Introduction
The co-chairs of Prairie to Pine, Rev Dawn Rolke and Rev Doug Neufeldt, added the Region’s voice to a Manitoba civil society letter to the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, strongly protesting the starvation and other hellish conditions happening inside Gaza. The deliberate blocking of aid into Gaza is making far worse an already dire situation, after nearly two years of bombing and the deliberate targeting of the healthcare and civil defense systems. The excuse for blocking aid has been challenged by numerous authorities and aid groups, including a study by a body of the US government.
If you would like more background, please see also the 90 minute webinar with church and medical aid experts, describing the situation, explaining why it exists, and asking urgently for our own personal and church action. On 21 July 2025 the government of Canada joined 24 other countries in condemning the aid regime and conditions. However, as the letter below says, Canada needs actions more than words. The United Church believes that in addition to the important steps listed below, a two-way complete arms embargo is also needed.
MB civil society letter
Dear Prime Minister Carney, Cc: Minister Anand
We write to you today with urgency and moral clarity.
This week, multiple news agencies have reported that Israeli forces have continued its strategy of massacring civilians gathering around aid convoys in Gaza, killing hundreds of Palestinians, including children—many of whom were seeking food and survival in conditions the UN has called “famine-like.” These are not isolated incidents. They are part of a pattern of devastation that has claimed tens of thousands of lives, the majority of them women and children.
Earlier this year, Prime Minister Carney rightly pledged that if Israel continues to restrict aid to Gaza, he would support additional action. That moment is now. Aid is still being blocked. Civilians are still being targeted. Canada must match its words with deeds.
We urge you, as Prime Minister, to:
• Call for further sanctions to be imposed on the Netanyahu government;
• Push for Canada to formally support International Criminal Court investigations into violations of international law, and reaffirm our support for the body given that we chose not to do so earlier this month;
• Take immediate steps to end the Canada Israel Free Trade Agreement, given Israel’s violation of the treaty; and
• Recognize Palestinian statehood and the right of the Palestinian people to determine their own future.
As Canadians, we cannot afford silence in the face of starvation and slaughter.
We look to you for leadership in this historic moment.
Sincerely,
United Jewish People’s Order / Jews for Social Justice
Independent Jewish Voices Winnipeg
Labour for Palestine Winnipeg
Manitoba Government and General Employees for Palestine
Faculty for Palestine Manitoba
Manitoba Healthcare Workers for Palestine
Peace Alliance Winnipeg
Winnipeg South Centre for Justice
Liberation MB
Association of United Ukrainian Canadians
Migrante Manitoba
Mennonite Church Manitoba Palestine Israel Network
Prairie to Pine Regional Council: The United Church of Canada in Manitoba and NW Ontario
Family Actions for Palestine
Manitoba Friends of Standing Together
Islamic Social Services Association
Canadian Muslim Women Institute
Winnipeg Central Mosque
Canada-Palestine Support Network (Winnipeg)
Students for Justice in Palestine University of Manitoba
Canadian Palestinian Association of Manitoba
Canadian Muslims for Palestine
