Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) warns that the pro-censorship ‘IHRA handbook’ released today by Canadian Heritage will have a chilling effect on pro-Palestine speech and activism and demands it to be withdrawn immediately. Civil society, human rights groups, and faculty associations broadly oppose the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism (known as “IHRA”) because it purposefully conflates criticism of Israeli policy with antisemitism and is frequently deployed by supporters of Israel to unfairly shut down Palestinians perspectives. CJPME warns that this seemingly innocuous handbook will result in public institutions persecuting people who criticize systemic racism within Israel, rather than fighting discrimination.
“After over a year of Canadians protesting Israel’s genocide in Gaza, Trudeau has the audacity to publish a guide on how to crack down on pro-Palestine speech,” said Michael Bueckert, Vice President of CJPME. “This anti-Palestine, pro-censorship handbook poses a direct threat to civil liberties and will target the critics of Israel’s atrocities, especially Palestinians. We urge Canadian institutions to reject the use of the handbook,” added Bueckert. More than 11,000 Canadians have e-mailed the Prime Minister asking for the handbook to be shelved.
Based on a preliminary analysis of Trudeau’s IHRA handbook, CJPME has identified several important ways that it maliciously and falsely labels pro-Palestine speech and actions as antisemitic. (more...)
Trudeau’s ‘IHRA handbook’ Will Foster Persecution of Palestine Activism, Must be Withdrawn
No comments:
Post a Comment