🍉 VanGran4Pal Community Newsletter (April 27)
Neighbours and friends,
Late April in Vancouver is made beautiful by its natural blanket of soft pink petals. Our cherry blossoms have bloomed in peace and can safely rest for another season. Our city's children kick them up or tuck them into their pockets on the way to school.
As we've seen this week, the Zionist state has no intention of offering Palestinian children the same peaceful walk to school. In Al-Mughayyir, settler attacks have become nearly daily—culminating in an assault on a school in the occupied West Bank. Two people were murdered: Aws Al-Naasan, 14, a student, and Jihad Abu Naim, 32, a parent.
To join in solidarity and grieve in community, please check out one of the many events and activities happening in the next two weeks in Vancouver.
In solidarity,
The VanGran crew
Actions you can take
Divestment report by Just Peace Advocates exposes 100+ Canadian financial institutions' ties with Israeli Occupation, Apartheid, and Genocide.
The recent Just Peace Advocates' report, “Divesting from Israeli Occupation, Apartheid, and Genocide” provides the analysis of more than 100 Canadian financial institutions. This includes 11 pensions, 8 banks, 7 insurers, and 85 investment managers. Each of these financial actors play a significant role in Canada’s own settler colonial project, as well as the exploitation and colonization of lands and peoples globally. The report revealed over $526 billion USD invested in complicit companies.
Upcoming Events
“A Sad And Beautiful World” screening | May 1, 2026
Date & Location
đź“… May 1, 2026
⏰ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm, Labatt Theater, 1700 Harbour Center, Vancouver
About
Lebanese cinema takes center stage in Canada. As part of the Lebanon Cinema Days 2026, a curated selection of Lebanese films travels across cities carrying with it special stories. From Beirut to Canada, these screenings are more than films they are encounters, reflections, and a living dialogue between cultures.
Drag for Palestine | May 3
Date & Location
đź“… Sunday, May 3
⏰ 6:00 pm
đź“ŤThe Birdhouse, Vancouver, BC
About
After four successful showcases in Toronto and Montreal, raising over $15,000 for Palestine, we’re coming to Vancouver! Hosted by Vajayjay Abrams once again, this will be a night you won’t want to miss.
Featuring performances by Vancouver’s own Addi Pose, Amy Grindhouse, Batty Banks, Bliss, Cataleya, Dislexia, Michelangela, and Son of a Butch; Toronto’s Dandi Luv, Rosie, and Zi; Montreal’s Clay Thorris; Canada’s Drag Race stars Velma Jones, Karamilk, Dulce, Star Doll, Kendall Gender, PM, Xana, and Hazel; and all the way from RuPaul’s Drag Race and HBO’s We’re Here, Eureka will be here!
Funds raised will be donated to UNRWA.
The Land Remembers: Anti-Colonial Resistance from Gitxsan to Gaza | May 13
Date & Location
đź“… May 13, 2026
⏰ 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm, Unitarian Church, 949 49th Avenue W, Vancouver, BC
About
The Land Remembers: Anti-Colonial Resistance from Gitxsan to Gaza. Pack the house for an inspiring evening highlighting the global links connecting Indigenous and Palestinian resistance. Share WIDELY! Don’t miss the chance to hear from out-of-town speakers from the Gitxsan nation. Part of the events commemorating Nakba week.
It's Back: Gaza Remains The Story | May 15 - 18
Date & Location
📆: May 15-18, 2026
đź“Ť: 825 E Hastings St - thank you to Vines Art Society for hosting us!
About
An art exhibition curated by The Palestine Museum to showcase Gaza's culture, art, and traditions.
đź—ť Join us over three days to commemorate the Nakba with programming spanning many topics from our comrades Basil Al-Araj Commitee, Weaving our Worlds Collective, Art by Mariam, The Watermelon Palette, Tatreez4Palestine and more!
đź“ť Registration for workshops will open up on April 28 2026. Help us raise funds for Gaza mutual aid initiatives as well as local organizing to sustain our movement.
Remembering the Nakba | May 15
Date & Location
đź“… May 15, 2026
⏰ 5:30 pm, Grandview Park, Vancouver, BC
About
Join us to remember 78 years since the Nakba began, the catastrophe that led to Palestinians being displaced forever from their homes, by the Zionist entity.
We will hear from speakers about the ongoing impact of this displacement, how the Nakba never ended and continues throughout Occupied Palestine, and hold Gaza at the forefront as they continue to resist through the 3-year genocide. We will remember the 9000+ Palestinians who remain illegally held in Zionist torture chambers and who are at imminent risk of death from torture, starvation, and the newly approved death penalty.
There will be a child-friendly area for kids joining the rally, including snacks and activities, by @parentsforpalestineyvr
TriCities BC Rally for Palestine | Every Sunday
Date & Location
đź“… Every Sunday
⏰ 3:00 pm, Coquitlam City Hall
About
Today’s a good day to renew your commitment to the Palestinian cause. The indiscriminate bombing and killing OF OVER 150 humans during morning prayers by the US-backed IOF must be condemned! Please come out and show your support for humanity. We must not become desensitized to such brutal atrocities during this genocide of Gaza! ✊🏾🍉✌🏾
Book Club
Tatreez & Tea By Wafa Ghnaim
With 47 cross stitch patterns; six complete sets of dress patterns; tea, coffee, and quince jam recipes; detailed traditional Palestinian embroidery techniques and rare northern Palestinian Arabic tatreez terminology — each design, history and meaning is documented and preserved. Tatreez & Tea is far more than a book about traditional Palestinian embroidery designs and meanings: it’s an oral history documentation of the Nakba survivors in Wafa Ghnaim's family that captures the essence of tatreez stitching circles as they once were and how to recreate them in exile, as well as a way forward to resurrect tatreez as a source of identity—one that guided Wafa as she created a home in the Palestinian diaspora.”