Dear Ramona:
I have heard nothing further from you regarding my complaint. I do not know whether the Board has yet had an opportunity to discuss this matter. I am hoping it will be raised at the Halifax Pride community meeting tomorrow night. I am now in Penetanguishene, Ontario looking after my mother who had a fall breaking her wrist and a bone in her neck and will not be able to be there tomorrow.
I want my complaint to be pursued regardless of whether the ceasefire that seems to be being announced today holds.
Since I wrote my complaint letter on July 26th many more have been killed and injured. The number of people killed in Gaza stands at more than 2,100 people, with more than 10,000 injured, the vast majority of whom are civilians. More than 500 children have been killed, UN refugee centres, hospitals and schools have been attacked, mosques have been destroyed, and most recently apartment buildings have been leveled. Hundreds of thousands of people have been made homeless with the basic infrastructure of Gaza in ruins. At least 89 families have been eliminated.
In this context the promotion of Tel Aviv tourism by the Israeli state violates the commitment of Pride to the basic principles of social justice. It also violates the global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign called for by Palestinian civil society (including Palestinian queer people) which is modeled on the successful BDS campaign called for by civil society in South Africa against South African apartheid.
The recent onslaught against Gaza has seen a massive increase in BDS actions around the world including the support for BDS by the Canadian Federation of Students, Ontario section. I urge the Halifax Pride Committee to have an educational on the BDS campaign to find out more about it and to support this important social justice campaign. I urge the Halifax Pride Committee to no longer stifle the freedom of speech of queer Palestine solidarity supporters.
In solidarity,
Gary Kinsman
See also:
Should Halifax Pride promote Tel Aviv tourism?
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