Lynn Naji

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Canada Must Press Israel to Ensure Safe Passage for the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza: CJPME

Montreal, June 6, 2025 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is urging Prime Minister Mark Carney to take immediate action to ensure the safety of the Freedom Flotilla, which is attempting to break Israel's siege on Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid. The Madleen, a civilian aid vessel operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), is expected to reach Gaza on Saturday, June 7, carrying urgent humanitarian aid including baby formula, medical supplies, food, and water filters. CJPME urges Canada to press Israel to allow its safe passage and pledge that any attacks on the flotilla would be met with sanctions.

“The Madleen is not a threat. It is a lifeline to a besieged people facing starvation and genocide,” said Michael Bueckert, Acting President of CJPME. “If Canada claims to support a rules-based international order, it must uphold the rights of civilian actors delivering aid and oppose any act of aggression against them. Carney must acknowledge that blocking or attacking this flotilla would be a war crime, plain and simple,” added Bueckert.

The Madleen departed from Catania, Italy, on June 1, just weeks after another FFC vessel was bombed by Israeli drones in international waters. Now, Israeli military officials, including Navy spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin, have openly threatened military action against the Madleen, despite its clearly humanitarian purpose.

CJPME notes that any Israeli obstruction of the Madleen would violate international law and could amount to a war crime, as affirmed by UN experts who have called for its safe passage. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ordered Israel to ensure unimpeded humanitarian aid to Gaza, reinforcing the legal imperative for safe passage. CJPME believes that the Madleen’s mission is critical not only to deliver aid but also to establish a precedent for humanitarian corridors by civil society where governments have failed.

CJPME calls on Prime Minister Carney to:

  • Immediately demand that Israel allow the Freedom Flotilla safe passage and publicly affirm that any attack or obstruction would constitute a violation of international law and amount to a war crime, requiring a sanctions response.
  • Summon the Israeli ambassador and demand accountability for the prior drone strike on an FFC vessel in international waters.
  • Work with international partners to ensure the protection of humanitarian aid operations bound for Gaza.

"Israel has manufactured conditions of famine in Gaza as a weapon of genocide, while working to expel, attack, or eliminate all humanitarian actors. If Prime Minister Carney is serious about a foreign policy grounded in human rights and international law, then now is the time to act, before the Madleen is attacked, not after.

CJPME acknowledges that our offices, located in Montreal, are on the unceded, unsurrendered Territory of the Kanienʼkehá꞉ka (Mohawk), whose presence here reaches back to time immemorial.  CJPME recognizes the Kanienʼkehá꞉ka as the customary keepers and defenders of the St. Lawrence River Watershed and its tributaries. We honour their long history of welcoming many Nations to this beautiful territory and uphold and uplift the voice and values of our Host Nation.  Further, CJPME respects and affirms the inherent and Treaty Rights of all Indigenous Peoples across this land. CJPME has and will continue to honour the commitments to self-determination and sovereignty we have made to Indigenous Nations and Peoples.  CJPME also acknowledges the historical oppression of lands, cultures and the original Peoples in what we now know as Canada and fervently believes that its work should contribute to the healing and decolonizing journey we all share together.

Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) 580 Sainte-Croix Ave, Suite 060, Saint-Laurent, QC,  H4L 3X5. 
©2007-2023 CJPME

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