Activists:
Participate in the Occupation @ 50 Campaign.

Amnesty International’s research team in East Jerusalem and Amnesty Canada’s IOTP cogroup are asking for your participation in a one year campaign launched last week to mark the 50th anniversary of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

We are calling on Canada to ban Israeli settlement goods from our markets, and to stop companies domiciled in our country from operating in settlements or trading in settlement goods.

1. Petitioning and advocating on the call for states to ban settlement products:
   Share our press releases, public statements and videos on social media asking people to sign our online petition calling on third states to take action and ban settlement products from entering their markets. These signatures will be delivered to the Canadian government, accompanied with letters and advocacy meetings calling on them to take action and ban settlement products.
   
2. Parliamentary debates / questions:
   Feed into parliamentary debates that are happening on Israel/Palestine, and lobby your members of parliament on our concerns regarding the occupation.
   
3. Media engagement / social media actions:
   Support our media work by finding sympathetic local media outlets that would feature our work on Israel/Palestine, or that we could encourage to write about the occupation if we help connect them with strong individual stories. Participate in our social media actions by sharing our graphics and statements at relevant key dates. Contact us for a list of targets and suggested messaging.
   
4. Creative actions / stunts:
   The 50th anniversary of the occupation provides plenty of material for creative actions and stunts. Organize and take part outside the Embassy of Israel or a key landmark in your city. Contact us to sync your action with others across Canada for even more impact. Examples include:
   
   - Erecting a wall to replicate the fence/wall built by Israel in the occupied West Bank.
   The Israeli authorities claim that it is a defensive measure designed for its own security, but most of it is on Palestinian land encircling Palestinian towns and villages, cutting off communities and families from each other. It separates farmers from their land and cuts off Palestinians from their places of work, schools, health care facilities and other essential services. Set up a mock wall and use this to raise awareness about the unjust wall in the occupied West Bank.
   
   - Setting up mock military checkpoints.
   Use this to raise awareness about what it means for an ordinary Palestinian civilian to live under military occupation.
   
   - Leading a flash mob.
   There have been some impressive flash mobs led by Amnesty International in recent years to raise awareness and mobilise. Such flash mob actions to raise awareness and mobilise are encouraging (see an IS lead flash mob " style="color:rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration-line:underline" target="_blank">here and an AI Italy flash mob " style="color:rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration-line:underline" target="_blank">here.) Take pictures of your protest or flash mob and share them on social media, tagging Amnesty International (FB / Twitter), Amnesty Canada (FB /Twitter), and Amnesty Canada’s IOTP Cogroup (FB / Twitter).
   
5. Speaking tour / panel discussions:
   A good way to raise awareness and mobilise people is through organising speaking tours and panel discussions. The panels can consist of leading figures in Canada, as well as outside country experts. We have a list of Palestinian and Israel human rights organizations who have expressed interest in taking part in such tours.
   
6. Film screenings and discussions:
   Organize a film screening and discussion afterwards. This could be done with various age groups, encouraging them to take action afterwards. We will be happy to provide a list of suggested films.
   
7. Connecting human rights defenders:
   A good way to mobilise and raise awareness, especially in a way that resonates with different audiences, is to connect Palestinian or Israeli human rights defenders with leading defenders in Canada, perhaps through a video call. Ask them to talk about their experiences of defending human rights in their own contexts, sharing difficulties and tactics. Then get the human rights defender in Canada to write about or talk about this experience either on social media or any other platform. This mobilises their audiences into taking action to end human rights violations in the OPT.