Proponents of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance insists that its working definition of antisemitism is aspirational, meant only to rally opposition to hatred of Jews, and is not legally binding. But the fallout from an event hosted in Winnipeg several years ago is emblematic of how the definition represents a direct threat to freedom of expression about Israel and Palestine.

The Liberals continue to espouse a “feminist foreign policy,” but in practice they preside over a patriarchal, militaristic, and violent approach to the Middle East—all while leaning on the assumption that they will not be scrutinized as forcefully as an unabashed right wing government. If these policies continue, it signals that the world assuredly does not “need more Canada,” but less of it.

The present moment should be read dialectically: on the one hand, imperialist states like the US, Canada, and the EU regard Israel as a valuable asset and will continue providing it with decisive support. On the other, popular and anti-imperialist forces are ratcheting up the struggle, as massive crowds turned out for Palestine across much of the Western world last month.

Apartheid lives long after headlines have declared one or another victory, and discomfited politicians praise this or that ceasefire. But the fragmented nature of mainstream media coverage serves Israel’s narrative well, distracting from the unbroken continuity of the Nakba and Israeli apartheid, and making it difficult for the Canadian public to grasp the magnitude of Israel’s battering of human dignity.

There is a need for bold and wide-ranging approaches to Palestine solidarity at this time. However, we must also confront a major barrier that stands in the way of such forward movement. In the last few years, Israel’s enablers have made progress in attacking the legitimacy of support for the Palestinian struggle by falsely equating it with anti-Semitism. These accusations have seriously obstructed the work of left movements and activists.

Over the past two weeks, Canada has seen its most significant ever outpouring of support for Palestinian rights, with tens of thousands Taking to the streets to denounce Israel’s violence. But if we want to turn the tide against Israeli apartheid, we need to focus on ending Palestinian dispossession by targeting a little-discussed aspect of Canada’s ongoing complicity: tax deductible charitable donations.

In our tradition, we seek t’shuvah not only for ourselves, but also for the entirety of the Jewish people. It’s time. It’s time to admit the sins done against the Palestinian people and begin the long path of repentance. It’s time to listen to the voices demanding an end to violence and occupation that has been ever present throughout the entirety of our lives. It’s time to end this and vow: never again.

As it stands, Israel is a racist, apartheid state that confers rights on Jews that it denies Palestinians, and its international support is deteriorating rapidly. As long as the Israeli state continues its repetitive violations of international law and maintains the oppression of its Arab minority, that support will ultimately disappear, putting Jews in Israel and around the world in increased danger.

It is time for Canada’s unions and the national labour movement to call on the Government of Canada to suspend bilateral trade of all arms and related materials with the State of Israel until it complies with international law and Palestinian rights are upheld. Our movement’s commitment to peace, human rights and international solidarity demands it.

Will history remember Benjamin Netanyahu as the wrecker of Zionism or the revealer of its racist underbelly? A sorcerer’s apprentice or a Jewish supremacist? By courting the settlers and the ultra-religious parties, Netanyahu has spread the gangrene of fascism in the heart of a society that thought itself virtuous. History will at any rate confirm his role in the disintegration of a colossal fiction: that of Israeli democracy.