Canadian Arab Public Affairs Committee

Canada First - Canada Strong

A strong Canada–Arab partnership, built to last.

CAPAC brings Arab Canadians together to advocate for stronger relations between Canada and the Arab world — and to bring that case to Parliament, to government, and to the public.

An independent Canadian voice — Arab Canadians speaking for themselves, on the record, about the country we call home and the partnership we want it to build.

Become a member Our advocacy Palestine
CAPAC — Canadian Arab Public Affairs Committee logo with a solid red maple leaf
Canadian Arab Public Affairs Committee Public affairs, community advocacy, and informed engagement — one national voice for Arab Canadians.
About

Arab Canadians, speaking for ourselves.

CAPAC exists so that Arab Canadian experience reaches the rooms where Canada's policies are made — directly, credibly, and in our own voice.

The Canadian Arab Public Affairs Committee brings Arab Canadians together to advocate for a strong partnership between Canada and the Arab world, and to make sure community concerns are part of the national conversation.

We are non-partisan. We work with elected officials and candidates of every party who take Arab Canadian concerns seriously, and we hold public debate to a simple standard: decisions about our communities should be informed by our communities.

Our outlook is Canadian first — grounded in citizenship, democratic participation, and the belief that Canada is stronger when all of its people are heard.

Identity & heritage

What it means to be Arab

Arab identity is a cultural and linguistic belonging — not a single race, nationality, or religion.

The Arab world stretches from Morocco's Atlantic coast across North Africa — including Algeria and Egypt — and the Middle East to the Arabian Peninsula, the Gulf, and Yemen. Iraq, home to ancient Mesopotamia, stands among the world's oldest nations. The Assyrians (Ashoori), indigenous to Mesopotamia and one of the world's oldest continuous communities, remain a vital part of the region's heritage. Its people are African and Asian, with many races, ethnicities, national histories, and local traditions. What connects them is not one ancestry or creed, but the Arabic language and a shared cultural world shaped over centuries.

Gulf & Yemeni heritage

At the heart of the Arabian Peninsula

Gulf Arabs — across Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates — carry rich Bedouin, coastal, pearling, trading, and seafaring traditions, with family and cultural ties that cross today’s borders. Yemen adds one of the Arabian Peninsula’s oldest civilizations, with distinctive architecture, poetry, music, coffee heritage, and regional traditions. Gulf Arabs and Yemenis are integral to the history, identity, and future of the Arab world.

Christian heritage

An ancient and living tradition

Arab Christianity reaches back to the earliest centuries of the faith. Arab Christian communities — alongside long-established Christian communities across the Arab world — have helped shape Arabic thought, literature, education, art, music, and public life while preserving distinct churches, liturgies, and traditions.

Muslim heritage

A civilization of many traditions

Islam has profoundly shaped Arab civilization: its philosophy, science, architecture, literature, ethics, law, and everyday life. Arab Muslims themselves are diverse in tradition and practice — and most of the world’s Muslims are not Arab, an important distinction between faith and cultural identity.

Jewish heritage

Centuries rooted in Arab lands

Jewish communities lived for centuries across Arab lands — from Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia to Egypt, Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, and beyond. Their scholarship, music, commerce, languages, and civic life form an enduring part of the region’s history and cultural memory.

Jewish communities have lived continuously in the land of Palestine for centuries. When Ottoman rule began in 1517, an estimated 5,000 Jews resided in Jerusalem, Hebron, Safed, Gaza, and villages across the Galilee. These communities formed the core of the longstanding local Jewish population, centered on the four holy cities of Jerusalem, Hebron, Safed, and Tiberias. Among them were the Musta'arabi, Arabic-speaking, culturally integrated Jews descended from families that had remained in the land through successive centuries of rule.

Under Ottoman administration, Jews, Muslims, and Christians lived side by side for generations, sharing neighborhoods, markets, and festivals in cities such as Jerusalem, Jaffa, and Hebron. Their scholarship, music, commerce, languages, and civic life became an enduring part of the region's history and cultural memory. Similar Jewish communities flourished across Egypt, Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, and the wider region.

Before the State of Israel was established in 1948 on the Palestinian land, these local Jewish communities had already lived for centuries alongside their Muslim and Christian neighbors. In the 1930s, as Jews fled Nazi persecution in Germany and elsewhere in Europe, tens of thousands found refuge in Palestine, including more than 50,000 from Germany, until Britain's 1939 White Paper severely restricted further immigration. Palestine was a safe haven for Jews, who were protected by Palestinians.

To be Arab is to belong to a living cultural and linguistic community broad enough to hold these differences — across faith, race, geography, and background.

Advocacy

Working for a stronger partnership.

CAPAC makes the case — to Parliament, to government, and to the public — for closer ties between Canada and the Arab world.

CAPAC advocates for

A strong Canada–Arab partnership

Canada is better off when its relationship with the Arab world is deep and durable. CAPAC engages MPs, senators, officials, and all parties to advance trade, diplomacy, educational exchange, and cultural ties between Canada and Arab countries — ties that open markets for Canadian business and create Canadian jobs.

Why it matters
CAPAC engages

Every party, every level of government

CAPAC works with elected officials and decision-makers across party lines — briefing them on the issues Arab Canadians care about, introducing them to community members, and keeping the conversation going. Public affairs works through relationships, and relationships are built by showing up.

Get involved

Bring the conversation to Parliament.

Parliamentarians hear from many voices — make sure Arab Canadian voices are among them. Prepare a message through CAPAC and help make the case for a strong Canada–Arab partnership.

Get started
Palestine

Peace through a viable Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

CAPAC supports the Arab Peace Initiative's vision: an end to the occupation, an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and the Palestinian people's rights to self-determination on their land and to return — with no normalization until a just and lasting solution is achieved.

Deep roots

Palestinian identity is rooted in the land across millennia.

Palestinian national identity took its modern political form in the modern era, but the Palestinian people’s attachment to the land reaches far deeper — carried through generations of family life, towns, agriculture, faith, memory, and culture.

The very name of the land echoes the ancient Philistines (Peleset), recorded in Pharaonic Egyptian inscriptions over 3,000 years ago.

This linguistic history does not reduce today’s Palestinians to a single ancient people. It shows how far back the name of the land reaches, while Palestinian identity reflects the continuity of generations and the many peoples and cultures that have made Palestine home.

“And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines’ land many days.”
Genesis 21:34
The Hebrew reads בְּאֶרֶץ פְּלִשְׁתִּים (bə’eretz Pelishtim) — “in the land of the Philistines.”
Ancient record and name history Genesis 21:34 in Hebrew
Before 1948

A shared Palestinian homeland

Muslim, Christian, and Jewish communities lived side by side in Palestine for centuries. They worshipped differently, but also shared streets, markets, trades, languages, neighbourhoods, and a deep attachment to the same homeland.

That coexistence was real, though it was not without tensions or episodes of violence — especially as British colonial rule, growing immigration, and competing national movements transformed the country. Remembering the everyday patterns of neighbourliness alongside those conflicts gives a fuller picture of Palestine’s plural society before 1948.

November 2, 1917 · The Balfour Declaration

British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour wrote to Lord Rothschild that Britain viewed with favour “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.”

The letter also said that nothing should prejudice the civil and religious rights of Palestine’s existing non-Jewish communities. Yet it did not name their political or national rights, and Palestinians themselves had no seat at the decision. Issued while Palestine was still part of the Ottoman Empire, the declaration became a foundation of Britain’s later Mandate policy.

Crowded stone street and market in Jerusalem during the 1930s
Everyday life in Jerusalem in the 1930s. A street market during the British Mandate, from the Library of Congress photographic record of Palestine. View the source collection
Facsimile of Arthur James Balfour's letter to Lord Rothschild dated November 2, 1917
The Balfour Declaration, November 2, 1917. Arthur James Balfour’s letter to Lord Rothschild. View the archival source

Saudi Arabia's position reflects the Arab world's established framework for peace: the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002. Adopted by the Arab League, it offers normalization with Israel after withdrawal from the territories occupied in 1967, the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and a just, agreed resolution of the refugee question. CAPAC supports this framework and Saudi Arabia's insistence that normalization cannot precede a just and lasting solution.

Canada's official position points toward the same end: a two-state solution in which Israel and Palestine live side by side in peace and security, respect for Palestinian self-determination, and recognition that settlements are illegal under international law and an obstacle to peace. Canada does not recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital; its embassy remains in Tel Aviv, and it holds that Jerusalem's status must be resolved through negotiations. CAPAC calls on Canada to give practical diplomatic weight to that common ground.

Yet the ground for that solution is being deliberately removed.

For decades, Israel has expanded settlements across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem — confiscating land, building settler-only infrastructure, and fragmenting Palestinian territory piece by piece. The result is a landscape being reshaped on purpose so that a viable, contiguous Palestinian state becomes impossible.

Settlements are illegal under international law, and every new outpost makes peace harder to reach. CAPAC calls on the Government of Canada and its partners to act with more than concern: to demand an immediate halt to settlement expansion, to hold Israel accountable for it, and to stop this expansion project before the two-state solution is gone for good.

For many Palestinian Canadians, the conflict is not an abstraction: it is family, memory, and worry carried across an ocean. Canada can honour that connection — and its own tradition of honest brokerage — by keeping channels of communication open with Palestinian representatives and institutions.

That means stronger, more regular communication between Canada and the State of Palestine: parliamentary dialogue, diplomatic engagement, development partnership, and people-to-people exchange. Communication is not a concession. It is how understanding is built — and how the gap between Canada and Palestine narrows.

CAPAC brings that message to Ottawa: engaging Palestine directly, and supporting a negotiated peace, is firmly in Canada's interest and true to Canada's values.

Raise an issue with CAPAC
Palestine in History

Palestine in History: Answering "There Was Never a Palestine"

One of the most repeated claims about Palestine is that it was "never a country" — that no such nation ever existed. The historical record, stretching back more than three thousand years, says otherwise.

The Name in the Ancient World

Around 1150 BCE, the mortuary temple of the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses III at Medinet Habu records the Peleset among the Sea Peoples who battled Egypt. The Papyrus Harris I, from the same era, describes their defeat. Historians identify the Peleset with the Philistines, who settled the southern coastal plain — and from their name, the Greeks would later call the whole country Palestine.

The Torah itself preserves the name in its original Hebrew. In three passages, the text speaks of the Pelishtim (פְּלִשְׁתִּים):

Genesis 10:14 — וְאֶת-פַּתְרֻסִים וְאֶת-כַּסְלֻחִים, אֲשֶׁר יָצְאוּ מִשָּׁם פְּלִשְׁתִּים — "and Pathrusim, and Casluhim — whence went forth the Philistines — and Caphtorim."

Genesis 21:34 — וַיָּגָר אַבְרָהָם בְּאֶרֶץ פְּלִשְׁתִּים, יָמִים רַבִּים — "And Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines many days."

Exodus 13:17 — וַיְהִי, בְּשַׁלַּח פַּרְעֹה אֶת-הָעָם, וְלֹא-נָחָם אֱלֹהִים דֶּרֶךְ אֶרֶץ פְּלִשְׁתִּים, כִּי קָרוֹב הוּא — "And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not by the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near."

(English translations: JPS 1917, public domain, via mechon-mamre.org.)

Around 800 BCE, Assyrian royal inscriptions record the region as Palashtu — the name's root appearing in yet another empire's records.

The Name Through the Empires

In the 5th century BCE, the Greek historian Herodotus wrote of "a district of Syria, called Palaistinê" — the first clear geographic use of the name, covering the Judean mountains and the Jordan Rift Valley.

In 135 CE, following the Bar Kokhba revolt, Rome renamed the province of Judaea to Syria Palaestina. Around 390 CE, the Byzantine Empire divided it into Palaestina Prima, Palaestina Secunda, and Palaestina Salutaris.

In the 630s, the Arab administration made it Jund Filastin (جند فلسطين) — the military district of Palestine — a province of Bilad al-Sham with its capital at Ramla. The name endured through the centuries: a 1913 Ottoman geography textbook labels the district "Filastin," and the Falastin newspaper, founded in Jaffa in 1911, addressed its readers as Palestinians.

An honest note: the land has also borne other names — Canaan in the Bronze Age, the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, Judea under Rome. Palestine's distinction is not exclusivity but endurance: among the oldest continuously documented place-names in the world, in use for some 2,500 to 3,000 years — longer than the name of almost any modern country.

One of the Oldest Lands on Earth

Jericho, in the West Bank, is among the oldest cities in the world: more than twenty successive settlements, the first dating to 9000 BCE — some 11,000 years ago. Its archaeological site was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage list in 2023 as part of the State of Palestine.

Fourteen Centuries of Arab Filastin

Arab Muslim armies reached the region in 635–640 CE, and the centuries that followed brought a gradual process of Arabization and Islamization. The Arab administration itself used the name Jund Filastin from the 630s onward — fourteen centuries of continuous Arab political use of the name Palestine, longer than most of today's nations have existed under their current names.

Palestine on the Modern Map

From 1920 to 1948, Palestine was a League of Nations Class A mandate with internationally defined boundaries, a capital in Jerusalem, and three official languages. The Palestinian Citizenship Order of 24 July 1925 created Palestinian citizenship — and the Palestinian passport. The Palestine pound circulated from 1927 to 1948; trilingual postage stamps were issued from 1920. The Arab Higher Committee, formed on 25 April 1936, served as the representative political body of Palestinian Arabs — and the Palestinian press had been calling its readers Palestinians since 1911.

Palestine Before 1948: A Modern Society

By the 1930s, Palestine was among the most developed societies in the Arab world. Its Jaffa oranges were world-famous — citrus groves expanded tenfold between 1926 and 1939, and by 1937 Palestine had surpassed Spain as the leading orange exporter to Britain, shipping 15 million boxes a year and employing over 100,000 workers. A British observer wrote in 1937 that Palestine had "jumped from a medieval into a modern economy with one leap," pointing to electrification — the Palestine Electric Company, founded in 1923 — the modern deepwater port at Haifa (1933), and Lydda airport (1936), the country's main international air hub. On a 1939 UN human-development scale, Palestinian Arabs ranked 30th of 36 countries — ahead of Egypt — and historian Rashid Khalidi concludes Palestinian Arab society was "as advanced as any other Arab society in the region and considerably more than several." Its schools multiplied from 100 government schools in 1917 to 550 by 1947, crowned by Jerusalem's Arab College, the country's leading institution of higher learning; after 1948, educated Palestinian refugees would go on to staff the schools of Kuwait and the Gulf by the thousands.

The Test No One Else Faces

Nation-states are modern everywhere. Italy did not exist as a state until 1861, Germany until 1871 — yet no one argues that Italians or Germans never constituted a nation. To deny Palestinian nationhood because no Palestinian state existed two centuries ago is to apply a test that no other nation on earth is asked to pass. Whatever standard of nationhood one applies, Palestine meets it.

Sources

  • The Peleset and Sea Peoples: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peleset
  • Torah verses (Hebrew + JPS 1917): mechon-mamre.org — Genesis 10 (pt0110.htm), Genesis 21 (pt0121.htm), Exodus 13 (pt0213.htm)
  • Timeline of the name Palestine: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_name_Palestine
  • Jund Filastin: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jund_Filastin
  • Jericho: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jericho
  • Mandatory Palestine, citizenship, passport, currency: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandatory_Palestine, /wiki/Palestinian_Citizenship_Order_1925, /wiki/Mandatory_Palestine_passport, /wiki/Palestine_pound
  • Falastin newspaper (1911): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falastin
  • Arab Higher Committee (1936): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Higher_Committee
  • Economy of Mandatory Palestine: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Mandatory_Palestine
  • Jaffa orange: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaffa_orange
  • Lydda airport: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lod_Airbase
  • Arab College (Jerusalem): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_College_(Jerusalem)
Canada & Palestine

Canada recognizes the State of Palestine.

A historic Canadian decision, followed by a clear statement at the United Nations on Palestinian statehood, Gaza, and the territorial integrity of the West Bank.

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced: “Today, Canada recognises the State of Palestine.” The decision placed Canada among the countries formally supporting Palestinian statehood as part of a viable two-state solution.

On September 22, Carney addressed the United Nations conference on Palestine. His remarks connected recognition with the need to end the suffering in Gaza, protect the viability and territorial integrity of a future Palestinian state, and confront settlement expansion and annexation pressures in the occupied West Bank.

Read Canada’s official statement

Prime Minister Mark Carney at the United Nations — September 22, 2025.
Official UN Web TV record of the High-Level International Conference on Palestine and the implementation of the two-state solution. Watch on UN Web TV
Why it matters

The partnership makes Canada stronger.

A Canada connected to the Arab world is more prosperous, more influential, and more true to itself.

Prosperity

Trade and jobs

Arab markets are growing markets for Canadian goods, services, and expertise — and two-way investment creates jobs and opportunity in both directions.

Democracy

A voice in public life

Arab Canadians contribute to every part of Canadian life. Policy shaped with their experience at the table is fairer, smarter, and more representative.

Knowledge

Innovation and education

University partnerships, research exchange, and student mobility connect Canadian institutions with one of the world's youngest and most dynamic regions.

Diplomacy

Peace and influence

Canada's voice carries weight when it is engaged. Constructive ties support dialogue, stability, and a stronger Canadian role in the world.

Security

Stability and safety

Cooperation on regional stability and humanitarian response helps protect Canadians at home and abroad — and the communities they come from.

Community

Culture and connection

Arab Canadians enrich every province and territory. Celebrating that contribution — in both of Canada's official languages and many more — strengthens the whole country.

“Engaging in public life is more than our right as Canadians. It is our responsibility — to our communities, and to the country we call home.”
CAPAC's guiding conviction
Latest Updates

What is new at CAPAC.

Our latest statements, recent engagements, and events attended, newest first.

Statement

CAPAC Welcomes Minister Anand's Statement on the Humanitarian Catastrophe in Gaza

CAPAC welcomes Minister Anand's necessary statement on Gaza, and once again calls on the Government of Canada to condemn Israel and act with concrete measures, including sanctions, to end the obstruction of life-saving aid.

Read the statement (PDF)

Statement

A Call on Canada to Hold Israel Accountable as Gaza Drowns

CAPAC calls on Prime Minister Carney and Minister Anand to condemn and hold Israel accountable for blocking aid and reconstruction relief as Gaza drowns.

Read the statement (PDF)

Statement

On the Heinous Terrorist Attack on a Church in Karak, Jordan

CAPAC strongly condemns the terrorist attack on St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Al-Karak, Jordan, and stands in full solidarity with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and its Christian community.

Read the statement (PDF)

Statement

On Attacks by Violent Settlers in the West Bank

CAPAC supports Foreign Minister Anand's condemnation of the latest attacks by terrorist settlers in the West Bank, including the attack in Taybeh that targeted diplomats from Belgium, France, and Poland.

Read the statement (PDF)

Statement

On the Canada-UAE Partnership

CAPAC welcomes the Canada-UAE partnership, backs de-escalation, and calls for an immediate permanent ceasefire in Gaza, aid at scale, and Palestinian self-determination.

Read the statement (PDF)

Statement

On the Postponement of Palestinian Legislative Council Elections

CAPAC's statement on the postponement of Palestinian Legislative Council elections and Foreign Minister Anand's statement on the matter.

Read the statement (PDF)

Event Attended

25th Anniversary of the Interfaith Council in Oakville

- Oakville

Lama Aggad joined the joyful celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Interfaith Council in Oakville, founded 25 years ago by A. Q. Mufti, bringing religious leaders of many traditions to one table. Rev. Morar Murray Hayes co-presented the event, and Minister Deborah Laforet offered prayers for peace, harmony, and the continued unity of the community.

See the post on Instagram

Event Attended

Reception and Launch of the Fall 2026 Edition of Diplomat International Canada

- Ottawa

Lama Aggad attended the reception and launch of the Fall 2026 edition of Diplomat International Canada magazine in Ottawa, hosted by H.E. Tariq Ali Faraj Al-Ansari, Ambassador of the State of Qatar to Canada, and Abdel Karim Awwad, Publisher and CEO of Diplomat, under the patronage of The Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of Foreign Affairs. The evening brought together ambassadors and representatives from the Arab world, Asia, Africa, and Europe, alongside business leaders and other guests.

See the post on Instagram

Engagement

Canada and Lebanon Launch a Partnership for Security and Resilience

Foreign Minister Anita Anand and Lebanon's Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi launched the Canada-Lebanon Partnership for Security and Resilience in Ottawa, backing support for the Lebanese Armed Forces and Lebanese sovereignty.

Engagement

Visit of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi to Ottawa

Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, visited Ottawa, where Canada and the UAE launched a Strategic Partnership, signed a trade agreement, and agreed a defence cooperation memorandum.

Statements & News

Positions, briefings, and updates.

CAPAC’s public record will live here — official statements, policy notes, and committee announcements in one place.

Official statement

CAPAC Welcomes Minister Anand's Statement on the Humanitarian Catastrophe in Gaza

For Immediate Release -

CAPAC welcomes Minister Anand's necessary statement on the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, worsened by the rains and flooding, and her call on Israel to open all crossings so food, shelter, warm clothing and heating can reach families without further delay. CAPAC also commends her for joining the Call to Action of Tom Fletcher, UN Relief Chief, on the same urgent need.

CAPAC once again calls on the Government of Canada to condemn Israel and to act with concrete measures, including sanctions, to end the obstruction of life-saving aid to the Palestinian people, to uphold international law, to protect the civilian population in Occupied Palestine, including by bringing a halt to the killing of civilians by the Israeli army and terrorist settlers, and to act now with international partners to bring an end to this illegal and violent occupation.

Signed: Lama Aggad, President, Canadian Arab Public Affairs Committee (CAPAC), www.capac1.ca

Official statement

A Call on the Government of Canada to Hold Israel Accountable for Blocking Aid and Reconstruction Relief as Gaza Drowns

For Immediate Release -

Gaza is drowning. As winter rain storms once again pound Gaza, more than 70,000 tents have been completely destroyed, leaving over 400,000 Palestinian civilians without shelter and forced back onto the streets. These displaced families are currently without shelter and washrooms and now their meagre belongings have been ruined. The flooding has already killed at least six people, including an infant who reportedly drowned and five displaced people, including three children and two women, killed when a sand dune collapsed on their tents.

The already-dire situation of the health system has also been worsened. Health facilities have been flooded, forcing the suspension of some medical services, while medicine shortages, including antibiotics and medicines for fever, nausea and diarrhoea, persist, despite the rise in illnesses caused by cold exposure and distress, including diarrhoea, respiratory infections and skin infections.

As reported by UNICEF on November 7, 2026, with floodwaters now mixing with sewage amid the tent encampments in Gaza, yet another public health crisis is being provoked in Gaza. UNICEF has had the tools, equipment and engineers ready for a year waiting to repair the pumping station at Sheikh Radwan, but Israel is not allowing UNICEF to bring them in and carry out the repairs.

The Israeli occupation's continued restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people, with particular impediments placed on the delivery of tents and other materials vital for providing shelter to the displaced population and other life essentials, are clearly exacerbating what is already acknowledged to be a humanitarian catastrophe.

We therefore respectfully request that you issue a formal public statement calling on Israel to immediately open the borders without delay and to permit the unimpeded entry of humanitarian aid safely, including shelter supplies and sewage repair equipment.

CAPAC calls on the Government of Canada to condemn and hold Israel accountable for blocking this aid and reconstruction. This condemnation must be clear, public and unequivocal.

Canada must exert sustained and serious diplomatic pressure on Israel to fulfil its obligations as the occupying power and to comply with international humanitarian law. Words alone are not enough. Canada must use every diplomatic, political and legal means available to compel Israel to open the crossings, allow the entry of shelter and sewage repair equipment, and end its obstruction of life-saving aid to the Palestinian people as a matter of urgency.

Signed: Lama Aggad, President, and Dr. Atif Kubursi, Vice President, Canadian Arab Public Affairs Committee (CAPAC), www.capac1.ca

Official statement

On the Heinous Terrorist Attack on a Church in Karak, Jordan

For Immediate Release -

The Canadian Arab Public Affairs Committee (CAPAC) strongly condemns today's heinous terrorist attack in Al-Karak, Jordan, where gunmen opened fire on mourners during a funeral at St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Hammoud, killing seven people and injuring 34 others.

An attack on a house of worship, on families gathered to bury their loved ones, is an attack on our shared humanity. CAPAC extends its deepest condolences to the families of the martyrs, wishes the injured a full and speedy recovery, and stands in full solidarity with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and its Christian community.

CAPAC welcomes the swift response of Jordan's security services and expresses its full confidence in the Jordanian authorities to apprehend those responsible and to dismantle the networks of incitement behind them, and rejects terrorism and extremism in all their forms, wherever they target civilians and places of worship.

CAPAC welcomes His Majesty King Abdullah II's firm response, including his affirmation that this attack will not divide Jordanians: “Those who delude themselves into thinking that they can divide Jordanians with their bullets have no chance in the face of our unity.” His Majesty has long warned against such extremists, describing them in past speeches as khawarej, outlaws of Islam, who seek to strike at national unity in the service of the enemies of the homeland.

CAPAC also notes the words of Jordan’s Prime Minister Jafar Hassan, who chaired the security meeting in Karak and described the attack as “the result of terrorist ideology and blind extremism, and we will not allow society to go down this path”.

CAPAC respectfully calls upon the Government of Jordan to strengthen its measures against extremism, including closer attention to the terrorist ideology disseminated on social media among youth and young people, an ideology that glorifies death and the killing of others as a path to paradise, and to the ignorant and extremist voices, including some who present themselves as imams, that seek to attract and influence children and youth. Safeguarding the next generation from indoctrination by such ideology is a shared responsibility. CAPAC stands ready to support all efforts that protect young people and preserve the unity of Jordan, and to place its counsel and media expertise at the service of this cause, in the media and through sound logic and reasoned argument.

CAPAC expresses its appreciation to Prime Minister Mark Carney, who condemned this despicable act of terror in the strongest possible terms and extended his condolences to the families of the martyrs, the injured, and the Greek Orthodox community. CAPAC also expresses its appreciation to Foreign Minister Hon. Anita Anand for Canada's swift and unequivocal condemnation of this terrorist attack, and for conveying Canada's solidarity directly to Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi. Canada is right to stand with the Jordanian people in defence of religious freedom, human dignity, and the fundamental right to worship in peace.

Signed: Lama Aggad, President, Canadian Arab Public Affairs Committee (CAPAC), www.capac1.ca

Official statement

On Foreign Minister Hon. Anita Anand's Statement Condemning Attacks by Violent Settlers in the West Bank

For Immediate Release -

The Canadian Arab Public Affairs Committee (CAPAC) supports Foreign Minister Hon. Anita Anand's condemnation of the latest attack by terrorist settlers in the West Bank, including the attack in Taybeh that targeted diplomats from Belgium, France, and Poland. Canada is right to stand with the European Union and our European allies on this.

Let us name it plainly: this is settler terrorism, carried out under the watch of this Israeli fascist government. It is not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern of violence that threatens Palestinian communities every day and weakens every effort toward peace.

CAPAC calls for an independent investigation, as Israel has a history of failing to hold anyone accountable for such terrorism against diplomats time and time again.

Canada's strong voice matters. CAPAC urges the government to keep using it, clearly and consistently, until the terrorism stops and accountability is real.

Signed: Lama Aggad, President, Canadian Arab Public Affairs Committee (CAPAC), www.capac1.ca

Official statement

On Foreign Minister Hon. Anita Anand's Meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates

For Immediate Release -

Canada's engagement with the United Arab Emirates matters. The Gulf Arab states are central to any lasting peace in the Middle East, and a deeper Canada-UAE partnership is welcome.

CAPAC supports Minister Anand's call for diplomatic de-escalation. Attacks on any country's territory must stop, and civilians everywhere, in the Gulf, in Palestine, across the region, must be protected under international law.

But de-escalation must lead somewhere. A durable peace requires an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, unimpeded humanitarian aid at scale, a halt to Israeli settler terrorism, settlement expansion and annexation, and recognition that Palestinians have the right to self-determination through a viable, sovereign, independent state that ensures their dignity, security, prosperity, and national identity.

Solidarity with our partners and diplomacy for the region must go hand in hand with concrete steps toward that just and lasting peace.

Signed: Lama Aggad, President, Canadian Arab Public Affairs Committee (CAPAC), www.capac1.ca

Official statement

On the Postponement of Palestinian Legislative Council Elections and Foreign Minister Hon. Anita Anand's Statement

For Immediate Release —

The Canadian Arab Public Affairs Committee notes the postponement of elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council, originally scheduled for 28 November 2026. While CAPAC is disappointed by this decision, this outcome is neither surprising nor unexpected. Conditions on the ground in Occupied Palestine including the devastated Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem render free, fair, and inclusive democratic elections unfeasible at present.

How can Palestinians be expected to conduct credible elections in what remains a war zone? In Gaza, three years of genocide have left 1.9 million people displaced (many multiple times), infrastructure in ruins, and essential services collapsed. Over 70 percent of Gaza has been seized by Israel, confining nearly two million people to the remaining 30 percent of the territory. Neither genuine recovery nor large-scale reconstruction has begun. Access to food, water, medical care, sanitation, electricity, and shelter remains blocked or severely limited for most residents, depriving them of life's essentials.

In the West Bank, human insecurity is rising daily as conditions deteriorate sharply. Widespread and violent military raids, together with settler terrorism, impair daily life and undermine the population's ability to access schools, hospitals, and livelihoods, and likewise their ability to participate safely in any electoral process. Logistical barriers persist, including more than 900 Israeli checkpoints and roadblocks across the West Bank (with Palestinian leadership citing over one thousand such barriers that have turned the territory into isolated cantons), as well as restrictions that have limited the Palestinian Central Elections Commission's ability to operate fully in East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.

These obstacles are compounded by the occupation's deliberate and unlawful policies that undermine Palestinian governance and the practical capacity to hold elections. As reported by the Ambassador of Palestine, H.E. Feda Abdelhady, in Ottawa, Israel has been withholding more than $6 billion in tax and clearance revenues owed to the Palestinian Authority under the Paris Protocol and related agreements. These funds constitute the majority of the Palestinian government's revenues and are essential not only for basic government functions, paying salaries, delivering services, and maintaining institutions, but also for organizing and administering elections. Israel's failure to transfer these resources, which it collects on the PA's behalf, has precipitated a severe fiscal crisis, partial salary payments, reduced public services, and institutional strain, further jeopardizing any prospect of a functional democratic process. Palestinian leadership has clearly stated the reasons for the postponement.

We also acknowledge the Joint Statement issued today by the Honourable Anita Anand, Foreign Minister of Canada, together with the Foreign Ministers of international partners. We echo the call for the Palestinian government to reconsider the postponement and urge that both legislative and presidential elections be held as soon as possible.

In this regard, we urge Canada to explicitly address in its statement the systematic disruptions and obstructive actions by Israel that have repeatedly undermined the conditions for free and fair elections and directly resulted in their postponement. This includes the events of 2021, when Israel prevented Jerusalem from being included in the electoral process and barred Palestinians in Jerusalem from participating, leading to the postponement and eventual collapse of those elections.

We further call on Canada to intensify its proactive, supportive, and constructive engagement and leadership. This must include concerted efforts to halt Israel's ongoing violations and obstructions of Palestinian social, economic, political, and civic life, and to help create the conditions necessary for genuine elections.

As one of the G7 countries with the strongest records of transparent democracy, human rights, and democratic values, we urge Canada to assume a significantly greater leadership role, together with its partners, on this long-standing and critical file, one in which people and civilians have suffered tremendously for over eight decades. A credible and robust political process remains essential for stability, legitimacy, and the realization of justice and peace.

However, CAPAC rejects the recent statements by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, as well as similar claims by other Israeli radical lobbying groups in Canada, that frame the postponement solely as a breach of commitments by the Palestinian Authority and dismiss as "lies" any reference to Israeli-imposed obstacles. Such statements ignore the realities of a war zone, the ongoing occupation, severe restrictions on electoral access, the presence of more than one thousand Israeli checkpoints and barriers, and the withholding of billions in Palestinian revenues essential for governance and elections. They apply a double standard that overlooks the external obstacles imposed by the Israeli government and the dire conditions inflicted by its occupation, which make free and fair elections impossible at this time. Accountability must apply to all parties, including those whose actions and policies undermine the possibility of democratic processes alongside every other aspect of Palestinian life.

Despite these dire conditions, recent surveys including Arab Barometer polling from October 2025 and supporting data from the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research indicate that a majority of Palestinians, particularly in Gaza, prefer a two-state solution based on the pre-1967 lines over other options as the path to resolving the conflict. Support for diplomatic negotiations has grown relative to armed resistance in key measures. Many Palestinians express a desire for political renewal, capable leadership that delivers security, and the chance to remain in their land and rebuild their communities rather than emigrate. Palestinian reconciliation will be key to advancing this political renewal and a credible democratic process.

The international community must respond with immediate and collective action. This includes supporting the strengthening of Palestinian democracy, governance, and institutions; providing sustained humanitarian assistance to address the catastrophic situation in Gaza; pressing for the full release of withheld Palestinian revenues so that the PA can function and elections can be prepared; and advancing efforts to end the illegal occupation, realize Palestinian self-determination and independence, and achieve a just and lasting peace consistent with international law, United Nations resolutions, and the two-state solution.

In this context, we respectfully urge the Government of Canada to elevate the Palestinian delegation in Ottawa to the status of a full embassy without delay, following the example set by France, the United Kingdom, and other European states that have already taken this important step. We further recommend that Her Excellency the Palestinian Ambassador be invited to present her credentials as the Ambassador of the State of Palestine, consistent with Canada's recognition of the State of Palestine in September 2025.

This elevation of diplomatic status should not be tied to or conditioned upon the holding of elections, which remain a local Palestinian matter profoundly affected by the occupation and the war-zone conditions, as well as the dire humanitarian, security, and economic situation it imposes on the Palestinian people. Diplomatic recognition and representation are matters of principle and consistent with Canada's stated policy; they should proceed independently of the current obstacles to electoral processes.

We further urge the Government of Canada not to allow itself to be pressured or misled by Israeli radical groups that have distorted the facts and realities concerning Palestine and the Palestinian people for decades in Canada. We call upon the Government of Canada to carefully examine the realities on the ground and to exert additional pressure on the Israeli government to immediately cease its fascist, extreme, and repressive policies and actions that render a decent life for Palestinians and any prospect of democracy impossible. For these very reasons, Canada has already imposed sanctions on certain Israeli ministers for their actions against the Palestinian people, as well as sanctions related to the E1 settlement project.

The Palestinian people deserve free democratic elections and the right to vote. This fundamental right has been denied to them for over twenty years due to the Israeli policies and actions that have fostered radicalism and provided funding and support to militia factions in Gaza in order to deepen Palestinian divisions.

Canada is urged to continue and intensify its proactive, supportive, and constructive engagement, assistance, and leadership in these areas. Enabling the conditions for free and fair elections and a credible political process is essential for stability, legitimacy, and the prospect of peace.

Signed: Lama Aggad, President, Canadian Arab Public Affairs Committee (CAPAC), www.capac1.ca

Official statements

When an issue calls for a public position, CAPAC will speak here first.

Official statements will be published in full, with the committee’s position stated directly and the reasoning behind it made clear.

Request a statement
Policy briefings

Short briefs for busy decision-makers.

Background notes and position briefs will translate community concerns into concise, usable public-policy language.

See our advocacy
News & announcements

Committee updates and community notices.

Announcements, meeting notices, and public-engagement updates will be posted here as the committee’s work develops.

Get in touch
Get involved

Add your voice.

CAPAC's advocacy carries further with more voices behind it. There are three simple ways to take part.

01

Join CAPAC

Become a member and add your name to a national voice for Arab Canadians — in Ottawa and in communities across the country.

Become a member
02

Engage your MP

Meetings, consultations, and public forums connect community voices with elected officials and decision-makers. Show up, and be heard.

Request a meeting
03

Stay informed

Follow CAPAC's statements, briefings, and announcements — and share them with the people in your network who should see them.

Read the latest
Clear

Positions stated plainly, without noise or ambiguity.

Credible

Engagement built on preparation, relationships, and follow-through.

Constructive

Criticism paired with practical paths forward.

Canadian

Democratic participation rooted in citizenship and shared civic life.

Contact

Start the conversation.

For membership, public-affairs inquiries, community concerns, meeting requests, and media correspondence, prepare your message here and copy it into your preferred email or messaging channel.

For officials
Briefing requests, consultations, and policy discussions.
For media
Comment requests, background, and statement inquiries.
For community
Issues, priorities, and concerns CAPAC should understand.
Social media
X: @CAPAC_CA
Instagram: @CAPAC_CA

The form prepares your text on this page; it does not send or store anything.