Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) welcomes Canada’s announcement that, alongside eleven European allies, Canada intends to impose a ban on the import of goods from illegal Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory. An additional joint statement with France and the U.K, stated that Canada will be enforcing “targeted measures against settlements and those who facilitate them or profit from them,” a long overdue commitment to bring action against Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise.
Canada’s precise measures are still to be announced. As it deliberates, we implore and expect Canada to at the very least match the U.K.’s approach, and ultimately to institute a comprehensive sanctions regime on the Israeli occupation. The U.K.’s approach notably includes a ban on advertising for the sale of properties in illegal settlements, a refusal of permits for exports for weapons and other items seen as materially contributing to the occupation, and sanctions on entities providing construction, infrastructure, financing or real estate for settlement expansion. The U.K. has also importantly recognized the International Court of Justice’s 2024 decision, declaring Israel’s occupation and settlement project illegal and calling for action to be taken by third party states to ensure they are not complicit.
To be effective, sanctions by Canada must target organizations such as the World Zionist Organization and the Jewish National Fund for their part as key institutions funding and fuelling settler expansion, as well as Israeli financial institutions that act as guarantors for companies involved in settlement construction, notably as part of the E1 settlement project. They must also move beyond focusing strictly on settlement “expansion” to encompassing Israel’s massive existing network of settlements as a whole, and ensure Canada does everything in its power to end its complicity with them.
Zionist groups such as CIJA have implied that Canada’s announcement promotes antisemitism in Canada, a claim which IJV categorically rejects. Israel’s impunity from consequences in the face of gross violations of human rights and international law erodes core principles of accountability and justice for harms committed. Recent polls show that a majority of Canadian Jews oppose Israeli settlement expansion, and that a plurality of Canadians believe that Canada has not done enough to sanction Israeli settlements in Palestine. Any outcry over Canada’s decision to impose economic consequences for settlement enterprises does not come from concern over the well-being of Canadian Jews. Rather, it demonstrates a brazen indifference to Palestinian suffering, and an investment in the ongoing perpetration of violence against Palestinians.
We have heard promises for action from Canada before, without meaningful follow-up. We will therefore be watching keenly for the next steps being taken by our government and continuing to push for action that moves beyond symbolism to concrete, material measures. A ban on settlement goods alone is insufficient. As the experience in the European Union has demonstrated, such a ban can easily be circumvented.
U.K. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, a British Jew, has said Britain is resetting its foreign policy towards Israel and standing up for what is right, despite bad-faith criticism from pro-Israel actors and retaliatory measures from the Israeli government. Canada must now do the same. If Canada is serious about wanting to end Israel’s illegal occupation, it must move beyond a settlement goods ban and impose broad-based sanctions against Israel’s settlement enterprise now.