October 23, 2026
Mr. Pete Fry, Mayor-Elect of Vancouver
City Hall, 453 West 12th Avenue
Vancouver, B.C. V5Y 1V4
Dear Mayor-elect Fry,
Congratulations on your victory! Vancouverites have spoken resoundingly by delivering a record voter turn-out.
Allow us to introduce ourselves. Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) Vancouver is a chapter of a national anti-Zionist organization grounded in Jewish tradition, committed to the struggle for justice for all in Palestine. Our chapter is proud to have joined the Apartheid Free Communities (AFC) initiative in 2024. This initiative, inspired by the successful campaign to dismantle the apartheid regime in South Africa, aligns with IJV’s aim to dismantle Israeli apartheid, anti-Palestinian racism and all forms of oppression.
We urge you to make Vancouver an Apartheid-Free City by signing the AFC pledge. It is clear the overwhelming majority (73%) of newly elected members of the Vancouver municipal government are aligned with the cause of Palestine. By signing the AFC pledge, the city would join over 400 signatory groups, including the BC municipalities of Burnaby, Powell River and Duncan, in affirming that opposition to apartheid and racism is a responsibility shared by communities everywhere.
This commitment is especially important at a time when legitimate advocacy for Palestinian freedom is increasingly conflated with antisemitism. In this context, the widely discredited International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism has been used to label opposition to the Israeli government’s oppression of Palestinians as antisemitic. This approach places safety for Jews in opposition to that of Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims, making it harder to identify actual instances of antisemitism and contributing to an escalating climate of hate.
IJV Canada affirms that anti-Zionism is not antisemitism. Our organization is adamantly opposed to any attempt that limits lawful political expression or criticism of Israeli government policies. The city needs an approach that takes antisemitism seriously while protecting the right to criticize the Israeli government, oppose its policies, and advocate for Palestinian human rights. By taking the AFC pledge, the city would place itself on record as opposed to all forms of hatred and affirm that it is a priority to protect the safety of all segments of the Vancouver community.
We would welcome the opportunity to discuss this initiative with you and explore how Vancouver can take meaningful action in support of human rights and dignity for all. Thank you for considering our call to action. We wish you the best in your mayoral inauguration.
Sid Shniad and Shirarose Wilensky
Co-chairs, Vancouver Chapter
Independent Jewish Voices Canada