End the Repression in Canada’s Health Sector
We are facing what the BC Civil Liberties Association has called a watershed moment of peril for civil liberties in Canada. Health workers Alliance for Palestine has released a statement calling on health sector leaders to protect the right to free expression in support of Palestinian rights. We invite you to join a growing list of individuals, organizations and institutions committing to the principles of academic freedom, justice, and health equity that underpin the health and health education sector in Canada by signing on.
Free Palestine!
Mettons fin à la répression dans le secteur de la santé au Canada
Nous vivons actuellement une période critique, que l’Association des libertés civiles de la Colombie-Britannique qualifie de moment décisif pour les libertés civiles au Canada. Nous avons émis une déclaration accompagnée de nos attentes en tant que signataires, qui soulignent en priorité notre droit inaliénable à la liberté d’expression ainsi que le respect de notre liberté académique, particulièrement lorsqu’il s’agit de la défense des droits du peuple palestinien, notamment son droit à l’autodétermination. Nous vous invitons à montrer votre engagement envers les principes de liberté académique, de justice et d’équité en santé qui sous-tendent le secteur de la santé et de l’éducation à la santé au Canada, en rejoignant la liste croissante d’institutions, d’organisations et d’individus signataires de cette déclaration.
Vivre la Palestine libre!
ACTIONS FOR PALESTINE
End the Repression in Canada’s Health Sector / Mettons fin à la répression dans le secteur de la santé au Canada
HAP Supports the Indigenous Women on the Freedom Flotilla Coalition Women’s Boat
Donate to Support Al-Najdeh Al Chaabiyeh Hospital
Joint Statement Against the Adoption of the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism at Health Faculties and Institutions / Déclaration commune contre l’adoption de l’IHRA dans les facultés et institutions de santé
HAP Supports the Indigenous Women on the Freedom Flotilla Coalition Women’s Boat
Health workers Alliance for Palestine (HAP) affirms its full support for Dr. Suzanne Shoush, an Indigenous and Black physician from Turtle Island (Canada) and outreach worker and harm reduction practitioner Mskwaasin Agnew (Cree/Dene, Salt River First Nation) who have joined the humanitarian flotilla to break the illegal siege of Gaza and create a humanitarian corridor. Read the full statement here!
Donate to support Al-Najdeh Al Chaabiyeh
Stand in solidarity with Lebanese health workers and support the Sumud (steadfastness) of the Lebanese people in the face of unprecedented Israeli aggression by donating to support Al-Najdeh Al Chaabiyeh Hospital.
As the world bears witness to one-year of Israeli genocide against the Palestinian people, Israel has expanded its military devastation to Lebanon, heavily targeting the South. Amid forced mass displacement, more than 1,400,000 people across Lebanon have been uprooted due to the ongoing, deadly, and indiscriminate Israeli airstrikes. Many are struggling to find shelter and meet their basic daily needs, in a country with an already strained economy.
Health workers Alliance for Palestine is collaborating with Lebanon Resists Network to support the medical and relief response in Lebanon and are raising funds urgently to support Al-Najdeh Al Chaabiyeh Hospital to help ensure it remains operational. Donate here!
Statement on anti-Palestinian Racism at the UofA FoMD: Concerning session on September 9th conflating anti-Semitism with anti-Zionsim
We are deeply disappointed and concerned regarding a session hosted by the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry (FoMD) on September 9, 2024. Ostensibly organized to raise awareness about antisemitism, indeed a worthy goal, reviewing its content clearly exposes its hidden agenda of silencing and intimidating voices critical of the State of Israel by falsely smearing these voices as antisemitic. Read the full statement here.
Open Gaza, Resume the flow of Critical Supplies and Personnel into Gaza
Dear Prime Minister Trudeau, Ministers Hussen and Joly and Members of Parliament,
The Rafah crossing was the last entry point into Gaza not under full control of the Israeli Government, and was the main access point for humanitarian teams and critical life-sustaining supplies entering Gaza in significant volumes. Since the invasion of Rafah on May 7th, 2024, this last consistent lifeline has been closed.
In addition to the immediate deaths and devastating injuries of war, the population of Gaza– now almost entirely displaced from their homes– is suffering the predictable consequences of the systematic destruction of sanitation and life-sustaining infrastructure: widespread starvation, dehydration, and deadly epidemics of infectious diseases. Patients requiring evacuation from Gaza for lifesaving treatment outside are dying because of the border closure. More deaths from starvation and preventable or treatable disease are expected if humanitarian access continues to be denied by Israel, with the support of its allies. It is imperative to immediately reopen Rafah and other crossings, initiate the flow of humanitarian aid, resume the humanitarian staffing rotations, and allow patient evacuations, in order to slow the carnage currently taking place in Gaza.
International Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have been providing limited humanitarian support to Gaza in the form of staff and essential supplies. In the healthcare domain, these activities have been coordinated by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations (UN), in communication with the Gaza Ministry of Health and Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT). Until the occupation and closing of the Rafah crossing on May 7th, this support had allowed the functioning of very limited health services focused on the most critical areas of maternal and child health, surgical trauma, and wound care, as well as a very limited slate of primary care services restricted to certain pockets of the displaced population. The decision to cut off this last line of life-saving supplies and humanitarian teams is part of the ongoing genocide against the civilian population of Gaza, waged by Israel and its allies, including the Government of Canada.
Despite escalating worldwide calls to end the genocide and allow the unrestricted flow of emergency support into Gaza, there are currently no plans in place to resume routine flow of essential medical supplies and healthcare workers into Gaza nor to permit evacuation of the over 13,000 patients (as of today) awaiting emergency medical transfers.
We call on the Canadian Government to use every available means at their disposal to pressure Israel to
- Immediately open the Rafah and other land crossings to resume the flow of essential life-sustaining materials (food, water, fuel, essential medical supplies), and personnel in and out of Gaza
- Resume unrestricted patient transfers for life-saving and urgent medical care outside Gaza.
- Resume regular staffing rotations in and out of Gaza for international humanitarian teams.
Joint Statement Against the Adoption of the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism at Health Faculties and Institutions
In recent months, healthcare workers, learners, and educators have experienced an unprecedented campaign of silencing and intimidation related to their advocacy for Palestinian freedoms and lives, resulting from the use of the now widely-criticized IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) working definition of antisemitism. Over 50 organizations call on healthcare institutions and faculties of health sciences to clearly and unequivocally reject the adoption of the IHRA working definition of antisemitism, urgently put an end to the use of IHRA, whether formally adopted or not, to accuse individuals of antisemitism for criticizing the actions of the State of Israel, and to acknowledge anti-Palestinian racism. Read the full joint statement with the list of all endorsing organisations .
Déclaration commune contre l’adoption de l’IHRA dans les facultés et institutions de santé
Ces derniers mois, les travailleur.euses de la santé, les apprenant.e.s et les éducateur.trices ont fait l’expérience d’une campagne sans précédent de censure et d’intimidation liée à leur plaidoyer en faveur des libertés et des vies palestiniennes, résultant de l’utilisation de la définition de l’antisémitisme de l’Alliance internationale pour la mémoire de l’Holocauste (IHRA), maintenant largement critiqué. Plus de 50 organisations appellent les institutions de santé et les facultés des sciences de la santé à rejeter clairement et sans équivoque l’adoption de la définition opérationnelle de l’IHRA de l’antisémitisme, mettre fin de toute urgence à l’utilisation de la définition de l’IHRA, qu’elle soit formellement adoptée ou non, pour accuser des individus d’antisémitisme, et reconnaître le racisme anti-Palestinien. Lisez la déclaration commune complète avec la liste de toutes les organisations signataires.
Discriminatory Health Coverage and Visa Process for Palestinian and Sudanese Individuals Arriving in Canada
As health workers, we are dismayed at the discriminatory visa processes and health care coverage for Palestinian and Sudanese newcomers to Canada. Sign our letter and share widely.
In solidarity with Palestinian Youth Movement and Sudan Solidarity Committee.
Joint Statement: Targeting of Medical Learners Applying to Residency Programs through the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS)
Déclaration commune : Ciblage des apprenant.e.s en médecine qui postulent à des programmes de résidence par le biais du Service canadien de jumelage des résident.e.s (CaRMS)
We are disturbed by recent reports that, during the current residency program matching process, applicants are being targeted for their health advocacy and signing of an open letter detailing the health and humanitarian crises in Gaza. Several organizations have come together to advocate for a transparent and unbiased Canadian residency program matching cycle now and every subsequent cycle.
Read the full joint statement about the Targeting of Medical Learners Applying to Residency Programs through the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) in English or in French.
Endorsed by Health workers Alliance for Palestine, Hearing Palestine Initiative at the University of Toronto, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, Arab Canadian Lawyers Association, Independent Jewish Voices, Jews Say No to Genocide Coalition, Faculty for Palestine, Toronto Indigenous Harm Reduction, Jewish Faculty Network, The University of Toronto’s Black Medical Students Association, Science for the People, and British Columbia Civil Liberties Association.
Reporting Bias in the CaRMS Interview Process: Know Your Rights!
A recent CBC article found risks to the integrity of the CaRMS process for medical students who have advocated for Palestinian human rights or ceasefire. In the absence of a meaningful response from Faculties of Medicine, health workers and allied organizations want to ensure medical students understand their right to an interview process free of bias and discrimination. This document provides resources for medical learners to remind them of their rights and the importance of documenting bias as they undergo the application and interview process.
Sign the Open Letter
We call on all health workers to sign our letter and support the call to action.
Click to read the full letter.
Guidance for Those Facing Intimidation and Harassment
Are you a healthcare worker experiencing anti-Palestinian racism, intimidation, and harassment for signing our letter and for speaking up about Palestinian human rights?
Read our advice about how to address intimidation and harassment in healthcare for Palestinian advocacy.
March! Write! And More!
- Support the HAP Statement on the “Discriminatory Health Coverage and Visa Process for Palestinian and Sudanese Individuals Arriving in Canada”Please take a moment to consider signing on to HAP’s Statement on the “Discriminatory Health Coverage and Visa Process for Palestinian and Sudanese Individuals Arriving in Canada“. This letter is addressed to Canadian government officials including the Prime Minister, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees & Citizenship and Ministers of Health. We call attention to the disparity… Read more: Support the HAP Statement on the “Discriminatory Health Coverage and Visa Process for Palestinian and Sudanese Individuals Arriving in Canada”
- BEYOND APARTHEID: PALESTINE FUTURES IN LAW AND LANDS – January 22 6-8 pmMonday, January 22, 6-8pm FOOD SERVED AT 5:30PM WILLIAM DOO AUDITORIUM • 45 WILCOCKS STREET SPEAKERS: MOHAMMAD FADEL VofT Faculty of Law, ARIEL KATZ UofT Faculty of Law, MAJD AL-SHIHABI ofT Dept of Geography +Planning MODERATORS: BEVERLEY MULLINGS + DEBORAH COWEN, Department of Geography Planning Registration required: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/beyond-apartheid-palestine-futures-in-law-and-lands-tickets-792595513517
- Palestine Prohibited: Discussing Censorship at U of T – January 17, 6 pmPalestine Prohibited Townhall @ UofT, Jan 17th at 6pm (William Doo Auditorium). The townhall is part of the Faculty for Palestine’s National Week of Action. The townhall will be a space for faculty, students and staff to come together, hear speakers talk about repression and censorship at UofT amid 100 days of genocide. There will… Read more: Palestine Prohibited: Discussing Censorship at U of T – January 17, 6 pm
- Please support this email campaign urging the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) to break their silence on Dr. Yipeng Ge’s suspension from the University of Ottawa‼️ Attention ALL physicians and medical learners: Please support this email campaign urging the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) to break their silence on Dr. Yipeng Ge’s suspension from the University of Ottawa. Some of you may know that Dr. Ge is a highly respected resident member on the CMA Board of Directors and a much… Read more: Please support this email campaign urging the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) to break their silence on Dr. Yipeng Ge’s suspension from the University of Ottawa
- Support Arij Al Khafagi, disciplined for opposing Israeli violence – CJPME – EnglishArij Al Khafagi was recently suspended from the Bachelor of Nursing Program at the U. of Manitoba, with a five-year reprimand on her academic transcript! Despite being an exemplary student, and president of the Nursing Students’ Association, Arij was harshly disciplined for social media posts she had made which were critical of Israel’s violence against Palestinians. … Read more: Support Arij Al Khafagi, disciplined for opposing Israeli violence – CJPME – English
- Pétition : Annulation de l’ouverture d’un bureau du Québec en Israël
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