‘We have to continue advocating for them’: peaceful Palestine protest held in Kamloops

KAMLOOPS — The Ayesha Mosque and Kamloops Islamic Association (KIA) held a peaceful protest Friday (May 21) in response to escalating violence between Israel and Palestine.

Around 70 people attended the demonstration on Seymour Street, without any conflict or counter protest.

However, advocation from the KIA won’t stop at the protest. Umme Mansoory, KIA Director, said social media has continued the conversation since the Israeli air strike on Gaza in the final days of Ramadan.

“There have been protests around the world showing solidarity for the Palestinian people and their basic human rights,” Mansoory said. “It’s a call to end the occupation of Palestine and allow the Palestinian people to return to their ancestral land. Social media has opened everyday people’s eyes to the atrocities that are happening: the ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Palestinian people. Just because we’re in a small community doesn’t mean we can’t call upon our elected officials to stop the sale of arms to Israel that are then used to target innocent civilians.”

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Mansoory said KIA has already spoken with Kamloops councillors on the issue, as they believe they need a voice in all levels of government.

“In Canada, we feel removed from the situation, but there are lots of things we can do,” Mansoory said. “We can write to our MP’s, sign the petitions going around – such as the one Jagmeet Singh has on his website – we can put pressure on our local MPs to ask Trudeau to stop the sale of arms to Israel. These are our taxpayer dollars. I personally don’t want my tax dollars to go to Israel, or any other country, if they’re using it against civilians.”

“We have to continue voicing our concerns and not letting this die with the next news cycle. For Palestinian people, this is an everyday reality. We have to continue advocating for them and doing whatever we can in our capacity.”

Mansoory said KIA is developing an email and Facebook post to show what Kamloops residents can do amidst the conflict. From signing petitions, to writing their local Members of Parliament to put pressure on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to halt arms sales to Israel, and registered Canadian charities to provide humanitarian aid to Palestine.