Mid-Islanders for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (MIPJME)
Mid-Islanders for Justice and Peace in the Middle East is a group of committed activists who oppose the harsh and ongoing repression of the Palestinian people by the Israeli state. We do not accept that this conflict is in any way symmetrical or a balance between equal powers. It persists because of the continuing dispossession and occupation of one nation by the other, a military occupation that is illegal under international law. We concur with many leaders and observers throughout the world that Israel is effectively an apartheid state. We deplore all violence against civilians. And we reject in the strongest terms any association of legitimate criticism of the state of Israel with anti-Semitism.
Our goal is to work in concert with other activist groups who seek to bring an end to this conflict.
We call for:
- an immediate end to the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza;
- withdrawal from the settlements to the pre-1967 borders;
- an end to the siege of Gaza;
- an end to the ongoing brutalization of Palestinian life through checkpoints, land confiscations, destruction of agricultural land and wells, house demolitions, assassinations, sniper killings, aerial bombardments, tank incursions into cities, and so on;
- a just political solution to this crisis that involves the full participation of the Palestinian people;
- a just settlement of the Palestinian refugee question based on U.N. resolution 194 (Right of Return);
- a permanent international administrative regime in Jerusalem, allowing it to serve as capital city for both Israel and Palestine;
- an end to all violence against civilians – Palestinian and Israeli;
- a dismantling of the massive and illegal separation wall in the West Bank.
We also support the Global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign as a means to achieve these ends.
As residents of Canada we oppose Canada’s role in enabling the Occupation, in particular Canada’s refusal to demand that Israel implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 calling for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Occupied Territories, Canada’s tendency to abstain from UN resolutions condemning Israeli actions, Canada’s continued support of Israeli settlements in the West Bank through charitable tax status for certain groups, Canada’s promotion and support of the collective punishment of Palestinians through the siege of Gaza and other policies, and the deplorable tendency of the federal government, as well as many other federal and provincial politicians from all parties, to label legitimate dissent on this issue as “anti-Semitism.”
We also reject the bias of the mainstream media in Canada, who minimize the suffering of Palestinians and who whitewash the worst atrocities of the Israeli state. A significant part of our mandate is to counter the media’s abandonment of their democratic responsibility to inform.
To achieve our goals we intend to hold educational events, present speakers, and organize campaigns to help our fellow citizens become more informed about this crisis.