We, the undersigned organizations, call on the Ontario government to immediately refrain from defaming and condemning Ontario human rights activists who work in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

In 2005, after the International Court of Justice ruling that found Israel’s barrier jutting into the occupied West Bank to be illegal, 171 Palestinian organizations, representing a broad segment of Palestinian civil society, called upon the international community to adopt the tactics of boycotts, divestments and sanctions until Israel

1) ends its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands occupied in June 1967 and dismantles its separation barrier;
2) recognizes the fundamental rights of Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and
3) respects the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN Resolution 194.

Each of these demands correspond closely to Canada’s official governmental policies, as are stipulated on the Global Affairs website. These demands are based on basic principles of international law.

Nonetheless, the recently defeated Bill 202 claimed that the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement is “anti-Semitic”, “anti-Jewish” and “anti-Israeli”, and that BDS targets Jewish-owned businesses. In reality, BDS targets Israeli institutions, not individuals, and focuses on corporations—be they Israeli or otherwise—which contribute to Israel’s ongoing violations of international law. While it is encouraging that this bill was resoundingly defeated, neither Premier Wynne, nor her governmental counterparts, refuted these baseless allegations put forward by the Ontario PC Party, Liberal MPP Mike Colle, and Canadian Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies.

Furthermore, on June 2nd, Premier Wynne stated in the Ontario Legislature that during her recent mission to Israel and occupied Palestinian territories—upon the invitation of a pro-Israel lobby group—she proclaimed her commitment to “work with the opposition parties and that we would try to come up with a motion that would pass in this legislature that would reflect the inclusiveness of all the members of this legislature… in the coming weeks.”

All of us are in favour of “inclusiveness,” but let us not allow this noble sentiment to become a cover for an attack on legitimate political speech.

Premier Wynne has noted her position on the BDS movement, stating, “I entirely oppose the BDS movement. In fact, any position that promotes or encourages anti-Semitism in any way – we have to stand against that.” Rather than denounce the defamatory lies that were promoted in our provincial legislature, Wynne has given credence to them.

Support for BDS is a legitimate political position, as it is based on solidarity with the Palestinian people’s struggle for freedom, justice and equality. It has been endorsed by numerous Jewish-Israelis, Jews and Jewish organizations in different countries, and by an impressive list of individuals including Stephen Hawking, Desmond Tutu and Alice Walker.

We ask that the Ontario Legislature support the right of Ontarians to engage in peaceful advocacy for human rights in Israel/Palestine, free from defamation or condemnation from our provincial government.

Signed by:

Ontario Civil Liberties Association

Canadian Union of Public Employees Ontario

Canadian Union of Postal Workers

Independent Jewish Voices Canada

Canadian Arab Federation

Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East

Canadian BDS Coalition

Faculty for Palestine

International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group

Black Lives Matter – Toronto

Canadian Friends Service Committee

Canadians Arabs and Jews for a Just Peace

Palestine Solidarity Working Group (Sudbury)

Colombian Action Solidarity Alliance

Run for Palestine (National)

Circulo Bolivariano Louis Riel

Sudbury Coalition Against Poverty

BDS Action Calgary

Palestinian and Jewish Unity

Canadian Boat to Gaza

Socialist Action

Catholics for Justice and Peace in the Holy Land

PAX CHRISTI

Student Christian Movement of Canada

Students Against Israeli Apartheid at York University

Canada Palestine Association

Socialist Project

Latin American and Caribbean Solidarity Network

Laurier Students Public Interest Research Group

Run for Palestine – Waterloo

Canada Palestine Association – Vancouver

Christian Peacemaker Teams Canada

Mining Injustice Solidarity Network

OPIRG York

OPIRG Windsor

Educators for Peace and Justice

BDS Vancouver-Coast Salish

Palestine Solidarity Network – Edmonton

OPIRG Peterborough

Sunday Poetry

JOURNEY Magazine Peterborough

Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid – Toronto

Canada Talks Israel Palestine

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network

Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid – Victoria

Queer Ontario

Ontario Humanist Society

Canadian Palestinian Educational Exchange

Peace & Social Action Committee – Toronto Monthly Meeting of the Society of Friends (Quakers)

Hamilton Coalition to Stop The War

University of Waterloo Students for Palestinian Rights

Independent Jewish Voices – Kingston

Independent Jewish Voices – Toronto

Independent Jewish Voices – Ottawa

Independent Jewish Voices – Hamilton

CODEPINK

Genocide Education Canada

United Network for Just Peace in Palestine & Israel-Toronto

United Network for Just Peace in Palestine and Israel-Canada

Former Ecumenical Accompaniers to Palestine & Israel from Ontario

Action4Palestine

The Toronto New Socialists

Women in Solidarity with Palestine (WSP) – Toronto

International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network – Canada

Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade

Citizen Action Monitor

Bathurst Street United Church

Students for Justice in Palestine – UOIT/DC

University of Waterloo Palestine Solidarity Action Group

Unitarians Coalition for Social Justice/Unitarians for Palestine

University of Waterloo Muslim Students Association

No One Is Illegal- Toronto

Beit Zatoun

Zatoun

Toronto Students for Justice in Palestine