Palestine Debrief – Details, episodes & analysis

Debate Video: https://youtube.com/live/cD-on4YpRe4?feature=share

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CJPME discusses the "NDP Leadership Debate on Palestine" - hosted by our Director of Media Advocacy Jason Toney, joined by CJPME President Yara Shoufani and Libby Davies - former NDP MP for Vancouver East, former Deputy Leader of the Federal NDP, and longest serving board member of CJPME. 

As we're diving into a critical moment for Canada's political landscape, the federal NDP is officially in the heat of the leadership race. The deadline to register to vote is rapidly approaching onJan 28th.

CJPME recently hosted a debate on Palestine with most of the official leadership contestants, except for Rob Ashton.Candidates were asked questions about the arms embargo on Israel, Trump’s Board of Peace and how to support Palestinian self-determination, the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement, and the reasons behind Canada’s longtime unconditional support for Israel. You can find the full debate on our YouTube page, the this link up here as well as the description below. 

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Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3vQPESnU5Bfdp0CJH7SqLS

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As NDP members prepare to vote for the party's next leader, join us for a debate on Palestine with the 2026 NDP leadership contestants.

For the past two years, the Palestine movement has worked to hold Canada’s political establishment to account. As the NDP increasingly carries advocacy work into Parliament, this debate will bring forward the key priorities of pro-Palestine voices — centering the conversation on Palestine and putting prospective party leaders on the record.

CJPME President Yara Shoufani will moderate the debate. Participants include:
Tanille Johnston
Avi Lewis
Heather McPherson
Tony McQuail

The questions have been crafted by CJPME and allied collaborators. The topics will include, but are not limited to: International Law & Accountability;  Anti-Racism & Anti-Hate Legislation; Trade & Diplomacy.

The event is free, but donations are much appreciated. You can also become a monthly donor to CJPME here:
https://www.cjpme.org/donate_ep

CJPME is a non-partisan organisation. We do not formally support or endorse any particular political party in Canada. However, anyone who wishes to vote for the next NDP leader must be an actively registered member of the Party. The deadline to register for membership is January 28, 2026. The link to register is here: https://act.ndp.ca/donate/membership-en?source=20220310_WEB_GEN_1_JOIN_NDPWS_NDP_EN_ALL

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In this episode we speak with Emilio Dabed, the founding member of Legal Centre for Palestine, a lawyer specialised in international law and constituational matter. We talk about the legal proceedings in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice against the Attorney General of Canada for Canada’s failure to act to prevent genocide and in violation of its legal obligations under the Genocide Convention of 1948 as well as the plaintiff’s rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom. 

The Plaintiffs seek a declaration that Canada has a duty to take all measures wihtin its power to prevent genocide, and that Canada has violated that duty. They also seek a declaration that Canada’s acts and omissions have villated the plaintiff’s Charter rights to security of the person and to equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimitation. 

Follow Legal Centre for Palestine on X and Instagram.

You can support their work by donating here. 

Thank you for listening to the ‘Palestine Debrief’ podcast. This podcast is produced by Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) and hosted by Wissam El Cheikh Hassan.

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions of our guests are their own and do not necessarily represent the positions of CJPME.

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 Anyone who has spent time arguing about Israel and Palestine on the internet knows that there is a lot of misinformation out there, which aims to obscure the reality of Israeli apartheid and settler-colonialism. In this episode, Tom and Michael are joined by Rawan and Fathi, the creators of the fantastic resource website “Decolonize Palestine,” to talk about fighting the social media war, what decolonization means for Palestine, and to debunk some of our favourite pro-Israel myths. You can follow Rawan on Twitter at @RiverToSea48, and Fathi at @AManInTheSun.

Links from this podcast:

• Website: “Decolonize Palestine”
• Support “Decolonize Palestine” on Patreon

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In this episode, Tom and Michael discuss some of the recent outrageous claims, assertions, campaigns and complaints of pro-Israel lobby group B'nai Brith Canada.  We start with a ridiculous announcement suggesting that the Canadian government is falling over itself to fund “antisemitic NGOs” at home and abroad.  Next, we turn to a story where they are literally trying to police the Facebook likes of Montreal city councillors.  Following that, we take some time to look at their report which supposedly debunks the whole raison d’être of the UN’s Commission of Inquiry.  And finally, we touch on a story where they claim that the UofT Graduate Student Union has suffered a humiliating defeat for holding firm in support of BDS.

Links from this podcast:

• Harvard Law Review: Wielding Antidiscrimination Law to Suppress the Movement for Palestinian Rights

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In the first few hours of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, many media commentators expressed disbelief that war could emerge again in Europe. War, these commentators seemed to suggest, was something that only happened in "impoverished and remote populations" in places "like Iraq" or "areas in North Africa." But the media's bias against the Middle East – especially Palestine – goes far beyond the naïve blunders of on-air commentators. In this episode, Tom and Michael compare the media's coverage of Ukraine to that of Palestine and uncover all manner of ironies and double standards. 

Links from this podcast:

• Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi in Ukraine?
• Gaza City or Kyiv?
• CBC article on the politics of naming ‘Kyiv’
• Statement from Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association

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There was a major BDS victory in February when the University of Toronto Students’ Association, one of the largest student unions in the country, passed a motion in support of divesting from companies that are complicit in the Israeli occupation. Tom and Michael are joined by Moe Alqasem of the Palestinian Youth Movement to discuss the vote and what it says about the state of the solidarity movement on campus today.

Links from this podcast:

• Students win historic BDS victory at U of T (Spring Magazine)
• CJPME resource: List of Canadian organizations that have endorsed BDS
• Find Moe Alqasem on Twitter

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Canada’s reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last week has been prompt, forceful, and wide-ranging.  But there are obvious similarities between Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and Israel’s aggression against the Palestinians, raising questions about the consistency of Canada’s foreign policy.  In this episode, Tom and Michael examine Canada’s response to Russia’s invasion and explore the double-standard evident in how it responds to Israel’s violence, occupation, and annexation against Palestinians. 

Links from this podcast:

•  Jarring double-standard in Canada's response to Putin's invasion of Ukraine

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In 2019, the NDP removed Rana Zaman as a federal election candidate over her tweets defending Palestinians during the 2018 Gaza March of Return. Although Rana took responsibility for the comments she made, and although she was approved to run for the Greens in 2021, she continues to face attempts to ostracize her from the public conversation. Rana joins the conversation today to talk about her experiences as a community activist and political candidate. 

Links from this podcast:

• “Can we talk about Israel and the Palestinians? No?” (Halifax Examiner, 2019)
• "Rally supports Halifax activist stripped of human rights award” (CBC News, 2019)
• "Canada’s Islamophobia: Deep. Deadly. Growing” (The Tyee, July, 2021)

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Even before Amnesty published its report on Israeli Apartheid, Canada’s pro-Israel groups were dismissing it as antisemitic. But what are they saying now? Yesterday, CJPME ‘infiltrated’ CIJA’s “Has Amnesty International Lost its Way?” webinar to hear whether Amnesty’s report had caused any serious reflection among Israel’s supporters. Unfortunately,  the session was an echo chamber of denial and dismissal. In this episode, Tom and Michael respond to the ludicrous claims and misinformation presented in this recent anti-Amnesty webinar.
Links from this podcast:

• CJPME campaign: email politicians to act!
• Report by Amnesty International
• Who is talking about Israeli Apartheid? (CJPME resource)

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