Marwan Rached Tabbara represents the riding of Kitchener South—Hespeler in the House of Commons of Canada. He was first elected in the 2015 federal election as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada and re-elected in 2019. MP Tabbara presently sits as an independent MP, after stepping down from the Liberal Caucus in 2020. MP Tabbara has been the Chair of the Canada Palestine Friendship Group since 2017.
On May 9, 2021 Marwan Tabbara issued the following statement:
Today on Mother’s Day I’m thinking of those mothers in Jerusalem that have to tell their children why they are being forced out from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah. This is totally unacceptable. The Forcible Transfer of occupied civilian population is strictly prohibited by the Fourth Geneva Convention. The International community MUST condemn this eviction immediately including Canada. Are we supposed to sit idle and let this 70 plus year conflict, displacement, apartheid continue? I’m so saddened and completely lost for words. Let’s all put ourselves in these family’s shoes. What are we to tell these children that grow up in this environment, being forced out of their homes? The region’s past has been filled with endless violence and many failed peace negotiations. I urge the International community to take ACTION to correct this wrong immediately What will happen in the future if things aren’t resolved today? We will create a new generation of Palestinian children where society has said “their lives don’t matter” and the international community continues to abandon them. For those that will criticize my words, I say to you, put yourself in their shoes and let’s look towards peaceful resolutions once and for all. This shouldn’t be happening in 2021. Stop the violence, stop the injustice, stop the oppression and let these mothers grow their children to become wonderful educated adults, living in peace, security and a region filled with equal opportunity for ALL. This is at the core of what every mother wants. Marwan Tabbara Member of Parliament Kitchener South-Hespeler
Background on the conflict in Sheikh Jarrah
On May 9, 2021 The Jerusalem Post reported:
The High Court of Justice delayed by possibly a month any movement on the pending eviction of four Palestinian families from the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. The postponement came after the Palestinian families filed a request demanding that Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit weigh in on the case…
Two lower court had upheld the Nahalat Shimon company’s ownership claim to the land, but the Palestinians had appealed to the HCJ, which had been due to decide Monday on whether to accept the appeal.
The property dispute is seen as a test case for some 28 Palestinian families in the neighborhood, who fled ares now located within sovereign Israel during the 1948 War of Independence, such as west Jerusalem, Jaffa and Haifa.
They relocated to east Jerusalem, which at the time was under Jordanian rule. Through a deal that included the United Nations, Jordan offered them homes on land previously owned by Jews if they would give up their refugee status.
But their property rights were never registered and two organizations retained their ownership rights, which has since been transferred to Nahalat Shimon.