CASCA views the unfolding tragedy in Palestine-Israel with horror and great concern. We support international calls for an immediate ceasefire. We condemn the attacks by Hamas on innocent people, and the taking of hostages, and we likewise condemn the mass violence inflicted on the people of Gaza during the Israeli government’s military campaign, which has already caused thousands of deaths and injuries, and the dispossession and displacement of a million people.

The now catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza demands immediate action. Governments around the globe must use every diplomatic effort both to halt the mass violence, and to return to families all those abducted and now being held as hostages. They must ensure the immediate termination of the siege, and they must support all international agencies engaged in the effort to rebuild Gaza.

Furthermore, they must promote and enforce international laws that grant humanitarian protections to all people living under military occupation, while also promoting efforts to secure the inherent rights of Palestinians to self-determination.

Lastly, CASCA calls on Canadian universities both to support the academic freedom of all faculty, students and staff who wish to speak about these issues, and to protect all of them from doxxing and hate speech.