gaza

“We are waiting to rebuild Gaza as scholars”: Canadian government stalls visas for students in Gaza admitted to Ontario universities

Audio excerpts of interviews with Nour, Khaled, and Raneen – students in Gaza accepted to Canadian universities: “I am Nour from Gaza. I have got a PhD acceptance in the civil engineering department at Toronto University since May 2024. I want to complete my PhD in order to get back to Gaza and rebuild it after the destruction happened in the war,” says Nour over a WhatsApp audio call from Gaza City on Wednesday, December 3. “Here, the destruction is very huge, the buildings are destructed, infrastructure is destructed, streets destructed, so we dream about this — a good education…

Read More“We are waiting to rebuild Gaza as scholars”: Canadian government stalls visas for students in Gaza admitted to Ontario universities

Our course is the conscience of humanity

This piece was originally published on the Council of Canadians website, on October 8, 2025, the day when Israeli Occupation Forces illegally seized the Freedom Flotilla vessel Conscience. Many of us have had our attention focused recently on the Flotillas sailing against the blockade of Gaza: it is natural to be drawn to this peaceful civilian challenge to the military might of the Israeli occupation at sea. Israel’s deliberate starvation of Palestinians in Gaza as part of the genocide backed by the U.S. and allies – including Canada – makes this year’s many sailings against the blockade all the more…

Read MoreOur course is the conscience of humanity

The Voice of Hind Rajab delicately captures pure despair

On January 29, 2024, Red Crescent (also known as Red Cross) volunteers in Gaza received a call from a family trapped in a car under Israeli military fire. Moments later, only five-year-old Hind Rajab remained on the line, begging to be rescued. As paramedics had been killed in the area days earlier, the Red Crescent was forced to navigate a maze of military and governmental approvals before a rescue attempt could even be considered. Hind stayed on the call, scared and alone, as dispatchers tried to help. The Voice of Hind Rajab is an expertly dramatized retelling of the tragic…

Read MoreThe Voice of Hind Rajab delicately captures pure despair

“Live for what they died for”: Srebrenica and Gaza genocide documentaries move London community

“I went to Bosnia not expecting to necessarily see Gaza, but everywhere I looked in Bosnia, there was Gaza. I think maybe some of the people that feel closest to Gaza in the world today are in Bosnia,” says Palestinian community member Nabil Sultan of his visit to Bosnia, sharing his reflections on the documentary Survivors of Srebrenica screened at London Public Library on the evening of August 29th. “You see it on the streets, in the graffiti, in the keffiyehs people wear. Even in Srebrenica they have the keffiyehs — the families of the victims who were going to…

Read More“Live for what they died for”: Srebrenica and Gaza genocide documentaries move London community

‘CRA is funding genocide’: Londoners rally against Canadian charities funding Israeli genocide in Gaza 

Around 40 Londoners joined a demonstration on Wednesday, September 3 in front of the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) downtown office to demand accountability for the charitable status granted to organizations who fund Israeli genocide in Palestine. Organized by the Canadian Palestinian Social Association (CPSA), the London rally was part of a national week of action called by the Canadian Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) Coalition, Just Peace Activists, and other groups. The rallies coincide with the United Nations International Day of Charity on September 5. “We are here because CRA is complicit in the genocide that is happening in Gaza,” said…

Read More‘CRA is funding genocide’: Londoners rally against Canadian charities funding Israeli genocide in Gaza 

“Do not forget Gaza”: Londoners hold emergency protest for journalists murdered by Israel

More than 220 Londoners gathered in front of city hall on Monday in an emergency protest for journalists in Gaza assassinated by Israeli forces.  This protest was organized by the Canadian Palestinian Social Association (CPSA) in response to the Israeli Defense Forces’ targeted assassination of an Al Jazeera crew in a media tent outside of al-Shifa hospital. Among the deceased were journalists Anas al-Sharif, Mohammed al-Khaldi and Mohammed Qreiqeh, as well as camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa. “We are joining a coalition of millions upon millions of people who are saying with a very loud and…

Read More“Do not forget Gaza”: Londoners hold emergency protest for journalists murdered by Israel

Keffiyehs, banners, cheers, and suppression: Four days of Western University’s graduation convocations

From June 10th to June 13th, Western University convocations were held at Canada Life Place. They were invigorated by protests for Palestine.  Numerous graduating students across disciplines and faculties faced the celebratory stage with Palestine flags, banners calling for justice, and regalia draped with keffiyehs. Outside, more protesters held banners and chanted human rights declarations to the downtown rush. They stationed themselves in areas where students arrived to pick up regalia and families waited before convocations began.   University administration, London police, and Canada Life Place staff attempted to quell the protests.  *** On the morning of June 10th —  the…

Read MoreKeffiyehs, banners, cheers, and suppression: Four days of Western University’s graduation convocations

“We can’t be in Gaza – but we can be here”: London rally echoes global march to rafah

LONDON, ONTARIO — “We can’t be in Gaza – but we can be here,” shouted members of the Canadian Palestinian Social Association (CPSA), a local community organization dedicated to celebrating Palestinian culture and raising awareness about the ongoing genocide committed by the Israeli occupation. The rally, held outside MP Peter Fragiskatos’ office, was one of many acts of international solidarity as thousands of activists across the globe mobilized for the Global March to Gaza. On June 12, around 60 people gathered at the rally, holding signs, keffiyehs, and Palestinian flags under the cloudy London sky. The event was co-organized by…

Read More“We can’t be in Gaza – but we can be here”: London rally echoes global march to rafah

Open Letter: This Emerita prof Supports Divestment

Dear President Shepard, I would like to thank you for the generous offer to attend a dinner with retired faculty from Western: it is an important gesture to remember former professors and our contributions. Normally, I would be looking forward to seeing familiar faces and reminiscing with colleagues about our days on campus. However, under the circumstances, I must decline your invitation.  It is impossible for me to enjoy a celebratory meal with Western colleagues when our Palestinian colleagues in Gaza are enduring a brutal famine deliberately imposed by an occupying power which is actively supported by your Administration. How…

Read MoreOpen Letter: This Emerita prof Supports Divestment

“We carry your memory like fire in our veins”: 77th Nakba Day 

Whenever someone asked me my name, it was always followed by: “Are you a refugee or a citizen?” As a child, I would ask: “What is a refugee?” On this year’s Nakba Day — May 15, 2025 — an Al Jazeera article by Ruwaida Amer in Gaza describes the 1948 displacement of her grandparents from their razed village of Beir Daras to Khan Younis, where she was born in a refugee camp. Her grandfather was fifteen years old during the Nakba, married and with a baby son. The baby — Amer’s uncle — died as they fled. He was just…

Read More“We carry your memory like fire in our veins”: 77th Nakba Day