Our February newsletter is being brought to you by our National Coordinator Alley McDonald.

This February we want to highlight the Gaza Hunger Strike; VOW's petition to stop arming Israel; Nova Scotia VOW's Peace Protector Uniform on display; War and Climate Change Webinar; and so much more happening this month!

Be sure to scroll all the way down for upcoming events, calls to action, and recommended resources!

VOW's work of peace, anti-war and demilitarization merits your support! Make a donation. Even better, join our growing number of Monthly Peace Partners. Consider $5 or $50 or any amount in between. Become a Peace Partner today!

This initiative was launched on Jan 18th with more than 250 people hunger striking that day, including 2 MPs, Niki Ashton and Elizabeth May. The goal of the hunger strike is to stop arms shipments to Israel. Could you participate in the rotating hunger strike?  The instructions provide an action letter to send to government decision makers, phone numbers and hashtags for posting on social media. 

VOW Co-Chair Lyn Adamson is participating weekly. Here's her tweet. Please retweet! and join the strike if you can.

Teachers will hold a hunger strike on Feb 8th. Join Lyn to fast together on Valentine's Day, Feb 14th. Sign up at https://gazastarving.com and send Lyn an email: lyn@vowpeace.org. 

The planet-warming emissions generated during the first two months of the war in Gaza were greater than the annual carbon footprint of more than 20 of the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations, new research reveals.

The vast majority (over 99%) of the 281,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂ equivalent) estimated to have been generated in the first 60 days following the 7 October Hamas attack can be attributed to Israel’s aerial bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza, according to a first-of-its-kind analysis by researchers in the UK and US.

A Guardian investigation has detailed the mass destruction of buildings and land in three neighbourhoods in Gaza.

Using satellite imagery and open-source evidence, the investigation found damage to more than 250 residential buildings, 17 schools and universities, 16 mosques, three hospitals, three cemeteries and 150 agricultural greenhouses.

The destruction has not only forced 1.9 million people to leave their homes but also made it impossible for many to return. This has led some experts to describe what is happening in Gaza as “domicide”, defined as the widespread, deliberate destruction of the home to make it uninhabitable, preventing the return of displaced people. The concept is not recognised in law.

Following the October 7 attacks by Hamas, in which more than 700 Israeli civilians and foreign nationals were killed and hundreds more kidnapped, both acts being war crimes, Israel launched an unprecedented assault on the Gaza Strip. The ensuing military campaign, named Operation Iron Swords, has killed more than 23,000 Palestinians, with most being civilians. Amnesty International has said that there is “damning evidence of war crimes in Israel’s bombing campaign”; this conclusion has been reiterated by other credible observers, including the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Of particular significance is Canada’s supply of military components to the United States, some of which are later supplied to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). These Canadian-made components include some integrated into the Israeli F-35I Joint Strike Fighter, which has reportedly been utilized in the ongoing bombardment of Gaza.

The gravity of this situation calls for immediate action to ensure Canada is meeting its domestic and international obligations to mitigate the risk of contributing to violations of international law... Canada must immediately halt all transfers of weapons to Israel.

The Peace Protector Uniform was an interactive display located on a pier in Halifax during Nocturne 2023 and it included a reconstructed military uniform, a recruitment office run by Raging Grannies and an activity table. The military uniform will continue as a display piece.

Left: Artist, Kathrin Winkler, pointing to a “Doomsday Watch”. An actual military uniform forms the base of this creation with every detail telling a story. For instance, the birds perched on the shoulders, represent the species in danger of displacement if DND proceeds with its project to build a testing facility on the ocean shore at Hartlen Point NS. As an interactive display, viewers are invited to “Make your own Military” by choosing a pocket on the Raging Granny skirt as an alternative to today’s ways of spending military funds.

Lower left: Group of members NS Voice of Women Lower Middle: Raging Granny skirt Insert: current costs of various military activities

Please contact us at nsvoiceofwomen@gmail.com if you would like to display the art piece.  Postcards are available that can be sent to politicians urging them to demilitarize and to spend on a culture of care and peace. We will send you some! 

Speaker: Richard Sandbrook

Professor Emeritus of Political Science at U of T and Vice-President of Science for Peace

Sandbrook identifies the impasse in reformist and radical approaches to resolving the climate crisis. He proposes a radical-reformist paradigm that might dissolve the impasse by offering a just, viable and feasible pathway to climate stability.

To Register:

In-Person: Register Here

On Zoom: http://tinyurl.com/2a93y2v3

@Scienceforpeace.org

Speakers:
     Tamara Lorincz - Canadian voice of women for Peace & WILPF
     Pippa Bartolotti - UNAC & Global Women United for Peace Against NATO
     Lisa Savage - Maine Natural Guard & Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space

As wars proliferate, and the planet becomes more polluted and less safe, C02 in the atmosphere is now the highest it has been for 14 million years. 

A report from the Institute for Policy Studies calculates that the cost of U.S. militarization in the last 20 years is a staggering $21 trillion. Estimates calculate the total cost of shifting to 100% renewable energy over 10 years would be a fraction of this - $4.5 trillion.

We have reached a point where the US and many governments see climate change only as a security issue. Instead of working to make our lives tolerable under climate change, spending is diverted to the military and the security apparatus is strengthened. 

Webinar speakers include:

Ajamu Baraka: National Organizer of the Black Alliance for Peace and member of the UNAC Administrative Committee.

Margaret Flowers, Director of Popular Resistance and members of the UNAC Administrative Committee for the United National Antiwar Coalition, 

Suzanne Adely, Pres. National Lawyers Guild, US Palestinian Community Network

A new series of Socialist Action webcasts!

Speakers Angela Bischoff of the Ontario Clean Air Alliance, and Tom Baker, Socialist Action

Zoom Details:

Meeting ID: 895 2262 8187
Passcode: 696238

We, the people of the planet, are currently facing an unprecedented environmental crisis coupled with rising inequality, widespread food insecurities, majoritarian violence, after effects of the last pandemic and the threat of a future one, and escalating tensions between major powers. In fact, humanity is on the brink of multi-faceted calamities leading to the destruction of its own survival. Given the threat is real and urgent, the ideals of the new world order that rests upon sustainability, dignity, co- existence, equality, and equity must be enacted and actualized. With the pledge of ‘Another world is possible’ the World Social Forum (WSF) emerges as a beacon of hope, more essential than ever before.

Despite the adversities, we believe that change for a just world is possible. The World Social Forum (WSF) will discuss the means of changes in Kathmandu, Nepal in February 2024. We invite people around the globe to take part in the World Social Forum. You can join us either in-person or via online mediums. Your participation will certainly enhance the discourses that will result in a more equal, equitable and sustainable society. Join us in Kathmandu, Nepal, and let's work to achieve a fairer world. Another world is within our reach.

Feminist Approaches to Peacebuilding Training with Urooj Mian, CEO of SHE Associates. 

This virtual, live, and interactive course is for anyone working in peace and security at home or abroad, including but not limited to policy makers and humanitarian aid practitioners who want to apply feminist approaches to peace, conflict and security. It will explore the concept of gendered human insecurity as related to war, disasters, political violence and peace building. Participants will learn to identify varying vulnerabilities by undertaking necessary analyses of existing and shifting social norms and the systems of power and abuse and operationalizing the human security approach. Bridging theory with practice, participants will also explore ways of operationalizing effective and ‘gender-conscious’ peace building in policies, institutional practices, and in the pursuit of durable peace.

📅 DATES: April 22-26, 2024

⌛ TIME: 9:30am-12:30pm Eastern Time - Click here for the time in your zone

💲 COST: Sliding scale with early bird discounts, payment plans, and partial scholarships available**

🔗 LINK: https://cynara.co/peace

**Early bird SALE! Save $125

for a limited time only

The situation in Israel and Palestine is evolving with each passing day – but what we know right now is this: even as Israelis mourn their loved ones and pray for the return of hostages in the wake of Hamas’s brutal attack, the state of Israel is launching an unprecedented and catastrophic assault on civilians in Gaza.1

Since October 7, the Israeli military government has cut off electricity, food, water and fuel to the 2.3 million people living in Gaza.2 As of today, the death toll has risen to 3,785. A third of those killed are children.3 These are war crimes.

With the situation in Gaza growing more desperate by the hour, the international community must act quickly to hold Israel to account and protect civilian lives. Will you send a letter to your MP calling on them to demand a ceasefire?

Despite the catastrophic health and environmental consequences, the threat of nuclear weapons has persisted with the tragic war in Ukraine, with nuclear weapon tests, NATO’s nuclear weapons exercises, and nuclear weapons modernization.

Please take a minute to write to party leaders calling on the Canadian government to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

Canada must IMMEDIATELY END ALL ARMS EXPORTS to Israel given Israel's devastating war on Gaza.

We are asking Canadians to support Parliamentary petition e-4745, sponsored by NDP Foreign Affairs Critic Heather McPherson. The petition calls upon the Government of Canada to:

1. Impose a two-way embargo on arms between Canada and Israel;
2. Investigate whether Canadian weapons or weapons components have been used against Palestinian civilians in the occupied Palestinian territories, including during the current war on Gaza;
3. Review all military and security cooperation between Canada and Israel; and
4. Close loopholes that allow the unregulated and unreported transfer of military goods to Israel through the United States.

Every February, people across Canada participate in Black History Month events and festivities that honour the legacy of Black people in Canada and their communities.

The 2024 theme for Black History Month is: “Black Excellence: A Heritage to Celebrate; a Future to Build”. This theme celebrates the rich past and present contributions and accomplishments of Black people in Canada, while aspiring to embrace new opportunities for the future.

VOW is committed to our mission to raise up and amplify peace voices, and to the learning required to continue to strive towards a just, inclusive, anti-oppressive and anti-racist culture of peace. 

No matter where you live, we invite all Canadians to learn more about Black Canadian communities, and how they continue to help shape Canada.

As many have said, Elinor was a force of nature who was at once charming and fierce. She was a caring sister, cousin, aunt, mother, and nan who kept her family at the centre of her life.

Elinor send many letters to the editor or to politicians calling for change. A list of email addresses and phone numbers of government representatives and newspaper editors was always at the ready. Elinor was an active member at a number of organizations, including the Voice of Women for Peace, Raging Grannies, Council of Canadians, Ecology Action Centre and others.

A rebel with many causes, Elinor was a passionate advocate for climate and social justice. As a feminist with a keen interest in local government and planning, she advocated for traffic calming and for support for unhoused and marginalized members of her community. One recent campaign was collecting signatures for the Council of Canadians federal "just transition" petition, and as a co-leader of the Parklands Green Team she was instrumental in the implementation of recent environmental stewardship initiatives by the Parklands/Shannex corporation.

VOW appreciates and honours Elinor's dedication and passion for peace.

Jill Carr-Harris has honed her knowledge of the strategy and tactics of nonviolent action by participating in successful campaigns in India on behalf of marginalized communities. She has now turned her attention to Canada and the issue of how to build effective peace and climate movements through well-orchestrated nonviolent campaigns, including an upcoming Caravan of Peace in Nova Scotia. 

In early 2022, journalists began to ask us how Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine was affecting the climate crisis. While we could point to landscape fires, burning oil refineries and the thirst of diesel-hungry military vehicles, the emissions data they sought just wasn’t available. When it came to the reverberating consequences of Russia’s manipulation of Europe’s fossil fuel insecurity, or to the weakening of the international cooperation necessary for coordinated global climate action, our guesses were no better than theirs.

Two decades of international analysis and debate over the relationship between climate change and security has focused on how our rapidly destabilising climate could undermine the security of states. But it has largely ignored how national security choices, such as military spending or warfighting, can have an impact on the climate, and so undermine our collective security.

On 20 July, Secretary-General António Guterres presented to Member States his Policy Brief on A New Agenda for Peace, which outlines his vision for multilateral efforts for peace and security, based on international law, for a world in transition. It outlines an extensive and ambitious set of recommendations that recognize the inter-linked nature of many of the challenges we face.

Be sure to renew your membership and donate to support our important work building a culture of peace in Canada and so that we can continue to hire youth throughout the year. Make a donation today!