Principles
1. The Association recognizes the grave injustices committed against
the Palestinian people in 1947/8 and considers the Palestinian people
inside historic Palestine and in diaspora as an indivisible national
unit.
2. The Association affirms its support for the Palestinian
people's struggle to realize their human and national rights including the
right to self-determination, the right to return and the right to be
compensated for confiscated properties as individuals and collectively in
accordance with the U.N. Charter, the Fourth Geneva Convention and all
U.N. resolutions relating to the Palestinian question.
3. The
Association opposes Zionism because of its exclusionist, aggressive and
racist nature. The Law of Return excludes the indigenous Palestinians
based on their religious affiliations. The Jewish National Fund (which
receives Canadian tax deduction status) owns over 93% of the land in
Israel, and does not lease or sell to non-Jews (Israeli citizens or
otherwise). The Association supports the Palestinian struggle for full
citizenship rights inside Israel
4. The Association opposes
anti-Jewish and anti-Arab racism and calls on progressive peace-loving
Jews and Arabs to unite against discrimination and racism. It also calls
on Jews and Palestinians inside Palestine/Israel to build a tolerant,
democratic and secular society where the human and national rights of both
Israelis and Palestinians are protected and respected.
5. The
Association opposes any foreign exploitation or domination of the Middle
East, especially by the U.S. government and its allies.
6. The
Association supports secular democratic organizations and national
liberation movements that are struggling against reaction, exploitation,
oppression and foreign domination in the Middle East.
7. The
Association upholds the basic fundamental human and national rights of all
peoples and affirms its opposition to injustice, oppression and racism in
all forms.
Objectives
1. To build a Canadian popular base in
support of the principles of the Association.
2. To support the
Palestinian people's democratic and national struggle inside and outside
historic Palestine with all material and political means.
3. To
hold educationals and organize campaigns to fulfill the principles and
goals of the Association.
4. To oppose illegal and racist Zionist
practices:-- confiscation of Palestinian lands, demolition of homes,
torture, building of Jewish settlements on Palestinian land, annexation of
occupied lands including east Jerusalem, discrimination against Israeli
Palestinians, and all other Israeli human rights abuses.
5. To
expose and denounce human rights abuses against Palestinians living under
the Palestinian Authority and against those Palestinians living in
diaspora, especially in Canada, the U.S., Lebanon, Kuwait, Jordan and
other Arab countries.
6. To support the struggle of Palestinian
refugees to realize their right to return to their historic homeland in
accordance with U.N. resolutions.
7. To coordinate and cooperate
with secular democratic Jewish organizations and individuals who support
peace with justice and who support the democratic rights of both Israelis
and Palestinians.
8. To carry on activities in support of the
progressive forces in the Middle East, and to expose the hegemonic designs
of the U.S. government in the Middle East.
General Operating
Guidelines
* The Association will operate as a collective, with all
decisions being made democratically, by majority vote.
* Membership is
open to individuals who subscribe to, and work for, the objectives and
principles of the Association, and who pay the required dues and
assessments.
* Applications for new membership will be ratified by the
collective, by majority vote.