GUELPH – After a shaky ceasefire, Israel resumed air strikes on Gaza in the early hours of March 18, killing close to 800 within a week. People in Guelph and across the country are continuing to call on the Canadian government to impose an immediate weapons embargo on Israel.
Photos by Robin George
Protest attendees included Eman Rishmawi, left, a Palestinian who practiced international law in Beit Sahour, near Bethlehem, until she said she was forced to move to Canada 20 years ago because of the Israeli occupation.
Photos by Robin George
Debbie Samson, a member of Independent Jewish Voices and Reform Jews for Human Rights Canada, spoke about the importance of showing solidarity with Palestinians, the value of organizing rallies and educational events, the power of the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement and the significance of standing on the “right side of history and [working] toward a world rooted in dignity, justice, humanity and peace.” Meeting eyes with a Palestinian friend who lives in Centre Wellington, Samson said, “Most important for me today is to express my deepest grief for the Palestinian community here in Guelph, and Fergus and Elora.”
Photos by Robin George
Mayar Alfarra is a Palestinian Guelph resident from Khan Yunis in Gaza who spoke during the rally. “It is important that we gather here today and we use this as a space to organize and mobilize with one another,” Alfarra said. “We all have to stand for justice, raise our voices, and demand an arms embargo as well as the total liberation of our people and our land.” She called on attendees to “flood politicians with our demand that Canada stop arming Israel.”
