A Jewish "New Year for the Trees" Means Uncovering "Canada Park"
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- Published on Wednesday, 27 January 2016 11:45
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A Jewish "New Year for the Trees" Means Uncovering "Canada Park" Dear Friend, Today marks the Jewish holiday of Tu Bishvat, often referred to as the
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A Jewish "New Year for the Trees" Means Uncovering "Canada Park"
Large protest against JNF Canada's charitable status in Ottawa, October 2015.
Dear Friend,
Today marks the Jewish holiday of Tu Bishvat, often referred to as the "New Year of the Trees". The original purpose of the holiday was to count the fruit on one's trees to determine the 10% tithes that would be given to the poor. It later evolved into a day of spiritual connectedness with nature. Unfortunately, through decades of propaganda, the holiday has now become synonymous with the Jewish National Fund (JNF), and its mission of "redeeming" land in Israel-Palestine to be held in perpetuity for Jews only.
Mainstream Jewish communities around the world have transformed Tu Bisvhat into a fundraising opportunity for the JNF's greenwashing initiatives.
JNF Canada’s flagship project is called “Canada Park.” Unknown to many Canadians is the fact that it—along with many other JNF projects—has been used to cover over the ruins of depopulated and demolished Palestinian villages with trees so as to make them invisible. Despite this activity, JNF Canada retains its tax-deductible status, and is therefore subsidized by Canadian taxpayers.
In honour of the social justice foundations of Tu Bishvat, we encourage you to nourish our upcoming national speaking tour to expose JNF Canada’s “Canada Park.” Let's put pressure on the Liberal government and the Canada Revenue Agency to finally revoke the scandalous charitable status of JNF Canada!
Heidar Abu Ghosh of Imwas will speak of how Canadians paid for the erasure of his hometown, which has been wiped off the map by Israel and the JNF.
The tour is entitled Uncovering “Canada Park”: A Dispossessed Palestinian Speaks Out. Heidar Abu Ghosh, from the village of Imwas, will speak of the horrors inflicted on him, his family and the roughly 10,000 other Palestinians from Imwas, Yalu and Beit Nuba dispossessed of their lands in 1967. He will also propose a path towards peace and justice in opposition to the JNF’s path of dispossession, erasure and denial.
Here's the dates for the tour. The final details will be coming soon:
March 28: Hamilton
March 29 and 30: Toronto
March 31 and April 1: Ottawa
April 2: Montreal
April 3: Halifax
April 5: Calgary
April 6: Winnipeg
April 7: Victoria
Can you help us cover the expenses for this important tour? We hope to demonstrate to thousands of Canadians from Halifax to Victoria that Canadians are unknowingly implicated in the ongoing displacement and dispossession of Palestinians.
Please share this message through email and on social media by copying and pasting this link: https://madmimi.com/p/128337
With determination towards a just and lasting peace,
Harold Shuster
IJV Winnipeg
©2016 IJV Canada | Independent Jewish Voices-Voix juives indépendantes, www.ijv.ca, PO Box 26113 MPO, Winnipeg MB, R3G 0M0 CANADA
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