Letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs: The NFU strongly condemns Israeli military’s attacks on our sister organization in Palestine
On Dec. 2nd, 2025, the NFU sent the following letter to Hon. Anita Anand, the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Dear Hon. Anita Anand,
The National Farmers Union of Canada/Union Nationale des Fermiers (NFU) strongly condemns the Israeli military’s large-scale, violent raid targeting the offices of our sister organization for food sovereignty in Palestine. This raid comes amidst a broader escalation of violence from Israeli settlers and military forces across the West Bank, and the deliberate targeting of Palestinian civil society organizations and agricultural institutions, including seed banks.
On December 1st in Ramallah and Hebron, military units blocked roads to the offices of the La Via Campesina member organization in Palestine. Staff members were subjected to harsh and humiliating treatment, including assault. Computers, hard drives, administrative files, financial documents, and logistical equipment were all confiscated. We are informed that soldiers have also deliberately destroyed office furniture, broken down doors and damaged equipment.
Our sister organization in Palestine—like the NFU, a member of the global La Via Campesina movement—operates within full compliance of international law, and its primary function is to support Palestinian farmers. We see these raids as a systematic attempt to undermine peaceful and democratic farmer organizations and silence Palestinian farmers who, after more than two years of struggling amidst war and genocide, are simply trying to survive.
The NFU denounces this politicized attack on La Via Campesina in Palestine. We urge the Government of Canada to:
- Call on the Israeli government to immediately and unconditionally release all detained members of La Via Campesina in Palestine and allied agricultural workers;
- Seek assurances that they will not be subject to ill-treatment, coercion, or further intimidation;
- Request an independent investigation into the raid on their offices and the confiscation or destruction of materials; and
- Communicate clearly, through diplomatic channels, that repression of lawful civil society organisations is unacceptable.
Furthermore, we call on the Canadian government to do everything in its power to stop the violence and genocide in Palestine, including implementing a two way arms embargo, imposing diplomatic and economic sanctions, and boycotting all companies profiting from Israel’s genocide and illegal occupation of Palestinian territory.
We are writing this letter in the spirit of deep solidarity with our sister organization in Palestine. In November 2025 at our National Convention in Moncton, New Brunswick, NFU members passed a landmark resolution to formally join and advocate for boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) campaigns. As the Israeli government continues to block food aid from entering Gaza, causing starvation and famine, and its genocide against the Palestinian people enters its third year, the NFU will continue to stand on the side of justice and peace to secure human rights and sovereignty for the people of Palestine.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Pfenning, NFU President
