Solidarity with Palestinians
January 30, 2024
Jacqui Gingras, PhD
Co-founder, World Critical Dietetics
Founder, Journal of Critical Dietetics
Late last year, the US vetoed a UN Security Council resolution for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. They were the only member of the Council that voted against the resolution rendering it null. This came after the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter to draw the Council’s urgent attention to “any matter which, in his opinion, may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security.” Guterres has never deployed Article 99 previously, but did so because of what he described as a “spiraling humanitarian nightmare” occurring presently in Gaza. Cornel West decried the veto as “…an act of spiritual obscenity and moral bankruptcy.” Many have strenuously condemned these diplomatic moves in light of the thousands of Palestinian children and women murdered, starvation weaponized, hospitals bombed, and obliteration of Palestinian infrastructure. An update from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, is absolutely devastating in its scope.
Of course, Robert Wood, the Deputy US Ambassador to the UN had his reasons for the veto. He stated, “…we do not support calls for an immediate ceasefire. This would only plant seeds for the next war, because Hamas has no desire to see a durable peace, to see a two-state solution.” This shameless imperialist war-mongering logic is working in exactly the way the US intended; to uphold its colonial imperatives and defend its allies, the Israel government, as they commit genocide against Palestinians.
To utter these words today carries enormous meaning and consequence. I’ve become acutely aware that a small, but incredibly vocal and powerful group of people hear any criticism of the Israeli government and its efforts to eradicate an entire group of people as anti-Semitic. Highly respected health care professionals and academics have been fired, censured, or suspended by daring to call for a ceasefire while they express their solidarity with Palestinians. Academics are being told to stop talking about Palestine, to not utter a single word of solidarity, and absolutely not repeat the liberation chant, “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free.” The call for liberation, freedom, and peace for persecuted people is seen by some to be anti-Semetic and makes people incredibly uncomfortable to the extent they will threaten to pull funding for hospitals and universities or that they will call for the firings and threaten the lives of health care professionals and academics. You may read this and think what I write is hyperbole, but one of my own colleagues in sociology now teaches her classes with armed security outside the doors because of the death threats she has received for speaking up against the genocide and for participating in a recent Teach-In for Palestine held on our campus.
I have delved into why this is happening; why previously reasonable and respected colleagues have turned on those of us, especially the racialized and precariously employed, to demand our absolute silence on the topic of Palestine. I myself have been told I have no place as a white settler woman commenting on anything related to Israeli-Palestine geopolitics. Still, I have spent hours reading the works of brave revolutionaries, Palestinian journalists, grassroots organizers, and academics, Jewish and Palestinian alike, some of whom have now been killed by the Israeli army. I have learned enough history to understand this genocide is about colonizing the land, but even more so what is happening in a quest for this land is a deliberate positioning of the Other (Palestinians) as different, as deviant, and as disposable. This is what Netanyahu conjured when he tweeted on October 17, 2023, “This is a struggle between the children of light and the children of darkness, between humanity and the law of the jungle.” That tweet was deleted the following day after the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) bombed a Palestinian hospital killing 471 people. They bombed a hospital and it was not the only one.
This morning, I woke to more horrifying carnage in Palestine. The genocide is being live streamed. I watched a video of a young boy, maybe seven years old, being arrested by armed Israeli soldiers on suspicion of throwing stones. I see his father distraught, I hear him pleading with the soldiers to release the boy. They do not. I see a mother crying, moaning over the shrouded body of her young daughter. The mother is crumpled on the ground, her body rocking while she strokes the girl’s ashen face. People around the woman place their hands on her to offer comfort, sympathy, but it is hopeless. The mother’s face is dry, she has no tears, because there are no tears left. Her daughter is dead. I read the words of the Palestinian poet, Refaal Alareer, who was killed in a targeted attack by the IDF. Alareer was critical of the Israeli government and knew his life was in grave danger. His poem “If I Die,” written days before he was murdered, is now being translated by people all around the world as a call for Palestinian liberation.
I use the word “liberation” intentionally now instead of a call for “peace.” Palestinian people, like everyone on this planet, deserve to live free of outside interference and risk of harm. They deserve to live according to laws of their own making, with autonomy to learn, move, grow their own food, and thrive. Palestinians have a right to sovereignty. Peace can’t be imposed by imperialist governments, only to be taken away when those governments perceive a threat. There are reasons the efforts towards a two-state solution for peace have failed. Those reasons deserve intense scrutiny and critique. And, in the meantime, there must be an immediate ceasefire. The demand for a ceasefire must come from all directions as must the end to the provision of arms to the Israeli government from the US and other imperialist powers, including Canada. To this end, I support the position articulated by Independent Jewish Voices.
My twitter bio includes this quote from Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, author of “As We Have Always Done: Indigenous Freedom through Radical Resistance”: “… settler colonialism will always define the issues with a solution that re-entrenches its own power.” I chose this quote years ago because of what is happening in so-called Canada in terms of how the state in conjunction with a variety of religious institutions enabled a genocide against Indigenous Peoples through residential schooling. Many will know that the last residential school closed in 1998 and many believe that the genocide is over, but what might be surprising is that there are more Indigenous children in state-sanctioned care than there were in residential schools. There are more Indigenous men and women in prison than representative numbers of non-Indigenous Peoples. There are more missing and murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirited People than representative numbers of non-Indigenous Peoples. The effort to remove Indigenous Peoples from so-called Canada did not end with the closing of the residential schools or with an apology from then PM Harper and the reason why is explained by Simpson’s words. Her words also apply to what is happening in Gaza.
Finally, some will read my statement and cry out that I am an anti-Semite because I have not explicitly condemned Hamas. I will be accused of being insensitive, even callous, towards Jewish people by not mentioning the atrocities of Oct. 7 and the trauma wound that day violently re-opened for so many. I may even receive calls from my own colleagues at Toronto Metropolitan University for me to be fired or suspended. I may receive death threats. I would not be the first or the last to experience such responses when speaking out against colonial war crimes, but I can’t and I won’t stay silent. Additionally, not supporting the Israeli government’s actions does not make me, or anyone else an anti-semite. These positions are not conflatable.
However, I have been permanently altered since Oct. 7. I acknowledge coming late to this reality, but my belatedness will not paralyze me, nor will it enable my silence, which would, in turn, only reinforce the status quo. October 7, 2023 initiated a response that has marked me in so many ways and I won’t ever be the same – like so many others. Thanks to the courage of journalists and poets and students, I have woken to imperialism in a way that I was previously naive. The images, video, and words of those relaying the genocide live from the ground have forever altered the way that I feel, think, and act. I ask myself how I want to remember my actions during this unbearably impossible time. I take strength from our dear friend, Minnie Bruce Pratt (2009) who was an ally to Palestine, “Again, it seems that if we are women who want a place for ourselves and for other women, and our children, in a just, peaceful, free world, we need to be saying: Not in my name” (p. 48).
I adapt Pratt’s words to include not only women, but anyone and everyone who wants liberation and freedom for all people around the world. I urge us all to adamantly call elected officials to demand a ceasefire now, to press for a stop to the sale of arms to the Israeli government, to amplify Palestinian voices on social media, and to take a stand for justice. We must not be silent.
For those who wish to learn more, I recommend the following:
Gabor Maté’s conversation with his daughter, Hannah, is powerful, heartbreaking, and transformative.
For those who are struggling with “processing grief during turbulent times,” I recommend this brief video.
Other poignant resources are from the Anti-Racist Dietitian, Standing Together, and this list of readings compiled by sociology students this term.
Solidarity with the Asian-Pacific Islander communities
June 16, 2021
“The only way to survive is by taking care of one another.”
– Grace Lee Boggs, Democracy Now interview, 2010
Grace Lee Boggs
World Critical Dietetics (WCD) stands in solidarity with the Asian-Pacific Islander (API) communities by bringing a call to action to stop API hate violence. Anti-Asian hate violence rates have doubled in 2020 in some cities across the world, with API members being harassed, pushed, robbed, stabbed, raped, and killed. This is due to the racist rhetoric and scapegoating surrounding the API community with the rise of COVID-19 cases, in line with historical API scapegoating worldwide. Anti-API hate stems from racism, White supremacy, and settler colonialism. For example, API indentured servitude on plantations and railroads, the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the Japanese American Internment Camps of World War II, and the continued racist attacks after 9/11 on the Muslim, Sikh, Arab and South-Asian communities are only some of the events that continue to haunt our communities.
The recent mass shootings resulting in the murder of six Asian Women at three Atlanta-area spas as well as four members of the Sikh community at a FedEx in Indianapolis, Indiana has sparked national outcry for government and community support in dealing with the rise in violence against the API community. We are losing parents, siblings, relatives, partners, and friends simply because they fit the stereotype of someone “dangerous”, “suspicious”, “exotic”, “weak”, or “less than”. These stereotypes are deeply rooted within our society and culture, where they create purposeful divisions between communities. The division of marginalized groups is a fundamental factor for maintaining institutional oppression and the status quo, solely at the expense of those divided. We live in a society that normalizes living in fear, enduring acts of hate, and managing our trauma, but we can use these experiences to empathize with one another, despite differences in race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender identity. So now, as in the past, we need to come together to support one another, and fight against those who attempt to harm our communities
WCD will use our power and voice to amplify marginalized communities so they can speak about their challenges and concerns. WCD condemns all anti-Asian hate speech and actions, and stands in solidarity with the API community.
We stand committed to take the following actions:
1. We will seek, listen, and learn from the stories of the Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities to discuss barriers and matters about race.
2. We will continue to educate ourselves and others about the ways racism is perpetrated in BIPOC communities, and how to address the dismantling of negative rhetoric and stereotypes.
3. We will use our space and resources to create an ongoing platform for BIPOC communities.
4. We will work with BIPOC communities to identify the needs and create resources to support dietitians, healthcare providers and researchers in anti-racist work.
5. We will advocate for social justice through research, education and practice that addresses social and health inequities.
WCD is in the process of creating a comprehensive action plan to address racism within WCD, within dietetics which will be shared for feedback shortly.
We stand in solidarity with the most oppressed and will fight for a world free from racial violence, human suffering and exploitation, where equal access to life is valued for all.
In Solidarity,
WORLD CRITICAL DIETETICS BOARD 2021-2022
World Critical Dietetics Statement in Solidarity
June 11, 2020
World Critical Dietetics (WCD) stands in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and those standing against racial injustice throughout the United States and the world.
We find ourselves now in the midst of a world-wide cry against the overt racism and xenophobia that has been the over-bearing and hateful message of those in recent power. In response to the recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, and to the murders of countless Black people throughout history, we stand in solidarity with the struggle for life itself against ongoing police brutality and murders. Across the world, the COVID-19 crisis had already lifted the veil off and revealed the systemic racism and class contradictions that allow people of color to become ill and die at alarming and disparate rates. In many communities, it is a form of genocide.
The multinational and international demonstrations we see in the streets in solidarity with Black people are heartening. They serve as the basis for unity in struggle that can propel society forward. We want to be part of this new motion and engage those in our profession, networks and communities to join us. It is the only future for youth, who are now demanding change under the leadership of the most oppressed, the Black community.
WCD recognizes that, as an organization of professionals, scholars and students in health and community care, we hold a responsibility to speak out against the ways that racial injustice torments people of color. As a group that advocates for the right to health, food and education for all, we are examining and redressing our own place in systems and structures that have fed the deep roots of anti-Black racism. We are committed to hearing, honoring and standing in solidarity with the voices of Black communities as they call for an end to racialized violence.
We stand committed to take the following actions:
- We will continue to educate ourselves and others about ways that anti-Black racism is perpetuated and create an alliance with leaders of the Black community.
- We will seek, listen and learn from members of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities how to address the barriers to inclusion in WCD and the field of dietetics.
- We will use our space and resources to create an ongoing platform for BIPOC.
- We will create and publish a special issue of the Journal of Critical Dietetics, led by Black students, dietitians and WCD members, that will examine anti-Black racism and call for the dietetics community to work against racism.
- We will work with Black, Indigenous and other People of Color to identify the needs and create resources to support dietitians, healthcare providers and researchers in anti-racist work.
- We will partner with organizations that represent the voices and interests of Black, Indigenous and People of Color to host our annual WCD conference.
- We will advocate for social justice through research, education and practice that addresses social and health inequities
We stand in solidarity with the most oppressed and will fight for a world free from racial violence, human suffering and exploitation, where equal access to life is valued for all.
WORLD CRITICAL DIETETICS BOARD 2020-2021
Yuka Asada
Meredith Bessey
Jennifer Brady
Andrea Kirkham
Julie Rochefort
Christin Seher
Jill White