The emergence and legacy of Palestine solidarity, with Mostafa Henaway

The Emergence and Legacy of Palestine Solidarity: Revisiting Quebec’s Histories of Anti-Imperialist Struggle in the Face of Ongoing Genocide

March 10 from 5 - 7 p.m.
Tilley Hall, room 102 | 9 Macaulay Lane

This talk examines the trajectories of Palestine solidarity in Quebec and Canada within a broader international context. It traces key moments in the development of solidarity politics—from labour and left support for Palestine in Quebec during the 1970s, including the framing of Palestine within a wider anti-imperialist tradition, to the emergence of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and the consolidation of an anti-apartheid analytical framework in 2004.

Rather than presenting these moments as a linear or idealized history, the talk critically assesses the political limits, strategic contradictions, and organizational forms of Palestine solidarity movements. It asks what lessons can be drawn from the period of radical solidarity within Quebec’s trade union movement in the 1970s and 1980s.

These movements, shaped by nationalism, class struggle, and an emboldened Third World internationalism, can help point towards possibilities for contemporary organizing. More broadly, the talk will examine how solidarity with Palestine has functioned—and must continue to function—as a central terrain for articulating a wider anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist, and anti-colonial politics.

In this sense, Palestine solidarity is not only a question of internationalism, but a central part of any political project for social transformation locally.

This event is organized by the Department of Historical Studies, and co-sponsored by the Department of English and the NB Media Co-op.

Biography

Mostafa Henaway is an organizer and writer, and active in Palestine Solidarity and anti-war movements since 2000. He has been a community organizer at the Immigrant Workers Centre since 2007, mobilizing for migrant and labour justice.

Mostafa Henaway has been active in Palestine solidarity from the International Solidarity Movement, Al-Awda (the right of return coalition) and involved with Tadamon! (Solidarity) Montreal, a solidarity collective that supports struggles for self-determination, equality, and justice across the Middle East, including an end to Israeli apartheid policies and support for the campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS).

He is also an author and researcher. His book Essential Work, Disposable Workers: Migration, Capitalism and Class won the Errol Sharpe book award in 2024, and honorable mention for the Canadian Association of Work and Labour Studies book award 2024.

He is currently a PhD Candidate at Concordia University in Geography Planning and Environmental Studies, researching labour conditions inside Amazon's warehouses in Quebec.