Effective Action for Palestine

Western politicians are feeling the pressure

As the genocide in Gaza drags on, our hearts ache as we witness Israel’s atrocities, and while we do what we can to stop them. Just today, November 18th, Israel killed over a hundred more people in Gaza.

Western politicians continue to support Israel, and mainstream media continues to parrot them.

But important actions are taking place, and having an effect.

Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, was basically snubbed by the Canadian government on her recent visit to Canada. This was as depressing as it was predictable.

However, here in Canada, seven lawyers are taking the Canadian government to court citing the Genocide Convention over its support for Israel. As well, two Canadian organizations that provide financial support to the Israeli military and the illegal settlements have had their charitable status revoked. Although this is just the tip of the iceberg for organizations that should have their charitable status revoked, this is a good start.

A few days ago, an Israeli soccer team’s acts of hooliganism in Amsterdam were portrayed by western mainstream media in much of the western world as anti-semitic, a complete reversal of what actually happened. Since then, the Mayor of Amsterdam has issued an apology for spreading this misrepresentation. To quote from a post from the Substack site Challenging the Narrative:

Junior Finance Minister, Nora Achahbar quit the cabinet to protest the sheer, ugly racism that exploded and the anti-Muslim hatred towards Dutch citizens of Moroccan descent from other members of the cabinet. Her resignation triggered a crisis cabinet meeting at which four ministers from her party also threatened to quit. The Dutch government is currently made up of a four-party coalition. Had these ministers resigned, the coalition would have lost its majority in Parliament.

Nearly two weeks after the events in Amsterdam, the Mayor appeared on the Dutch current affairs show, Nieuwsuur, with her tail between her legs and backtracking on her outrageous statements made in the aftermath of the Maccabi Tel Aviv fans’ visit.

And I would love to know the backstory behind Australia’s recent decision to take an anti-Israel stand, and approve a Palestinian sovereignty text at the UN General Second Committee. I suspect people power had a lot to do with it.

The Pope also said that he wants to see a probe into Israel’s war on Gaza. He has a lot of influence on people, so this is good news. Hopefully more people will become aware of what is going on in Gaza.

If, like me, you’re trying to understand the context for why we’re seeing our governments and media behave as they do, I hope you’ll listen to this interview between Craig Murray and Laith Marouf. It answered a lot of my questions, and provides credible context for the insanity that’s going on right now.

People power works, even in the face of overwhelming political odds and big money.

So let’s keep it up, keep doing what we can, and take care of ourselves and each other so we can maintain our momentum. Even if it doesn’t seem like it, we’re making some pretty good headway.

I’d love to hear about victories that help Palestine from other jurisdictions. If you know of any, I hope you’ll share them in the comments.

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I love the BDS campaign and the effect it’s having on Israel’s economy.

Here's an excellent list of products from Israel: https://boycott.thewitness.news/browse/1

Here's a way to help others not in your bubble to boycott Israel: https://www.cjpme.org/stickies_2024_en

And here's where you can support Palestine by buying a keffiyeh: https://www.hirbawi.ps/