By James Clark

TORONTO, ONTARIO – Canada’s antiwar movement has recently been the subject of much discussion in the national press. At issue is the participation of Canadian delegates in an international peace conference in Cairo, and the relationship between progressives and Muslims in Canada.

This year marked the fifth anniversary of the Cairo Conference. Held in central Cairo at the national union of journalists, the 2007 conference attracted 2,000 delegates from the Middle East and around the world including trade unionists, elected members of Parliament, students, women’s organizations, peasants and farmers, civil liberties campaigners, pro-democracy activists, the antiwar movement and resistance groups. Every major political current and tradition in the Arab world was represented.

Twenty activists comprised this year’s delegation from Canada, representing a variety of organizations including the Canadian Peace Alliance. Among the Canadian delegates were three Jewish activists, including a Holocaust survivor. They shared their experiences of anti-Semitism, expressed their support for Palestinian liberation and explained the difference between Zionism and Judaism. They were warmly received by the conference and spoke alongside activists of other faiths and political traditions who shared their opposition to war and occupation.

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