Take Action to Stop Ethnic Cleansing in Jerusalem #SaveSheikhJarrah

Click here to send an email to the Prime Minister, your local MP, and other federal political leaders. Save Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan, stop ethnic cleansing in Jerusalem! 

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The Palestinian families facing eviction have resided in the East Jerusalem neighbourhoods of Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan for generations. Originally from Haifa and other coastal cities, these families were dispossessed and displaced during the 1948 Nakba, and were resettled in East Jerusalem in the 1950s, in homes built for them by the Jordan government and UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestine refugees.

The eviction process is led by two American-funded settler organizations who claim that Jews owned this property in the 1800s, and that therefore they are “reclaiming” the land. However, these ownership claims are contested and possibly fraudulent. Moreover, these specific settlers have no connection to any original owners of the land, and Palestinians are the only ones who ever lived in these homes.

The legal ability of settler organizations to evict these families is based on a racist Israeli law, called the Legal and Administrative Matters Law. Established in 1970 following the conquest of East Jerusalem, this law was intended to return land that was lost in the 1948 war. However, the law applied only to Jewish Israelis who claimed to have lost property, while excluding Palestinians from exercising that same right.

Although the Israeli courts have presented this issue as being a “real estate dispute,” the evictions are part of a broader process to maintain Jewish demographic dominance over East Jerusalem by systematically drivingPalestinians out of the area. Settlers and Israeli officials understand that the goal is to increase the Jewish character of these neighbourhoods at the expense of Palestinians. For this reason, it amounts to deliberate ethnic cleansing, perpetuated by the Israeli courts system.

The Canadian government has expressed concern over the evictions as a “serious obstacle to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace,” and calls on Israel to “stop settlement activities” in East Jerusalem. However, Canadian officials have not committed to taking any action to stop this process. In fact, Canadian policy encourages and promotes settlement activity, in part by extending trade benefits to settlers in East Jerusalem through CIFTA. Policy change is needed to discourage settlement activity and protect Palestinian human rights.

Click here to read or download CJPME’s Factsheet

Thank you

Thank you for supporting this campaign. Every additional voice makes a difference!

In Solidarity,

Tom, Michael, Madeleine, and the rest of the CJPME team

CJPME Email - CJPME Website