On the year of Israel's 75 birthday, the country is at a crossroads - let Israelis know that you stand with them, their struggle for democracy, and our collective Jewish vision of being free in our homeland.
Since the beginning of the protest movement in December 2022, JSpaceCanada has stood strongly for a vision of an Israel committed to the values and ideals in its Declaration of Independence - justice, equality, and freedom, regardless of religion, race, or sex. We yearn to see a Jewish homeland that is just and democratic for all its citizens, that lives in peace alongside its neighbors.
We share the fear of many Israelis, that the country is becoming dominated by religious and nationalist extremists, intent on creating a nation for those like them – to the exclusion of all others. We cannot let them achieve their goal of undermining the judiciary's independence and establishing long-term, undemocratic dominance over the occupied West Bank, thereby perpetuating a cycle of injustice, violence, and conflict for yet another generation of Israelis and Palestinians.
We must fight back.
As Jews, what happens in the world's only Jewish state happens in our names too, so we must fight for the future of the Jewish state that we want to see.
That's why we’re speaking out for the overwhelming majority of pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy Canadians who want Israel to live up to the values of justice, democracy and peace enshrined in its Declaration of Independence.
The majority who stand with us, and recognize the role that we must play, as proud Canadian Zionists in this fight for the future of the Jewish state.
Together, we must speak out. We must mobilize our communities. We must match the courage, persistence, and perseverance of proud Israelis standing on the front lines of this fight day in, day out.
We must push our political and communal leaders to do everything in their power to back the protesters, to stand up to Netanyahu, and to confront this damaging anti-democratic agenda head-on.
After over six months of unrelenting protests, it is more important now than ever to not give up. To show our Israeli counterparts that we're with them in this fight, that we won't give up on them, and that we won't give up on the dream of being a free people in our homeland.