Get to know six Palestine solidarity groups in Fredericton

Since the brink of the genocide in Gaza in fall 2023, Fredericton has become home to six active Palestine solidarity groups.

Collectively, these groups organize protests, fundraisers, and educational events about Palestine; talk with local politicians demanding that Canada abide by international law; and hold vigils for the martyred Palestinian people.

As Israel’s violence in Gaza continues, the following of these groups grows. In total, the groups have over 3,000 Instagram followers.

Three of these groups are run by a diverse set of community members. The other three are student-led.

Fredericton Palestine Solidarity (FPS), initially formed in 2006, reawakened in October 2023. They hold weekly rallies at City Hall lush with human rights slogans and Palestinian flags, and offer an open mic.

Fredericton Friends of Palestine and the Atlantic Canada Palestinian Society of Fredericton (ACPS Fredericton) emerged in December 2023. Fredericton Friends of Palestine hold educational booths at City Hall that emanate Palestinian music and brochures about Palestinian history. ACPS Fredericton creates social media posts about Palestinian culture, and fundraises for families in Gaza.

All student groups were established in November 2023. Brandishing posters, UNB Palestine Solidarity – the same group as STU Palestine Solidarity – and FHS Palestine Solidarity lead impassioned walkouts for Palestine open to all. NBCCD Palestine Solidarity promote Palestine solidarity actions across Fredericton on their social media.

The groups share their ideologies, events, establishment, and how the community can get involved.

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FPS formed in 2006 alongside the Fredericton Peace Coalition. The founding members were a group of “long-time anti-war” activists, students, professors, postal workers, and Jews for a Just Peace. Today, the group is managed by 17 organizers from diverse backgrounds.

The group’s actions are multifaceted. Through film nights and art shows, they educate the community on Palestinian culture and the illegal Israeli occupation. They talk with local politicians about Canada’s violation of international law through its policies on Palestine. They launch boycott, divestment, and sanctions actions (BDS) targeting businesses complicit in funding the genocide. Every week, they hold protests at City Hall; every few months, they hold candlelit vigils at the Legislature Building.

This year, the group organized actions throughout Israeli Apartheid Week. The week, from March 16 to March 21, annually raises awareness of the illegal Israeli occupation and gathers momentum for BDS. FPS organized tatreez workshops; a webinar on BDS; a child-friendly rock-painting event that had rocks coated with Palestinian resistance symbols; and a “BDS inbox flood” that called out Costco’s selling of Israeli products, which helps sustain illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine.

“I really enjoy working with folks in FPS. They’re dedicated, genuine, kind and hardworking,” says Angus Fletcher, a FPS organizer. “It’s hard to feel like any individual act or development is a win, but I hope we see a ceasefire, end to the occupation, and a free Palestine.”

All are welcome to join the FPS organizing group and participate in their actions, posted regularly on their Instagram and Facebook.

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Fredericton Friends of Palestine was established in December 2023 by a “group of friends living in Fredericton”.

Their goal is to educate the public about Palestinian history and raise awareness about the genocide. Often seen in a tent at City Hall that blares Palestinian music and shares hot tea on cold mornings, they engage passersby in conversations and hand out informational brochures about Palestinian history.

In December, they launched the “1 Minute from Gaza” action, where they invited community members to put on headphones that played a one-minute audio of current life in Gaza. As community members listened to a full minute of screaming, running, bombardments, and sobs, they closed their eyes or put a hand against their mouth. Some cried.

“What we focus on is the results of our activity, how people reacted and participated,” says Marwan El Jamal, an organizer for Fredericton Friends of Palestine. “The goal is to educate the public about Palestine and the full story of what’s happening there from day one.”

The group’s actions are open for all to attend, with all updates posted on their Instagram.

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ACPS formed in Halifax in 2019 and in Saint John in 2022. The Fredericton branch was established in December 2023 by Rana El Hassan to educate and fundraise.

The group’s early social media posts show life in Palestine before occupation. There are Palestinian thobes; Palestinian universities, pharmacies, airports, and olive-centric agriculture; stories from elderly Palestinians about Palestinian traditions, love, and resilience; and explanations of Palestinian resistance symbols.

“What I love the most about Palestine – everything about it,” says a Palestinian man in one of ACPS’ videos. “The air. The trees. Its smell. Its cemeteries. Its soil and roads. Everything has a special flavour. Oranges taste different – the figs of Palestine, dates, guava, mangos, everything. It’s extraordinary. Also, the sea of Palestine is the most beautiful in the world. Its soil… I am made from the soil of Palestine. I have to come back.”

The group has also run tatreez workshops at the Fredericton Public Library, and sells tatreez bookmarks, crocheted watermelons, and silver Gaza Strip pendants dangling from keychains. All proceeds go to families in Gaza.

This Ramadan, ACPS launched a “Ramadan Campaign” that acquired donations for Gaza by e-transfer. The group’s Instagram reels show the donations’ impact: displaced Palestinians hold envelopes of cash and grocery bags.

“We get the pictures through trusted individuals during the war,” says El Hassan. “ACPS headquarters deals with (sending the funds to Gaza). I have no content on (how that happens).”

ACPS Fredericton is run by El Hassan and two other community members.

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UNB Palestine Solidarity – the same group as STU Palestine Solidarity – is a “network of activists” led by four main organizers. Established by UNB student Laila Soliman, the group organizes actions once or twice a month that raise awareness of the genocide.

The group routinely organizes walkouts. Open to all, the walkouts traverse the UNB campus and its peripheries. Signs held by protesters list Israel’s international law violations and the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces, which now nears 34,000.

Recently, the group organized an information session for the community where UNB and STU faculty gave talks that spanned Israel’s international law violations; scholar Edward Saïd’s book, The Question of Palestine, that describes Palestinian global identity; the weaponization of antisemitism to silence human rights activism; and the US’ puzzling financial commitment to Israel. More than 40 people attended.

In future, the group plans to put pressure on local politicians to call for a permanent ceasefire and an arms embargo on Israel.

“Anyone is welcome to join in organizing events or attending the actions,” says Soliman. “The best way to stay up to date is to send us an email to join our mailing list at NBstudents4palestine@gmail.com.”

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FHS Palestine Solidarity is a group of FHS students who educate FHS students about Palestine.

Since October, they’ve organized walkouts. Recently, they ran a fundraiser with the FHS Middle Eastern Society by preparing food and henna booths; they raised $745 for Gazan refugees who fled to Egypt and need artificial limbs.

Now, they plan educational events. They are currently preparing a presentation on the genocide that they plan to deliver to the school and share with the principal.

Jana Salem, co-founder of the group, says the group felt supported by the school. Though the school refrains from taking a firm stance on Palestine to “avoid any political clashes”, FHS Palestine Solidarity was able to advocate for Palestine without facing major issues.

“We were looking for a way to advocate for Palestine and send a valuable message to the student body,” says Salem. “We have seen a lot of teachers talk about Palestine in a different way (than) we wanted to portray in our school environment.”

Driven by only a few students, Salem says that the group’s actions have slowed. They strive to build a larger organizing group, and welcome interested community members to reach out to the group’s Instagram.

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NBCCD Palestine Solidarity is committed to social media activism. Maintaining a strong Instagram presence, they act as a resource to share news about the genocide in Palestine and promote other Palestine solidarity groups. They were established with the help of UNB Palestine Solidarity.

“NBCCD has a very small population of students and they tend to not participate in events – even those organized for other reasons,” says a NBCCD student organizer. “We have chosen to focus our energy in other ways (like) sharing educational posts on our stories. We encourage our students to attend the walk-outs organized by (other groups). We hope that sharing these resources will mean more NBCCD students and community members will be in attendance at future events.”

NOTE: École Sainte Anne Palestine Solidarity and Leo Hayes High School Palestine Solidarity were contacted via Instagram, but did not respond prior to the publication of this article.

With files from Tracy Glynn and Angus Fletcher (Fredericton Palestine Solidarity), Marwan El Jamal (Fredericton Friends of Palestine), Rana El Hassan (ACPS Fredericton), Laila Soliman (UNB Palestine Solidarity), Jana Salem (FHS Palestine Solidarity), and an NBCCD Students for Palestine organizer contacted via Instagram. This article was aided by the document ‘Local Guide to Palestine Solidarity’, created by Queer+Trans Fatties in NB.

Incé Husain is a neuroscience student and journalist who writes for the NB Media Co-op. She pursues local stories independently at The Unprecedented Times. She is based in London, Ontario.