Independent Jewish Voices Canada is hosting an event called “What are you walking with? Stand With Palestine!”
Here are excerpts from the statement made by Independent Jewish Voices Canada and the Facebook page “What Are You Walking With?”:
WHAT? A counter-presence at UJA’s Walk with Israel.
WHO? People, Jewish and non-Jewish, opposing this display of support for a violent colonial state.
WHEN? We will gather at 9:45am sharp, and will carpool and bus-buddy home together when the walk ends around noon.
For 50 years, supporters of the Israeli state have gathered for an annual Walk with Israel, hosted by the United Jewish Appeal (UJA). For the past 18 years, a group of dedicated people — both Jewish and non-Jewish — have remained steadfast in opposing this display of support for a violent colonial state.
On Monday, May 20, join us as we stand together behind banners proclaiming “Justice for Palestine,” “Occupation is not our Judaism,” and “From Turtle Island to Palestine—Colonization is a Crime”!
[…]Israel attempts to justify its violent policies of annexation, incarceration, and discrimination by claiming they are for the good of all Jewish people. We know that this is not true; state violence does not keep anyone safe.
In response, we will again gather to form a counter-presence to the UJA’s Walk with Israel to state that we oppose the apartheid system that denies the basic human rights of Palestinians.
The Canadian government’s support for racist policies in the state of Israel is consistent with ongoing violence and genocide against the Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island (North America). We look to the leadership of Indigenous peoples around the world resisting settler-colonialism and state violence.
We recognize that “a land without a people for a people without a land” is, and has always been, a dangerous myth. The Jewish National Fund and Israel’s other fundraising and lobbying groups claim to “make the desert bloom,” but in actuality, they work to unlawfully expropriate Palestinian land. We see through these fictions, and we speak truth to power.
We gather together for this demonstration in solidarity with the people of Palestine — including those participating in the ongoing Great March of Return in Gaza, which recently marked its first anniversary. Walking with Israel is walking with a state that opens fire on unarmed protesters and journalists.
Endorsed by:
Independent Jewish Voices Canada
Independent Jewish Voices University of Toronto