INDEPENDENT JEWISH VOICES-VANCOUVER STATEMENT OF SUPPORT FOR PROTEST OF ISRAELI NATIONAL TEAM PARTICIPATION IN CANADA CUP WOMEN’S INTERNATIONAL SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP, SURREY BC
July 3, 2024
Independent Jewish Voices-Vancouver stands in full solidarity with community members and athletes gathering today, July 3 2024, to denounce the participation of the Israeli national team in the Canada Cup Women’s International Softball Championship, taking place in Surrey, BC. IJV-Vancouver supports this protest as part of our longstanding commitment to the International Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign which exerts economic and cultural pressure on Israel until Palestinian rights are recognised in full compliance with international law.
“We decry the participation of the state-sponsored Israeli National Softball Team in this competition”, said mia susan amir, Independent Jewish Voices-Vancouver Member “As Canadian Jews, we refuse events like this which promote normalization with the state of Israel while it continues to engage in flagrant violations of humanitarian law, exacting untold suffering and violence on the people of Gaza,” she continued.
As we enter the 9th month of its genocide on the people of Gaza, Canada’s unwavering support of Israel has made it complicit in the murder of more than 38,000 Palestinians. As Independent Jewish Voices-Vancouver we represent Canadian Jews who are resounding in their position that neither Israel nor the Canadian government act in our name.
“It is horrifying that the Israeli team has been granted free entry to Canada while approximately 300 Palestinians working in sports including athletes and coaches have been killed in Gaza since the genocide began,” said Rebecca Haber, Independent Jewish Voices-Vancouver Member. “This is especially glaring given that as of the end of May 2024 only 41 Gazans had successfully entered Canada under the special temporary visa program,” she continued.
IJV-Vancouver demands that the Canada Cup Women’s International Softball Championship Committee immediately remove the Israeli team from this competition. We support all such boycotts until Israel complies with international law, and ends its 76 years of illegal occupation of Palestine. We demand that the Canadian Government end its complicity in this genocide by immediately implementing a full two-way arms embargo and sanctions on Israel.