This document is an evolving collection of resources concerning Israel-Palestine. Please share these resources within your communities. This list is by no means comprehensive.
The views expressed in these resources do not necessarily reflect the opinions or beliefs of the contributors. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and exercise critical thinking.
| Resource Name | Annotation |
|---|---|
| 10 Minute Introduction To Palestine/Israel Context (Vox News) | Introduction to the period beginning in the early 1900s. Useful for understanding the challenges of a two-state solution. |
| How Israel Stole Palestine (OnePath Network) | A 7-minute video covering British promises to Arabs during WWI and the later creation of a Jewish state. |
| The History of Palestine Occupation (TRT Afrika) | Discusses the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians but lacks coverage of anti-Jewish persecution that led to migration. |
| Roadmap to Apartheid Documentary | Examines Israeli policies in comparison to South African apartheid. |
| Decolonise Palestine Teach-In: Doctors without Defence (CCMS SFU) | The Centre for Comparative Muslim Studies at SFU has a Youtube channel that covers many topics relating to Muslim societies and cultures, but in the last 3 months has released many videos specific to the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people. The video linked here ← includes discussion about the destruction of healthcare in Gaza and its extension into the occupied West Bank, as of December 2023. |
| Gaza’s Great March of Return protests explained | Al Jazeera documentation of a popular movement in 2018-2019 by Palestinians in Gaza that was brutally repressed by Israeli snipers & military forces, providing more context for Abby Martin’s Gaza Fights for Freedom film. This movement followed 3 major Israeli military operations in 2008/09, 2012, and 2014 that killed more than 3,500 Palestinians, including hundreds of children, and injured more than 15,000 people, mostly civilians. Text article from Al Jazeera accompanying this is here. |
| Contextualizing and responding to charges of anti-semitism against those criticizing the state of Israel | In this video, Thomas Suárez, author of the 2016 book, State of Terror: How Terrorism Created Modern Israel [described by Ilan Pappé as “the first comprehensive and structured analysis of the violence and terror employed by the Zionist movement and later the state of Israel against the people of Palestine”] critically discusses the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition that pro-Israel interests have pushed on institutions and governments to silence criticism of Israel and create chills on open discussion - as well as the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism (JDA) which is an improvement on the IHRA, but still problematic. An excellent article covering this subject matter is here. |
| Resource Name | Annotation |
|---|---|
| Healthcare Palestine YVR Linktree | A list of resources provided by Healthcare Palestine YVR such as vigils for Martyred health care workers, petitions and advocacy guides. |
| A Guide for Advocating for Palestine | This is a resource guide for anyone who wants to advocate for Palestine and it comes in 6 languages. Arabic, English, German, French, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese. Amidst persisting narratives and disinformation, this booklet serves as a dedicated guide to dismantling Israeli propaganda. As we feel committed to providing facts and advocating for justice, this document aims to equip readers with the knowledge and tools necessary to challenge misconceptions. This booklet serves as a basis to combat misinformation and respond with historic facts. |
| “We have a tool to stop Israel’s war crimes: BDS” (Naomi Klein) | Naomi Klein is an author and the co-Director at the Centre for Climate Justice at UBC. She has written two articles on the Boycott, Divest, and Sanction (BDS) movement for the Guardian; the first article in 2009, found at this link and also in her most recent article ← published in January 2024. |
| Organization | Description |
|---|---|
| Jewish Faculty Network (JFN) | JFN consists of Jewish faculty from universities and colleges across Canada who share a strong commitment to social justice in support of an ethical life, whether defined through religious observance or secular action. Like the other Jewish groups listed here, JFN staunchly opposes the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, a definition which has been misused to suppress legitimate free speech, criticism of Israeli state actions, and advocacy for Palestinian rights. The video of the very insightful “Antisemitism in the current moment: Critical views from the Jewish Faculty Network” webinar held on February 15 is available on Youtube here - It provides valuable insights for countering efforts to “weaponize” charges of antisemitism against those who criticize actions of the Israeli state. |
| Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) | IJV is an anti-Zionist grassroots organization grounded in Jewish tradition that opposes all forms of racism and advocates for justice and peace for all in Israel-Palestine. IJV has active chapters in cities and on university campuses across Canada, with the UBC chapter recently re-established, in addition to the Vancouver-wide IJV group. |
| Jewish Voice for Peace | JVP is the largest progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization in the world. It is based in the US, and is a grassroots, multiracial, cross-class, intergenerational movement of Jews for solidarity with the Palestinian freedom struggle, guided by a vision of justice, equality, and dignity for all people. |
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| Israelism | Award-winning documentary about young American Jews questioning unconditional support for Israel. |
| Israelism screening at SFU, discussion with Gabor Mate, Naomi Klein, Simone Zimmerman | “Independent Jewish Voices and the Centre for Comparative Muslim Studies joined together at SFU for a screening of the critically important documentary, Israelism. The screening of the film was followed by a discussion with Simone Zimmerman, the subject of the film, as well as Dr. Naomi Klein and Dr. Gabor Maté.” |
| The Present | Oscar-nominated short film depicting Palestinian daily struggles. |
| Roadmap to Apartheid Trailer. Apple TV+ | 2012 award-winning documentary, looking at the apartheid analogy commonly used to describe the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It juxtaposes South African apartheid with Israeli apartheid and the links between them. The first 45 minutes focuses on the Occupied Palestinian territories; the second half focuses on apartheid within Israel itself. |
| Born in Gaza Trailer Netflix | Filmed shortly after the 2014 Gaza war, this documentary examines how violence has transformed the lives of 10 Palestinian children. |
| My Tree CBC Gem | This Canadian documentary, released in 2021, centres on his trip to Israel of a Jewish Canadian to locate a tree that was planted in his name decades earlier. He discovers that the tree wasn’t planted to help “green the desert” as he was taught, but rather to cover up a destroyed Palestinian village. He sets out to meet the Palestinians who once lived there, and learn the truth. |
| Blue Box | Filmmakers explore the history of the Jewish National Fund's Blue Box fundraising campaign and its connection to the displacement of Palestinian communities. "Michal Weits delves into the life of her great-grandfather Joseph, the man who orchestrated the takeover of Palestinian lands and whose private diaries reveal an uncomfortable truth." |
| ‘Til Kingdom Come | Investigating the political alliance between American evangelicals and Israel's right wing and their influence on the Trump administration's foreign policy. |
| The Promise | Excellent 4-part series by Peter Kosminsky (had been very difficult to get- but I have a copy)… now available on YouTube: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 |
| On the Side of the Road | This documentary “looks at Israelis’ collective amnesia of the fateful events of 1948 when the state of Israel was born and most of the Palestinians became refugees.” It is an excellent companion to My Tree… from the perspective of those in Israel who were involved in carrying out actions to expel Palestinians…. Made by Lia Tarachansky, who grew up in a settler community in the West Bank and made this film after gaining perspective on what has transpired in Israel, based on interviews (and extensive documentary footage) with those who were involved in 1948… and since. Watch Trailer |
| Waltz with Bashir | This is a 2008 Israeli adult animated war docudrama film that depicts a soldier’s search for lost memories of his experience during the 1982 Lebanon War and the Sabra and Shatila massacre. (CW: It's extremely graphic, albeit animated.) |
| Gaza’s Great March of Return explained | The backstory of the Great March of Return protests and the conditions that brought Gaza to this point. |
| The Question of Palestine (Edward Said) | - | A deeply provocative book that was the first to make Palestine the subject of serious debate—one that remains as critical as ever. |
| Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire | - | This anthology imagines what the future of Gaza could be while reaffirming its critical role in Palestinian identity and struggle for liberation. |
| The Hundred Years' War on Palestine (Rashid Khalidi) | - | A landmark history of a century of war against Palestinians, told through pivotal events and family history. |
| Towers of Ivory and Steel (Maya Wind) | - | An expose on how Israeli universities are complicit in the violation of Palestinian rights. |
| Ten Myths about Israel (Ilan Pappe) | - | Explores myths about Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, reinforcing the regional status quo. |
| A Land with A People | - | A 2023 book featuring stories, photographs, and poetry that elevate rarely heard Palestinian and Jewish voices and visions. |