Israel has brazenly barred a Canadian parliamentary delegation—including six Members of Parliament—from entering the occupied West Bank.
This obstruction confirms exactly what we know about Israel’s apartheid rule over the territory: it is a brutal regime of military domination, suffocating restrictions, and collective punishment. It treats Palestinians as a captive population to be hidden from international scrutiny while paving the way for total annexation.
It is an intolerable humiliation that five of the blocked MPs belong to Canada’s own governing Liberal Party. The Canadian Government cannot stand by while its elected representatives are obstructed and treated with such contempt. Inaction in the face of these actions is not neutrality; it is complicity.
Independent Jewish Voices condemns the Israeli Ambassador to Canada for endorsing this ban. Such statements display a flagrant disregard for Canada’s international obligations and the critical duty of parliamentarians to uncover the truth and uphold international law.
We demand that Canada impose immediate, meaningful sanctions—including an arms embargo and targeted measures—and enforce divestment from any company profiting from or sustaining these violations of Palestinian rights. Furthermore, we call on the Canadian government, as well as all Canadian educational, artistic, and sporting bodies, to implement a full academic and cultural boycott of complicit Israeli institutions. Sanctions and boycotts are crucial tools to bring about accountability.