Aviv, à étendre la couverture de la RAMQ aux ressortissant·es de Gaza, à désinvestir la CDPQ des entreprises complices de l'apartheid israélien et à mettre fin au transfert d'équipement militaire du Québec vers Israël. Alf mabrouk ya Ruba !

This week, @QuebecSolidaire spokesperson @RubaGhazalQS displayed the Palestinian keffiyeh while being sworn in as a member of Quebec’s National Assembly in Quebec City. This was a powerful moment. Ghazal is a Palestinian refugee and a strong advocate for human rights. Quebec Solidaire supported the demands of the Votons Palestine Campaign during the election, pledging to close the Quebec Tel Aviv office, extending provincial healthcare coverage to residents from Gaza, divest CDPQ investments from companies complicit in Israeli apartheid, and end military transfers from Quebec to Israel. Alf mabrouk ya Ruba!

We are encouraged to learn that Hampstead Mayor Jeremy Levi has been found guilty of misconduct by the disciplinary board of Quebec's chartered professional accountants (l’OCPAQ), which La Presse reports is directly related to Levi’s anti-Palestinian social media comments. La Presse reports that Levi will have to pay a $30,000 fine and additional expenses, and will have to complete mandatory training. Over the past several years, we have been disgusted by Levi’s racist, anti-Palestinian comments in defense of Israel’s genocide in Gaza. These include a post encouraging Israel to “move forward with full occupation and annexation of Gaza. […] No more half-measures. No more waiting. The world needs to understand: no more arguing, no more explanations. Full throttle. No apologies.” Levi has also vocally rejected the idea of welcoming immigrants from Gaza, for example saying that “their values seem incompatible with ours, and I have no desire to welcome more hatred into our country.” This decision is a rare example of a public official and professional being held accountable for vicious anti-Palestinian speech. We await further information, but hope that this represents a turning point in which such behaviour is no longer tolerated.

Nous sommes encouragés d’apprendre que le maire de Hampstead, Jeremy Levi, a été reconnu coupable de faute professionnelle par le conseil de discipline de l'Ordre des comptables professionnels agréés du Québec (l’OCPAQ). Selon La Presse, cette sanction est directement liée aux propos anti-palestiniens qu’il a tenus sur les réseaux sociaux. M. Levi devra payer une amende de 30 000 $, assumer toutes les dépenses supplémentaires, comme les frais d’avocats, et il devra également suivre une formation obligatoire. Au cours des dernières années, nous avons été dégoûtés par les propos racistes et antipalestiniens de Jeremy Levi visant à défendre le génocide perpétré par Israël à Gaza. Dans l’une de ses publications, il incitait notamment Israël à « aller de l’avant avec l’occupation et l’annexion complète de Gaza […] Plus de demi-mesures. Plus d’attente. Le monde doit comprendre : fini les arguments, fini les explications. À fond. Pas d’excuses. » M. Levi s’est également opposé ouvertement à l'accueil de réfugiés provenant de Gaza, affirmant par exemple que « leurs valeurs semblent incompatibles avec les nôtres et je n’ai aucun désir d’accueillir plus de haine dans notre pays ». Cette décision constitue un rare exemple où un élu et professionnel est tenu responsable de propos anti-palestiniens odieux. Nous demeurons dans l’attente d'informations complémentaires, tout en espérant que cela marque un tournant et que de tels comportements ne soient plus tolérés.