We are individuals concerned about issues of justice and peace in the Middle East. We have grave concerns regarding the award you are receiving at the upcoming Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) Words and Deeds Leadership Award Dinner on Monday, June 22 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto. We strongly feel that by accepting this award, you contravene the stated principles that led the people of Ontario to elect you as their Premier.

While we agree that your skills as a leader are formidable, we are surprised that given your commitment to diversity and fairness, and your consistent acknowledgement of Indigenous rights, you would agree to accept an award from an organization that openly supports policies denying the human rights of the indigenous Palestinian people, many of whom live and vote in the province of Ontario.

 CIJA describes itself as a "non-partisan organization creating and implementing strategies to improve the quality of Jewish life in Canada and abroad, increase support for Israel, and strengthen the Canada-Israel relationship." Two of the three ways in which CIJA describes itself are revealing. It appears that the organization prioritizes its promotion of the Israeli state in Canada. It is, in essence, a lobby group for the Israeli government. Moreover, CIJA promotes the idea that critics of the Israeli state are "anti-Semites" in an effort to falsely equate criticism of Israel's unjust laws and policies with a hatred of Jews. Given growing criticism of Israel's apartheid-like treatment of the Palestinians under its sovereign control, we believe it is unseemly for the Premier of Ontario to accept this award from an organization dedicated to uncritically supporting a government that engages in such behaviour.

By accepting an award from CIJA, you would be sending a message to Ontarians that you find CIJA's behaviour acceptable. It is far from acceptable for CIJA to claim to act on behalf of Canadian Jews without any semblance of accountability, while denying a voice to many Jews who diverge from their political views. It is far from acceptable for CIJA to uncritically support the behaviour of the Israeli government and military against Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza and within its borders -- behaviour which human rights experts around the world have repeatedly identified as criminal.

For the sake of a just and lasting peace in Israel and Palestine, acknowledging the diversity of opinions among Jews and other residents of Ontario that differ from CIJA's, we urge you to please refuse this dubious "honour."