COPE Condemns the Genocide, Affirms Commitment to an Apartheid Free City
“COPE is always on the side of human rights.” said COPE Council Candidate Solomon Yi-Kieran, “We’re proud that our members have endorsed the Apartheid Free Communities Pledge, and the Vote Palestine Vancouver platform.”
These commitments mean that COPE will fight for Vancouver to:
Affirm opposition to the Genocide in Gaza,
Join Burnaby and Powell River in committing to the Apartheid-Free Communities pledge,
Take all actions to withdraw from any municipal contracts which support or empower apartheid and genocide,
Recognize the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association (ACLA) framework of Anti-Palestinian Racism.
“We continue to condemn the genocide in Gaza, and commit to working to fight against complicity with genocide and apartheid in Palestine, and around the world,” said COPE Council candidate Sean Orr today, “This should not be controversial.”
Amnesty International has concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Human Rights Watch has condemned Israel’s “war of extermination”, saying they are “intentionally depriving Palestinian civilians there of adequate access to water, most likely resulting in thousands of deaths.” The United Nations has demanded an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, with the UN Deputy Secretary-General calling the situation “appalling and apocalyptic.” The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.
In 2025, Canada exported $14.6 million worth of military goods to Israel. As of April 2025, over ninety-two percent of Gaza’s housing infrastructure had been damaged or decimated. The Israeli military has targeted and destroyed schools, hospitals and other vital infrastructure, and killed over 70,000 Palestinians. Since 2023, over 260 journalists have been killed, leading to underreporting and inhibiting the efforts of human rights organizations to maintain accurate records. In this past July alone, it was reported by the United Nations that Israeli forces killed about 160 Palestinians in Gaza. In July of 2026, the UN's human rights office made clear that settler violence in the West Bank is at an “all-time high”.
The Jewish Faculty Network has identified that lobbying efforts by groups like the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) have sought to suppress free-speech about Palestine, and the right to protest in Canada, and have promoted anti-Palestinian racism.
“The evidence is overwhelming this is genocide and apartheid,” said COPE Research Chair Matthew Hay today, “This moment calls for conviction and solidarity if we want a more just future; not just for Palestinians, but all of us.”
COPE is always on the side of human rights and international justice.
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“Effort must be made at all levels of Canadian society to end the ongoing genocide in Gaza and to pursue justice for the Palestinian people. To that end, the Vote Palestine is vitally important because it enables voters to demand that candidates for public office take a clear stand on this issue, which is the moral test of our time.”
-- Sid Shniad, co-chair Vancouver chapter, Independent Jewish Voices Canada