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Independent Jewish Voices Canada

Independent Jewish Voices Canada (IJV) is a grassroots organization grounded in Jewish tradition that opposes all forms of racism and advocates for justice and peace for all in Israel-Palestine. Our strength comes from our members. IJV has active chapters in cities and on university campuses across the country.

Blog - Independent Jewish Voices Canada November 9
Image: Taylor Brandon/Unsplash
Anti-Zionism is not the same as anti-Semitism
Sid Shniad | It is essential for all to oppose anti-Semitism. At the same time, we must not allow the struggle for justice for Palestine to be impeded by deceptive misuse of the term.
Blog - Independent Jewish Voices Canada October 15
Sticker promoting bigotry which appeared in Halifax in the last weeks of September 2020. ​Image: Contributed photo
Two very different Jewish responses to bigotry: One promoting solidarity, the other promoting insularity
Larry Haiven | In the last weeks of September 2020, anonymous adhesive stickers bearing messages of bigotry appeared on utility poles and other surfaces in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Blog - Independent Jewish Voices Canada July 6
Daphna Levit presents Wrestling with Zionism: Jewish Voices of Dissent. Image: Contributed photo
'Wrestling with Zionism' gives voice to long tradition of Jewish dissent from Israel's dominant ideology
Daphna Levit | Jewish opposition to Zionism began with the inception of Zionism in Europe in the 19th century, and continues to this day.
Blog - Independent Jewish Voices Canada May 21
Palestinians crowd into checkpoint "cattle pen," Checkpoint 300, Bethlehem. Image: David Kattenburg
Canadians of conscience should not be smeared as 'anti-Semites' for boycotting apartheid Israel
David Kattenburg | By conflating boycotts and other pro-Palestinian activities with anti-Semitism, as it does in its 2019 audit of anti-Semitic incidents, B'nai Brith Canada undermines the fight it claims to champion.
Blog - Independent Jewish Voices Canada April 9
Image: Weeam Hammoudeh/Facebook
Dispatches from Palestine: COVID-19, curfews and mutual aid
Aaron Lakoff | "There are a lot of lessons that need to be learned ... and the solution needs to exist beyond national borders," says Weeam Hammoudeh, a professor and researcher in Ramallah, Palestine.
Blog - Independent Jewish Voices Canada March 19
Image: David Kattenburg
Two-faced baloney: Israel-Palestine and the rule of law in Ottawa
David Kattenburg | The Liberal government demonstrates its hypocrisy in proclaiming support for the rule of law while supporting Israel in its illegal occupation policies.
Blog - Independent Jewish Voices Canada March 12
Image: Photo by Bruce Reeve, modified by Independent Jewish Voices Canada
Say no to Bill 168: open letter to the honourable members of the Ontario legislature
Michelle Weinroth | Open letter urging members of the Ontario legislature to vote against a private member's bill in support of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's working definition of anti-Semitism.
Blog - Independent Jewish Voices Canada January 15
Image: Jagmeet Singh/Facebook
Why is Jagmeet Singh ignoring progressive voices on Palestine?
Sheryl Nestel | The NDP leader's recent remarks signal another alarming backslide when it comes to standing up for the Palestinian people.
Blog - Independent Jewish Voices Canada December 11
Image: IJV
Gazan writers organize for climate justice and liberation
Michelle Weinroth | Seemingly remote from Canadian concerns, the war on Gaza is closer to us than most think; it encapsulates the global eco-disaster we all share as inhabitants of a sick planet.
Blog - Independent Jewish Voices Canada October 2
Elections Canada poll sign. Image: Dennis Sylvester Hurd/Flickr
Federal election a good time to talk about Israel and Palestine
Larry Haiven | A critique of the submissiveness of Canada's major parties to the Israel lobby, and review of recent welcome changes in the period leading up to the October 21 federal election.
Blog - Independent Jewish Voices Canada September 17
Child visits Holocaust Memorial in Berlin. Image: Lisa Leonardelli/Flickr
'Holocaust to Resistance' documents a life well lived
Sid Shniad | A review of Suzanne Weiss's memoir "Holocaust to Resistance" describing the connections between her experience as a Holocaust survivor and her struggles against injustice.
Blog - Independent Jewish Voices Canada September 3
Image: Independent Jewish Voices Canada
Government inaction on anti-Palestinian charity reflects Canada's racist power structure
Tyler Levitan | A description of the anti-Palestinian character of the Jewish National Fund, and a call to Canadians to challenge its immunity from criticism in Canadian society.
Blog - Independent Jewish Voices Canada June 28
Independent Jewish Voices Canada condemns NDP removal of federal candidate for tweets criticizing Israel
Independent Jewish Voices Canada | IJV Canada calls out the NDP for removing Rana Zaman from the party's candicacy for her tweets critical of Israeli policy.
Blog - Independent Jewish Voices Canada June 18
Anti-racism demonstration in Montreal, Nov. 2017. The placards read, “Without Fear, Without Hate,” “Fraternity Without Borders." Photo: Scott Weinstein
Against our petro-state's war on women, Iran and the Earth
Scott Weinstein | An examination of the links between patriarchy, racism, capitalism and environmental destruction, and a call to resist all of these together.
Blog - Independent Jewish Voices Canada May 20
The author underground at Psagot Winery, tasting their fine chardonnay. Image: David Kattenburg
Label the occupation: Winnipeg-based activist takes wine labelling case to court
David Kattenburg | A demand that wines produced in the post-1967 occupied Palestinian territories not be labelled "Product of Israel" makes its way to court this week in Toronto.
Blog - Independent Jewish Voices Canada May 15
Counter-protest against UJA Walk for Israel, 2018. Photo credit: Raghd Hamzeh
Unconditional support for Israel is unconditional support for injustice
Sheryl Nestel | A protest against Canadian apologists for Israel's occupation policies and human rights violations at the United Jewish Appeal's Walk for Israel.
Blog - Independent Jewish Voices Canada May 2
Linda Sarsour and Harold Shuster. Photo: Tyler Blashko
Freedom of expression is central to our democracy
Harold Shuster, Sid Frankel | Freedom of expression is central to our liberal democracy. The state has no right to intervene in events like the panel discussion with Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour.
Blog - Independent Jewish Voices Canada April 26
Photo: Festival of Faiths/Wikimedia Commons
Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour deserves to speak in Winnipeg
Rabbi David Mivasair | A defence of Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour in the face of attacks against her.
Blog - Independent Jewish Voices Canada February 22
Sydney Nestel at a protest of the UJA-Toronto Walk with Israel, May 27, 2018. Photo: Raghd Hamzeh.
Trudeau seriously out of step with Canadian attitudes towards Israel's violations of Palestinian human rights
Sheryl Nestel | A critique of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's uncritical support of Israeli policies -- a stance at odds with that of many Canadians, including Jewish-Canadians.
Blog - Independent Jewish Voices Canada December 15
Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland in Ukraine, Dec. 2017.
Friends of Freeland's hardly friends to Canadian Jews
Judy Haiven | Description of fascist and anti-Semitic tendencies in Ukrainian state and military, to which Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland turns a blind eye.
Blog - Independent Jewish Voices Canada November 10
Holocaust survivor urges solidarity and justice
Suzanne Berliner Weiss | Justine Trudeau's recent apology to Jewish refugees rings hollow when he also denounces the non-violent Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign.
Blog - Independent Jewish Voices Canada September 17
Antisemitism is more complex than political criticism of Israel
Lia Tarachansky | Many don't understand that Israel/ עם ישראל (the Jewish collective identity), the State of Israel (founded in 1948), and the government of Israel are separate, although they sometimes overlap.
Blog - Independent Jewish Voices Canada September 16
JDL supporters do not represent my Judaism
SandraLaya Ruch | On August 29, 2018, Ruch witnessed actions by Jews that she found almost as appalling as the atrocities the Israeli government and army perpetrate against the Palestinians.
Blog - Independent Jewish Voices Canada August 23
“The World Is Too Small For Walls.” Graffiti on a concrete block in front of the apartheid wall in Bethlehem. Photo: Laurence Chiasson
An open letter to a student thinking about walking out of their 'Birthright' trip to cross the wall
Laurence Chiasson | An article in solidarity with participants on a Birthright Israel tour who left the tour to witness the lives and experiences of Palestinians.
Blog - Independent Jewish Voices Canada August 2
Muhammed Abu Marzouk
Canadians need a reality check about who exactly experiences hate crimes
Judy Haiven | Contrary to what groups like B'nai Brith Canada would have us believe, the main targets of violence in Canada are not Jews, but people of colour.
Blog - Independent Jewish Voices Canada July 20
Knesset in Jerusalem, July 31, 2001. Avishai Teicher, via PikiWiki-Israel free image collection project. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
Passage of new law ends the debate: Israel now officially an apartheid state
Corey Balsam, Sid Shniad | While this new law doesn't change much in practice, it should lay to rest any remaining illusions about Israel's true nature.
Blog - Independent Jewish Voices Canada July 17
Jewish Voice for Peace statement on anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism and criticism of Israel are not the same
Reuben Roth | A critique of attempts by apologists for Israeli state policies to label criticism of Israeli policies as anti-Semitic.
Blog - Independent Jewish Voices Canada June 27
Janelle Monae performs at the 2012 TD Ottawa Jazz Festival, June 23, 2012. Photo: Brian Goldschmied. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
Open letter to the Ottawa Jazz Festival
Concerned Residents of Ottawa, Amy Kishek, Geneviève Nevin, Trevor Purvis, Bill Skidmore | An open letter to the Ottawa Jazz Festival regarding its partnership with the State of Israel.
Blog - Independent Jewish Voices Canada June 25
Chairman of Ontario's Anti-Semitism Subcommittee caught in excuse to exclude groups critical of Israel
Wolfe Erlichman | Is the Anti-Semitism Subcommittee of Ontario's Anti-Racism Directorate excluding organizations for criticizing Israel?
Blog - Independent Jewish Voices Canada June 1
Photo: SandraLaya Ruch
Action urgently needed for justice and peace in Palestine
SandraLaya Ruch | An urgent call for solidarity in support of justice and peace for Palestine, especially reaching out to Canadian Jews of conscience.

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