Silence is Violence: CBTU Demands a Ceasefire Now

The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, in Canada is a community based organization rooted in the labour movement formed to give voice to Black trade unionists within our workplaces, Unions and communities. Members of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists will not remain silent or be censored in the face of the horrors that we are witnessing:

In just a matter of days, thousands of innocent Palestinian and Israeli civilians have been killed following Hamas’ October 7th attack and the Israeli government’s subsequent declaration of war;

On Tuesday, the bombing of the Anglican Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza killed hundreds of people, most of them children. Over 5,000 people had been sheltering inside. This is a war crime;

The Gaza strip is facing a complete siege as food, water, electricity, and fuel have been cut off. The last functioning seawater desalination plant shut down on Sunday after running out of fuel;

UN shelters have also run out of water and hospital workers are warning that thousands more civilians could die if access to water, fuel and medicine is not restored;

Israel continues to prepare for a catastrophic ground war and intensified bombing;

As hostilities escalate, they are fueling forced displacements of Palestinians coupled with a rise of Anti-Arab, anti-Palestinian racism, Islamophobia, and antisemitism world-wide;

To prevent the further loss of life, a greater humanitarian disaster than what we have already witnessed and an escalation of war to the entire region, CBTU demands that Canada:

Join the growing international call for an immediate ceasefire; #CeasefireNOW
Call for an end to the blockade;
Facilitate the opening of a humanitarian corridor into the Gaza strip. Palestinians are out of food, water and medical supplies. The already dire humanitarian crisis is rapidly deteriorating;
Oppose Israel's illegal restriction of water, electricity, food and medicine to more than 2 million Palestinians;
Stop all Canadian weapons exports to the region;
Stand up for International law to stop attacks on innocent Palestinian and Israeli civilians;
Secure the release of hostages; and
Re-commit to a peace process to address the root causes of the conflict.

Palestinians have the right to be free along with all peoples in the region to live in peace and security based upon the fundamental principles of freedom and self-determination.

For more information

This CBTU statement is based upon a joint statement from 50 other labour, faith, Arab, Palestinian, Jewish, and civil society organizations to raise a united call for an immediate ceasefire and humanitarian aid to Gaza. If you would like to endorse the united call, please visit: https://ceasefirenow.ca.