activism

“There’s no Pride without Palestine”: Perspectives on pinkwashing 

On Tuesday, March 18th, two Israeli youth spoke to a Queer Theory class at Western University about queer feminist critique of Israeli militarism and pinkwashing.  “Pinkwashing” refers to the portrayal of Israel as “more humane, modern, and accepting” than the Arab world when it comes to embracing the queer community, and using this portrayal currently to morally justify the ongoing genocide in Gaza.  Einat Gerlitz, twenty-one years old, and Tal Mitnick, nineteen years old, refused to enlist in the Israeli military on grounds of pacifism. Both were imprisoned by the Israeli military and faced a slew of death threats and…

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“A small window into dehumanization”: Palestinian-Canadian doctor on the destruction of healthcare in Gaza

“Do you know how hard a kid fights when you bring a needle to their face and start cutting into it? Do you know how much strength they suddenly have? You can’t believe where it even comes from? Can you believe the screams that they deliver, when you try to suture them up? It’s crazy, it’s haunting. Truly, truly haunting,” says Palestinian-Canadian doctor Tarek Loubani. “The Israelis were always selective about painkillers. They’d never let painkillers through.” Loubani remembers suture rooms in Gaza full of wailing children. Half of Gaza’s population are children; they are the majority of those injured…

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“Six of us, stuffed into one ambulance, to go to a hospital. When we got there, it was sheer chaos”: A Harrowing Story of Getting Shot in Gaza

The following is a partial transcription, edited for brevity, of a talk given at King’s University College on February 24th, 2025 by Tarek Loubani, a Canadian doctor who has been involved in humanitarian medical missions in Gaza. Dr. Loubani recalls the time he was targeted and shot by Israeli forces while treating peaceful protestors during the Great March of Return protests of 2018-2019. He discusses how Israeli forces deliberately target Palestinian medical infrastructure and prohibit medicine and medical practitioners from entering Gaza. I was shot in 2018 in Gaza. When I was shot, and I kind of fell to the…

Read More“Six of us, stuffed into one ambulance, to go to a hospital. When we got there, it was sheer chaos”: A Harrowing Story of Getting Shot in Gaza

“Where Olive Trees Weep”: Roots of injustice and resilience in the West Bank  

“I felt anger towards what the people on the screen were going through. Anger that this injustice – all of this – is still happening. Anger that all of this exists,” says Western University student Kamil Zerdoumi after viewing a film screening of Where Olive Trees Weep at King’s University College on November 29th, 2024. “It made me more aware of this huge, huge imbalance between [the] rights that Israelis and Palestinians have, and made me more fervent in Palestinians getting more rights and equal treatment and more justice, and less forgiving in any attempts to try and be a…

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“I wanted to share this moment with them”: Londoners gather in bittersweet celebration for long-awaited ceasefire in Gaza

On the frigid afternoon of Sunday, January 19th, people of all ages gathered in Victoria Park to share a glimpse of hope that came with the commencement of ceasefire in Gaza earlier that day after  470 relentless days of genocide.  Despite the biting cold, the long-awaited Gaza ceasefire announcement was the silver lining in the dark – “the bare minimum” as one speaker from  the Canadian Palestine Social Association (CPSA), who organized the event, said. The relief was welcomed but bittersweet. The brutal assault on Palestinians by Israeli forces has, to date, claimed the lives of approximately 46,707 people and…

Read More“I wanted to share this moment with them”: Londoners gather in bittersweet celebration for long-awaited ceasefire in Gaza

Abortion Rights in Canada: Here to stay? 

On Thursday, October 24, an abortion rights protest clustered at the intersection of Southdale Road West and Notre Dame Drive. Five protesters stood in a line. Three raised familiar abortion rights signs that read “Honk for pro-choice”, “Safe and legal abortion is pro-life”, and “Keep your rosaries off my ovaries”.  The remaining two held more specific signs.  “Go home, Abby” read one. “Hellenic centre hosts RACIST,” read the other.  The abortion rights advocates were protesting the Hellenic Community Centre’s decision to serve as a venue for a fundraiser featuring American anti-abortion spokesperson Abby Johnson. The fundraiser was organized by 4LifeLondon…

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Small group of Londoners counter-protest to take a stand for reproductive rights

A small group of abortion rights activists in London counter-protested the anti-abortion “Life Chain” event in front of Victoria Hospital on Sunday. Local churches and anti-abortion protesters  participated in what is known as the “Life Chain,” an annual anti-abortion event held across cities in North America on the first Sunday in October since 1987. In London, this protest was held in front of Victoria Hospital at the corner of Wellington Road and Commissioners Road — but protesters were met with a counter-protest by London Reproductive Justice, a local group that advocates for abortion and reproductive rights. The counter-protesters arrived around…

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London community comes out strong supporting 2SLGBTQ+ “No Space for Hate” counter-protest

Dozens of community members came out to support London’s 2SLGBTQ+ community in a counter-protest against the 1 Million March For Children protest at Victoria Park on Friday. London’s counter-protest was one of over 30 held across Canada on Friday in response to nationwide protests against educational content about 2SLGBTQ+ communities and policies in schools — called the “1 Million March For Children” — held the same day. In London, the counter-protest event was dubbed the “No Space for Hate Counterprotest”.   The counter-protest started at 9 a.m. at the northwestern entrance of Victoria Park while the greenspace surrounding the WW2 era…

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The Saga of Western’s Procedure 1.1: Why did it come, go, and will it return?

On August 29th, the Western University administration imposed “Procedure 1.1: Obtaining Authorization to Hold a Demonstration”. The procedure demands that no demonstrations – including “picketing, marching, carrying signs, distribution of literature, and other related activities, usually in favour of or opposed to some action or opinion” – occur on campus without the approval of the Director of Campus Safety & Emergency Services.  Students view the procedure as stifling free speech. Faculty call it authoritarian. Legal scholars argue that it may violate institutional, provincial, and federal laws, including the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. All view the procedure as a direct…

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