🍉 VanGran4Pal Community Newsletter
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**Neighbours and Friends, **
We want to begin by saying that we are grieving the Lapu Lapu day tragedy and our hearts are firmly with anyone suffering or struggling to cope. This has been unimaginable for our communities. Please don’t suffer alone - if you are affected and need support, resources are available and the city is with you. Together, we are stronger. Check in with your neighbours <3
In this week’s newsletter, we have several action updates with multiple actions and petitions that you can sign from home, then share with your friends. Scroll down for these, and to check out the featured events and our community highlight.
Now to cover (briefly) the federal election and how it impacts us going forwards. We know we weren’t alone in feeling a confusing mix of emotions when the results rolled in. On the one hand, we were grateful that we averted a more right-wing government and could celebrate the wins of local Vote Palestine signatories like Don Davies and Jenny Kwan. On the other, we were faced with the harsh reality that the vast majority of our newly elected MPs did not take a firm stand against genocide, and we are stepping closer to the deeply polarized two-party politics of the US.
So, now is the time to act. We want to amp up the pressure on our new government and remind our representatives that as long as they are complicit in genocide, we will not back down. We want to advocate for changing our political system so that everyone can vote with their values. Our civic duty is not just once every few years in an election booth. We all have a voice, so let’s be united in our commitment to use ours for justice and peace - whoever is in the seats!
Action Updates
Implement a full, two-way arms embargo without delay.
Prime Minister Carney has committed to making Canada a leader on the global stage — this is his chance to do it.
Will you join us in calling on Carney to commit to fully realize a two-way arms embargo against Israel — and to use the full extent of Canada’s international influence to fight for an end to Israel’s assault on Gaza?
**Sign here: **https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/carney-arms-embargo-petition
Write a letter: CRA needs to revoke charity status from Israel Magen Charity
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) must immediately suspend Israel Magen’s charitable status for acting as a conduit for donations to the Jewish National Fund of Canada. Last year JNF Canada’s charitable status was revoked and now Israel Magen is accepting funds for the JNF’s 2025 Negev Dinners, which are advertised on Israel Magen’s site.
**Take Action: **https://actionnetwork.org/letters/jnf-subsidized-by-canadian-taxpayers-through-israel-magen-charity
Scotiabank Funds Genocide: Campaign Briefing and Action Launch
Register now to join the national organizing call launching a new phase in the campaign to push Scotiabank to divest from Elbit Systems!
Speakers include:
- Tarek Loubani, Canadian emergency physician and medical aid organizer in Gaza
- Jody Chan, award winning author and organizer with No Arms in the Arts
- Rachel Small, Organizer with World BEYOND War Canada
**Join: **https://actionnetwork.org/events/scotiabankfundsgenocide
Consider posting about your rejected university offers on social media
⚠️ Attention prospective international & domestic students! You’ve seen world university rankings where schools compete for prestige. But in these times, moral clarity matters more than class sizes or faculty ratios.
📚 While all Turtle Island universities have failed morally, some are worse than others. Using data from student organizers, in 2025 University Scholasticide Response Rankings schools are ranked on their responses to Palestine solidarity — exposing which ones enable scholasticide and which violently suppress dissent to please Zionist donors.
📢 CALL TO ACTION:
Consider posting about your rejected university offers on social media with the hashtag #IdeclinedforPalestine #Ideclined4Palestine — Telling admissions departments that while they chase profits, you stand for justice. Join us in demanding dignity for a free Palestine.
Upcoming Events
ART FOR G♥️ZA | April 26
May 12-May 18 is the International Week of Action to Commemorate the Nakba. 🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸
For 77 years, the Palestinian people have been subjected to genocide, siege, disposession and horrifying brutality at the hands of the Zionist entity. Yet, for 77 years, the Palestinian people continue to resist for land, liberation and the right of return.
In so-called Vancouver, join community groups to commemorate Nakba 77 in a week of events, rallies, exhibits, fundraisers, and more. Follow the tag on each poster for more event details.
SPREAD THE WORD and show up with your friends and neighbours.
Palestine will live forever! 🌸
Mark your Calendars: Nakba Events.
- **May 10: **Education for Liberation. Kid's Led Rally for Nakba Education. Time 2-4 pm. Start point: Grandview Park. End point: McSpadden Park.
- **May 11: **Mother's Day Fundraiser. Live Music and Fashion Show. Time: 5-9:30 pm. 5840 Oak Street. Tickets: kitesofhope.org
- May 12: Promise of Return by Weaving Our Worlds. Evening of storytelling, food, fundraising and community. Time 6-9 pm. 1803 East 1st Avenue. Register: https://www.weavingourworlds.ca/return/
- May 15: Nakba Day Remembered Event and Rally: 4-8pm, Vancouver Art Gallery
- May 15: Front Lines of Humanity: Canadian Health Care Workers in Gaza: 7pm, SFU Harbour Centre. RSVP: bcdag.carrd.co
- May 15: Labour for Palestine Fundraiser at Redgate: 5:30pm, 1965 Main Street. Tickets: bit.ly/nakbadayl4p
- May 16-19: Gaza Remains the Story Exhibition: 4-8pm, 312 Main Street
- **May 17: **India and Israel: Partners in Genocide: 2-4pm, SFU Harbour Centre, Room 7000 - free event
Free Kashmir | May 17
**⏰ Sat May 17, 5:30 - 7 pm **
📍1803 East 1st Ave
Don't miss Hafsa Kanjwal, award-winning author of Colonizing Kashmir: State-building Under Indian Occupation
Azad Essa, award-winning journalist and author of Hostile Homelands,
with poet & cultural critic Rahat Kurd, author of The City That Is Leaving Forever: Kashmiri Letters.
On May 7, India launched Operation Sindoor on Azad Kashmir and Pakistan. Kashmir is the most heavily militarised region in the world, with Kashmiris subjected to the daily colonial violence of summary executions, horrific torture, mass disappearances, indiscriminate shootings, arbitrary detention, collective punishment, and more.
The militarization and occupation of Kashmir is not a singular or regional issue; it is intertwined with global imperialism. India and Israel have long collaborated especially since the War on Terror.
With deadly escalations this week, come learn from leading voices about Kashmir, resistance in Kashmir, geopolitics of the region, and implications for global militarization and rising fascism.
**Full details: **https://www.weavingourworlds.ca/free-kashmir/
** Storytelling session with Bassam Abun-Nadi in the Gaza Remains the Story exhibition | May 17**
🗓 Date: Saturday, May 17 | 6:00–8:30PM | $15
**Register - https://alawdavancouver.com/gaza-remains **
Join us for a storytelling session with Bassam Abun-Nadi in the Gaza Remains the Story exhibition.
From the rural Palestinian countryside in the 1930s to the streets of Beirut four decades later, resistance music has long been woven into the fabric of the Palestinian struggle. This talk explores how Palestinian resistance factions have used music alongside other communicative strategies to chronicle their history and fight for liberation.
Community Highlight
Decolonial Clothing presenting Mothers Day Fundraiser for Gaza
Decolonial Clothing is a movement, more than just a brand.
They are community first - always, and they value honesty, integrity, and reciprocity.
So it it no surprise that a collab was created for this upcoming Sunday's Mother's Day fundraiser event.
Called Kites of Hope, this joint fundraiser is presented by Tamam Restaurant, Decolonial Clothing, Independent Jewish Voices, Labour 4 Palestine, and Trinity Grace United Church.
Decolonial Clothing is a clothing brand based out of xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) territory in so-called Vancouver.
Contribute to the Newsletter
Do you have something you would like to share with your neighbours? We welcome submissions of all kinds — stories, poems, art, and event info. Simply reply to this email to send in your contribution.
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With gratitude and in solidarity,
Your Neighbours
Van Gran 4 Palestine
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