CAIA Province-wide Day of Action
Start: May 26 2010 12:00 pm
End: May 26 2010 1:00 pm
Dalton McGuinty, Stop Doing Business with Israeli Apartheid!
The Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA) is calling on our allies to join us in telling Premier Dalton McGuinty that Ontario should not be doing business with Israeli Apartheid.
This month, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty will be traveling to Israel (May 23 – 27, 2010). McGuinty’s trip is aimed at increasing Ontario’s trade relations with Israel. Trade between Ontario and Israel totaled over 1.1 billion dollars in 2008. In February 2010, The Toronto Stock Exchange signed a trade agreement with the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. More info
In 2008, Israel announced that it was launching a Rebranding Campaign aimed at promoting the ‘positive side’ of Israel in order to change its tarnished image. This campaign is intended to distract the world from its war crimes and violations of international law. McGuinty’s announcement of his trip to Israel is a page out of the Rebranding Campaign handbook – praising Israel’s technological and medical achievements, while ignoring its apartheid policies and crimes against the Palestinian people.
McGuinty is now selling his trip to Israel alongside his much criticized plan for recovery from the economic crisis. His “Open Ontario” plan threatens to make cuts to social assistance, public transit and the entire public sector. He wants Ontario to become more like Israel – a place where researchers and universities work hard to develop technology that is profitable for the military and big business. McGuinty is going to Israel to learn lessons from a country that has made billions from commercializing its research and technology. Israel is a world leader in profiting from selling the technologies of war and ‘homeland security’, and it is no secret that all major technology in Israel is made by or for the Israeli military.
CAIA is calling on our allies in Ontario to speak out against McGuinty’s trip to Israel and Ontario’s growing ties to Israeli Apartheid.
Participate in our May 26th Day of Action: Write, sign and deliver!
Step 1: Write a letter to Dalton McGuinty SAMPLE LETTER,
Tell McGuinty to “Stop Doing Business with Israeli Apartheid”.
Step 2: Gather more letters by May 26th – be creative!
“¢ Give/send copies to your friends, neighbours, co-workers to sign and send
“¢ Copies of the open letter and leaflet workplaces, community centres, a welfare office, public events, grocery stores
Step 3: Mail or Deliver your letter to your Member of Provincial Parliament on/by May 26
a. JOIN CAIA FOR A MASS LETTER DELIVERY AT QUEEN’S PARK (Toronto) – Meet us in front of the legislature at Noon on May 26th!
b. MAIL IT! It’s free to send letters to your MPP. Find your MPP”s Address
c. DELIVER IT! Plan a delegation (small or large!) to hand deliver the letters to your Member of Provincial Parliament.
Step 4: Let us know about your action! E-mail us at endapartheid[at]riseup.net
RESOURCES:
On Israel”s Rebranding campaign (video with Naomi Klein on rebranding and BDS):
On the dangers of the commercialization of research in Israel and Canada
(University of Toronto President visits Israel in 2008):
“McGuinty Readies for his first trade mission to Israel” (Canadian Jewish News)
http://www.cjnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19044&Itemid=86
On budget cuts at universities: Why is Queen”s University Principal Daniel Woolf going to Israel with McGuinty?
On McGuinty government’s upcoming cuts to the Special Diet (social assistance) and
Social programming in the province (Ontario Coalition Against Poverty)
www.ocap.ca
On how cuts to social programming, wages and public sector hurts im/migrants and undocumented people:
http://www.socialistproject.ca/leftstreamed/ls51.php
On workers, jobs, unions and cuts to the public sector
“Wage freeze bad for economy” (CUPE-Ontario”s Fred Hahn on Global)
“Open Letter to CUPE Ontario Members” on Ontario Provincial Budget (CUPE-Ontario)
http://www.cupe.on.ca/doc.php?document_id=1109&lang=en
