Palestinians in Solidarity with Idle No More and Indigenous Rights

(Please note that you can sign by emailing [email protected] or using the form: ://bit.ly/PalIdleNoMore. Endorsements are welcome from Palestinian and Palestine support organizations; Palestinians and Arabs; and solidarity signatures in support.)

Poster design by Guevara de la Serna

“You who come from beyond the sea, bent on war,
don’t cut down the tree of our names,
don’t gallop your flaming horses across
the open plains….
Don’t bury your God
in books that back up your claim of
your land over our land,
don’t appoint your God to be a mere
courtier in the palace of the King”
– Mahmoud Darwish, The Penultimate Speech of the “Red Indian”

Palestinians in Solidarity with Idle No More

SIGN ON: Email [email protected] or USE THE FORM: ://bit.ly/PalIdleNoMore

Indigenous people have risen up across Canada in the Idle No More movement, a mass call for Indigenous sovereignty, self-determination and rights, against colonization, racism, injustice, and oppression. As Palestinians, who struggle against settler colonialism, occupation and apartheid in our homeland and for the right of Palestinian refugees – the majority of our people – to return to our homeland, we stand in solidarity with the Idle No More movement of Indigenous peoples and its call for justice, dignity, decolonization and protection of the land, waters and resources.

We recognize the deep connections and similarities between the experiences of our peoples – settler colonialism, destruction and exploitation of our land and resources, denial of our identity and rights, genocide and attempted genocide. As Palestinians, we stood with the national liberation movement against settler colonialism in South Africa, as we stand with all liberation movements challenging colonialism and imperialism around the world. The struggle of Indigenous and Native peoples in Canada, the United States, have long been known to the Palestinian people, reflecting our common history as peoples and nations subject to ethnic cleansing at the hands of the very same forces of European colonization.

The Indigenous resistance across Canada includes struggles against the ongoing theft of indigenous lands, massive resource extraction and environmental devastation (including tar sands and pipelines), the continuing movement of survivors of the genocidal residential school system, and movements to demand an end to the colonial and gendered violence against Indigenous women.

The Canadian government, reflecting its own settler colonial nature, was one of the earliest and strongest supporters of the establishment of Israel as a settler colony on Palestinian land and has since that time been a steadfast backer of Israeli wars, occupation, colonization, and oppression against our people. Canada has done so alongside the United States, which shares the same settler colonial nature, legacy of genocide, and massive support for Israeli occupation, colonization and apartheid.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government has pronounced itself “Israel’s best friend,” supporting its assaults on Lebanon and Gaza and consistently attacking Palestinian rights both on the international stage and within Canadian borders. At the same time, it has embarked on a program of refugee and migrant exclusion, cuts to refugee health care, attacks on workers’ rights, support for massive resource extraction and environmental devastation – and attacks on Indigenous rights and sovereignty on treaty and unceded land. Harper and his government’s expansive praise for Israeli settler colonialism and apartheid is simply the other side of the same coin that attacks Indigenous self determination and plans massive resource extraction on Indigenous land.

We salute the Idle No More movement and the unity of indigenous people around its calls for justice, as well as the courageous hunger strike of Chief Theresa Spence. We note that this movement belongs to all Indigenous people and was launched by youth and women. Our struggle as Palestinians is the same – rooted in all of our people and finding its greatest strength in youth and women’s leadership.

Now is the time – from Canada/Turtle Island to Palestine, we must all be “Idle No More” , and take a stand: against colonialism, against occupation, and for self-determination, sovereignty, rights and justice for Indigenous peoples.

SIGN ON: Email PalestiniansIdleNoMore@gmail.com or USE THE FORM: ://bit.ly/PalIdleNoMore

Organizations
Al-Awda NY, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition
Boycott Israeli Apartheid Campaign – Vancouver
Cafe Intifada
Canada Palestine Association
Canadian Boat to Gaza
Canadian Palestinian Federation of Quebec
Chicago Movement for Palestinian Rights
Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA)
COMMIT Community Leadership Institute
Confluence Network
Free Ahmad Sa’adat Campaign – Palestine
International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network
International Women’s Peace Service, Deir Istyia, Palestine
Labor for Palestine – US
Justice for Palestinians – Calgary
Jewish Voice for Peace – Philadelphia
LA Palestine Labor Solidarity Committee
Middle East Crisis Committee
Niagara Coalition for Peace
Niagara Palestinian Association
North American Intertribal Missions
Not In Our Name (NION) Jews Opposing Zionism
One Democratic State Group
Palestine Solidarity Network – Edmonton
Palestine Solidarity Committee, Seattle
Palestinian Queers for BDS
Palestinian Rights Committee
Palestinian Students Campaign for the Academic Boycott of Israel
Philly BDS
Popular Democratic Unity Party – Jordan
Queers Against Israeli Apartheid Toronto
Queers Against Israeli Apartheid Vancouver
Queer Visions at the World Social Forum: Free Palestine
Regina Solidarity Group
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) – UBC
Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) – Calgary
Students Against Israeli Apartheid – York University
Students Against Israeli Apartheid – University of Toronto Missisauga
Students Against Israeli Apartheid – Regina
Students for Justice in Palestine – Ryerson
Students for Justice in Palestine at Brooklyn College
Students for Justice in Palestine – Florida Atlantic University
Students for Justice in Palestine – University of New Mexico
Students for Justice in Palestine – University of Pittsburgh
Students for Palestinian Rights – University of Waterloo
Tadamon!
Temple University Students for Justice in Palestine
Toronto Students for Justice in Palestine (TSJP)
US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel
US Palestinian Community Network
Voice of Palestine
Voices of Palestine – Seattle
Women in Solidarity with Palestine (WSP)

Individuals:
Leila Khaled, Palestinian resistance icon
Abdullah Khalifeh, Vancouver, BC
Abla Abdelhadi, Ottawa, ON
Ahmed Alqarout, Gaza, Palestine
Akram Shaban, Surrey, BC
Alaa Khaled, Saida, Lebanon
Ali Yassir, Quebec
Amahl Bishara, Massachussetts
Amira Dasouqi, Memphis
Andrew Chalfoun, Owings Ridge, MD
Aref Nammari, Colorado
Ayeda Ayed, Toronto, ON
Ayman Anwar, Gaza, Palestine
Aziz Arafat, Gaza, Palestine
Bassel Araj, Palestine
Beesan Ramadan, Palestine
Bilal Jiddo, Bethlehem, Palestine
Chris Lymbertos, Oakland, CA
Dana Olwan, Syracuse, NY
Danya Mustafa, Albuquerque, NM
Dina Al-Kassim, Vancouver, BC
Eyad Kishawi, Divestment Resource Center
Faisal al-Refai, Jerusalem, Palestine
Falastine al-Saleh, Palestine
Faten Toubasi, Etobicoke
Gale Courey Toensing, Connecticut
Habib Haj Salem, Tunisia
Haidar Eid, Gaza, Palestine
Haithem Gammoudi, Tunisia
Haithem el-Zabri, Austin, TX
Hala Dillsi, Los Angeles
Hala Sayed, Toronto, ON
Hammam Farah, Toronto, ON
Hanan Abunasser, Gaza, Palestine
Haneen Maikey, Palestine
Hanna Kawas, chairperson, Canada Palestine Association
Hiyam Arrafih, Toronto, ON
Iltezam Morrar, Ramallah, Palestine
Intissar al-Masri, Rome
Ismail Zayid, Halifax, NS
Jamil Salem, Birzeit University
Jenna Sweiss, Thorold, ON
Julian Durzi, Toronto
Khaled Barakat, Vancouver, BC
Khaled Mouammar, Richmond Hill , ON
Laith Marouf, Montreal, QC
Lara Khalidi, Jordan
Layan Assayed, Haifa
Linda Tabar, Toronto, ON
Luma Abu Ayyash, Raleigh, NC
Mahasen Nasser-Eldin, Occupied Jerusalem, Occupied Palestine
Maram Salim, Hebron, Palestine
Marek Falk, Seatte
Marsilio Salem, Venezuela
Mary Rezk, Brooklyn, NY
Maura Yasin, Falls Church
Mezna Qato
Moataz Elkafarna, Gaza, Palestine
Mohamad Hamad, Calgary
Mohamed Elreefi, Gaza
Mohammad Battah, UK
Nada Elia, Seattle, WA
Nadia Awad, Brooklyn
Nargess Mustapha, Montreal
Rabab Ibrahim Abdulhadi, San Francisco
Radi Annab, Toronto, ON, Canada
Raed Abass Tawil, Palestine
Rafe Hasan, Winnipeg, MB
Rami Mustafa, Palestine
Rana Abdula, Winnipeg, MB
Rana Hamadeh, Ottawa, ON
Rawan Kittani, Palestine
Razan Abu-Remaileh, Vancouver, BC
Rima Hussein, Berlin
Saadeddin Ziada, Gaza, Palestine
Sabrina Azraq, Ajax
Sa’ed Atshan, Cambridge, MA
Saher al-Sous, Beit Sahour, Bethlehem, Palestine
Sakinah Hasib, Toronto, ON
Saleem Qawasme, Ramallah, Palestine
Salma Abu Ayyash, Cambridge, MA
Sami Majadla, Vancouver, BC
Sandra Dughman-Manzur, Toronto, ON
Sarah Abdulla, Winnipeg, MB
Sarah Abu-Sharar, Mississauga, ON
Selma al-Aswad, Seattle, WA
Sheena Sood, Philadelphia
Sophia Azeb, Los Angeles, CA
Suheir Azzouni, Pittsburgh, PA
Tala al-Jabri, Dubai, UAE
Viviane Saleh-Hanna, Providence, RI
Wafa Qutaina, Jordan
Waleed Yosef, Lebanon
Walid Husseini, Jerusalem, Palestine
Wesam al-Khateeb, Amman, Jordan
Yafa Jarrar, Ottawa
Yara Abbas, Ramallah, Palestine
Zainab Ramahi, Waterloo, ON
Ziad Suidan, Atlanta, GA
Zuhair Al-Atwi, Berne, NY

Supporters:
Alessandra Asteriti, Edinburgh, UK
Annette Howell, Chicago, IL
Azadeh N. Shahshahani, President, National Lawyers Guild
Bettejo Passalaqua, Spring Hill, FL
Bilal Ahmed, North Brunswick, NJ
Bill Breidenstein, Cit. Heights, CA
Bill Shpikula, Toronto
Bonnie Bane, La Crosse Wi US
Brenda Paterson, Kelowna, BC
Brian O’Connor, North Bay, ON
Bruna Melis, Cagliari, Sardinia
Carly Rindinella, Ottawa
Carrie Zadrazil, Canada
Cata Radu, Florence, Italy
Cathy Bellefeuille, Ottawa, ON
Cheryl Blood Bouvier, Calgary, AB
Chris Killsright, Washington, DC, USA
Christopher Heffley, Vancouver, BC
Colleen Ross, Canada
Daniel Stover, Vancouver
Darren Maxie, Regina, SK
Dara Bayer, Boston, MA
David Monroy, Brooklyn, NY
Debbie Richardson, UK
Deborah McKellar, Neustadt, ON
Deepa Naik, London
Dennis Kortheuer, Long Beach, CA
Dorice Tentchoff, BC
Edna Brass, Vancouver, BC
Ed Mast, Seattle, WA
Elise LeBlanc, Halifax, NS
Emily Smith, Belgium
Emma Rosenthal, Los Angeles
Erika Munoz, Ottawa, Canada
Esther Nelson, Lutherans for Justice in the Holy Land, Portland, OR
Frances Everett, Canada
Frank Allegro, Miami, FL USA
Freda Guttman, Montreal
Gerald Hassett, Sunnyside, NY
Giselle Dias, London, ON
Glenda Forward, Sudbury, Ontario
Hal Ward, Edmonton, AB
Helene Matz, Norway
Henry Zaccak, Toronto, ON
Ian Ki’laas Caplette, Nuu-Chah-Nulth Homelands
Ivan Tentchoff, Gibsons, BC
Jack Friesen, Courtenay, BC
Jake Javanshir, Toronto, ON
Jamilah Bahay, Calgary
Jan Bacon, Calgary, Canada
Jane Lee, Brisbane
Janis Favel, Regina, SK
Jason Devine, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Joanna Zilsel, Gibsons, BC
Joe Catron, Gaza, Palestine
Josie Forcadilla, Scarborough, ON
Judith Syme, Montreal, QC
June Rugh, Seattle
K. Elayne McClanen, Sandy Spring, MD
Karen MacRae, Toronto
Keith Hirsche, Cobble Hill, BC
Kiven Strohm, Montréal
Klara Longfellow, Montreal, QC, Canada
Kristen Shellenberg, Texas
L. Sky, Toronto, Ontario
Larry Zweig, Fuerth, Germany
Lauren Lowe, Hamilton, ON
Rev. Linda S. Trout, Etters, PA
Marcie Riel, Oshawa, ON
Maria Katafigioti, Thessaloniki, Greece
Marilyn Totten, Truro, NS
Marilyn Davignon, Ottawa ON Canada
Marlene Newesri, New York, NY
Matt Courter, Seattle, WA
Matthew Brett, London
Matthew Graber, Philadelphia, PA
Melissa Hill, Onamia, MN
Michael Billeaux, Madison, WI
Michael Carr, Florida
Michael Letwin, Brooklyn, NY
Michelle Robinson, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Nanice Ahmed, Riverside, CA
Natasha Bannan, New York
Nathan Witt, UK
Nazbah Tom, Oakland, CA
Nicole Davis, Toronto
Nicole Gevirtz, Voorhees, NJ
Nino Pagliccia, Vancouver, BC
Noémie Despland-Lichtert, Montréal, Canada
Pamela Joyner, Canada
Pauline Pan, Toronto
Pei-Ju Wang, Ottawa, unceded Algonquin territory
Peter Gose, Ottawa
Dr. Philip Kaisary, Warwick, UK
Purit Sangawong, Maha Sarakham, Thailand
Radoslaw Smaczny, Toronto, ON
Ramona Start, Laona WI
Rhonda Prevost, Calgary Alberta
Robert Smith, Crystal Lake, IL
Roberta Davenport, Imperial Beach, CA
Roger Beck, Toronto, ON
Ron Ball, Dawson Creek, BC Canada
Rev. Sandra R. Mackie, Gettysburg, PA
Sandy Marks, Woodstock, VT
Sayaka Yajima, Toronto, ON
Sharon Bellrose, Sucker Creek
Sheila Purcell, Ottawa, ON
Spenta Kandawalla, Oakland, CA
Sumbal Naseem, London, ON
Suzanne Weiss, Toronto, ON
Taina Maki Chahal, Thunder Bay ON
Tamar Diana Wilson, La Jolla, CA
Tammy Murphy, Philadelphia, PA
Tanya Rodrigues, Ottawa, ON
Tar de Moutonnoir, Montreal, QC
Rev. Thomas Johnson, Claremont
Timothy Perkins, Paris, France
Tonomi Kinukawa, Oakland, CA
Dr. Trevor Purvis, Ottawa
Trudy Matusiak, Sarnia, Ontario, CAN
Valerie Hopkins
Will Thomas, Auburn, NH