Neighbours and friends,

As many of us move into this festive season — gathering with loved ones, sharing meals, and finding moments of warmth — we also mark a grim reality: we are now past Day 800 of the genocide in Gaza.

Despite the so-called "ceasefire" having been in place for over two months, the violence never stopped. At least 390 people have been killed in Gaza during this period, including 140 children. Winter storms have struck a population already stripped of everything: tent camps flooded, and the last remaining ruins used as shelter giving way under torrential rains. An eight-month-old baby girl died from the cold last week, while twenty bodies have been recovered from two collapsed buildings in recent days. Over one million people are now exposed to extreme weather because Israel continues to block shelter materials and other lifesaving aid, allowing only a fraction of what was agreed upon to enter. This is the stuff of nightmares. This is still genocide.

For those observing Christmas or Hanukkah, this is the third year of these religious holidays during genocide — and it is hard to celebrate when the birthplace of Jesus is covered in the blood of children, and when so many are denied light, warmth, and safety. Even in a secular space like ours, it is important to name this grief and hold it in our awareness.

This issue focuses on donations, gift ideas, and continued boycotts of complicit global and local brands — taking action as a way of embodying the spirit of this season through care and solidarity. As we enjoy time that is safe and warm, let’s not forget Gaza. Every act of support matters.

We wish you a peaceful time of reflection and connection, whatever this season looks like for you. We’ll be back in the New Year with renewed energy and resolve for a free Palestine, plus more stories, updates, and ways to keep the struggle alive.

Warmly,
Your neighbours at VanGran4Pal

Donations

Nariman's family in Gaza

Urgent Update: Em Ebrahim’s Condition

We are sharing an urgent update about my mother-in-law, Em Ebrahim, who is currently trapped in Gaza while battling cancer. She was diagnosed in January 2025 and has already undergone surgeries and tens of chemotherapy sessions, all under extremely harsh and unsafe conditions. She is still waiting for medical evacuation, but the Rafah crossing did not open as promised.

Without access to proper food, medication, or consistent pain management, her health is rapidly declining. She has lost a significant amount of weight, lost her hair due to treatment, and her body is becoming weaker with each passing day.

The funds raised through this campaign are being used to:
• Purchase medications, including painkillers and vitamins
• Buy nutritious food to help rebuild her body during and after chemotherapy
• Cover urgent daily needs while she waits for evacuation, including transportation to the hospital to receive chemotherapy.

Em Ebrahim is a mother, grandmother, and wife. She raised 13 children and many grandchildren, and spent her life supporting her husband in building their family business — all of which was destroyed over the past two years. For most of this time, they have been displaced and living in tents, having lost everything. Thank you for your continued compassion and support. Your donations are helping keep her alive as she fights cancer under siege.

Hala's family in Gaza

Thank you all for your kindness and support. I wish I could say things have gotten better for my parents, but the reality in Gaza is still unbearable. The genocide has not truly stopped — food and medicine are almost impossible to find, and everything is painfully expensive.

For my elderly parents, every day is a struggle for basic survival. We are doing everything we can, but we cannot manage without you. Please continue to share this campaign. Your support and your voices are the only reasons my parents are still holding on. Thank you for staying with us through this nightmare.

Mohammed's family in Gaza

Mohammed is currently in Jordan to support his brother in caring for their father, who is preparing for brain surgery. The procedure costs $44,000, a tremendous burden for the family. Mohammed’s mother, two young brothers, adult brother, and sister-in-law are in Gaza. They have lost everything. Their home was completely destroyed in an air strike in October 2023. They have lost all of their belongings, including valuables and some emergency savings. For over 2 years now, they have been moving around, finding shelter where they can amidst the ongoing violence with no access to basic necessities like food, clean water, or medical care.

Your generosity has already made a huge difference in Mohammed’s father’s recovery and in helping his mother and younger brothers' survival in Gaza. The need for support remains urgent. Thank you for holding Mohammed's family in your hearts, and for continuing to share and contribute in whatever way you can.

Kindling Solidarity: From the Salish Sea to Palestine

An Indigenous- and Palestinian-led feature film illuminating shared stories of resistance, culture, and liberation across occupied lands from Turtle Island to Palestine.

Ten years after Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, only 15 of 94 Calls to Action have been implemented. A decade later, the truth remains buried under performative gestures: corporate land acknowledgments, government apologies without reparations, and “reconciliation” campaigns that sanitize ongoing colonial violence. Meanwhile, in Gaza, the world watches another genocide unfold.
Even under “ceasefire,” bombs fall, aid is blocked, and entire generations are being erased. The announcement of the “ceasefire” has systematically taken eyes and money off Gaza. These are not separate failures: they are symptoms of the same settler-colonial system that rewards silence, punishes dissent, and criminalizes resistance.

Every donation helps ensure these stories reach the audiences that need to hear them most. 

Gift Ideas

Vancouver Pro-Palestine Buyers Guide 2026

This guide features businesses that Parents for Palestine have relationships with, those that have supported them, or those they are aware of and believe align with their values. It is not an exhaustive list but a reflection of the connections and trust they’ve built within the local Vancouver community. Importantly, they are prioritizing and amplifying businesses that have taken a stand against injustice, particularly those actively opposing the genocide in Gaza and showing solidarity with Palestinians. By supporting these businesses, they aim to uphold values of justice, human rights, and ethical responsibility.

Apartheid Free Communitites

This map displays all of the communities across the United States and the world that have signed the apartheid-free pledge and joined the Apartheid-Free Communities Network. They represent congregations, denominations, solidarity organizations, businesses, faith groups, and other communities. Within each grouping, they are ordered alphabetically. Zoom in to look for Apartheid-Free communities near you.

Business

Whether you're just looking to feed yourself, clothe your family or you celebrate a gift-giving holiday - the capitalist season is in full force! The list of businesses at Watermelon Maps is ever-growing - skim their list of pro-Palestine businesses you can support.

Firekeepers Collective Two-Spirit & Queer Artists Gift Guide

Support Two-Spirit, queer and trans artists this holiday season! Really - do it. Why not today? Shop online and get your order in time for your gift giving fun.

Boycotts

Boycott Indigo Books!

This Holiday Season: Take the Pledge to Boycott Indigo!

As the holiday shopping season begins, we’re being asked to make countless choices about where our money goes. This year, one choice matters more than ever. We are asking our community to Take the Pledge to Boycott Indigo Books as part of the Indigo Kills Kids campaign.

Guide to BDS Boycott & Pressure Corporate Priority Targeting

The Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC), the largest coalition in Palestinian society that is leading the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, firmly believes that ending the complicity of states, corporations, and institutions in Israel’s ongoing, live-streamed genocide against 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza is the most effective form of solidarity with the Palestinian struggle to end the genocide and dismantle Israel’s 76-year-old regime of settler-colonialism and apartheid. 

Corporations that are implicated in the commission of international crimes connected to Israel’s unlawful occupation, racial segregation, and apartheid regime - within or beyond the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967 - are all complicit and must be held accountable. The BDS movement’s Corporate Complicity Criteria are here. Direct complicity includes military, logistical, intelligence, financial, and infrastructure support. The corporations and their boards of directors and executives may face criminal liability for this complicity.