A somber crowd filled a Parliamentary Hall on Thursday, June 13th for “Palestine Day on the Hill”, organized by the Association of Palestinian Arab Canadians (APAC) in Ottawa under the slogan “From Nakba to Genocide”. Representatives of the NDP, Liberal Party of Canada and Green Party voiced their support for the Palestinian people and called for an end to the genocide. Read more.
For the last eight years, APAC has organized a day on Parliament Hill to which members of Canada’s federal parties are invited. It is usually an occasion to showcase Palestinian culture including food, music and dance.
This year, however, the annual event was held in the shadow of Israel’s ongoing murder of tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza – many of them related to Palestinian Canadians living today in Ottawa.
Speakers focused on the necessity of bringing an immediate halt to the ongoing catastrophe. All MP’s who spoke called on the Canadian government to take immediate action to save lives.
In a powerful presentation, APAC board member Waleed Ibrahim focussed on the link between the 1947/48 ethnic cleansing of Gaza and its continuation since October 7th. He drew attention to the role Canada played in 1948 and continues to play today. “The reality is that Israel has powerful western allies that shield it from accountability. Canada is among those allies”, he said.
Speakers in order.
- Amar Afanah, President APAC
- Maha Buhisi, APAC board member, moderator
- Waleed Ibrahim, board member APAC
- Matthew Green MP, NDP, co-host of the event
- Salma Zahid, MP, Chair Canada Palestine Parliamentary Friendship Committe
- Heather MacPherson, MP, NDP
- Jonathan Pednault, MP, Co-Leader, Green Party of Canada
- Dr. Yipeng Ge, Primary Care doctor
- Mohamed-Obey Alshaer, Executive, Palestine Students’ Association, University of Ottawa
- Dr. Nadia Abu Zahra, University of Ottawa
- Naledi Pandor, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, South Africa (video message)
“The tragedy we are seeing unfold in Gaza today is a continuation of the Nakba, as it is these same people who were expelled from their homes and villages, and their descendants, that are being subjected to genocide,” APAC board member Waleed Ibrahim told the crowd.
A video of the entire two hour event is available on YouTube here.
12 July 2024
Source: canadatalksisraelpalestine.ca