Our Story
The movement for Palestinian rights in Canada has seen many victories in recent years.
Advocates across the country are re-invigorating the call for a just peace in Palestine/Israel. Many political parties now openly endorse the use of non-violent means to end Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian lands. The public no longer asks whether to stand in solidarity with Palestinian rights, but how to best do so.
Closer to home, Palestinian-Canadians continue to participate in all facets of Canadian public discourse. We increasingly find their names on our ballots. We see their faces amidst the crowds marching for Black lives and for Indigenous nations. Many of them are professionals working in the public interest, and many are workers committed to stronger labour rights and protections.
As we continue our march towards equality and justice for Palestinians both in Canada and abroad, these wins are ones we can all reflect on and be proud of. But it is crucial to recall that this success can, and indeed does, evoke a reaction.
Palestinian-Canadians continue to endure discriminatory treatment because of their participation in Canadian public discourse. Advocates, scholars, artists and allies risk defamation and harassment. Their voices are often censored or side-lined and their jobs are threatened. In this climate, some advocates find themselves vulnerable, unaware of their rights and strategic options.
The unavoidable fact, then, is this: the movement for Palestinian rights in Canada must have a consistent and reliable legal strategy — one that holds policy makers to account, protects Palestinians from discrimination and harassment, and assists activists with their legal and strategic objectives. Our goal must ultimately be to respond to the needs and expectations of the Palestinian community and the broader movement for Palestinian rights. Crucially, our work must also facilitate further solidarity and collective action and help push policy forward.
It is precisely out of this context that The Legal Centre for Palestine was founded in 2021 in consultation with the movement’s advocates, groups, and institutions. The Centre’s founding involved a number of activists, lawyers, and scholars who remain sober to the fact that legal advocacy is not sufficient on its own to satisfy our hunger for meaningful change. But in the fight for justice and human rights in Canada and beyond, it is a tool that we can and must wield.
Our Mission
The Centre’s mission is to promote respect for the rights of Palestinians in Canada by, among other things, supporting the Palestinian-Canadian community, protecting advocates from attacks, and pushing for progress on Canada’s policy with respect to Palestinian rights.
Our Approach
We seek to achieve our mission of serving the Palestinian community and its allies through the following means:
Disseminating legal information and strategic training to eliminate and manage potential challenges;
Providing assistance and representation to address legal issues as they arise;
Monitoring incidents of harassment and intimidation against the Palestinian community and its allies;
Organizing and mobilizing community members to combat both discrimination and the conditions that give rise to it, here in Canada and in Palestine/Israel;
Drafting reports that explore wider concerns and potential solutions; and
Advising policy and decision makers on Palestinian rights in both the Canadian and international contexts.
In taking on this approach and adopting these strategies, we remain mindful that law is but one tool in the advocate’s toolbox, one that is helpful but ultimately limited. Therefore, we will also continue to encourage the use of other peaceful strategies to demand meaningful and fundamental change for Palestinians in Canada and in Palestine, while contributing to fortify the call for justice and equality for Palestinians — and indeed, for all peoples.