CSJ Newsletter

May 9, 2024

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CALLS TO ACTION

Tell Trudeau to Regularize Everyone, Ensure #StatusForAll

The federal government promised regularization – permanent resident status for undocumented people – this Spring. Life-changing rules for migrant care workers, international students and other migrant workers are also being developed right now.

Be part of a historic #MigrantSpring. Prime Minister Trudeau, Cabinet Ministers and MPs need to hear from you to ensure equality and justice for all. Send them a message now.

Support Families Commemorating Nakba

“The Nakba” or “the Catastrophe” signifies the mass displacement of over 700,000 Palestinians in 1948. The Nakba is a well documented historical fact validated by a diversity of scholars in a range of fields of study. It is not a personal opinion or political disposition. To claim otherwise is unabashed denialism and a clear example of Anti-Palestinian Racism.

Unlike some school boards, the TDSB does not recognize the Nakba on their days of significance calendar. As a community deeply affected by the events of Nakba to this day, Palestinian Canadians and allies seek to educate and raise awareness about this significant day. Please take a moment to write to the TDSB indicating your intention to commemorate the day or your support for commemorating it.

actionnetwork.org

EVENTS

Mayworks Festival 2024

When: All of May

This year, twenty artists are featured, each of whom, with compassion, engages in the spirit of collective power.

From responses to inaccessible health care in Ontario to a fight for dignity among migrant workers in Quebec; from capturing the alienation of injured workers in Toronto to classist land grabbing in Pakistan; from an analysis of radical protests against resource exploitation in the Caribbean to clarifying the long-lasting impacts of French colonialism, and also to witnessing the endurance of Palestinian political prisoners; the artworks narrate our joint struggles.

mayworks.ca

Food, Empire and Colonialism

When: May 9th, 1pm

In this discussion, panelists will examine the relationship between food, empire and colonialism, drawing connections between the current genocide in Gaza with colonial projects across Africa and Turtle Island. Panelists will discuss how imperial and colonial regimes have and continue to use deliberate starvation and the weaponization of food and food-growing lands as a means of genocidal violence.

Panelists: Justin Podur, Yafa El Masri, Max Ajl.

zoom.us

76 Years of Nakba

When: May 10th, 6pm
Where: Innis Town Hall Theatre, 2 Sussex Ave

TPFF marks the 76th year of the Nakba with an evening of art and reflection. Marking the 7th month of the genocide, the evening’s program will reflect on the Nabka of the present and its ties to the Nakba of 1947/8.

TPFF’s commemoration event commences at 6pm with a reception in the lobby, which is then followed by artistic programming in cinema. We are then pleased to host a discussion with Dr. Ardi Imseis, one of the foremost legal experts on Palestine who will help us understand the structure of the Nakba and its impacts on generations of Palestinians.

eventbrite.ca

Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage

When: May 11 and 12

The pilgrimage will be a prayerful experience and include lament, repentance, and prayers for hope and peace. As a public act of Christian witness, we wish to repudiate antisemitism, Islamophobia, and the role of settler-colonialism at home and around the world. We hope to be joined by our neighbours of all faiths and none, as a sign of our common human need for peace and justice.

kairoscanada.org

76 Years of Nakba: Resistance Until Return

When: May 11th, 2pm
Where: US Consulate

This year, the Palestinian Nakba (catastrophe) enters its 76th year and comes at the heels of a violent onslaught against the people of Gaza who have been facing a US-backed Israeli genocide for over 6 months.

instagram.com

Gaza Square

When: Every Sunday, 11am to 1pm
Where: 371 Wallace Ave

We’ll be at Gaza square once again this Sunday morning with hot chocolate and coffee, buttons and posters, lawn signs and colourful chalk! Come say hi and meet your fellow neighbours/organizers as we make our presence known and continue to build safety in our community!

Instagram poster

TTCriders Volunteer Training and Social

When: Sunday, May 12th, 1pm
Where: CSI Spadina, 192 Spadina Ave., 3rd floor (Viola Desmond room)

Meet other TTCriders members and volunteers as we build our movement together. We will talk about meeting with elected officials, giving deputations, and our current campaign to get federal funding for the TTC! Plus good food and great conversations.

Register for our upcoming Volunteer Training and Social event to get to know other members of the TTCriders community and get involved! Food and drinks will be provided.

ttcriders.ca

From Screen to Solution

When: May 12th, 2:30pm
Where: 10b Victoria St S, Kitchener

Since October 7th almost 2 million Palestinians in Gaza have been displaced by the Israeli military, and over 34 thousand have been killed – over 13 thousand of whom are children. Many of the displaced have no homes to go back to as over 70% of civilian housing has been destroyed or damaged from the relentless bombing in Gaza. The population of Gaza is suffering from starvation and malnutrition as Israeli settlers and authorities are blocking food and humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza and humanitarian workers are being targeted by the Israeli offensive. Many Palestinians in the West Bank are also being killed and driven from their homes at alarming rates or imprisoned without trial or due process by Israel.

docs.google.com

Weekly Phone-zap for Palestine

When: Mondays at 12pm

Week after week, we’re keeping the momentum going with our Monday lunchtime zaps.

Our collective action is making waves, but we need to ensure our elected officials continue to feel the pressure until real change happens.

Instagram poster | Register at zoom

Canadian Foreign Policy Hour with Yves Engler

When: Mondays at 6pm

Join author Yves Engler on Mondays for a weekly news roundup and interactive discussion about Canada’s role abroad. This weekly session will delve into the latest developments on subjects ranging from military affairs and Canada’s role in Ukraine to its contribution to Palestinian dispossession, and the exploitation of African resources. Join Yves for a critical take on Canada’s foreign policy. Questions, comments, and criticisms are all welcome.

zoom.us

Criminalization during First Quantum Protests in Panama

When: May 14th, 2pm

Join us on May 14th to hear directly from the Panamanian organizations and communities impacted by First Quantum and the Panamanian government. We will talk about the people that were out on the streets in 2023 exercising their right to protest and defend their country from the greed and devastation of a Canadian company that tried and succeeded at overriding the country’s laws. We will also discuss how this struggle resulted in dozens of people facing criminalization and judicialization. You will leave with a better understanding of how this struggle fits into the larger context of the fight against mining’s devastating impacts in Panama.

Zoom.us

Palestine: Genocide and Resistance

When: Tuesday, May 14, 7pm
Where: Steelworkers’ Hall, 25 Cecil St.

Dimitri Lascaris will be speaking. Additional speakers are Ken Stone, Suzanne Weiss, and others.

Twitter poster

How to Stop a Nuclear War

When: May 15th, 5pm

Paul Jay is a journalist and filmmaker. He was the co-executive producer of Face Off and counterSpin, nightly prime-time debate programs that ran for ten years on CBC Newsworld. Jay was the founder of The Real News Network based in Baltimore. His films have won awards at major festivals. He is currently working on a documentary titled “How to Stop a Nuclear War” based on Daniel Ellsberg’s book “The Doomsday Machine,” featuring acclaimed actor Emma Thompson as narrator.

zoom.us

Workshop: Healthcare for All

When: May 15th, 6pm

The fight for equal access to healthcare is at a pivotal moment. Almost 1,300 Ontarians have sent an email to their elected representative. It’s time to speak to decision-makers directly. This is why we are inviting you to this important online skills-building training workshop next week.

This workshop will equip you with the tools necessary to persuade politicians to support comprehensive healthcare coverage for everyone in Ontario, especially for migrants from racialized communities who form the backbone of our province’s economy.

decentworkandhealth.org

Sashbear Walk

When: May 26th, 9am registration
Where: Sir Casimir Gzowski Park

Let’s get together to raise awareness for mental health and to raise funds to help us provide life-changing skills in support of those who live with borderline personality disorder, chronic emotion dysregulation and other related mental health challenges.

The Sashbear Walk is the largest event of its kind in Canada for chronic emotion dysregulation and borderline personality disorder. We bring together families, friends, those with lived experience, mental health providers and supporters throughout the community to create a sea of orange in support of those with chronic emotion dysregulation and BPD.

sashbear.akaraisin.com

ARTICLES

Strike for Palestine this May Day and Nakba Day

This May Day and Nakba Day, we, the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions – Gaza, urgently appeal to our brothers and sisters in the international trade union movement to take a stand in solidarity with Palestine by joining us in collective action to disrupt business as usual. We ask you to challenge the status quo in your workplaces and communities, refusing to support violence against Palestinians. Raise your voices and take action to disrupt the flow of commerce and trade that sustains Israel’s military occupation and exploitation of Palestinian workers.

Source: The Bullet No. 2983

Sudan: From Revolution to War

On 15 April 2023, violence erupted in Sudan’s capital Khartoum following weeks of growing tensions between the leader of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the head of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (known as Hemedti). Amidst the power struggle between the rival factions that make up the military government, hundreds of people have been killed, thousands injured and millions displaced. Red Pepper speaks to Muzan Alneel, a Sudanese writer and public speaker based in Sudan, about the current war, how it links to the revolutionary uprisings of 2018-19 and what the future holds for the country.

Source: The Bullet No. 2984

Book launch: The Fall and Rise of American Finance

With authors Scott Aquanno and Steve Maher. Moderated by Lenart Nici. Recorded in Toronto, 27 April, 2024. The Leo Panitch School for Socialist Education is proud to present the launch of the new book from Scott Aquanno and Steve Maher: The Fall and Rise of American Finance: From J.P. Morgan to Blackrock (Verso, 2024).

Source: LeftStreamed

Disclose, Divest, Boycott Israel

F4P in Solidarity With Student Encampments

Faculty for Palestine (F4P) wholeheartedly supports the student encampments for Palestine at universities across the settler colonial state of Canada and around the world. The students are holding universities accountable by insisting that they end their complicity with Israeli occupation, apartheid, and genocide and all forms of support for Israel. Faculty for Palestine calls on all faculty to support and stand in solidarity with the students, and to condemn all forms of repression by university administrators and the state targeting the encampments and activists.

Source: The Bullet No. 2985

Students Stand with Palestine

A series of Palestinian Solidarity Encampments have been set up at university campuses across North America and Europe, including many in Canada. Some 150 students set up more than 50 tents at the University of Toronto’s King’s College Circle. UofT Occupy for Palestine (O4P), had three demands outlined in an online petition:

1. Divest the university’s endowment, pension fund, and other financial holdings from all companies that provide Israel with military goods or services;

2. Terminate all partnerships with Israeli academic institutions that operate in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, or sustain the apartheid policies, occupation and illegal settlement of these territories;

3. Publicly disclose all investments (including names of holdings and portfolio shares) from endowments, the pension fund, short-term working capital assets, and other financial holdings of the university.

Source: LeftStreamed
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