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Montreal: 500 Artists Against Israeli Apartheid 3/9/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Tadamon! - February 25 - A call from Montreal artists to support the international campaign for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions against Israeli apartheid. Today, a broad spectrum of Montreal artists are standing in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for freedom and supporting the growing international campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against the Israeli state. Last winter, the Israeli state launched a violent military assault on the Palestinian people of the Gaza Strip, leaving over 1400 Palestinians dead, including over 300 children. Despite the official end of military operations, the blockade continues to this day, with devastating consequences for Gaza's residents. Over 60 years from the beginning of the ongoing Palestinian Nakba (catastrophe) in 1948, in which hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forced from historic Palestine through. . .
Defiant Tehran gets backing over sanctions Daily Star 9 Mar 2010 DOHA: Iran said on Tuesday it can deter attacks over its nuclear drive, as China and Turkey raised doubts about sanctions and the United States reassured Israel of its will to stop Tehran getting atomic arms.Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar made the defiant statement after signing a security agreement in Doha with Qatar
Full-Circle of The Waiting Game: Total Boycott Against Total Occupation Uruknet March 8, 2010 - Reading Rifat Kassis's Opinion: Moment of truth (e.i. 4 March 2010) we are inspired now to put a halt to the arguments that call for a selective boycott of Israel, and to those voices which warn us Palestinians (and many internationalists, for that matter) who criticise Israel for fear of being labelled 'anti-semites' (although we are...
Biden Visits Mideast to Push Peace Talks New York Times 8 Mar 2010 - The vice president will also try to keep Israel focused on relying on sanctions against Iran’s nuclear program rather than on unilateral military action.
Why some favor cultural boycott Mondoweiss - 8 Mar 2010 - From JTA’s report on the movie "Ajami" not winning the Oscar last night: Just hours before the Oscars ceremony, [co-director Scandar] Copti [a Christian Palestinian] said he was not representing Israel. “I am not the Israeli national team and I do not represent Israel,” Copti said...
Israel Penalizing Nakba Commemoration: One More Step Down the Path of Apartheid Uruknet March 6, 2010 - The Israeli parliamentary Law Committee has recently approved a law proposal the ("Nakba bill") that, if passed by the Knesset, would impose economic sanctions on the organizers of Nakba commemorations. Every year in May, Palestinians and supporters of their right of return commemorate the Nakba of 1948, which marks the single most traumatic and far-reaching event...
Jewish Polling: American Support of Israel at Near-Record High WAFA 7 Mar 2010 - HOUSTON,TEXAS , March 7, 2010 (WAFA)- At a time when propaganda campaigns to boycott Israel , divestment and sanctions against Israel, reliable polling data suggests that nearly two-thirds of
Boycot H&M! European groups protest H&M’s plan to open seven stores in Israel 3/7/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Boycot Divestment Sanctions: H&M Campaign - On the 11th of March the Swedish clothes and fashion store H&M is opening its first out of seven planned stores in Israel. The familiar red H&M sign will be visible in the Azriel Mall in Tel Aviv and, a few days later, in the Malcha shopping centre in Jerusalem, a city gradually cleansed of its Palestinian population to be replaced by Jewish-Israeli settlements. H&M is thus investing in Israel at the same time as the UN Goldstone commission and international organizations that H&M is cooperating with, such as UNICEF and the UN, report about Israel's crimes against international law and human rights. About a year ago several Swedish organizations gave attention to H&M's plans to establish in Israel and demanded an announcement from H&M. The management denounced the rumors but refused to give a written statement. Today the establishment has been made public.
The David Project swarms an apartheid-week event, and pathos prevails over logos Mondoweiss - 6 Mar 2010 - I was at the Apartheid Week event Thursday night at NYU, "The Indigenous Struggle: A Call for the Boycott of Israel." The talk was a BDS call against Israel by groups of Native Americans, South Africans, and Palestinians. The speakers were Nada Khader, the director of...
Bethlehem University marks Israeli Apartheid Week 3/5/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Students at Bethlehem University on Thursday initiated a campaign to ban Israeli goods from the campus in an event marking Israeli Apartheid week. The students identified Israeli products used in cafeteria food, office and cleaning supplies and are requesting that the university administration "clear the campus of of all items produced by the racist apartheid state. " Students who signed the petition received a sticker, "Let us resist Israeli apartheid: Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions," in an effort to raise awareness of the campaign, organizers said. The action is part of a week of activities organized by students a the university and local Bethlehem NGOs. The events kicked off with a presentation from the Handala Center in the Al-Azzeh refugee camp, which launched its own campaign to rid the camp of Israeli products.
Italian Professors Denounce Complicity of Israeli Academic Institutions in the Occupation Alternative Information Center - Thursday, 04 March 2010, A group of Italian professors recently published a letter denouncing “university and cultural discrimination of Palestinians.” The document—called “Right to study and academic freedom in Palestine”—expressly quotes the AIC bulletin Academic Boycott...
Memo From Jerusalem: Hoping Sanctions Work but Readying Gas Masks New York Times 5 Mar 2010 - Amid complex questions about how effective a strike against Iran would be, Israel and the U.S. share an interest in pushing for tough sanctions.
Israel Penalizing Nakba Commemoration Alternative Information Center - 5 Mar 2010 - Thursday, 04 March 2010, The Israeli Parliamentary Law Committee has recently approved a law proposal the (“Nakba bill”) that, if passed by the Knesset, would impose economic sanctions on the organizers of Nakba commemorations. Every year in May, Palestinians and supporters of their right of return...
Rights group: Israel penalizing Nakba commemoration 3/4/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - An Israeli parliamentary law committee has approved a proposal for a bill that would impose economic sanctions on organizers of Nakba commemorations. The term, meaning catastrophe in Arabic, describes the displacement of some 750,000 Palestinians who fled or were expelled by Zionist militias during the founding years of the State of Israel. Nakba commemorations are important events in Israel, where some 335,000 Palestinian citizens continue to be denied their right to return to their original homes, lands and communities, or receive compensation for their losses, and are forced to live as internally displaced persons within their own country. " Palestinian citizens of Israel have experienced the Nakba not only in 1948 but every day since then," the human rights group Badil said in a statement on Wednesday.
Moment of truth: time to boycott Israel's entire range of injustice Uruknet March 4, 2010 - Words always matter, and names always have a life of their own. But perhaps Palestine and Israel form a context in which words become positions more dramatically than in many others. The authors of the "Moment of Truth" Kairos document, which is the Christian Palestinians' statement to the world about the occupation of Palestine and a...
Maariv: Israel wants US to apply ‘Cuban model’ to Iran Palestine Note 4 Mar 2010 - The goal: Adopting the Cuban model Eli Bardenstein, Maariv, March 4 2010 [page 6 | Hebrew original here ] Israel is concerned that the UN Security Council decision on intensifying sanctions against Iran will be postponed, and the...
Israel Penalizing Nakba Commemoration Alternative Information Center - Thursday, 04 March 2010, The Israeli Parliamentary Law Committee has recently approved a law proposal the (“Nakba bill”) that, if passed by the Knesset, would impose economic sanctions on the organizers of Nakba commemorations. Every year...
Italian Professors Call for Academic Boycott of Israel Alternative Information Center - Thursday, 04 March 2010, A group of Italian professors recently published a letter calling for the academic boycott of Israel “against university and cultural discrimination of Palestinians.” The document—called “Right to study and academic freedom in...
Moment of truth: time to boycott Israel's entire range of injustice Electronic Intifada: 4 Mar 2010 - Words always matter, and names always have a life of their own. But perhaps Palestine and Israel form a context in which words become positions more dramatically than in many others. The authors of the "Moment of Truth" Kairos document, which is the Christian Palestinians' statement to the world about the occupation of Palestine and a call for support in opposing it, have repeatedly been asked about the use of the word "boycott." What exactly does this mean? How far exactly does it go? And what exactly does it call for? Rifat Kassis comments for The Electronic Intifada.
Opposing Israel Lobby is Not Same as Supporting Palestinian Rights Palestine Chronicle: 4 Mar 2010 - By David Green Of the several Jewish-oriented pro-Palestinian websites and blogs to achieve some notoriety over the past several years, that of journalist Philip Weiss seems to have found a secure niche and a loyal following. I commend Weiss for providing a news service that covers the suffering and heroism of the Palestinians, and a forum for many serious voices and views. Nevertheless, I find profoundly disturbing the conventional and often condescending perspectives that seem to dominate this blog: The Lobby, according to Mearsheimer/Walt and Jeffrey Blankfort; the “dual loyalty” of prominent Jewish-American supporters of Israel, according to Weiss; and one-state and boycott, divestment, sanctions as strategy and tactics for the Palestinian rights movement. This analysis marginalizes leftist principles and, more important, pragmatic political action. I’m not referring to leftist doctrine, but rather a cogent leftist analysis that is dismissed by those who profess to a doctrinaire “realism.” A political...more
Biden to speak directly to Israelis from Tel Aviv 3/2/2010 - Ha'aretz - U. S. Vice President Joe Biden will address the Israeli public directly next week during a speech he is scheduled to deliver at Tel Aviv University, focusing on American commitment to Israel's security, Iran's nuclear program and the peace process. Senator John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Monday in Jerusalem that Biden is seeking to ensure that Israel and the United States are in alignment on the issue of preventing the Iranian nuclear threat. Kerry, who is privy to the details of efforts to impose sanctions on Iran, hinted Monday at a press conference in Jerusalem after a meeting with the prime minister that Biden's visit to Israel, and that of other senior administration officials, including the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Michael Mullen, aims at restraining Israel against the possibility of unilaterally attacking Iran.
Israeli Daily: Mission to Gain Chinese Support for Iranian Sanctions The Media Line 28 Feb 2010 - [Analysis] That two top level Israeli leaders went to China on a diplomatic mission – and that one is Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya'alon is not unusual. What marks last week's official visit as being out-of-the-ordinary...
Kerry backs 'biting' sanctions on Iran Jeruslalem Post 1 Mar 2010 - US senator meets PM, says US, Israel "talking from the same page" on Iran.
Israeli rights group to Pixies: Don?t perform in Israel Ha'aretz 1 Mar 2010 - Boycott! urges academics, artists to shun Israeli institutions to protest government's West Bank policies.
Russia: We will consider 'smart' Iran sanctions Ha'aretz 1 Mar 2010 - Iran FM says Israel unlikely to strike it's nuclear sites since it was weak, but might do 'something crazy.'
Land Day to be marked with Global BDS Day of Action Electronic Intifada: 1 Mar 2010 - The BDS National Committee (BNC) is calling on you to unite in your different capacities and struggles for a Global BDS Day of Action on 30 March 2010 in solidarity with the Palestinian people and for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel. The BNC calls on people of conscience and their organizations around the globe to mobilize in creative, concrete and visible BDS actions to make this day a historic step in the movement against Israel's apartheid, colonialism and occupation, for accountability of the oppressor and for the fulfillment of the rights and dignity of the Palestinian people.
Boycott committee rejects French PM's smearing of movement Electronic Intifada: 1 Mar 2010 - The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee is deeply disturbed by the inaccurate and inflammatory insinuations made by French Prime Minister Francois Fillon during his speech at the annual dinner of the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions, 3 February 2010. Fillon's remarks came in the context of expressing commitment to fighting anti-Semitism, implying that the boycott against Israeli products may somehow be anti-Semitic.
Building international solidarity during Israeli Apartheid Week Electronic Intifada: 1 Mar 2010 - Six years since its launch at the University of Toronto, Israeli Apartheid Week is taking place in more than 40 cities in five continents, and is a key event in the yearly calendar of the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, launched by more than 170 Palestinian civil society organizations on 9 July 2005. Outside its North American and European centers, IAW is also taking place in South Africa, Palestine, Lebanon and Australia. Ilaria Giglioli comments for The Electronic Intifada.
‘Israeli Apartheid Week’ arrives, and so do attacks Mondoweiss - 1 Mar 2010 - The sixth annual “Israeli Apartheid Week” kicked off today, starting what will be two global weeks of action across the world meant to highlight Israel’s apartheid system and to build the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement. The global event has come under attack, of course, with...
End of the J street "Boycott" story Palestine Note 28 Feb 2010 - There is some good news under the sun (well, not exactly the sun on this wintry Friday). The Israeli government has made clear that the boycott of J Street is over. Actually, the Israeli government itself...
MIDEAST: How to Check Both Iran and Israel IPS TEL AVIV, Feb 27 (IPS) - The U.S. is raising the stakes in its bid to halt Iran's nuclear programme, putting the issue on a "pressure track", says top U.S. general David Petraeus. The U.S. and other world powers are drumming up support for a fourth round of UN sanctions...
China 'giving serious consideration' to Israel's request for Iran sanctions Ha'aretz 28 Feb 2010 - Israeli delegation to China aimed to present the Chinese evidence that Iran was developing nuclear arms.
'Iran not just a challenge for Israel' Jeruslalem Post 26 Feb 2010 - In Washington, Barak calls for "significant sanctions" with time limits.
Five hundred Montreal artists speak out against Israeli apartheid Electronic Intifada: 26 Feb 2010 - A broad spectrum of Montreal artists are standing in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for freedom and supporting the growing international campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions against the Israeli state.
So far, PM alone in calling for Iran sanctions Jeruslalem Post 25 Feb 2010 - After China, Israeli delegation scheduled to visit Africa to lobby for sanctions.
Palestinian Authority steps up boycott of goods made in Israeli settlements in West Bank Relief Web 25 Feb 2010 - Source: Christian Science Monitor
Barak to Gates: Impose tough Iran sanctions YNet News 25 Feb 2010 - Tough Israeli stance: Defense Minister Barak tells US counterpart Iran is not only Israel's problem, calls for harsh sanctions to be imposed; earlier Thursday, US says it will not be seeking crippling sanctions against Tehran
People Are Talking About BDS Mondoweiss - 25 Feb 2010 - The following post first appeared on the new website Israel: The Only Democracy in the Middle East? People are talking about Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS). People should be talking about BDS. If you’re not talking about BDS in the context of Israel/Palestine, you should be...
Geographers and academics protest union's Tel Aviv conference Electronic Intifada: 25 Feb 2010 - As geographers, faculty, students and people of conscience, we are profoundly dismayed by the International Geographical Union's decision to hold its July 2010 regional conference in Tel Aviv, in violation of the widely endorsed Palestinian civil society call for Boycott, Divestments, and Sanctions against Israel.
Where’s BDS? Israeli firms to secure World Cup Mondoweiss - 25 Feb 2010 - For readers active in the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) Movement , here is an obvious target that has been overlooked. According to today’s Jerusalem Post , "Over 30 Israeli companies are set to help South Africa secure this summer’s Soccer World Cup, via hi-tech security products ranging...
Israeli diplomats ordered to cut ties with PMO, Defense Ministry Ha'aretz 23 Feb 2010 - Foreign Ministry workers' committee adopts strict labor sanctions in salary dispute with Finance Ministry.
Israeli diplomats ordered to cut ties with PMO, Defense Ministry Ha'aretz 23 Feb 2010 - The Foreign Ministry's worker committee announced on Tuesday that it would adopt an unprecedented series of labor sanctions, due to an ongoing dispute with the government. ...
Israel, US tighten relations as part of Iran sanctions effort YNet News 23 Feb 2010 - Defense minister to meet US administration officials for talks that will focus on efforts to intensify punitive measures against Islamic Republic. Jerusalem to renew strategic dialogue with Washington, led by Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon
Behind Brand Israel: Israel's recent propaganda efforts Electronic Intifada: 23 Feb 2010 - "The Delegitimization Challenge" report from the influential Israeli think tank the Reut Institute has put the spotlight on efforts by Israel and the Zionist lobby to counter the growing movement for justice in Palestine, and specifically, the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign. The work done by Reut has rightly attracted attention, but it is only one (particularly prominent) example of a wider trend, as the Israeli government and global Zionist groups mobilize to fight the threat to the apartheid system. Ben White analyzes for The Electronic Intifada.
Why do I boycott Israel? Mondoweiss - 23 Feb 2010 - From World War 3 Illustrated Related posts: The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Debate: Boycott or ‘One Big Carrot of Peace’ NY Times offers the rationale for the cultural boycott of Israel Israel supports cultural boycott
Dancing, Singing New Yorkers protest, calling for boycott of Israel Ballet 2/22/2010 - Adalah-NY - Ballet official says nothing existed in Israel before 1948, denies government funding despite ballet's own website - Brooklyn, NY, February 21, 2010 – Forty-five human rights activists called upon fellow New Yorkers to boycott the Israel Ballet at its performance Sunday at the Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts. Accompanied by the Rude Mechanical Orchestra, protesters performed ballet, sang, chanted, and handed out mock programs to bring attention to the Israel Ballet's role in the Israeli state's use of the arts to whitewash its crimes against the Palestinian people. The demonstration was the third to take place along the Ballet company's U. S. tour in as many days. Hundreds of people entering the Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts were handed mock programs that, when opened, described the connections between the Israel Ballet and Israeli apartheid.
Dancing, Singing New Yorkers Protest, Calling for Boycott of Israel Ballet WAFA 22 Feb 2010 - BROOKLYN, NY, February 21, 2010 – Forty-five human rights activists called upon fellow New Yorkers to boycott the Israel Ballet at its performance Sunday at the Brooklyn Center for the Performing
Israel to push China on Iran sanctions Ha'aretz 21 Feb 2010 - China has vast economic interests in Iran, with much of its energy market dependent on imported Iranian oil.
US State Department lifts travel warning for Syria 2/20/2010 - Yahoo! News - AP - DAMASCUS, Syria – The U. S. has lifted an advisory warning American travelers of security concerns in Syria, officials said Saturday, as Washington tries to boost ties with a country seen as key to peace in the region. However, Syria remains on a U. S. list of countries supporting terrorism, a designation made in 1979 because of suspicions that Syria collaborates with Iran in supplying munitions to radical Islamist groups for use against Israel. The country also remains under U. S. sanctions, which President Barack Obama renewed in May. First imposed by former President George W. Bush, the sanctions cite Syrian support for terrorism, its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and other activities including efforts to undermine U. S. operations in Iraq. Earlier this week, the International Atomic Energy Agency said that uranium particles found at a Syrian desert facility bombed three years. . . .
Iran sanctions to top agenda at upcoming Israel-China talks Ha'aretz 20 Feb 2010 - China has vast economic interests in Iran, with much of its energy market dependent on imported Iranian oil.
ZOA calls for a (much) different kind of academic boycott Mondoweiss - 20 Feb 2010 - About ten days ago, 11 students at the University of California, Irvine were arrested after repeatedly interrupting Israeli ambassador to the United States Michael Oren’s speech at their campus. The students face potential disciplinary action from their school for the protest. Now, the right-wing Zionist Organization...
Scandanavian financial institutions drop Elbit due to BDS pressure Electronic Intifada: 19 Feb 2010 - Despite Israel's oppressive tactics against it, the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement has marked additional victories with many institutional investors divesting from or blacklisting Israeli military contractor Elbit Systems. Adri Nieuwhof reports for The Electronic Intifada.
U.S. Lawmakers Blast Boycott of J Street Delegation in Israel 2/18/2010 - Common Dreams - Ha'aretz - Five U. S. Congressmen on a visit here, which the left-wing American advocacy group J Street initiated, yesterday held a news conference in Tel Aviv to demand an official explanation for an apparent snub by Danny Ayalon, deputy foreign minister. Tension between the Foreign Ministry and J Street was believed to be behind the unprecedented diplomatic rift between Israel and the U. S. Congress. " It was with real surprise and disappointment that we read a headline in this morning's newspaper saying 'Foreign Ministry boycotts members of Congress,'" said Rep. William Delahunt (D-Massachusetts), who heads the delegation. J Street director Jeremy Ben-Ami said at the news conference that he was confused by Ayalon's calling the lobby anti-Israel. "Our relations with Israel's embassy in Washington are on the mend. . . I hope this is no more than his personal opinion," he said.
Sunday 'Resisdance' Protest to Tell Israel Ballet It can’t Tip-Toe Around Apartheid 2/19/2010 - WAFA - Palestine News Agency - BROOKLYN, NY, February 21, 2010 (WAFA)- Human rights activists will call upon New Yorkers to boycott the Israel Ballet at their Sunday afternoon performance at the Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College. The protest will include contemporary and folk dance, anti-apartheid ballet-themed chants, and more. Organizers of the protest affirmed the boycott call by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel and stated that Israeli cultural and academic institutions that do not openly denounce Israeli crimes against Palestinians and dissociate themselves from Israeli policy should be subject to a popular boycott. Allison Brown of Adalah-NY comments, “Rather than distancing itself from the Israeli state’s cynical use of the arts to whitewash its apartheid and colonial policies, the Israel Ballet, which receives around $1 million annually from the Israeli government, has proudly embraced its ties with the state.
Israel urges world: Immediately impose sanctions on Iran Ha'aretz 20 Feb 2010 - Germany says Iran must pay for nuclear defiance; Khamenei denies seeking atomic bomb.
Scandanavian financial institutions drop Elbit due to BDS pressure Electronic Intifada: 19 Feb 2010 - Despite Israel's oppressive tactics against it, the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement has marked additional victories with many institutional investors divesting from or blacklisting Israeli military contractor Elbit Systems. Adri Nieuwhof reports for The Electronic Intifada.
PA minister urges Italy to boycott settlement goods 2/18/2010 - Ramallah - Ma'an - Palestinian Authority Economy Minister Dr Hassan Abu Libda on Wednesday brainstormed ways to educate the Italian pubic about Israeli settlement products and strategies to boycott them in the country. A delegation, visiting the Ramallah Ministry of the National Economy headquarters, was lead by a deputy from the Italian foreign minister's office, a statement said Wednesday. The group met with an agenda to strengthen Italian-Palestinian relations, and directly addressed the issue of a boycott of settlement goods, a statement said. The cabinet of the Ramallah-based Palestinian government voted on Monday to approve a law prohibiting the entrance of settlement goods into areas controlled by the PA. During the weekly cabinet meeting in Ramallah, ministers said they approved the legislation as settlements amount. . .
PACBI: Intellectual responsibility and the voice of the colonized Uruknet February 17, 2010 - The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) has recently encountered a number of projects that while intending to empower the colonized Palestinians, in essence end up undermining their will and choice of method of struggle for freedom, justice and self-determination. The publication of a new book entitled The Power of Inclusive...
ADL: U.S. Jews mustn't boycott university for heckling of Israel envoy Ha'aretz 18 Feb 2010 - B'nai B'rith director says attack on Michael Oren's speech was clear manifestation of anti-Semitism.
Livni: This is not the time to boycott Israel's allies Ha'aretz 18 Feb 2010 - Opposition leader says after meeting with U.S. congressmen that differences of opinion can be overcome.
US once threatened sanctions/tax deductions when Israel occupied land by force Mondoweiss - 18 Feb 2010 - Henry Norr urges Obama to study the Suez war , when an American President and Sec’y of State actually used the UN General Assembly as a bully pulpit, and threatened sanctions, and took on the lobby too, to force Israel out of Gaza. At the end of...
U.S. lawmakers in Israel 'puzzled' by Ayalon boycott Ha'aretz 17 Feb 2010 - Deputy Foreign Min. snubs U.S. congressional delegation touring Israel with members of J Street group.
Don’t let the Israel Ballet tip-toe around Apartheid! Adalah-NY 2/5/2010 Adalah-NY, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, the US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, Boycott! Supporting the Palestinian BDS Call from Within, and American Jews for a Just Peace call for a boycott of and protests against the performances of the Israel Ballet during their February, 2010 US tour, due to the Israel Ballet’s complicity in whitewashing Israeli apartheid. The Israel Ballet will perform from February 8 – 27, 2010 in Panama City (FL), Ft. Myers (FL), Sarasota (FL), Bunnel (FL), West Palm Beach (FL), Gainesville (FL), Newport News (VA), Burlington (VT), Worcester (MA), Brooklyn (NY), Morgantown (WV), Buffalo (NY), Elmira (NY) and Rockville (MD). We call on individuals and groups to mobilize to boycott and protest against these performances. The Israel Ballet comes to the United States as part of the ongoing effort to “re-brand” Israel’s image in the West as an enlightened center of arts and technology, to conceal the facts about its occupation, racial discrimination and grave violations of international law and fundamental Palestinian rights. The Israeli government-sponsored campaign to promote cultural performances is a result of the steady decline of Israel’s standing in international public opinion. Consistent reports by the UN and leading human rights organizations have revealed the extent of Israel’s colonial oppression, gradual ethnic cleansing and even war crimes against the Palestinian people, as pointedly revealed in the UN’s recently published Goldstone Report on Israel’s war of aggression on Gaza. The Israel Ballet, which receives around $1 million annually from the Israeli government, is being advertised as a cultural ambassador of the state by the Israeli Consulate in New York. The dance group also boasts holding “special performances” for Israeli soldiers. -- See also: Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel and US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel more.. e-mail
Stockholm Technical University tried to stop meeting about research collaboration with Israel Palestine Monitor: 17 Feb 2010 - Wednesday 10 February Rector Peter Gudmundson of the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) decided that a meeting entitled "Why should we boycott Israel?" would not be allowed to use the premises of the university. The organizers of the meeting, The Action Group at KTH for Boycott of Israel, considered that Rector's decision is at odds with the constitutional right to assembly. Therefore the meeting was held as scheduled. The meeting focused largely on the relations between KTH and Israel Institute of Technology Technion, Haifa, with which KTH has an agreement about collaboration since 1998. The agreement is about exchange of students, teachers, research staff and general research cooperation. In order to discuss the issue of boycott as an instrument to make Israel respect International Law, the Action group invited the famous Swedish-Israeli composer and artist Dror Feiler, who is also the President of European Jews for a Just Peace. He...
PM: Israel not planning war with Iran Jeruslalem Post 16 Feb 2010 - Teheran is just concerned over new sanctions, Netanyahu says at end of Moscow trip.
Netanyahu: Israel not planning war with Iran YNet News 16 Feb 2010 - Speaking in Moscow, prime minister says Tehran's concerns over conflict are result of threat of additional international sanctions. Putin promises him to build museum dedicated to Nazi extermination of millions of Jews in Holocaust
On Mash’al’s heels, Netanyahu arrives in Moscow 2/15/2010 - Washington - Ma'an - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Moscow early on Monday morning for a three-day visit that follows by less than a week a trip by Hamas leader Khalid Mash'al. Russia is an ally of Israel, but is also the only member of the diplomatic Quartet that has open relations with Hamas. The other members of the peace negotiations-sponsoring Quartet - the US, EU, and UN - boycott the Islamic group. Russia's relations with key opponents of Israel - Iran, Syria, and Hamas among them - will top the agenda for Netanyahu's meetings with Russian officials. "I view Russia as in important power and an important friend of the State of Israel. We will discuss a range of issues, but first and foremost Iran," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet on Sunday. "Israel believes that strong pressure must be applied to Iran, especially. . . "
Saudi Arabia: Efforts to rid Mideast of nukes must apply to Israel Ha'aretz 15 Feb 2010 - Saudis cool to idea of Iran sanctions; Clinton in Mideast as part of bid to shore up effort against Iran.
Elton John: Don't stand on the wrong side of history again Electronic Intifada: 15 Feb 2010 - The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) calls upon Elton John, as a world-famous artist and a public supporter of key human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Oxfam, not to perform in Israel, a state that maintains an illegal and inhumane system of occupation, colonization and apartheid and that has been widely accused by leading UN experts and human rights organizations, including Amnesty, of committing war crimes and other grave violations of human rights.
Protesters in NY: ’Diamond forever, Apartheid has to End’ on Valentine’s Day 2/14/2010 - WAFA - Palestine News Agency - NEW YORK, February 14, 2010 (WAFA)– Fifty human rights activists performed Saturday for Valentine's Day shoppers compelling them to boycott the Israeli diamond and settlement mogul Lev Leviev outside his store on Madison Avenue, Adalah-NY reported. The New York protest took place against the backdrop of an escalating arrest and harassment campaign by the Israeli military against Palestinian human rights organizations and protest and boycott activists from the West Bank villages where Leviev has built settlements. Under the theme “A Diamond is Forever, but Apartheid Has to End,” protesters entertained shoppers by singing parodies of 'Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend' and The Beatles' 'Can't Buy Me Love' with lyrics such as:Don't buy me Lev, Lev / Don't buy me Lev / Don't buy a diamond ring from Lev, and now I'll tell you why / Settlements on stolen land, he's a really nasty guy / Lev's a crook so.
Clinton tackles Mideast peace, Muslim ties in Gulf 2/14/2010 - Reuters - DOHA (Reuters) - U. S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on Sunday for more pressure on Iran to curb its nuclear program on a Gulf visit aimed at promoting Arab-Israeli peace and improving U. S. ties with the Islamic world. Speaking at a conference on U. S. -Muslim relations, Clinton solicited regional support to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and she sought to blunt anger at U. S. airline screening policies that many Muslims see as discriminatory. Making her first stop on a three-day visit to Qatar and Saudi Arabia, Clinton spend much of her time explaining why the United States believes further U. N. sanctions may be the only way to persuade Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions. The West, and many Arab states, believe Iran is using its civil nuclear program as a cover to develop nuclear weapons. Iran has said that the program is simply to generate power so it can export more of its valuable oil and gas.
PACBI: All Israeli academic institutions complicit in apartheid Uruknet February 13, 2010 - In response to the recent decision by the Israeli government to upgrade the status of the so-called Ariel University Center of Samaria (AUCS) to a full university, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) reiterates its call for a boycott of AUCS and all other Israeli academic institutions due to their...
U.S. vows commitment to Israel, wary of war over Iran nukes Ha'aretz 14 Feb 2010 - U.S. military chief in Israel; Netanyahu to push Russia for sanctions; Russia: Iran missile sale still in works.
Iran to top Netanyahu's agenda in Moscow YNet News 14 Feb 2010 - Ahead of talks with Medvedev, PM tells cabinet 'Israel believes that heavy pressure must be applied on Iran, above all very severe sanctions.' Russia's Security Council: No reason to halt sale of S-300 missiles to Tehran
Valentine rhymes with Palestine, on a big day for BDS Mondoweiss - 14 Feb 2010 - While Valentine’s Day weekend is usually a time to buy jewelry or beauty products for your spouse, Palestine solidarity activists in New York used the occasion as an impetus to further the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement targeting Israel. Dozens of activists gathered outside billionaire...
Costco discontinues sale of Israeli beauty products 2/13/2010 - Palestine Note - Popular US wholesaler Costco has agreed to discontinue sale of Ahava Dead Sea Salt products, International Middle East Media Center reports. Israeli cosmetics company AHAVA manufactures its products on an illegal settlement, Mitzpe Shalem. Stolen Beauty has called for a boycott of Ahava products, citing Ahava's use of Palestinian resources is in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Stolen Beauty is a campaign against Ahava products, supported by CODEPINK advocacy group. Excerpt: "AHAVA Dead Sea Laboratories is an Israeli cosmetics company whose manufacturing plant is in an illegal settlement on Palestinian land. The settlement, Mitzpe Shalem, was built near the shores of the Dead Sea in 1970. Activists with the Stolen Beauty campaign argue that Ahava’s use of Palestinian natural resources from the Dead Sea is patently illegal under the Fourth Geneva Convention. . . "Related: IMEMC: US Store discontinues Ahava dead sea products after boycott call
Israel to boost efforts to launch new Iran sanctions Ha'aretz 13 Feb 2010 - U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen to arrive in Israel Sunday for talks on Iranian nuclear program.
Israel girds for Iran battle YNet News 13 Feb 2010 - US military chief arriving in Israel Sunday, will discuss implications of Iran sanctions, other options with senior IDF officials; meanwhile, PM Netanyahu heading to Moscow in effort to boost Russian support for sanctions
Israel Violates Economic Sanctions Against Iran Grant Smith, Antiwar.com 2/11/2010 Israel’s Rich -- but nutty -- history The Obama administration is escalating economic sanctions against Iran. Administered by a secretive unit within the US Treasury Department, they will freeze the assets of Revolutionary Guard Gen. Rostam Qasemi as well as four subsidiaries of a construction firm that he leads. These sanctions build upon existing U.S. unilateral sanctions targeting shippers, financial institutions, and elements of the Guard Corps some believe are promoting Iran’s missile and nuclear programs. Economic warfare expert R. Thomas Naylor extensively documents that such sanctions create black markets and spread corruption while doing relatively little to deter rogue regimes. Obvious economic dynamics create vast margins for smugglers and traders willing to bust embargoes. Unless the economy of a target country is particularly dependent upon the influence or volume of goods from any single international partner, profiteers quickly step into the breach. Sanctions typically punish legitimate traders while favoring corruption around the world. That corrupting nature of sanctions reaches far into the US. One example is Marc Rich, indicted in the United States on federal charges of illegal oil deals with Iran during the Iran hostage crisis. Rich broke US embargoes by purchasing Iranian crude under special deals with Ayatollah Khomeini. Rich then sold them at healthy margins to legitimate traders locked out of the market by US sanctions. Forbes ranked the intrepid Rich as the 242nd richest American in 2006 with a net worth of US $1.5 billion. more.. e-mail
Adalah-NY: New York Campaign for Boycott of Israel 2/12/2010 - WAFA - Palestine News Agency - NEW YORK, February 12, 2010 (WAFA- For the third year in a row, human rights advocates will use music, song parodies and chants to invite Madison Avenue shoppers to shop with conscience before Valentine’s Day, Adalah-NY reported. Under the theme “Diamonds are Forever, but Apartheid Has to End”, protesters will entertain while they educate with favorites like “Lev's Diamond’s Are a Crime’s Best Friend” and new editions like “Its Apartheid, So you shouldn't put a ring on it“ sung to Beyonce’s “Single Ladies. ”These efforts, which are part of a growing international campaign, come in response to documented human rights abuses in the Angolan diamond industry as well as Leviev's funding of Israeli settlement construction in the occupied West Bank, an activity that violates international law. Since the start of the boycott campaign against Leviev, UNICEF, Oxfam, the British Government and major Hollywood stars have all distanced themselves from Leviev.
Cut! Cameron blasts Israel boycotts Jeruslalem Post 12 Feb 2010 - “To suppress a gathering of artists, from afar, through boycott or any other means of exerting pressure, is wrong,” Oscar winning filmmaker tells the 'Post'.
PACBI: All Israeli academic institutions complicit in apartheid Electronic Intifada: 12 Feb 2010 - In response to the recent decision by the Israeli government to upgrade the status of the so-called Ariel University Center of Samaria to a full university, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel reiterates its call for a boycott of AUCS and all other Israeli academic institutions due to their complicity in maintaining Israel's occupation, colonization and apartheid against the Palestinian people.
Pro-boycott protesters: Don’t help ’occupier’s economy’ 2/11/2010 - Nablus - Ma'an - Thirty young men and women and number of members of the Palestine People's Party took to the streets of Nablus on Thursday, marching through the city center while carrying banners calling for boycotting Israeli goods. The protesters were urging locals not to help "the occupier's economy. "Kahled Mansur, a member of the PPP politburo office and coordinator of the popular campaign to boycott Israeli goods, said the "PPP is carrying out a campaign to boycott Israeli goods as a form of popular resistance, a kind of resistance the party is working to enforce to spread it all parts of Palestine as a tool to end occupation and achieve legitimate Palestinian goals. " Naser Abu Jeish, PPP secretary and member of its central committee said that "we will work in cooperation with organizations and unions to expand the campaign and to intensify its activities. . . "
Analysis / Iran revolution failed, sanctions are West's only hope Ha'aretz 11 Feb 2010 - Israel worried over possible gap between its aims to end Iran's nuclear program and Washington's bid for dialogue.
News Analysis: Obama Takes Several Gambles in Bid to Defuse Nuclear Standoff With Iran New York Times 11 Feb 2010 - The president is pursuing a global agreement on sanctions against Iran, while trying to win China’s backing for such a move and dissuading Israel from attacking.
Is Abbas in a Corner? Palestine Chronicle: 11 Feb 2010 - By George S. Hishmeh – Washington Inch by inch, the Palestinian president has apparently once again succumbed to American pressure. He is about to allow his junior officials to start so-called “proximity talks” with their Israeli counterparts to pave the ground for the resumption of peace negotiations, which broke down after Israel’s invasion of Gaza in December 2008. On the other hand, Israel, which has stubbornly refused an earlier Israeli commitment to freeze all illegal settlement construction in the occupied Palestinian territories during peace talks, has meanwhile managed to escape scot free, thanks to its new protector, Barack Obama, who keeps “heap(ing) sticky-sweet praise on Israel.” Israeli columnist Gideon Levy of Haaretz did not hold back his feelings about U.S. policy in the Middle East, a position that is undoubtedly shared by many, particularly in the Arab world, when he wrote that the American president and his key aides should “stop sucking up to Israel.” He underlined: “Now is the time to say to the United States: Enough flattery. If you don’t change the tone, nothing will change. As long as Israel feels the United States is in its pocket, and that America’s automatic veto will save it from condemnation and sanctions, that it will receive massive aid unconditionally, and that it can continue waging punitive, lethal campaign without a word from Washington, killing, destroying and imprisoning without the world’s policeman making a sound, it will continue in its way.” Interestingly, Levy’s column was written last December, weeks before Israeli...
Stop the Wall’s Jamal Juma’: Israel Should Learn History—Targeting Palestinian Grassroots Activists Will Strengthen and Not End Resistance Alternative Information Center 10 Feb 2010 - Wednesday, 10 February 2010, “The Israeli people must choose: either the fulfillment of Palestinian national and human rights or a continuation of international condemnation, marginalization and boycott against Israel.” So said Palestinian grassroots activist Jamal Juma’,...
Stop the Wall’s Jamal Juma’: Israel Should Learn History—Targeting Palestinian Grassroots Activists Will Strengthen and Not End Resistance Alternative Information Center - 10 Feb 2010 - Wednesday, 10 February 2010, “The Israeli people must choose: either the fulfillment of Palestinian national and human rights or a continuation of international condemnation, marginalization and boycott against Israel.” So said Palestinian grassroots activist Jamal Juma’, Coordinator of the Stop the Wall Campaign...
Join the second Global BDS Day of Action! Stop The Wall10 Feb 2010 - February 7th, 2010, The BDS National Committee (BNC) is calling on you to unite in your different capacities and struggles for a Global BDS Day of Action on 30 March 2010 in solidarity with the Palestinian people and for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel.
Open Letter to Bono: Entertaining Apartheid Israel...U 2 Bono? PACBI 2/7/2010 Occupied Ramallah, 13 January 2010 - Dear Bono, The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) was deeply disturbed to learn that that you are scheduled to perform in Israel this coming summer. Two years ago, you were invited by Israeli President Shimon Peres to attend a conference in Israel marking Israel‘s contributions to medicine, science, and conservation; we urged you then, as a prominent activist on issues of global inequality and a campaigner for basic human rights, to say no to Israel, especially since the invitation coincided with celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state.[1] You did not go to Israel then; we call on you now not to grant legitimacy to a state that practices the most pernicious form of colonialism and apartheid. Performing in Israel would violate the almost unanimously endorsed Palestinian civil society Call for Boycotts, Divestments, and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel.[2] This Call is directed particularly towards international activists, artists, and academics of conscience, such as yourself. Moreover, it would come a year and a half after Israel’s bloody military assault against the occupied Gaza Strip which left over 1,440 Palestinians dead, of whom 431 were children, and 5380 injured.[3] The 1.5 million Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip, the overwhelming majority of whom are refugees who were expelled from their homes by Zionist forces in 1948,[4] were subjected to three weeks of relentless Israeli state terror, whereby Israeli warplanes systematically targeted civilian areas, reducing whole neighborhoods and vital civilian infrastructure to rubble and partially destroying Gaza’s leading university and scores of schools, including several run by the UN, where civilians were taking shelter. This criminal assault comes after three years of an ongoing, illegal, crippling Israeli siege of Gaza which has shattered all spheres of life, prompting the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights, Richard Falk, to describe it as “a prelude to genocide”. The UN Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, headed by the highly respected South African judge, Richard Goldstone, found Israel guilty of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity, as did major international human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.... more.. e-mail
Open Letter to Bono: Entertaining Apartheid Israel...U 2 Bono? 2/7/2010 - PACBI - Occupied Ramallah, 13 January 2010 - Dear Bono, The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) was deeply disturbed to learn that that you are scheduled to perform in Israel this coming summer. Two years ago, you were invited by Israeli President Shimon Peres to attend a conference in Israel marking Israel‘s contributions to medicine, science, and conservation; we urged you then, as a prominent activist on issues of global inequality and a campaigner for basic human rights, to say no to Israel, especially since the invitation coincided with celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state. [1] You did not go to Israel then; we call on you now not to grant legitimacy to a state that practices the most pernicious form of colonialism and apartheid. Performing in Israel would violate the almost unanimously endorsed Palestinian civil society. . . .
Touring Israeli ballet company has no Palestinian dancers Mondoweiss - 7 Feb 2010 - Several BDS groups, including Adalah-NY here , have called for boycott of the Israel Ballet’s tour to Florida and the Northeast this month. The groups say that the ballet is part of the government’s rebranding campaign– The Israel Ballet, which receives around $1 million annually from the...
Don’t Let Israel Ballet Tip-toe around Apartheid 2/6/2010 - WAFA - Palestine News Agency - NEW YORK, February 6, 2010 (WAFA)- Adalah-NY, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, the US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, Boycott! Supporting the Palestinian BDS Call from Within, and American Jews for a Just Peace call for a boycott of and protests against the performances of the Israel Ballet during their February, 2010 US tour, due to the Israel Ballet’s complicity in whitewashing Israeli apartheid. The Israel Ballet will perform from February 8 – 27, 2010 in Panama City (FL), Ft. Myers (FL), Sarasota (FL), Bunnel (FL), West Palm Beach (FL), Gainesville (FL), Newport News (VA), Burlington (VT), Worcester (MA), Brooklyn (NY), Morgantown (WV), Buffalo (NY), Elmira (NY) and Rockville (MD). We call on individuals and groups to mobilize to boycott and protest against these performances.
Blockade forces Gaza to turn from modern medicine to bee stings The National 4 Feb 2010 - Cut off from modern medicine by Israel's sanctions, Palestinians turn to cheap forms of alternative medicine for cures.
Berlusconi: Italy proud of solidarity with Israel Daily Star 3 Feb 2010 Premier Silvio Berlusconi Wednesday pledged Italy's firm support for Israel, urging "effective sanctions" against its arch-foe Iran and speaking out against a damning UN report on the Gaza war. He also called on Israel to halt the growth of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, calling it a "basic condition" for restarting peace talks with the Palestinians that were suspended over a year ago
In Response to Iran’s Nuclear Program, German Firms Are Slowly Pulling Out New York Times 3 Feb 2010 - As the United States and Israel press to tighten sanctions against Iran, some German companies are winding down operations there or operating through third countries.
Arab politicians ’facing increased persecution’ in Israel 2/3/2010 - Nazareth - Leaders of the Palestinian minority in Israel warned this week that they were facing an unprecedented campaign of persecution, backed by the right-wing government of Benjamin Netanyahu, designed to stop their political activities. The warning came after Said Nafaa, a Druze member of the Israeli parliament, was stripped of his immunity last week, clearing the way for him to be tried for a visit to Syria three years ago. In recent weeks legal sanctions have been invoked against two other Palestinian political leaders, following clashes with the Israeli security forces at demonstrations against the occupation, and pressure is growing for two more members of Knesset to be investigated. Palestinian politicians are particularly concerned about a bill introduced last month requiring all parliamentary candidates to swear loyalty to Israel as a Jewish state.
Israeli Occupation Supportive Companies to Boycott Uruknet February 2, 2010 - In July 2005, a coalition of 171 Palestinian Civil Society organizations created the global BDS movement for "Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel Until it Complies with International Law and Universal Principles of Human Rights" for Occupied Palestinians, Israeli Arabs, and Palestinian diaspora refugees. Since 1948, hundreds of UN resolutions and civil society actions condemned Israel's...
Arab politicians face tide of 'persecution' in Israel Jonathan Cook in Nazareth, Redress 2/3/2010 Laws set to criminalize dissent Leaders of the Arab minority in Israel have warned that they are facing an unprecedented campaign of persecution, backed by the right-wing government of Benjamin Netanyahu, designed to stop their political activities. The warning came after Said Nafaa, a Druze member of the Israeli parliament, was stripped of his immunity last week, clearing the way for him to be tried for a visit to Syria three years ago. In recent weeks legal sanctions have been invoked against two other Arab political leaders, following clashes with the Israeli security forces at demonstrations against the occupation, and pressure is growing for two more MPs to be investigated. Arab politicians are particularly concerned about a bill introduced last month requiring all parliamentary candidates to swear loyalty to Israel as a Jewish state. If passed, the seats of the 10 Arab MPs belonging to non-Zionist parties in the 120-member parliament, or Knesset, would be under threat. Jamal Zahalka, one of those MPs, said: “Every week either the Knesset or the government try to impose new restrictions on our activities and freedom of speech. There is a growing trend towards anti-democratic legislation.” Mr Nafaa, the latest target for legal action, was stripped of his parliamentary immunity from prosecution last week by a Knesset committee dominated by the right wing. more.. e-mail
Carleton University students launch campus divestment campaign Electronic Intifada: 1 Feb 2010 - For the past several months, Students Against Israeli Apartheid - Carleton (SAIA), a student group at Carleton University in Ottawa that is committed to supporting the Palestinian struggle for freedom, has been conducting research on Carleton's investments in Israeli apartheid. In light of its findings, SAIA has launched a campaign calling on Carleton to immediately divest from the offending corporations, as well as to adopt a socially responsible investment policy for all of its investments.
Israel: Laws Set to Criminalize Dissent Palestine Chronicle: 2 Feb 2010 - By Jonathan Cook - Nazareth Leaders of the Arab minority in Israel warned this week that they were facing an unprecedented campaign of persecution, backed by the right-wing government of Benjamin Netanyahu, designed to stop their political activities. The warning came after Said Nafaa, a Druze member of the Israeli parliament was stripped of his immunity last week, clearing the way for him to be tried for a visit to Syria three years ago. In recent weeks legal sanctions have been invoked against two other Arab political leaders, following clashes with the Israeli security forces at demonstrations against the occupation, and pressure is growing for two more MPs to be investigated. Arab politicians are particularly concerned about a bill introduced last month requiring all parliamentary candidates to swear loyalty to Israel as a Jewish state. If passed, the seats of the 10 Arab MPs belonging to non-Zionist parties in the 120-member parliament, or Knesset, would be under threat. Jamal Zahalka, one of those MPs, said: “Every week either the Knesset or the government try to impose new restrictions on our activities and freedom of speech. There is a growing trend towards anti-democratic legislation.” Mr Nafaa, the latest target for legal action, was stripped of his parliamentary immunity from prosecution last week by a Knesset committee dominated by the right wing. Keeping his immunity was his only hope of avoiding a trial after he was indicted by the attorney general, Menachem Mazuz, in December over a visit he organised in 2007...
Israeli Occupation Supportive Companies to Boycott Palestine Chronicle: 2 Feb 2010 - By Stephen Lendman In July 2005, a coalition of 171 Palestinian Civil Society organizations created the global BDS movement for "Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel Until it Complies with International Law and Universal Principles of Human Rights" for Occupied Palestinians, Israeli Arabs, and Palestinian diaspora refugees. Since 1948, hundreds of UN resolutions and civil society actions condemned Israel's lawlessness; its crimes of war and against humanity; occupation; discriminatory policies; illegal home demolitions, land seizures and settlements; oppression of a civilian population; the Separation Wall; the Gaza siege; and preemptive imperial wars. Nothing so far has worked. Palestine is still occupied. Its people continue to suffer. Their human rights are denied. World leaders ignore them. This no longer can be tolerated. In solidarity, people of conscience everywhere must pressure Israel with BDS initiatives that include boycotting Israeli companies, their products and services, and global ones supporting the occupation. They're numerous, many with familiar names. Below is a partial list, starting with global giants, Israeli companies following. Others can be added, but use it as a good start along with a New Year's resolution to boycott them and encourage others to do it as well. Motorola The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation "aim(s) to change those US policies that both sustain Israel's 42-year occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem, and deny equal rights for all." It started with a boycott campaign to "Hang up on Motorola" and its subsidiary, Motorola Israel, that support the worst...
Israel 'responsible' on Iran, Obama adviser says 2/1/2010 - Yahoo! News - JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel and the United States are closely conferring about the Iranian nuclear program, U. S. National Security Adviser Jim Jones said in an interview published Sunday, calling Israel's conduct "responsible. "Western governments fear that Iran wants to produce nuclear weapons but Tehran says the program is for peaceful purposes. Iran has vowed to respond to any unilateral Israeli strike over the nuclear program. The five permanent Security Council members -- the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China -- along with Germany have been negotiating with Iran, but U. S. officials say drafts of possible sanctions should circulate among the group soon. Jones said the United States and Israel are in close coordination over how to handle Iran. "We have very good dialogue with Israel, continual dialogue," he told The Jerusalem Post. "We're working very closely with them. "
Netanyahu to Berlusconi: You show courage in backing Iran sanctions Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - Italian premier, who is joined by seven ministers, arrives in Israel for historic joint cabinet session.
Carleton University students launch campus divestment campaign Electronic Intifada: 1 Feb 2010 - For the past several months, Students Against Israeli Apartheid - Carleton (SAIA), a student group at Carleton University in Ottawa that is committed to supporting the Palestinian struggle for freedom, has been conducting research on Carleton's investments in Israeli apartheid. In light of its findings, SAIA has launched a campaign calling on Carleton to immediately divest from the offending corporations, as well as to adopt a socially responsible investment policy for all of its investments.
Obama aide says Iran may lash out at Israel 1/31/2010 - Las Vegas Sun - The Associated Press - President Barack Obama's national security adviser is citing a heightened risk that Iran will respond to growing pressure over its nuclear program by stoking violence against Israel. The adviser, retired Marine Gen. James Jones, said history shows that when regimes are feeling pressure they can lash out through surrogates. He said that in Iran's case that would mean facilitating attacks on Israel through Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. Iran helps arm Hezbollah and Hamas. Jones also alluded to the prospect of additional international sanctions being applied to Iran as one factor in making Iran feel greater pressure. He said another factor is internal pressure _ an apparent reference to street protests against the Iranian leadership over the disputed presidential election last summer.
US expediting Persian Gulf anti-missile systems Jeruslalem Post 30 Jan 2010 - According to New York Times, at least 4 Arab countries to host systems; move to deter Iran from attack in face of upcoming sanctions, and prevent Israeli strike at nuclear facilities.
Israeli Ambassadors: “Economic Investments Are Also Central To National Security and the Political Field” Alternative Information Center - 28 Jan 2010 - Israeli ambassadors identify the promotion of economic relationships at the highest level as a central pillar of their work, which can also assist them in advancing political relations. In a meeting with The Marker , they break their silence about the calls for boycott of goods from...
Danish Companies To Divest From Israel IMEMC 28 Jan 2010 - Wednesday January 27, 2010 - 02:16, The Danske and Pensioner Bank (PKA) have decided to withdraw all investments from two Israeli companies, Elbit and Magal Security Systems, for their role in constructing the annexation wall in the occupied West Bank.
Danish pension funds divest from Israeli companies 1/27/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Two Danish pension funds announced on Tuesday their decision to divest from two Israeli companies implicated in the construction of Israel's illegal wall and settlements inside the West Bank, a statement issued by the Stop the Wall Campaign said. Danske Bank, the biggest financial group in Denmark, has excluded Elbit Systems and Africa Israel from its investment portfolio because of their involvement in providing equipment for the wall and in settlement construction. Thomas H. Kjaergaard, responsible for socially responsible investment in the Danish Bank Group commented: "We handle clients' interests, and we do not want to put customers' money in companies that violate international standards. " PKA Ltd. , one of the largest funds administrating workers' pension funds in Denmark, announced it would no longer consider investments in Elbit Systems, and US companies Megal Security Systems and Detection Systems.
Canadian students launch campaign to divest from the occupation Mondoweiss - 27 Jan 2010 - Students at Carleton University in Ottawa have launched a campaign asking the university to divest from five corporations benefiting from the Israeli occupation, and to establish a socially responsible investment policy. Above is a powerful video they produced to promote the campaign, and here is a...
Two Danish Banks To Divest From Two Israeli Companies IMEMC 26 Jan 2010 - Wednesday January 27, 2010 - 02:16, The Danish Bank (Danske Bank) and the Pensioner Bank (PKA) have decided to withdraw all of their investments in two Israeli companies; Elbit Systems and the Magal Security Systems, for their role in the construction of the Annexation Wall in the occupied West Bank.
Merkel: Time to talk sanctions on Iran YNet News 26 Jan 2010 - During joint press conference with visiting Israeli president, German chancellor says 'time has come to discuss new round of economic sanctions' against Tehran. Peres: Iranian regime dictatorial
European NGOs condemn Isreal for barring Belgian minister from Gaza 26 Jan 2010 - London, UK, January 26, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - The European Union should sanction Israel for refusing the Belgian Development Minister access to Gaza, says the European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza (ECESG). Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon turned Belgian Development Minister Charles Michel away, claiming his visit would "bolster Hamas (the movement that governs Gaza) and legitimize...
Israeli Apartheid Week 2010 to open in Toronto 1/25/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - The 6th annual Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) will take place in Toronto from 1 March to 7 March 2010, organizers announced on Monday. IAW will feature lectures, film screenings, cultural activities, and demonstrations aimed at "raising awareness about Israel's apartheid policies toward Palestinians," a statement said. Organizers hope to gather support for the international boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) campaign. Speakers will be joining Apartheid Week from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives, including Palestinian academic and journalist Rabab Abdulhadi, South African writer and community leader Na'eem Jeenah and representatives from aboriginal communities in Canada and the United States. Concurrent events will be held in dozens of cities throughout Canada and internationally, including United States, United Kingdom, South Africa and Palestine. Related: The Sixth Annual Israeli Apartheid Week 2010
Belgium To Ask E.U For A Unified Stance Against Israel For Preventing Officials From Entering Gaza IMEMC 24 Jan 2010 - Monday January 25, 2010 - 04:21, Belgium has decided to ask the European Union to make a decision regarding boycotting Israel for preventing E.U officials from entering the besieged Gaza Strip to observe the destruction and suffering inflicting on the residents.
Norway university plans Israel boycott YNet News 23 Jan 2010 - Rector at University of Bergen says he supports boycott; some lecturers complain to Israeli embassy
Norwegian academic backs debate on boycott of Israel universities Ha'aretz 23 Jan 2010 - Move comes just days after Barak upgraded status of college in West Bank settlement to a university.,
TAU scholar to advocate Israel boycott Jeruslalem Post 20 Jan 2010 - Dr. Anat Matar to support move at London university event commemerating year since 'attack' on Gaza.
Israel tries to silence political protest 1/19/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Ben Hubbard, Washington Post - Israel is arresting a growing number of prominent opponents to its policies toward the Palestinians, say critics who are accusing the government of trying to crush legitimate dissent. In the most high-profile case yet, Jerusalem police detained the head of a leading Israeli human rights group during a vigil against the eviction of Palestinian families whose homes were taken by Jewish settlers. Since the summer, dozens of Palestinian and Israeli activists have been picked up, including those organizing weekly protests against Israel's West Bank separation barrier as well as others advocating international boycotts of Israeli goods. Some of the Palestinians were released without charge only after weeks and months of questioning. The arrests come at a time of shifting tactics in the protests against Israel's occupation of the West Bank and. . .
Don’t be Complicit in Israel’s Apartheid: Boycott the 2010 Tel Aviv International Student Film Festival 1/18/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - A Joint Statement by PACBI and PSCABI - The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) and the Palestinian Students"˜ Campaign for the Academic Boycott of Israel (PSCABI) call on students, lecturers and film-makers to boycott the 13th International Student Film Festival, scheduled for June 2010 in the city of Tel Aviv. PACBI and PSCABI believe that this festival, as with similar cultural initiatives supported by the Israeli government, is openly designed to whitewash the crimes of Israeli apartheid. Festival organizers have highlighted the aim of the festival, noting that it is "a unique cultural and social means to presenting a different Israel to the world, [an] Israel which supports and invests in pluralism, culture and equal opportunity. "This language reveals - as did similar endeavors by the South African Apartheid regime - a cynical and systematic attempt at manipulating world opinion. "
Merkel urges Iran sanctions as Netanyahu visits Berlin Daily Star 18 Jan 2010 Germany will prepare possible further sanctions against Iran in the coming weeks if there is no change in Tehran's stance on its nuclear program, Chancellor Angela Merkel said during a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. Six world powers, including Germany, discussed the prospects for further sanctions over Iran's nuclear work in New York on Saturday.
Israel 'collectively punishing' people of Gaza: Amnesty Daily Star 17 Jan 2010 Amnesty International on Monday accused Israel of "collectively punishing" the population of the Gaza Strip with border closures tightened after the Islamist Hamas movement's bloody 2007 takeover. The British-based rights group said the firing of rockets by Palestinian militants - which the Israeli military says has dropped by about 90 percent since its war on Gaza last year - did not justify the sanctions.
Fayyad denies EU to cut down aid to PA if talks remain derailed 1/16/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad denied that the EU has threatened to decrease the amount of aid given to the Palestinian Authority if no new developments are achieved in the peace process, he told Ma'an's reporter in Hebron on Saturday. "I have no idea about this issue at all," Fayyad said. Diplomatic EU sources in Paris said on Friday that the EU will not maintain at its current level of support for the PA in 2010, if there are no developments in the peace process. Paris is ready to host another donor conference this summer but on the condition that political progress is made, the sources added. One source said that as a result of EU funding, the Palestinian economy increased by 7% in 2008 and a further 10% in 2009. The EU provides 1 billion Euros each year the PA. Mitchell warns Israel of possible sanctionsUS Special Envoy to the Middle. . .
Barghouti: Palestinian division is a crime 1/16/2010 - Ramallah - Ma'an - Mustafa Barghouti, secretary general of the Palestinian National Initiative, said on Saturday that ongoing division between Palestinian factions is detrimental to Palestinians. "Continued division on the Palestinian arena is a crime against the Palestinians and their future," he said. "Israel is eliminating the elements of the Palestinian cause by changing the features of Jerusalem, with settlements, enforcing an apartheid regime, changing the features of the Jordan Valley and confiscating Palestinian sources of water and imposing the siege on Gaza. " Under such circumstances, he said, "it is a crime to continue with this state of division. . . every effort should be made to restore national unity. "Barghouti called for expanding and applying the popular resistance by reviving the boycott campaign, imposing international sanctions on Israel "to stop its crimes in the Palestinian territories. "
Israel releases Palestinian boycott activists 1/15/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Benjamin Joffe-Walt, The Media Line, 14 January - A prominent West Bank activist said by Palestinian groups to be the first Palestinian imprisoned for promoting an international boycott of Israel has been released after being detained by Israel for over 100 days without charge. Mohammad Othman, a 34 year old resident of the West Bank village of Jayyous, was released Wednesday after 113 days in Israeli custody. Palestinian advocacy groups believe Othman to be the first Palestinian imprisoned solely for advocacy of the international boycott movement against Israel. "I was interrogated every single day for 75 days from 8am until 6. 30pm and sometimes until midnight," Othman told The Media Line. "The entire time I was held in isolation. Physically they did not touch me, but it really damages a person to be in isolation. They also played all kinds of games, telling me they will arrest my brother, my friends and the journalists writing about me. "
Top Lebanese officials press for increased US assistance Daily Star 15 Jan 2010 Top Lebanese officials stressed Friday during talks with a visiting American official the need to boost US aid for the Lebanese Army as well as to pressure Israel into implementing UN Resolution 1701. They also urged National Security Adviser James Jones to reconsider strict US security measures against Lebanese passengers and sanctions on Lebanese television stations.
Fayyad launches settlement good boycott fund 1/13/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad launched on Tuesday the National Dignity Fund, as part of an initiative undertaken by the Palestinian Authority to rid the Palestinian market of settlement goods at a ceremony in the Red Crescent headquarters in Al-Birreh, Ramallah. The National Dignity Fund aims at increasing the availability of Palestinian produce in local markets, in addition to strengthening their presence in global markets as an alternative to goods made on illegal Israeli settlements, Fayyad said during his speech. "The liberalization of the domestic and global markets from products settlements is a collective responsibility that requires concerted efforts at all official and popular levels, the Palestinian authority will be the first supporter for these efforts" Fayyad said. The Ramallah-based prime minister applauded the stance of countries. . . Related: 136 tons of settlement products seized in Ramallah
136 tons of settlement products seized in Ramallah 1/13/2010 - Hebron - Ma'an - Palestinian customs officials confiscated and destroyed approximately 136 tons of materials used to manufacture asphalt en route from an illegal Israeli settlement near the West Bank city of Ramallah on Wednesday. Haitham Zein, an official for the public relations department for Palestinian customs said 94 tons of asphalt and 43 tons of base for tarmacking roads were confiscated in separate raids. "Fines were imposed on the owners of these materials, and wrote pledges vowing not tobringing them from the settlements into Palestinian markets. The two cases were transferred for investigation by the customs officers," he said. Zein added that the customs department is committed to the decision taken by the Palestinian Authority to prohibit the entry of settlement goods into the Palestinian markets. Related: Fayyad launches settlement good boycott fund
Open letter to Bono: entertaining apartheid Israel…U 2 Bono? 1/13/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) - Dear Bono, The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) was deeply disturbed to learn that that you are scheduled to perform in Israel this coming summer. Two years ago, you were invited by Israeli President Shimon Peres to attend a conference in Israel marking Israel"˜s contributions to medicine, science, and conservation; we urged you then, as a prominent activist on issues of global inequality and a campaigner for basic human rights, to say no to Israel, especially since the invitation coincided with celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state. [1] You did not go to Israel then; we call on you now not to grant legitimacy to a state that practices the most pernicious form of colonialism and apartheid. "
Tense relations with Egypt threaten Hamas' Gaza lifeline Daily Star 13 Jan 2010 GAZA CITY: The construction of a new underground wall and recent border clashes have frayed relations between Hamas and Egypt and could threaten the Islamist movement's main lifeline in Gaza, analysts say. Since Hamas seized power in Gaza in 2007 it has relied on smuggling tunnels under the border with Egypt to defy Israeli sanctions and its leaders have used frequent trips to Cairo to escape international isolation.
Israel: Turkey ’last country that should preach morality’ 1/12/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday denounced remarks by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan the day before, saying "Turkey is the last country that should preach morality to Israel. " Erdogan said Monday that Israel was endangering world peace through exaggerated use of force against Palestinians in Gaza, continuous violations of Lebanese airspace and water, and its maintenance of a secret nuclear program while concurrently demanding sanctions on Iran. In a statement, the Israeli ministry said "Erdogan's words must be taken together with the anti-Israel program currently being broadcast on Turkish television, as well as other serious anti-Israel sentiments repeatedly expressed by the Turkish prime minister for more than a year, since launching a verbal attack on President Shimon Peres at the World Economic Forum in Davos [in January 2009]. "
Uphill battle for academic freedom in US universities PNN 12 Jan 2010 - In 2009, Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, became the first American higher educational institution to successfully pressure its Board of Trustees to divest from Israel-tied mutual funds. The victory came three decades after the college similarly disinvested from funds linked to apartheid South Africa. Across North America, student-led Palestine activism groups have used the methods formulated by the Palestinian-led call for boycott,...
Lawyers to boycott military courts in Ofer prison 1/11/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Lawyers representing Palestinian prisoners in Israel announced on Monday that they will boycott all legal proceedings held at the Ofer prison, in a statement issued by the Palestinian Prisoners' Society. The boycott is a response to a military order which prohibits the entry of the detainees' families and West Bank lawyers to be present at any of Ofer's military courts. Israeli authorities had told the lawyers concerned that the decision had been overturned but relatives and West Bank lawyers hoping to attend a hearing on Monday at Ofer were refused entry, the statement said. The Israeli authorities' decision constitutes a clear violation of international law, the statement concluded, highlighting that it contravenes all laws guaranteeing the right to a public hearing and appropriate pleading.
Mitchell: U.S. May Cut Aid To Israel In Two Years IMEMC 10 Jan 2010 - Sunday January 10, 2010 - 14:01, The United Stats may legally cut its international aid to Israel in two years if peace talks fail with Palestine. George Mitchell, the U.S. special envoy to Middle East threatened sanctions against Israel if it fails to succeed in making peace with Palestine. These rhetoric came on the eve of Mitchel's trip to the region.
YNET reports George Mitchell is threatening Israel with sanctions. Unfortunately, the record looks different. 1/8/2010 - Mondoweiss - YNET is reporting that the US is considering sanctions against Israel. This is based on an interview George Mitchell recently did with Charlie Rose. From the article "Mitchell: Mideast stagnation endangers US aid": "On the eve of his visit to the Middle East, US special envoy George Mitchell threatened that his country would freeze its aid to Israel if the Jewish state failed to advance peace talks with the Palestinians and a two-state solution. Mitchell clarified in an interview to the PBS network that the United States would use incentives or sanctions against both sides. According to American law, Mitchell said, the US can freeze its support for aid to Israel. He added that all options must remain open and that the sides must be convinced about what their important interests are. "-- Links: Video: Mitchell on Charlie Rose and Transcript: Mitchell on Charlie Rose
BDS campaign claims new victory against Dexia Israel 1/9/2010 - Bethlehem -Ma'an - Organizers of the Israel Colonizes - Dexia Finances campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions from Israel celebrated the recent announcement that Dexia banking group that no more loans would be approved for settlement projects. The announcement appeared in the 3 January edition of the Jerusalem Post, and according to the campaign,Dexia Israel Public Finance had already begun to inform clients they would no longer be eligible for loans. The move marked the "officialization" of an earlier decision by Dexia headquarters in Belgium. On 13 May 2009, President of the Board of the Dexia group Jean-Luc Dehaene, announced at the General Assembly that settlement financing was not in line with the goals of the company. However, the decision only applies to settlements in the West Bank, and not those in East Jerusalem.
Palestinian artists call for boycott of Israeli settlement goods 1/9/2010 - Nablus - Ma'an - The Union of Artists in Nablus called on Palestinians to boycott all goods manufactured and produced on Israeli settlements on Saturday, in response to caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's call to action against settlement goods in the West Bank last week. The artists' union suggested the establishment of a national boycott committee in Nablus and stricter punishment for merchants and traders who do not abide by the Palestinian Authority's (PA) decision to ban Israeli settlement goods from the Palestinian market. The unionists further appealed to the prime minister to intervene and decrease the price of goods in markets which have been marked-up by Palestinian traders as people find basic necessities, including gas, unaffordable. The union said that the Palestinian Authority (PA) was taking a bold step by calling for the boycott, for the sake of Palestinian national interests.
Israeli TV: Abbas, Fayyad mean to provoke Israel 1/9/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israel called on the US to heed their complaints against President Mahmoud Abbas and caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad,who were berated for allegedly glorifying martyrdom on Israel's Channel Two on Saturday. The complaint was broadcast following the naming of a street after Dalal Al-Mughrabi, who led a group of Palestinian combatants and hi-jacked an Israeli bus in Tel Aviv in 1978, which led to clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters, and in which 30 Israelis were killed. Al-Mughrabi and the fighters were killed by Israeli forces. Al-Mughrabi's corpse, which remains in an Israeli morgue, was sentenced to five life sentences. Additionally, the Israeli channel broadcast pictures of the prime minister's recent burning of produce and goods manufactured on illegal Israeli settlements and calling on a Palestinian boycott of such items.
Boycott of Israeli settlers' products picks up speed PNN 7 Jan 2010 - RAMALLAH // Haytham Karasha was not overly concerned. The manager of a Ramallah branch of the supermarket chain Bravo, he said his store had not stocked any goods that originated in settlements for more than a year, and even then it was only one item, a chocolate syrup.Efforts to ban products that originate in settlements, said Mr Karasha, would thus have no effect...
Mitchell: Mideast stagnation endangers US aid YNet News 8 Jan 2010 - On eve of visit to region, American special envoy threatens Israel with sanctions if it fails to advance peace talks, two-state solution. Secretary of State Clinton says working to restart negotiations 'without preconditions'
Boycott of Israeli settlers' products picks up speed PNN 7 Jan 2010 - RAMALLAH // Haytham Karasha was not overly concerned. The manager of a Ramallah branch of the supermarket chain Bravo, he said his store had not stocked any goods that originated in settlements for more than a year, and even then it was only one item, a chocolate syrup.Efforts to ban products that originate in settlements, said Mr Karasha, would thus have no effect...
NCCHL: Orthodox boycott will not affect support for patriarch 1/6/2010 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Receiving the patriarch is an integral part of Palestinian culture and should not be dropped from the Orthodox Christian program on Christmas Eve day, President of the National Christian Coalition in the Holy Land (NCCHL) Dimitri Diliani said Wednesday. As Palestinian orthodox groups announced a scout group boycott, replacing the marching children with men holding banners denouncing teh lease of orthodox church land to Israeli developers, the NCCHL called for public support for the patriarch "in order to preserve Palestinian Christian customs and traditions that have become an integral part of Palestinian heritage and an important component of the National Identity," a statement said. Diliani told Christians in Palestine that "whoever wants to abide by the call of one 'Orthodox group' to boycott a certain Orthodox ceremony should probably stay home, but he or she. . . "
Boycott of Israeli settlers' products picks up speed The National 6 Jan 2010 - Palestinian Authority is beginning to step up a campaign to raise awareness that goods from Israeli settlements have been banned.
Gaza Freedom Marchers issue the "Cairo Declaration" to end Israeli Apartheid Alternative Information Center 5 Jan 2010 - (Cairo) Gaza Freedom Marchers approved on 1 January 2010 a declaration aimed at accelerating the global campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israeli Apartheid. Roughly 1,400 activists from 43 countries converged in Cairo on...
Envoy Oren: Iran-Israel relations could change if regime falls Ha'aretz 6 Jan 2010 - Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren said Wednesday that Israel believed sanctions against Iran over its contentious nuclear program would be effective, adding that the goal should be to weaken the Islamic regime and not its citizens. ...
Gaza Freedom Marchers issue the "Cairo Declaration" to end Israeli Apartheid Alternative Information Center - 5 Jan 2010 - (Cairo) Gaza Freedom Marchers approved on 1 January 2010 a declaration aimed at accelerating the global campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israeli Apartheid. Roughly 1,400 activists from 43 countries converged in Cairo on their way to Gaza to join with Palestinians marching to...
[uruknet.info] Gaza Freedom Marchers issue the Cairo Declaration' to end Israeli Apartheid Uruknet January 2, 2010 - Gaza Freedom Marchers approved today a declaration aimed at accelerating the global campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israeli Apartheid. Roughly 1400 activists from 43 countries converged in Cairo on their way to Gaza to join with Palestinians marching to break Israel's illegal siege. They were prevented from entering Gaza by the Egyptian authorities...
'At least 18 months until Iran has bomb' Jeruslalem Post 3 Jan 2010 - US paper: Based on assessment, Obama convinced Israel to give sanctions against IRGC time to work.
Gaza Freedom Marchers issue the ’Cairo Declaration’ to end Israeli Apartheid 1/2/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - 1 January 2010 - Gaza Freedom Marchers approved today a declaration aimed at accelerating the global campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israeli Apartheid. Roughly 1400 activists from 43 countries converged in Cairo on their way to Gaza to join with Palestinians marching to break Israel's illegal siege. They were prevented from entering Gaza by the Egyptian authorities. As a result, the Freedom Marchers remained in Cairo. They staged a series of nonviolent actions aimed at pressuring the international community to end the siege as one step in the larger struggle to secure justice for Palestinians throughout historic Palestine. This declaration arose from those actions: End Israeli Apartheid - Cairo Declaration, January 1, 2010 -- We, international delegates meeting in Cairo during the Gaza Freedom March 2009 in collective response to an initiative. . .
Israel seeks 'crippling' Iran sanctions Jeruslalem Post 1 Jan 2010 - US set to push for new UNSC resolution; envoy Oren tells 'Post,' Israel, US don't differ on Iranian question.
Bethlehem Christians boycott Greek Patriarch over land sales 12/30/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Thirteen Greek Orthodox Christian leaders met in Bethlehem Wednesday and voted unanimously to boycott the reception of the denomination'sPatriarch Theophilos III for the 6 January Christmas celebrations. Officials and scouts affiliated with the groups under the 13 and those they represent will not receive the Patriarch at the Mar Elias Monastery or meet him at the entrance to Bethlehem at Israel's Checkpoint 300 for his procession to the Nativity Church. The decision came as a result of a meeting in the Orthodox society headquarters in Bethlehem, following local leaders' dissatisfaction with the patriarch's unrealized promises to rectify issues of land sales to Israel that saw the previous patriarch sacked. The former Patriarch Irenaios I was voted out of the position in 2005 by the Brotherhood of the Holy Sephruchle, of which he had been the head.
Bethlehem mayor supports decision to boycott Patriarch 12/30/2009 - Ramallah - Ma'an - Bethlehem Governor Abdel Fattah Hamayel called the Arab Orthodox insitttions decision to boycott Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III's reception to Bethlehem for Christmas "unfortunate," and cautioned the church to be aware of the politics around the disposal of their lands. A group of 13 community and religious leaders form the Bethlehem area gathered Wednesday and decided to boycott the reception of the Patriarch on his 6 January Christmas visit to Bethlehem. The decision was made, group members said, over the Patriarch's failure to adequately redress land leases the former, and deposed, patriarch had made with Israeli construction companies. "What is going on now is really very unfortunate," Hamayeltold Ma'an, adding "the lands issue is a very sensitive case and of utmost importance for the homeland.
UN expert repeats call for threat of sanctions against Israel over Gaza blockade 12/29/2009 - United Nations: International Law - Gaza has been “bombed back, not to the Stone Age, but to the mud age. . "- 29 December 2009 – The United Nations independent expert on Palestinian rights has again called for a threat of economic sanctions against Israel to force it to lift its blockade of Gaza, which is preventing the return to a normal life for 1. 5 million residents after the devastating Israeli offensive a year ago. “Obviously Israel does not respond to language of diplomacy, which has encouraged the lifting of the blockade and so what I am suggesting is that it has to be reinforced by a threat of adverse economic consequences for Israel,” Richard Falk, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, told UN Radio. “That probably is something that is politically unlikely to happen, but unless it happens, it really does suggest that the United States and the Quartet. . . . "
1 Year after Gaza Massacre: Over 500 Academics and Cultural Workers Call for Boycott 12/28/2009 - International Solidarity Movement - United States Campaign for an Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, Dissident Voice, 27 December - December 27, 2009 marks the one-year anniversary of the beginning of "Operation Cast Lead," Israel's 22-day assault on the captive population of Gaza, which killed 1400 people, one third of them children, and injured more than 5300. During this war on an impoverished, mostly refugee population, Israel targeted civilians, using internationally-proscribed white phosphorous bombs, deprived them of power, water and other essentials, and sought to destroy the infrastructure of Palestinian civil society, including hospitals, administrative buildings and UN facilities. It targeted with peculiar consistency educational institutions of all kinds: the Islamic University of Gaza, the Ministry of Education, the American International School, at least ten UNRWA schools, one of which was sheltering internally displaced Palestinian civilians with nowhere to flee, and tens of other schools and educational facilities.
[uruknet.info] UN threatens sanctions on Israel Uruknet December 25, 2009 - Just days before the first anniversary of the Israeli Cast Lead military operation which cost the lives of 1,400 Palestinians, Richard Falk, the UN Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, has urged the Western powers to insist that Israel immediately end its blockade of the Gaza Strip, threatening to enforce economic sanctions...
PA seizes $13,000 in settlement-made goods 12/24/2009 - Ramallah - Ma'an - The Palestinian Authority (PA) said on Thursday that it seized 50,000 shekels (13,155 US dollars) worth of products made in illegal West Bank settlements. Ministry of National Economy staff seized the products, a statement said. It was not specified what type of products were confiscated. The PA has vowed to eliminate settler-made goods from the Palestinian market by the end of 2010 in order to put pressure on Israel to dismantle settlements. Palestinian Minister of Economy Hassan Abu Libeh estimated earlier in December that Palestinians spend a half billion dollars on settlement products every year. The British government also recently introduced labeling guidelines making it easier to distinguish settlement goods from those made inside Israel's 1967 borders in a move praised by boycott campaigners.
Falk calls for economic sanctions against Israel to lift the Gaza siege PIC 25 Dec 2009 - Richard Falk, UN Special Rapporteur on "the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories," has called for the swift implementation of the recommendations included in Goldstone's report.
UN expert slams 'tragic' international failure in Gaza YNet News 23 Dec 2009 - Special Rapporteur for Occupied Palestinian Territories urges Israel's European, North American allies to threaten it with economic sanctions if blockade not lifted; calls for swift implementation of Goldstone Report conclusions
London joins International Day of Action Against Ahava 12/20/2009 - International Solidarity Movement - ISM London, 19 December - Ahava, an Israeli beauty product company that operates on stolen Palestinian land, was the target of protest on Saturday by approximately 20 pro-Palestine activists. With Dead Sea mud covering their faces and dressed in bath robes on a freezing cold day, the protesters set out to highlight the complicity of Ahava in the expansion of Israeli settlements which are illegal under the Fourth Geneva Convention. The activists came from a range of organisations that includes the International Solidarity Movement, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Jews for the Boycott of Israeli Goods and others. During the picket, numerous shoppers and passers by chatted with protesters, took leaflets and expressed their support and solidarity with the aims of the protest. There was a tiny counter-demonstration by three or four “Pro-Zionists” who tried to encourage people to enter the shop via bribes of £5 store vouchers. They also tried to harass the pro-Palestine demonstrators, but were ignored.
Lustick: Attack on Iran would end any prayer of Israel being accepted in region Mondoweiss - 19 Dec 2009 - Seattle’s Richard Silverstein held a conference on Iran sanctions . It produced an unusually reasoned editorial, this from the Seattle Times , in which Prof. Ian Lustick, who is Jewish and has been writing about Middle East issues for many years was quoted as saying the sanctions are...
Boycott Apartheid Israel: Open Letter from US Trade Unionists Palestine Monitor - 17 Dec 2009 - We publish an open letter from Labor of Palestine to AFL-CIO (The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations) President Richard Trumka on 4 December 2009. In the letter US trade unionists reaffirm their support for BDS. Boycott Apartheid Israel: Open Letter from US...
Missile test heightens tensions between Iran and west The Guardian 16 Dec 2009 - Firing of Sajjil-2 missile, capable of reaching parts of Europe, leads Gordon Brown to call for tougher sanctions Iran today test-fired an upgraded version of its most advanced missile, capable of hitting Israel and parts of...
Palestinian Christians call on Westerners to reject Zionism PNN 12 Dec 2009 - Israeli settlers burn Quran in attack on mosque.Hundreds of Jewish settlers angry at reduced settlement building burned pages of Islam's holy book in an attack on a West Bank mosque as Palestinian Christians called for sanctions on evil Israel and rejected Christian Zionism, press reports said Saturday. Burned pages of the Quran lay scattered on the mosque's torched carpet as Israelis from...
UK issues new guidance on labelling of food from illegal West Bank settlements 12/13/2009 - International Solidarity Movement - The Guardian, 10 December - Britain has acted to increase pressure on Israel over its West Bank settlements by advising UK supermarkets on how to distinguish between foods from the settlements and Palestinian-manufactured goods. The government's move falls short of a legal requirement but is bound to increase the prospects of a consumer boycott of products from those territories. Israeli officials and settler leaders were tonight highly critical of the decision. Until now, food has been simply labelled "Produce of the West Bank", but the new, voluntary guidance issued by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), says labels could give more precise information, like "Israeli settlement produce" or "Palestinian produce". Nearly 500,000 Jewish settlers live in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, which were conquered in the 1967 war. The British government and the EU have repeatedly said Israel's settlement project is an “obstacle to peace” in the Middle East.
Palestinian Christians to declare occupation ’a sin’ 12/11/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Palestinian Christians from all denominations were in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Friday to demand sanctions on Israel and to jointly reject Christian Zionism. Clergy have termed their movement the Palestine Kairos Initiative, modeled after black South Africa's 1985 Kairos Document, a theological statement that called on churches to join the fight against apartheid. In the same theme, over a dozen leaders of the region's Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican and Baptist traditions co-authored "A moment of truth,"a point-by-point rejection of the occupation and a call for action against it. "The aggression against the Palestinian people which is the Israeli occupation, is an evil that must be resisted. It is an evil and a sin that must be resisted and removed," the document declares. "Primary responsibility for this rests with the Palestinians themselves suffering occupation. . . . "-- Link: Full text: 'A moment of truth'. . . .
UK moves to label settlement goods 12/11/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - The British government plans to adopt more stringent labeling standards for products made in illegal Israeli West Bank settlements. Until now, settlement-made products have been labeled "Produce of the West Bank" in the UK. New government guidelines suggest supermarkets make a distinction between "Israeli settlement produce" and "Palestinian produce. "This is part of voluntary guidance issued by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), according to the UK's Guardian newspaper. EU rules already require that products be labeled to make a distinction between those made inside Israel's 1967 borders and those made in the occupied territories. The new guidelines, if implemented, could make it easier for consumers to boycott Israeli products, particularly those made in settlements, as called for by Palestinian civil society.
Executive Summary: Academic Boycott of Israel And the Complicity of Israeli Academic Institutions in Occupation of Palestinian Territories Alternative Information Center 10 Dec 2009 - The idea of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) as means of struggle against the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories has gathered pace in the years following the second intifada, and all the more so since the...
Executive Summary: Academic Boycott of Israel And the Complicity of Israeli Academic Institutions in Occupation of Palestinian Territories Alternative Information Center - 10 Dec 2009 - The idea of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) as means of struggle against the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories has gathered pace in the years following the second intifada, and all the more so since the Israeli siege and attacks on the Gaza strip. As academics...
[uruknet.info] All I want for Christmas is an end to apartheid - Top ten brands to boycott Uruknet December 8, 2009 - While there are many Israeli and multinational companies that benefit from apartheid, we put together this list to highlight ten specific companies to target. Many of these produce goods in such a way that directly harms Palestinians - exploiting labor, developing technology for military operations, or supplying equipment for illegal settlements. Many are also the targets...
Palestinians boycott Israeli settlement goods YNet News 8 Dec 2009 - Economic minister says, 'Consuming settlements' products is wrong, nationally, economically and politically.' Israeli Foreign Ministry: Move counterproductive, will only hurt peace prospects
Protesters Tell Business Leaders: No Business with Apartheid Israel 12/5/2009 - WAFA - Palestine News Agency - NEW YORK, December 5, 2009- 25 New York City human rights advocates demonstrated Friday morning, in front of Leviev store on Madison Avenue, demanding boycott of Leviev’s companies due to their involvement in Israeli settlement construction in violation of international law, and human rights abuses in the diamond industry in Angola, The Coalition for Justice in the Middle East (Adalah-NY) said. The protestors surprised the Israel Business Leaders Delegation to the United States with a noisy protest outside their “breakfast reception amidst the Leviev jewelry collection. ” Groups worldwide have conducted a successful campaign for the boycott of Leviev’s companies due to their involvement in Israeli settlement construction. In addition to businesspeople, among the guests present at the breakfast was TV personality. . . .
Adalah-NY: At Leviev Store, Protesters Tell Business Leaders 'No Business as Usual with Apartheid Israel' 12/5/2009 - International Solidarity Movement - New York, NY, December 4, 2009 – 25 New York City human rights advocates caught the Israel Business Leaders Delegation to the United States by surprise this morning with a noisy protest outside their “breakfast reception amidst the Leviev jewelry collection” at the Leviev store on Madison Avenue. Groups worldwide have conducted a successful campaign for the boycott of Leviev’s companies due to their involvement in Israeli settlement construction in violation of international law, and human rights abuses in the diamond industry in Angola. In addition to businesspeople, among the guests present at the breakfast was TV personality Dr. Ruth Westheimer who tried unsuccessfully to avoid notice as she left. Guests watched from the second floor of Leviev’s store as protesters chanted and sang outside. Some attempted to defend Israel’s dismal human rights record when they left. The protest came as Leviev is struggling in court in Israel to save his company Africa-Israel from bankruptcy and from creditors, and to retain ownership.
Attention Christmas Shoppers: Top Ten Brands to Boycott 12/5/2009 - International Solidarity Movement - Bay Area Campaign to End Israeli Apartheid - While there are many Israeli and multinational companies that benefit from apartheid, we put together this list to highlight ten specific companies to target. Many of these produce goods in such a way that directly harms Palestinians "” exploiting labor, developing technology for military operations, or supplying equipment for illegal settlements. Many are also the targets of boycotts for other reasons, like harming the environment and labor violations. AHAVA - This brand's cosmetics are produced using salt, minerals, and mud from the Dead Sea "” natural resources that are excavated from the occupied West Bank. The products themselves are manufactured in the illegal Israeli settlement Mitzpe Shalem. AHAVA is the target of CODEPINK's "Stolen Beauty" campaign. . . . .
Boycott of Ahava Dead Sea products makes an impact 12/4/2009 - International Solidarity Movement - Adri Nieuwhof, The Electronic Intifada, 2 December - The international campaign to boycott Ahava beauty products has recently won the support of a Dutch parliamentarian and an Israeli peace group. During the past few months, activists in Canada, the UK, Ireland, Israel, the United States and the Netherlands have campaigned against the sale of Ahava products because of the company's complicity in the Israeli occupation. The Stolen Beauty campaign has included protest actions by “bikini brigades” around the United States organized by the American peace group CODEPINK, and allied actions have taken place in London, Paris, Vienna, Montreal and Amsterdam. The Dutch “bathrobe brigades” that appeared in shopping centers in Amsterdam and Haarlem, not only caught the eye of the press, but also that of Dutch parliamentarian Harry van Bommel.
Abunimah: There is a tremendous struggle to be waged, to force Israeli introspection, and change Mondoweiss - 4 Dec 2009 - Nearly two weeks ago we reported on the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions conference at Hampshire College in Massachusetts, the highlight of which was a speech by Ali Abunimah. We posted video , and kept promising to get a transcript up. What follows is text of the body...
PA seizes locks made in settlement 12/3/2009 - Ramallah - Ma'an - The Palestinian Authority said on Thursday it seized dozens of high-security locks in Ramallah as a part of a crackdown on products manufactured in illegal Israeli settlements. The Department of Consumer Protection of the Palestinian Ministry of National Economy said it confiscated 70 "Mul-T-Lock" products, which are produced in a factory in the settlement ofBarqan, near the Palestinian town of Salfit. Abdul Hamid Mizher, the director of the consumer protection department appealed in a statement to all Palestinian merchants to abide by the ministry's instructions to boycott settlement products. [end]
[Uruknet 60746 04-dec-2009 03:23 ECT] Refuting pro-Israel hasbara: Official PGFTU statement in support of Boycott, Sanctions, Divestment campaign against Israel Uruknet December 3, 2009 - Dear friends, as you will be aware with the increasing success of the Palestinian initiated Boycott, Divestment and Sanction (BDS) Campaign against Israel, the Israeli state, pro-Zionist media outlets and pro-Israel groups have sought to discredit the campaign. In particular, with increasing support for the campaign coming from trade unions around the world, Israel and pro-Israel...
EU envoys: Israel trying to sever East Jerusalem from West Bank Ha'aretz 1 Dec 2009 - A classified report drafted by European consuls in East Jerusalem and Ramallah slams Israeli policy in East Jerusalem and recommends that the European Union take steps to strengthen the Palestinian Authority's status in the city. It also advises taking various measures to protest Israeli policy in the city, as well as sanctions against people and groups involved in "settlement activity" in and around it. ...
Barak sanctions construction of 28 settlement institutions in WB PIC 30 Nov 2009 - Israeli war minister Ehud Barak has sanctioned the construction of 28 new settlement institutions in the West bank that would be opened by next year, the Israeli radio said.
[uruknet.info] Palestinian trade unions unanimously support boycott movement Uruknet November 25, 2009 - In reaction to reports alleging that a Palestinian trade union official has stated his reservations about the Palestinian civil society campaign of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), the full spectrum of the Palestinian trade union movement has expressed solid support for the BDS National Committee (BNC) and for the global BDS campaign against Israel as an...
Inside Israeli jails, the real victims of a cry for justice 11/24/2009 - International Solidarity Movement - Jesse Rosenfeld, The National - Amid the growing media fever over a possible prisoner swap involving the release of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier held by Hamas, another young captive has a less visible public profile - but personifies Israel's chokehold on Palestinian self-expression. Mohammad Othman, 33, from the West Bank town of Jayyous, and an activist with the grassroots Palestinian organisation Stop the Wall, was arrested on September 22 at the Allenby Bridge crossing on the Jordanian border. He was on his way home after a meeting in Norway with supporters of the global movement for boycott, divestment and sanctions on Israel (BDS). Adameer (Arabic for "conscience"), the Palestinian prisoners' support and human rights organisation, contends that his arrest is a result of "his successful human rights advocacy and community activism".
Report: Israeli cabinet would approve Shalit deal 11/24/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - The Israeli cabinet would approve a prisoner swap deal releasing 1,000 Palestinians for captive soldier Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit if the issue came up for a vote, Israeli media wrote on Tuesday. Following reports that Hamas was meeting in Cairo with a German mediator to finalize a deal. The Israeli news site Ynet reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyhu would not receive opposition in his cabinet to endorse the swap. The list of Knesset members who would sanction the prisoner swap include Defense Minister Ehud Barak and ministers from his Labor party, while the religious party Shas appears as though it will remain undecided until the day of the vote as leaders consult with the party's spiritual leader for advice, according to Ynet. The news that there would be an overwhelming cabinet approval for a prisoner exchange deal comes after Monday's. . .
Inside Israeli jails, the real victims of a cry for justice 11/24/2009 - International Solidarity Movement - Jesse Rosenfeld, The National - Amid the growing media fever over a possible prisoner swap involving the release of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier held by Hamas, another young captive has a less visible public profile - but personifies Israel's chokehold on Palestinian self-expression. Mohammad Othman, 33, from the West Bank town of Jayyous, and an activist with the grassroots Palestinian organisation Stop the Wall, was arrested on September 22 at the Allenby Bridge crossing on the Jordanian border. He was on his way home after a meeting in Norway with supporters of the global movement for boycott, divestment and sanctions on Israel (BDS). Adameer (Arabic for "conscience"), the Palestinian prisoners' support and human rights organisation, contends that his arrest is a result of "his successful human rights advocacy and community activism".
MoE seizes contraband meat, settlement products in the West Bank 11/23/2009 - Hebron / Bethlehem - Ma'an - The Palestinian consumer goods monitor department seized 10,800 kilograms of frozen imported meat on Sunday, during a field tour of Palestinian market places in Bethlehem and Hebron. The contraband meat was not labeled in Arabic, violating guidelines set out by the Ministry of Economy, the consumer goods department said. Meanwhile, the consumer goods monitor group seized an unspecified amount of milk in Bethlehem that was produced on an unnamedIsraeli settlement. All contraband goods will be destroyed in accordance with Palestinian governmental decisions of 2005, the department added. Minister of Economy Hasan Abu Libdeh has urged Palestinians to boycott products manufactured on illegal Israeli settlements built within the 1967 borders. The Ministry of Economy further seized 1,175 kilograms of textiles in Nablus that were manufactured on the illegal settlement Barqan in the West Bank town of Salfit.
Boycott targets settlement products PNN 19 Nov 2009 - The Palestinian Authority has called on the public to boycott several large supermarket chains in the West Bank that carry Israeli products. The decision targets upscale markets in Ramallah, in an attempt to pressure the stores to discontinue the sale of fruits and vegetables grown and processed in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.According to the Palestinian authorities, customers are not aware...
Palestinian schools mark Children’s Day; Israel boycotts 11/21/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Sports and music events hosted by UNIFEC and Right to Play will mark the 20th anniversary of Palestine's adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child on Friday, the UN International Children's Day. Hundreds of children in Ramallah, Hebron, Jenin and Nablus will mark the occasion with concerts, road races, theater performances, football matches and kids games. In Israel, however, a decision by the Ministry of Education not to hold any special activities this year to mark Universal Children's Day, was pushed through earlier in the week, a Wednesday report from Haaretz noted. The Convention entered into force in Israel in November 1991, but Israel denies its applicability Palestinian areas, as with most other international treaties, according to Defense for Children International. The Israeli argument is that ratification of the treaty was intended for. . .
Boycott targets settlement products AlJazeera 19 Nov 2009 - Palestinian authorities seek to implement ban on goods made in Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Boycott targets settlement products PNN 19 Nov 2009 - The Palestinian Authority has called on the public to boycott several large supermarket chains in the West Bank that carry Israeli products. The decision targets upscale markets in Ramallah, in an attempt to pressure the stores to discontinue the sale of fruits and vegetables grown and processed in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.According to the Palestinian authorities, customers are not aware...
Israel urging world on Iran sanctions Jeruslalem Post 20 Nov 2009 - 'Post' learns J'lem wants nuke fuel cycle capabilities denied, US against amending enrichment offer.
Boycott targets settlement products AlJazeera 19 Nov 2009 - Palestinian authorities seek to implement ban on goods made in Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Boycott targets settlement products PNN 19 Nov 2009 - The Palestinian Authority has called on the public to boycott several large supermarket chains in the West Bank that carry Israeli products. The decision targets upscale markets in Ramallah, in an attempt to pressure the stores to discontinue the sale of fruits and vegetables grown and processed in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.According to the Palestinian authorities, customers are not aware...
Israel urging world on Iran sanctions Jeruslalem Post 19 Nov 2009 - World powers to discuss 'pressure track' after Iran rejects uranium export deal; US won't amend offer.
Plea to boycott firms with Israel link 11/17/2009 - International Solidarity Movement - Gulf News - Group urges GCC states to shun Alstom and Veolia involved in Occupied Jerusalem projects - Dubai: A pressure campaign targeted at Gulf states was launched in Occupied Jerusalem on Monday by a coalition of 170 Palestinian organisations urging Arab states to boycott companies complicit in Israel's expansion in the holy city. In a rare public pressure campaign, the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement in Palestine, a grouping of Palestinian civil society organisations, has turned its focus on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which is preparing to build a multi-billion dollar railway to link its six members. The BDS campaign has called on the GCC and its member states to shun French transport giants Alstom and Veolia, both of which are involved in the construction of the Jerusalem Light Rail (JLR). . . .
Palestinians to Arab states: You can stop Jerusalem light rail 11/17/2009 - International Solidarity Movement - Amira Hass, Ha'aretz - The chairman of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' office, Dr. Rafiq Husseini, on Monday urges all Arab countries to cancel their business ties with two French companies – Veolia and Alstom – involved in the construction of a Jerusalem-based light railway which passes through the West Bank. Husseini spoke in a press conference organized by the BNC – The Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee – made up of several non governmental organizations. So far, the Palestinian civil society organization are those which have initiated local and international activities calling for various types of boycotts (mainly on companies which are active in the occupied territories, and on Israeli academics and artists.
Palestinians to Arab states: You can stop Jerusalem light rail 11/17/2009 - Ha'aretz - Amira Hass - The chairman of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' office, Dr. Rafiq Husseini, on Monday urges all Arab countries to cancel their business ties with two French companies - Veolia and Alstom - involved in the construction of a Jerusalem-based light railway which passes through the West Bank. Husseini spoke in a press conference organized by the BNC - The Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee - made up of several non governmental organizations. So far, the Palestinian civil society organization are those which have initiated local and international activities calling for various types of boycotts (mainly on companies which are active in the occupied territories, and on Israeli academics and artists. )It seems that the international attention their activities have garnered has encouraged the Palestinian Authority to join in the boycotts. . . .
Bargouthi dismisses ’ridiculous’ threats 11/16/2009 - Ramallah - Ma'an - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's threat to take unilateral action against Palestinians were they to declare statehood is "ridiculous," according to Mustafa Barghouthi, the secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative. "There aren't any Palestinian territories left to threaten - they're all occupied," Barghouthi said in a statement on Monday. Regarding other threats to halt transfers of money collected in taxes on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, Barghouthi said taking such a step would require Palestinians first cancel the Paris economic accord. He urged the PLO Central Committee to move forward with its proposal, as well as seek international sanctions on Israel until it fulfills its obligations to remove or reroute the separation barrier as per the International Court of Justice's 2004 ruling on the wall's illegality.
[uruknet.info] Campus Watch copycats close in on Israeli professors Right hopes to silence boycott call from academics Uruknet November 16, 2009 - Right-wing groups in Israel want to create a climate of fear among left-wing scholars at Israeli universities by emulating the "witch-hunt" tactics of the US academic monitoring group Campus Watch, Israeli professors warn. The watchdog groups IsraCampus and Israel Academia Monitor are believed to be stepping up their campaigns after the recent publication in a US...
The U.S. Jew whose Iran views rile Israel intelligence officials 11/14/2009 - Ha'aretz - WASHINGTON, D. C. - Hillary Mann Leverett and her partner and husband, Flynt Leverett, make the Iran desk staffers in the Israeli intelligence community see red. For the past two years the Leveretts, both of whom are former U. S. National Security Council and State Department officials, have preached relentlessly against using sanctions and threats against Iran. In late September, a harsh op-ed they wrote condemning the Obama administration appeared in The New York Times. In it they argued that the lofty talk of "openness" and the promise of "dialogue" with the Iranians are just empty rhetoric. On their Internet site, in lectures, in interviews and in their journal articles, they present assessments and proposals for action that are different from, and sometimes nearly the opposite of, those that politicians and experts in the West and in Israel present the public.
Villages call on Norway to divest from Africa-Israel Electronic Intifada 7 May 2009 - The West Bank Palestinian villages of Bilin and Jayyous and 11 national and international networks from Europe, Palestine, Israel and the US have sent letters calling on Norway to comply with its ethical guidelines and divest from its pension fund holdings in the company Africa-Israel, owned by the controversial diamond magnate Lev Leviev... more.. e-mail
Villages call on Norway to divest from Africa-Israel Electronic Intifada 7 May 2009 - The West Bank Palestinian villages of Bilin and Jayyous and 11 national and international networks from Europe, Palestine, Israel and the US have sent letters calling on Norway to comply with its ethical guidelines and divest from its pension fund holdings in the company Africa-Israel, owned by the controversial diamond magnate Lev Leviev... more.. e-mail
Villages call on Norway to divest from Africa-Israel Electronic Intifada 7 May 2009 - The West Bank Palestinian villages of Bilin and Jayyous and 11 national and international networks from Europe, Palestine, Israel and the US have sent letters calling on Norway to comply with its ethical guidelines and divest from its pension fund holdings in the company Africa-Israel, owned by the controversial diamond magnate Lev Leviev... more.. e-mail
Israel’s Human Rights Abuses out in Open Palestine Chronicle 6 May 2009 - By George S. Hishmeh The revelation that harsh interrogation methods, including torture, were used against detainees during the US-led war in Iraq by the George W. Bush administration, continues to reverberate here and overseas. The actions, sanctioned in legal memorandums, were recently released by US President Barack Obama. The repercussions of Obama’s actions, however, are being felt by key US government officials, especially those within the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), as well as within several other countries including Great Britain and Israel. Tel Aviv’s American supporters were quick to justify its anti-Palestinian harsh interrogation techniques not much different from the abuse meted out at the Abu Ghraib prison camp in Iraq. On the other hand, Hamas has been reprimanded by Human Rights Watch for its attacks on its opponents, some of whom have been physically eliminated. Although Israel’s Supreme Court has... more.. e-mail
Farewell to Gaza’s Courageous Priest Palestine Chronicle 6 May 2009 - By Stuart Littlewood - London I hear that Fr Manuel Musallam, the Catholic priest in Gaza, has finally retired at 71. His is a hard act to follow. Many of us feared that ill health had forced him to hang up his cassock last year, but he returned to the fray to be with his community during their darkest hour when Israel, with a nod from America and the EU, unleashed its blitzkrieg intended to finally crush the isolated and half-starved Gazans. This is simply the continuation of a hateful religious war by Zionist fanatics to oust Muslims and Christians from the Holy Land. And they are happy to vaporize and maim Palestinian women and children to gain exclusive control. But who cares? Certainly not those in high places in Washington and London whose strings are pulled by the Israel Lobby, a despicable breed who hold life, law... more.. e-mail
Belgian campaign targets bank financing Israeli settlements Adri Nieuwhof, Electronic Intifada 4/1/2009 In a remarkably short period of time, activists in Belgium have built a strong basis for the campaign "Israel colonizes -- Dexia funds," asking the bank to divest from its subsidiary Dexia Israel because of its financing of the expansion of illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The Israeli settlements violate Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, prohibiting the Occupying Power to deport or transfer parts of its civilian population into the territory it occupies, as well as Article 53 prohibiting the destruction of property on occupied territory. The Dexia campaign is flourishing in Belgium and may potentially spread to other countries where Dexia subsidiaries are based. The French-Belgian bank Dexia bought the Israeli Municipality Treasure Bank in 2001 and established Dexia Israel. Centrum voor Ontwikkeling, Documentatie en Informatie Palestijnen (CODIP), an organization focusing on Palestine, raised its concern about the transfer in a letter to Dexia’s... more.. e-mail
Belgian campaign targets bank financing Israeli settlements Adri Nieuwhof, Electronic Intifada 4/1/2009 In a remarkably short period of time, activists in Belgium have built a strong basis for the campaign "Israel colonizes -- Dexia funds," asking the bank to divest from its subsidiary Dexia Israel because of its financing of the expansion of illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The Israeli settlements violate Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, prohibiting the Occupying Power to deport or transfer parts of its civilian population into the territory it occupies, as well as Article 53 prohibiting the destruction of property on occupied territory. The Dexia campaign is flourishing in Belgium and may potentially spread to other countries where Dexia subsidiaries are based. The French-Belgian bank Dexia bought the Israeli Municipality Treasure Bank in 2001 and established Dexia Israel. Centrum voor Ontwikkeling, Documentatie en Informatie Palestijnen (CODIP), an organization focusing on Palestine, raised its concern about the transfer in a letter to Dexia’s... more.. e-mail
Belgian campaign targets bank financing Israeli settlements Adri Nieuwhof, Electronic Intifada 4/1/2009 In a remarkably short period of time, activists in Belgium have built a strong basis for the campaign "Israel colonizes -- Dexia funds," asking the bank to divest from its subsidiary Dexia Israel because of its financing of the expansion of illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The Israeli settlements violate Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, prohibiting the Occupying Power to deport or transfer parts of its civilian population into the territory it occupies, as well as Article 53 prohibiting the destruction of property on occupied territory. The Dexia campaign is flourishing in Belgium and may potentially spread to other countries where Dexia subsidiaries are based. The French-Belgian bank Dexia bought the Israeli Municipality Treasure Bank in 2001 and established Dexia Israel. Centrum voor Ontwikkeling, Documentatie en Informatie Palestijnen (CODIP), an organization focusing on Palestine, raised its concern about the transfer in a letter to Dexia’s... more.. e-mail
Belgian campaign targets bank financing Israeli settlements Adri Nieuwhof, Electronic Intifada 4/1/2009 In a remarkably short period of time, activists in Belgium have built a strong basis for the campaign "Israel colonizes -- Dexia funds," asking the bank to divest from its subsidiary Dexia Israel because of its financing of the expansion of illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The Israeli settlements violate Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, prohibiting the Occupying Power to deport or transfer parts of its civilian population into the territory it occupies, as well as Article 53 prohibiting the destruction of property on occupied territory. The Dexia campaign is flourishing in Belgium and may potentially spread to other countries where Dexia subsidiaries are based. The French-Belgian bank Dexia bought the Israeli Municipality Treasure Bank in 2001 and established Dexia Israel. Centrum voor Ontwikkeling, Documentatie en Informatie Palestijnen (CODIP), an organization focusing on Palestine, raised its concern about the transfer in a letter to Dexia’s... more.. e-mail
Gaza cash crisis forces PA employees into poverty Ma’an News Agency 3/14/2009 Gaza – Ma’an Exclusive – Until recently, 70,000 Palestinian Authority (PA) civil servants were among the only people who still received a steady income in the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli-led blockade has forced most industries to shut down. However, due to an Israeli ban on cash transfers to the Strip, PA employees may soon have to start selling their belongings, as they have not been able to withdraw their salaries from banks. Two weeks into March, the civil servants still have not been paid. Ma’an spoke to many workers who still receive their income from the PA in Ramallah, who said that the current crisis is beginning to remind of the days when due to an international boycott of the elected Hamas government, no one received their salaries. In other words, the boycott of Hamas, which currently holds power in Gaza is also undercutting the world’s efforts to bolster the Fatah-led PA based in the West Bank. more.. e-mail
Campaign to boycott Israeli products takes its message to Qalqiliya Ma’an News Agency 3/14/2009 Qalqiliya – Ma’an – The Palestinian Popular Committee for boycotting Israeli products visited the West Bank city of Qalqiliya to promote its renewed campaign. The campaign recently redoubled its efforts in the northern West Bank, in hopes of convincing 50 localities to participate in the boycott. The strategy of the boycott is to deprive the Israeli occupation of economic support by refusing to buy its products. Members of the Committee visited offices of the ministries of Religious Affairs and Education. They met with director of the Ministry of Education office in Qalqiliya, Yousif Uda and agreed with him that schools organize activities to explain about divestment. They also visited the union of pharmacists and met with its head Raed Wilwil. Another visit was paid to the union of physicians. According to members of the committee, all expressed willingness to cooperate with the campaign. more.. e-mail
School boycott in Sakhnin Sharon Roffe-Ofir, YNetNews 3/14/2009 Parents and teachers association in Arab village take step to combat local violence after parent physically assaults middle school teacher -The parents association in the Arab town of Sakhnin, in northern Israel, announced that it was heading a boycott of all local schools on Saturday, after a middle-school teacher was physically assaulted by two parents on Thursday. The boycott, which went into effect on Saturday, is an effort to "kick off a struggle against violence in our society," said the association’s chairman, Adel Abed. On Thursday, the father and uncles of an eighth-grade student at the al-Halan Middle School arrived on the grounds after the student told them a teacher had slapped him in the face. In response to the alleged incident, they scratched and bit the teacher, later fleeing the scene. The teacher was hospitalized. more.. e-mail
BDS Newsletter #12 - March 2009 Stop The Wall 3/8/2009 Edition: 12 - March 8, 2009 - Endorse the international day of action on March 30! During the month of March, 2009, the Palestine National BDS Committee has launched a major endorsement gathering drive. This leads up to the Global Day of BDS actions on March 30 that was announced at the World Social Forum held last month in Brazil. We are calling upon all social movements, organizations, networks and parties around the globe to join us by endorsing the Palestinian civil society Call for BDS. If you can sign on by March 28, your name will be included in the endorsement declaration for March 30. Sign on here. Corporate News - Consumer boycott of Israeli produce across Europe: This month, there was widespread action across Europe supporting the BDS effort against Israeli produce. In the UK, a demonstration was held outside the main Carmel – Agrexco warehouse in Middlesex on the 2 February. more.. e-mail
PNI Marks Israeli Apartheid Week: Urges international community to embrace the Global Campaign of BDS Palestinian National Initiative, Palestine Monitor 3/9/2009 The , PNI, has been on the local forefront of encouraging boycott, divestment and sanctions against the state of Israel in response to the ongoing occupation since the unified call was raised by Palestinians on July 9th, 2007. The Palestinian National Initiative, PNI, has been on the local forefront of encouraging boycott, divestment and sanctions against the state of Israel in response to the ongoing occupation since the unified call was raised by Palestinians on July 9th, 2007. Since the recent massacre in the Gaza Strip, we have begun to pick up more and more momentum in a world slightly more aware of the brutality and asymmetry of our struggle. Now, in the midst of Israeli Apartheid Week, it is time to build upon this momentum in order to build the truly global movement needed to change realities on the ground. For this reason PNI, in cooperation and collaboration with hundreds and thousands. . . more.. e-mail
Palestinian students push BDS in universities and cities Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, Stop The Wall 3/8/2009 IAW events for the past several days in the West Bank focused on strengthening the internal BDS movement and promoting Palestinian products. Considerable progress was made from March 4 – 5 in moving the boycott forward in Palestinian universities. Students are not only working to institutionalize a boycott of Israeli goods inside the university, but also bringing the BDS call into their local shops and communities. Events took place in Nablus, Tulkarm, Jericho, Qalqilya, and Ramallah colleges and universities, as well as in the Jenin camp. At an-Najah in Nablus, a talk and discussion was held entitled, “The global BDS campaign: Comparing the South African and Palestinian experience. ” Student activists are also busy preparing a workshop for the coming week, and will host a speaker from Stop the Wall who will hold a session on the Wall and the BDS movement. more.. e-mail
ISM Sweden protest Swedish-Israeli Davis Cup matches ISM 3/8/2009 On Friday the 6th of March protesters from ISM Sweden joined with other activists in a peaceful demonstration outside the arena in Malmö, Sweden, where the Davis Cup matches between Sweden and Israel are being played. Activists participated in street theater, spoke to media and passers-by, and shouted out their anger and frustration outside the enclosed area around the arena, which is being guarded by one of the largest police contingencies in Swedish history. Debate about the matches has been hot in Sweden the last few weeks, and the ISM sees their work during the weekend as part of an international campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel. The matches are being played without audiences - a partial victory for the campaign run by a broad coalition of political parties, cultural groups and organisations that has been working since the beginning of the Gaza massacre. more.. e-mail
Israeli Apartheid Week taking place in Universities and refugee camps across the Occupied West Bank Mary Arthur, International Middle East Media Center News 3/6/2009 The fifth international Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) is occurring in over 40 cities in Palestine and worldwide from 2-8 March 2009. This is the second consecutive year IAW is hosted in the West Bank. The week will feature lectures, film screenings, art and photography exhibits, cultural events and demonstrations aiming at deepening the apartheid analysis of Israel, while gathering support for the growing local-Palestinian and international movement for Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) until Israel complies with international law. The theme of this year’s IAW is "Standing United with the People’s of Gaza" - a focus which comes in the wake of Israeli military attacks on the people of Gaza in early 2009. Apartheid week will build upon the widespread protest and indignation witnessed during Israel’s assault and seek practicable ways to hold Israel accountable. more.. e-mail
’Israel seriously considering Iran military op’ Hilary Leila Krieger, Jpost Correspondent In Washington, Jerusalem Post 3/5/2009 Israel is seriously considering taking unilateral military action to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, according to a report by top US political figures and experts released Wednesday. The report also says Israel’s time frame for action is growing shorter, not only because of Iranian advances, but because Teheran might soon acquire upgraded air defenses and disperse its nuclear program to additional locations. The report, "Preventing a Cascade of Instability," was put out by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP). It also argues that international sanctions against Iran need to be intensified urgently for the engagement the Obama administration is planning with Teheran to be effective. An early draft of the report was endorsed by Dennis Ross before he withdrew upon joining the Obama administration, in which he is serving as a special adviser dealing with various countries in the region, including Iran. more.. e-mail
UK boycotts Leviev Stop The Wall 3/5/2009 The government of the United Kingdom has decided to boycott Israeli diamond and real estate mogul Lev Leviev over his companies’ construction of settlements. The decision by the UK government is the result of a coordinated advocacy campaign demanding that the UK government end plans to rent the new UK Embassy in Tel Aviv from Leviev’s company Africa-Israel. Almost a year ago, following the publication of UK intentions to rent space for a new Tel Aviv embassy from Leviev, eight groups in the US, UK and Palestine launched a letter-writing campaign to the UK’s Foreign Office. They drew the attention of the British government to the Leviev’s involvement in the construction of settlements Zufim, Mattityahu East, Har Homa and Maale Adumim as well as the millionaire’s contributions to the Land Redemption fund, which acquires Palestinian land for Jewish settlements. -- See also: UK gov't boycotts settlement financier Leviev more.. e-mail
BDS events kick off IAW in the West Bank Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, Stop The Wall 3/5/2009 IAW [Israeli Apartheid Week] began in the West Bank at al-Quds Open University in Tulkarm on Tuesday. More events took place on the following day in a number of universities in the north as well as in the Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem. The events have focused on education and spreading the word in the campuses and camps about BDS, setting the stage for the week to come. IAW opened at al-Quds Open University in Tulkarm, where events began mid-morning. Student activists working with the Stop the Wall Campaign distributed questionnaires to 300 students about the importance of boycotting Israeli goods. Activists sent the results to both the student council and the university administration and asked them to sign statements pledging to cease buying Israeli goods, primarily for the cafeteria, and cut any ties with Israeli academics. -- See also: US Israeli Apartheid Week Events more.. e-mail
Israel’s crimes in Gaza Reem Salahi writing from the United States, Electronic Intifada 3/3/2009 Having returned from Gaza, I am trying to come to terms with what I saw, what I heard and honestly, what I don’t think I will ever understand -- the justification. While Israel’s recent offensive has been the most egregious of any historical attack upon the Palestinians in Gaza, it is just that, one of many. Gaza has been under Israeli bombardment and sanctions for decades. Prior to the Israeli pullout in 2005, Gaza was under complete Israeli control and occupation. Nearly 8,000 Israeli settlers occupied 40 percent of Gaza while the 1.5 million Palestinians occupied the remaining 60 percent. Settlements were located on the most fertile lands and along Gaza’s beautiful coastal regions and checkpoints prevented Palestinian mobility.Despite being one-fifth the size of Rhode Island, 25 miles long and 4 to 7.5 miles wide, Gaza was divided into three sections and Palestinians had to... more.. e-mail
MIDEAST: Israel Boycott Movement Gains Momentum Mel Frykberg, Inter Press Service 3/3/2009 RAMALLAH, Mar 3(IPS) - "Standing United with the People of Gaza" is the theme of this week’s Israel Apartheid Week (IAW), which kicked off in Toronto and another 39 cities across the globe Sunday. A movement to boycott Israeli goods, culture and academic institutions is gaining momentum as Geneva prepares to host the UN’s Anti-Racism Conference, Durban 2 next month amidst swirling controversy. Both Canada and the U. S. are boycotting the Durban 2 conference in protest over what they perceive as a strongly anti-Israel agenda. The first UN Anti-Racism conference, held in the South African city Durban in 2001, saw the Israeli and U. S. delegates storm out of the conference, accusing other delegates of focusing too strongly on Israel. U. S. and Canadian support might have offered some comfort for Israel. more.. e-mail
UK students win divestment victory, stand with Jayyous Stop The Wall 3/3/2009 In another victory for the UK student occupations, Cardiff University has been forced to divest from the arms trade. Also, Sussex University has organized a week of action in solidarity with the arrested students from Jayyous. The occupation of Cardiff University ended as the university administration acceded to the occupiers’ key demand – to divest from the arms trade. Cardiff University provided students written confirmation that they divested from two companies and have instructed fund managers not to reinvest. The victory comes after three days of occupation which has made students across the campus aware of the £209,000 worth of shares which, until yesterday, Cardiff University held in BAE Systems and General Electric, two firms which have been selling arms to Israel. Also, Sussex University, responding to a call on behalf of the arrested students of Jayyous, has organized a week of BDS action for March 2 – 8. more.. e-mail
Israel to present Clinton with ’red lines’ on talks with Iran Barak Ravid, Ha’aretz 3/3/2009 Israel plans to present U. S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with a series of "red lines" it wants Washington to incorporate into its planned dialogue with Tehran about Iran’s nuclear program. Clinton arrived in Israel Monday night and will meet with various Israeli officials Tuesday. The red lines were jointly formulated by the Foreign Ministry and the defense establishment, and Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu has been briefed on them. The document recommends that Israel adopt a positive attitude toward the planned U. S. -Iranian dialogue, but proposes ways of minimizing what Israeli officials see as the risks inherent in such talks. Its main points are as follows: 1. Any dialogue must be both preceded by and accompanied by harsher sanctions against Iran, both within the framework of the UN Security Council and outside it. more.. e-mail
Defend Freedom of Speech on Palestine Various undersigned, Tadamon 2/27/2009 Open Letter to university community on Palestinian Rights and Canadian Universities: The last two years have seen increasing efforts to limit advocacy of Palestinian rights on Canadian universities, amounting to a pattern of the suppression of freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. these include: * Statements from 19 university presidents in the summer of 2007 to foreclose debate on the academic boycott of Israel, citing “academic freedom” * Visits to Israel by eight university presidents in the summer of 2008, with no equivalent outreach to Palestinian institutions * Efforts to ban the use of the term “Israeli Apartheid” at McMaster University in February-March 2008, overturned only through a campaign of protest * Discipline against students involved in peaceful protests for Palestinian rights at York University in March in 2008 * Attempted discipline against a faculty member who addressed a rally against Israeli Apartheid at York University in 2008 * A pattern of cancellation of room... more.. e-mail
UN chief: Gaza border closure ’intolerable’ Middle East Online 3/2/2009 SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt - UN chief Ban Ki-moon said on Monday that Israel’s blockade of Gaza is "intolerable" and that border crossings into must be reopened to allow aid into the war-battered enclave. "The situation at the border crossings is intolerable. Aid workers do not have access. Essential commodities cannot get in," Ban told international donors gathered in Egypt to pledge aid to rebuild Gaza after Israel’s three-week war on the territory. "Our first and indispensable goal is to open crossings," Ban said. Ban said the conference should "express our solidarity with the people of Palestine, and especially those of Gaza" as well as "support the efforts of the Palestinian Authority and its leadership to reconstruct Gaza. " Israel, which wants to crush any Palestinian liberation movement, responded to Hamas’s win in the elections with sanctions, and almost completely. . . more.. e-mail
Durban 2 draft statement: Israel’s Palestinian policy is crime against humanity Natasha Mozgovaya, Ha’aretz 3/2/2009 A draft of the closing statement prepared for the upcoming United Nations-sponsored conference against racism, dubbed Durban 2, states that Israel’s policy in the Palestinian territories constitutes a "violation of international human rights, a crime against humanity and a contemporary form of apartheid. " The conference, to be held in Geneva next month, is a follow-up to the contentious 2001 conference in the South African city of Durban which was dominated by clashes over the Middle East and the legacy of slavery. The U. S. and Israel walked out midway through that eight-day meeting over a draft resolution that singled out Israel for criticism and likened Zionism - the movement to establish and maintain a Jewish state - to racism. Israel, Canada and the U. S. have already announced that they will boycott the upcoming summit. more.. e-mail
Donors pledge 4.5 billion dollars to Palestinians Ezzedine Said - SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Middle East Online 3/2/2009 International donors on Monday pledged almost 4. 5 billion dollars to the Palestinians and demanded the immediate lifting of Israel’s crippling blockade on the war-battered Gaza Strip. But foreign leaders meeting in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh insisted that the money must bypass Hamas, the Islamist group which rules Gaza but is boycotted by the West as a terrorist group. "We have gathered today 4. 481 billion dollars, in addition to previous pledges," Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abul Gheit said at the close of the conference aimed at raising funds to help rebuild Gaza after Israel’s devastating three-week war. Donors also called for "the immediate, total and unconditional opening of all of Gaza’s borders with Israel", Abul Gheit said. World leaders at the conference also appealed for urgent action to breathe new life into the moribund Middle East peace process. . . more.. e-mail
Strategic Allies Leslie Susser, The Jerusalem Report, Jerusalem Post 3/1/2009 Just before its 30th anniversary, the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty survived one of its sternest tests. Despite angry region-wide protests against Israel over the 22-day December-January war in Gaza, the Egyptian government did not issue any harsh condemnations or convene the Arab League to call for sanctions against Israel or its Western backers. Nor, even more significantly, did it mobilize Egyptian armed forces or make any threat of military intervention. All this was taken for granted even though the war raged on territory once controlled by Egypt, was fought perilously close to the Egyptian border and some Egyptian border guards were accidentally killed. On the Egyptian street and in the media, the reaction was very different. The buzzword in Cairo was and still is "the genocide" committed by Israel against Palestinian civilians in Gaza. more.. e-mail
U.S. officials’ about-face on Iran nukes could sway Obama policy Amos Harel and News Agencies, Ha’aretz 3/2/2009 Israel is anxiously awaiting the new U. S. National Intelligence Estimate on Iran, which is due to be published in another month. President Barack Obama’s administration is currently formulating its policy toward Iran’s nuclear program, and the revised NIE will serve as the basis for its conclusions. The administration has already decided that it wants to begin a dialogue with Iran, but it is still wrestling with questions such as how to prevent Iran from advancing its nuclear program under cover of negotiations and what role sanctions should play in the process. The last NIE effectively stymied efforts to impose stiffer sanctions on Iran by declaring that Tehran had halted its nuclear weapons program. Since then, however, Iran has been feverishly developing its uranium enrichment capabilities - widely considered the hardest part. . . more.. e-mail
US backs out of UN-led Geneva conference on racism Agence France Presse - AFP, Daily Star 3/2/2009 WASHINGTON: The United States has decided against taking part in a UN-led conference on racism after it quit the previous session in 2001 over claims of anti-Semitism, US officials said. "We’re not going to further engage in Durban II," a State Department official told AFP on the condition of anonymity, referring to the conference scheduled for April 20-24 in Geneva. A US delegation took part in the preparatory talks in Geneva on February 16 and made proposed changes to a resolution that is expected to be adopted at the conference, which Canada and Israel have said they would boycott. According to a statement issued by State Department spokesman Robert Wood later Friday, the "document being negotiated has gone from bad to worse, and the current text of the draft outcome document is not salvageable. ""As a result, the US will not engage in further negotiations on this. . . " more.. e-mail
'Israeli Apartheid Week' Taking Place in Universities and Refugee Camps BNC, Palestinian grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, Stop The Wall 3/1/2009 BDS National Committee (BNC), Occupied Palestine, 26 February 2009 – The fifth international Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) – occurring in over 40 cities in Palestine and worldwide – will be held across the West Bank from 2-8 March 2009. This is the second year of IAW in the West Bank, and will feature lectures, film screenings, art and photography exhibits, cultural events and demonstrations aimed at deepening the apartheid analysis ofIsrael, and to gather support for the growing local-Palestinian and international movement for Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) until Israel complies with international law. The theme of this year’s IAW is “Standing United with the People’s of Gaza” a focus which comes in the wake of the brutal Israeli military attacks on the people of Gaza in early 2009, which killed over 1,400 Palestinians (overwhelmingly civilians), and sparked widespread protests and indignation worldwide. more.. e-mail
Three Palestinians die in collapse of tunnel used for imports during siege PNN, Palestine News Network 3/1/2009 Gaza - Human Rights Watch wrote that aid is meaningless for the Gaza Strip if the crossings remain closed. Palestinian Legislative Council member Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi called on the European Union to impose sanctions against the Israelis for the continuing siege on the Gaza. Because of the continuing siege only a few items are allowed to enter the Strip, none of them are reconstruction materials. The tunnels between Rafah and northern Egypt’s Sinai remain a lifeline however three people died today when one collapsed. Palestinian medical sources said on Sunday that three Palestinians were killed in the collapse of a tunnel on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. The three men were working inside. Director General of Ambulance and Emergency in the Palestinian Ministry of Health, Dr. Muawiya Hassanein, said, "Three of the workers inside a tunnel in Rafah died as a result of the collapse. more.. e-mail
Sustaining Global Solidarity after Gaza Jamal Juma, Palestine Chronicle 2/28/2009 The Israeli bombing and invasion of Gaza, which has now claimed more than 1,400 lives, generated serious popular backlash the world over. The overwhelmingly weak official positions and statements, especially in the Arab world, stood in stark contrast to the outpouring of rage that was witnessed in the streets of capitals, cities and towns across the globe. This recent wave of protests has a particular quality, however, that differentiates it from past mobilizations: The initial flare up of energy is being channeled into effective grassroots political action, primarily in the form of an ongoing campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS). The tangible victories and rise of BDS activism immediately following Gaza are a direct result of the many years of often little-acknowledged organizing, building, and mobilizing that was undertaken following the 2005 call from Palestinian civil society. It is important to look at these last four years in order... more.. e-mail
International student demonstration achieves divestment PNN, Palestine News Network 2/28/2009 London - Cardiff Students against War is ending its takeover of the Large Shandon lecture theatre, Cardiff University Main Building as part of its "occupying against occupation" project. The students are now leaving and marching around campus to declare what they have achieved. It is a victory in Britain. "We are making our continued presence known to the university community. Banners and megaphones, BOOKS not BOMBS!," say student organizers. Following the open letter to Vice Chancellor David Grant, the "BOOKS not BOMBS" demonstration outside the Student Union and the subsequent occupation of the Large Shandon, Cardiff University has divested all shares from BAe Systems and the aerospace arm of General Electric. They have instructed their external fund managers to avoid future investments in the arms trade, and have promised to raise the issue of an ethical investment policy at the next Council Meeting on 18 May of this year. more.. e-mail
How the West Abandoned Palestinian Democracy Terry Lacey – Jakarta, Palestine Chronicle 2/28/2009 There is a strange post war silence about Gaza and Palestine in Indonesia as if the activists and political leaders that got involved have discovered a can of worms. The conflicts and complexity of the political divisions between Palestinians have astounded Indonesians who learned about them as a result of the recent conflict. Activists have hunted through web sites to try and understand what happened between Fatah and Hamas that led to civil war and then the Israeli war against Gaza. The recent chronology on the BBC web site summed it up. In January 2006 Hamas won Palestinian general elections. In March the Hamas Government was sworn in. Israel, the US and EU immediately suspended all links with it. The West abandoned Palestinian democracy, failed to help lead the new democratic government towards dialogue and moderation and instead led by boycott and blockade towards a Palestinian civil war and then... more.. e-mail
US to boycott UN racism conference Al Jazeera 2/28/2009 The United States has decided to boycott an upcoming UN conference on racism unless its final document is changed to drop all references to Israel. The Conference Against Racism, to be held in Geneva in April, is a follow-up to the conference held in the South African town of Durban in 2001. On Friday, a US delegation taking part in the preparatory talks in Geneva, said the draft resolution was unacceptable. The US and Israeli delegations walked out of the 2001 meeting in protest against the resolution which likened Zionism - the movement to establish and maintain a Jewish state - to racism. Israel and Canada have already announced they will boycott the conference, which is known as Durban II. ’Not salvageable’According to Robert Wood, the US state department spokesman,. . . more.. e-mail
US withdraws from the 2nd Durban conference on racism Saed Bannoura & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 2/28/2009 Following the lead of Israel, the United States officially decided not to participate in the Second Durban Conference which is a follow-up to "the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discriminations, Xenophobia and related intolerance" which was held in 2001. Canada will also be boycotting the summit. Israel and the United States participated in the first conference but cut it short and walked out after claiming that it turned out to be dominated by the Middle East issue and slavery. Several countries slammed Israel during the conference over its illegal activities and assaults against the Palestinian people. During the eighth day of the first conference, Israel walked out after a draft linking Zionism with racism was presented. The US followed its lead and also walked out. Israel and Canada previously decided not to attend the second conference which will be held between April 20 and 25. more.. e-mail
European states consider boycotting Durban 2 summit Shlomo Shamir, Ha’aretz 3/1/2009 European Union member states may follow in the footsteps of the United States which announced Friday it would not be participating in the Durban anti-racism conference set to take place in April. While several states mull canceling their participation in the conference, senior UN diplomats say the chances for the entire EU body to boycott the summit are slim. The U. S. State Department announced on Friday it would not attend a United Nations conference on racism that critics say will be a forum to criticize Israel, and will no longer participate in planning sessions for it. The U. S. made the decision after its delegation’s attempts to change the content of the summit’s draft resolutions failed. A top Western diplomat stated on Friday that several EU member stated may feel uncomfortable remaining indifferent to the U. more.. e-mail
Time Not Ripe for Two-State Solution Ynetnews, MIFTAH 2/28/2009 The Obama administration will have to address on an immediate basis a number of burning problems of varying degrees of magnitude. In the short run it will be required to tackle the rehabilitation of Gaza under Hamas’ rule: On the one hand to secure aid to assure the fundamental wellbeing of its inhabitants, while at the same time curtailing the influx of weaponry into Gaza. The fight against terror, its performers and sources has to be continued in all vigor. The belligerent policy of Hamas should be continuously subject to international boycott and isolation with minimal ill effects on the population. The Obama administration will be called upon to regularize the settlement issue, canonize prevailing understandings with the outgoing Israeli government and see to it that it that they are being respected and duly implemented. more.. e-mail
German politician urges Europe to talk to Hamas Palestinian Information Center 2/28/2009 BERLIN, (PIC)-- The German expert in the Middle East affairs and member of the ruling coalition in Germany Dr. Rolf Mützenich has urged the Europeans to put an end to their boycott of the Hamas Movement. In an interview he made with local media outlets, the German official said the Europeans should rethink their "negative" stand regarding talking to Hamas, and whether or not the boycott policy was advantageous or not, adding that the Europeans couldn’t just simply ignore an organization enjoying broad popular support and elected by the Palestinian people to rule them. "There will be no peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians without Hamas", asserted the German figure. Remarks of the German official come amidst growing support among the Europeans to remove Hamas’s name from EU list of terrorist organizations, and to organize Hamas as legitimate organization came to power through transparent democratic means. more.. e-mail
Buy Palestinian: PA plan to support the improvement of local commercial goods unveiled in Ramallah Ma’an News Agency 2/28/2009 Ramallah – Ma’an – Buying Palestinian products is a patriotic act of resistance which plays a major role in helping the Palestinian people stay steadfast on their land, said Head of Palestinian Presidential Bureau Rafiq Al-Huseini Saturday. Al-Huseini spoke at a conference where the Palestinian Authority (PA) announced an initiative to support the production and improvement of Palestinian products as part of a boycott of Israeli goods as well as an effort to strengthen the local economy. Such an action, he said, “is a peaceful means of countering Israeli settlement plans; it is also something ordinary people can easily participate in. ”The initiative aims at enhancing Palestinian products by improving quality, reducing price and increasing the ability of Palestinian producers to compete against world products both at home and abroad. more.. e-mail
Upgrade Palestinian rights Seth Freedman, The Guardian 2/27/2009 As it freezes an upgrade of relations with Israel, the EU should now demand respect for human rights, especially for children. The disproportionate and indiscriminate actions by Israeli forces during Operation Cast Lead rightly earned Israel’s leaders international opprobrium, and in some cases the verbal outrage was backed by concrete sanctions. Having last year declared an upgrading of relations with Israel, the EU decided last month to put the process on hold in the wake of the carnage in Gaza. The freeze was cautiously welcomed by many NGOs working to promote human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, which applauded the EU’s decision but questioned the motivation. According to Gerard Horton, a lawyer for Defence for Children International (DCI), the worry is that the suspension is merely a political ploy, "and that once the dust settles [and Cast Lead is out of the headlines], the process... more.. e-mail
Time for sanctions Ezzedine Choukri Fishere, Al-Ahram Weekly 2/26/2009 Effective, targeted sanctions against the symbols of Israeli occupation could break the deadlock of the stalled Arab-Israeli peace process. In July 2006, after a meeting of Arab foreign ministers, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa declared the Middle East peace process dead. Some found his statement premature and argued that the peace process was only "frozen". A few months later, in fact on Christmas Eve, the US administration intervened in order to resuscitate the ailing process, moving it to what would become the "Annapolis intensive care unit". The peace process was kept there on life support until the end of 2008, and then left to die quietly as the key actors exited the stage. Now that Israel has brought back the master of ceremonies, it is time to bury the dead. As we gather in front of the deceased and try to think of something serious to say (which is understandably... more.. e-mail
Mubarak, Obama and Bibi Dina Ezzat, Al-Ahram Weekly 2/26/2009 A Netanyahu-led government in Israel and Obama in Washington: what are the prospects for Cairo? It has been almost 30 years since late president Anwar El-Sadat, late Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin and former US president Jimmy Carter signed the first ever Arab-Israeli peace deal initiating what was supposed to be normal relations between Cairo and Tel Aviv. This month, however, there are very few signs that the agreement has fulfilled its promise. After "three decades of cold peace", Egypt and Israel are again having communication and cooperation problems. Indeed, tensions between Cairo and Tel Aviv, renewed in the last week, are mounting. Egypt’s frustration with Israel’s last minute demand to condition the conclusion of a truce with Hamas on the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit is evident, compounded by statements attributed to Israeli envoy Amos Gilad whereby he suggested the Egypt was party to... more.. e-mail
German MP: No peace between Israel and the Palestinians without Hamas IMEMC Staff, International Middle East Media Center News 2/27/2009 A German politician demanded an end to the boycot of the Islamic resistance movement (Hamas). Dr. Rolf Mützenich, of the Socialist Democratic Party (SPD) and expert on Middle East issues,said in an interview with the German Press Agency (DPA) that peace between Palestinians and the Israelis without Hams, who won an overwhelming support in the latest Palestinian parliamentary elections. " We, in the European Union, have to think of the feasibility of boycotting Hamas,"Mützenich added. The German politician also said that while most parties demand Hamas to recognize the previously signed agreements between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, some Israeli leaders do not fully recognize those agreements. He added that his country should be cautious when talking about dialogue with Hamas saying that there are other European countries who can do a better job in this. more.. e-mail
U.S. won’t attend Durban 2 summit on racism Shlomo Shamir, Ha’aretz 2/27/2009 The United States will not attend a United Nations conference on racism that critics say will be a forum to criticize Israel, and will no longer participate in planning sessions for it, a senior UN source told Haaretz on Friday. The decision to drop U. S. involvement comes one day before U. S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leaves on her first trip to the Middle East in her new capacity, including stops in Israel. A U. S. delegation took part in negotiations this month on the World Conference Against Racism, scheduled for April in Geneva, Switzerland, although Israel has called for a boycott and Canada has said it will not attend. Referring to the content of the draft resolutions, the source said that during negotiations "a bad document became worse," prompting the U. S. to end its affiliation with the conference, dubbed Durban 2. more.. e-mail
Canadian university workers saluted for boycott support Press release, PACBI, Electronic Intifada 2/26/2009 The following press release was issued on 25 February 2009: The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) applauds Canadian Union of Public Employees-Ontario’s University Workers Coordinating Committee (OUWCC) for its principled support for the cause of justice in Palestine by adopting, at its annual conference on 22 February 2009, significant steps in the direction of applying effective pressure on Israel and holding it accountable for its colonial and apartheid policies which violate international law and fundamental human rights. In particular, PACBI applauds the OUWCC for passing a number of resolutions aimed specifically at challenging and ending business-as-usual with the Israeli academy. The conference has decided to "[e]ncourage its member locals to hold public forums to discuss an academic boycott of Israeli academic institutions;" to "[a]sk more.. e-mail
Catalonian singer urged to cancel Israel tour Open letter, PACBI, Electronic Intifada 2/27/2009 The following is an open letter to Catalonian singer Joan Manuel Serrat sent on 26 February 2009 by the The Palestinian community of artists and intellectuals was shocked by the news of your plans to organize a musical tour of Israel in May, despite its continued grave oppression of the Palestinian people and only a few months after its heinous war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) is writing to urge you to cancel this tour. A brave defender of freedom throughout your life, you were exiled from your own country for courageously speaking out against the repression of Franco’s regime; but by touring Israel, a colonial and apartheid state, you will be participating in legitimating and supporting a system of colonial subjugation. Your invitation to Israel comes right after its bloody military assault more.. e-mail
Netanyahu promises Eini cooperation Haim Bior, Ha’aretz 2/27/2009 Even before he has formed a government and taken power, Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu has started meeting with the major players in Israel’s economy. Yesterday he met with Histadrut labor federation chairman Ofer Eini, and on Monday or Tuesday he will meet with the president of the Manufacturers Association, Shraga Brosh. Through these meetings, Netanyahu is hoping to gain support from Eini and Brosh for his plans to rescue Israel’s economy from financial crisis and recession. He also wants to guarantee in advance that his plans will be implemented without strikes or sanctions. Eini and Netanyahu met privately at the Dan hotel in Tel Aviv, at Netanyahu’s request. At the meeting, Netanyahu did not comment on ideas coming out of the Finance Ministry regarding wage freezes in the public sector and reductions in the number of public-sector employees. more.. e-mail
Targeting Israel: The Global BDS Movement Stephen Lendman - Chicago, Palestine Chronicle 2/25/2009 Enough is enough. After 61 years of Palestinian slaughter, displacement, occupation, oppression, and international dismissiveness and complicity, global action is essential. Israel must be held accountable. World leaders won’t do it, so grassroots movements must lead the way. In 2004, Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote: "The end of apartheid stands as one of the crowning accomplishments of the past century, but we would not have succeeded without the help of international pressure - in particular the divestment movement of the 1980s. Over the past six months, a similar movement has taken shape, this time aiming at an end to the Israeli occupation." In July 2008, 21 South African activists, including ANC members, visited Israel and Occupied Palestine. Their conclusion was unanimous. Israel is far worse than apartheid as former Deputy Minister of Health and current MP Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge explained: "What I see here is worse than what we experienced - the... more.. e-mail
Former peace negotiators urge world to engage with Hamas Ha’aretz 2/26/2009 A group of former international peace negotiators on Thursday urged the world and Israel to abandon the policy of isolating Hamas and engage with the Islamist militant group. "The policy of isolating Hamas cannot bring about stability. As former peace negotiators, we believe it is of vital importance to abandon the failed policy of isolation and to involve Hamas in the political process," the group said in a letter published in the British newspaper The Times. The letter said the futility of the policy had been demonstrated by Israel’s recent offensive against Hamas in Gaza. Israel, the United States and the European Union consider Hamas a terrorist organization. Since the group took over the Gaza Strip in a bloody 2007 coup, the international community has largely complied with an Israeli-led blockade of the coastal territory and boycott of its rulers. more.. e-mail
Academic boycott of Israel takes off in Canada Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 2/25/2009 Over 40 universities in Canada will be participating in activities to mark ’Israeli Apartheid Week’, beginning on Sunday. Students from the participating universities are calling for a boycott of Israeli academic and cultural institutions until Israel ends, what they call, apartheid policies against the Palestinians. In addition to the university groups, CUPE (Canadian Union of Public Employees), the largest trade union in the Canadian Province of Ontario, has called for a boycott of all Israeli institutions that engage in research for the Israeli military. According to the organizers of Israeli Apartheid Week, the campaign was first launched in Toronto in 2005. In 2008, more than 25 cities around the world participated in the week’s activities, which also commemorated 60 years since the expulsion of the Palestinian people from their homes and land in 1947-1948. more.. e-mail
BDS action on the rise in Australia Stop The Wall 2/25/2009 In keeping with the recent growth of BDS activity around the world, Australia has witnessed a number of boycott initiatives over the past several weeks. Throughout the country, direct actions have taken place, campus mobilizing has begun, and long-term campaigns have been launched. Last week, from Monday to Friday, activists kicked off their anti-Max Brenner chocolates campaign by handing out flyers outside of a Max Brenner café, and erecting a large “Boycott Israel” sign. They also entered into the café several times and placed the flyer on people’s tables. The activists several positive responses, and many passers-by said that they would stop purchasing Max Brenner chocolates. Organizers plan to hold similar actions every Thursday night for the next few months. On 24 February, a meeting was held with academics from every university in Sydney. more.. e-mail
Danish activists spread the word about BDS Stop The Wall 2/17/2009 Danish activists organized a Boycott Israel Day on 14 February, with BDS activities taking place across the country. Pickets were set up outside of shops and supermarkets selling Israeli goods, primarily targeting fruits and vegetables produced and sold by firms such as Carmel Agrexco. Activists distributed flyers to customers in order to raise awareness about Israeli products and to strengthen the consumer boycott. They also stuck boycott labels on Israeli fruits and vegetables, and unfurled large “Boycott Israel” banners at supermarket entrances. According to organizers, Boycott Israel Day was a resounding success, as the majority of shoppers welcomed the flyers and were keen to learn more about BDS activities. In light of the positive reception, another day of action will be held on 28 February, and will continue every second Saturday. more.. e-mail
Barak: Time needed to deal with Iran slipping through our fingers Ofri Ilani, and The Associated Press, Ha’aretz 2/25/2009 Defense Minister Ehud Barak sounded a more urgent tone on Wednesday following reports that Iran had started testing its Russian-built nuclear power plant in Bushehr. "Israel’s policy is clear: we do not take any option off the table with regards to Iran’s nuclear program," Barak said during an appearance at a symposium at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya. In a veiled reference to the Obama administration, the defense minister said: "We would suggest that others do not take any option off the table. A dialogue with Iran needs to be limited in time. " "Time is slipping through our fingers, and what is needed is a two-pronged course of action which includes ironclad, strenuous sanctions against the Iranian regime and a readiness to consider options in the event that these sanctions do not succeed," Barak said. more.. e-mail
Barak: We’re running out of time on Iran threat Mazal Mualem and Or Kashti and Haaretz Service, Ha’aretz 2/26/2009 "We’re running out of time to address the Iranian threat," said Defense Minister and Labor Chairman Ehud Barak on Thursday. "The U. S. administration is getting ready to conduct dialogue with Iran. We are convinced that the dialogue must be confined to a short period of time while simultaneously stepping up sanctions. " Earlier, at a Labor Party conference in Tel Aviv, Barak explained that the U. S. dialogue must be confined to a short time frame in order to rapidly determine whether "there is or isn’t a chance. " Speaking later at an event sponsored by a Jordan valley college in memory of former Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Dan Shomron, Barak said that it was "essential for Israel to keep all the options on the table, while standing behind its declarations. more.. e-mail
Containment continues Dina Ezzat, Al-Ahram Weekly 2/19/2009 With Hamas-Israel truce talks on hold, Cairo turns its focus on Palestinian reconciliation, reports Meetings bringing together representatives of the two main conflicting Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas, are being hosted by Cairo in preparation for a soft launch to national reconciliation talks that President Hosni Mubarak promised to convene later this month. "Egypt is convinced that the Palestinian national reconciliation dialogue it will host 22 February will work," Mubarak said Monday evening in the Bahraini capital Manama following talks with the monarch of Bahrain. Egypt previously attempted to kick-start Palestinian national reconciliation dialogue last autumn, but attempts were blocked by the decision of Hamas to boycott the meeting at the eleventh hour due to un-met demands (the release of Hamas members held by the Fatah- controlled Palestinian Authority). This time, things seem to be different. Palestinian and Egyptian sources are not promising full- fledged reconciliation soon; nor is the... more.. e-mail
VIDEO - The Fifth Annual Israeli Apartheid Week March 1 - 8, 2009 Israeli Apartheid Week 2/22/2009 Mark your calendars - the 5th Annual Israeli Apartheid Week will take place across the globe from March 1-8, 2009!First launched in Toronto in 2005, IAW has grown to become one of the most important global events in the Palestine solidarity calendar. Last year, more than 25 cities around the world participated in the week’s activities, which also commemorated 60 years since the expulsion of the Palestinian people from their homes and land in 1947-1948. IAW 2008 was launched with a live broadcast from the South African township of Soweto by Palestinian leader and former member of the Israeli Knesset, Azmi Bishara. This year, IAW occurs in the wake of Israel’s barbaric assault against the people of Gaza. Lectures, films, and actions will make the point that these latest massacres further confirm the true nature of Israeli Apartheid. IAW 2009 will continue to build and strengthen the growing Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement at a global level. -- See also: YouTube: Israeli Apartheid Week 2009 Trailer more.. e-mail
Wiesel and other Jewish leaders to protest at ’Durban II’ in Geneva Raphael Ahren, Ha’aretz 2/23/2009 Elie Wiesel and a number of other high-profile Jewish leaders will take part in demonstrations in Geneva against the UN-sponsored Durban Review Conference, a Jewish leader said yesterday. Laurence Borot, a representative of the French Jewish community’s political arm, told Haaretz that the Nobel laureate and French lawyer and politician Simone Veil had both confirmed they would be at the demonstrations. Borot was speaking after a Jewish Agency panel on anti-Semitism. "Durban II," as the conference is widely called, will take place in April at the UN headquarters in Geneva and is expected to be highly critical of Israel. The governments of Israel and Canada are so far the only ones to officially declare a boycott of the meeting. Yet the chances that U. S. President Barack Obama will boycott a conference against racism are slim, said Richard Heideman, a Washington-based lawyer and honorary president of B’nai B’rith. more.. e-mail
US optimistic over Syria relations Al Jazeera 2/22/2009 Syria has indicated it is willing to help achieve a Palestinian unity government that could restart peace talks with Israel, the chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee has said. "Syria could be, in fact, very helpful in helping to bring about a unity government," Senator John Kerry told reporters after meeting Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, in Damascus on Saturday. "If you achieve that, then you have made a major step forward not only in dealing with the problems of Gaza, but you have made a major step forward in terms of how you reignite discussions for the two-state solution. . . I think that Syria indicated to me a willingness to be helpful in that respect. "Syria, which is under US sanctions, hosts the exiled leadership of Hamas and has influence on the Palestinian group. Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, is expected to take part in Egyptian-sponsored unity talks between Palestinian groups on Wednesday. more.. e-mail
Celebrities asked to boycott diamonds from settlement builder Press release, Adalah-NY, Electronic Intifada 2/20/2009 Adalah-NY and Jews Against the Occupation-NYC (JATO-NYC) have called on 16 Hollywood PR firms and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to ensure that no stars wear Leviev diamonds at this Sunday’s Academy Awards. In a two week campaign involving letters and dozens of phone discussions with PR firms, the groups drew attention to Leviev’s violations of human rights and international law in the occupied West Bank where his companies build Israeli settlements, and in the diamond industry in Angola and Namibia. Leviev reportedly controls one-third of the world’s diamond mines. The 16 PR firms contacted include six firms representing the ten nominees for best actress and best supporting actress, and representatives for many other female stars. The PR firms acknowledged receiving the Adalah-NY/JATO-NYC letter, and a number of the firms said the letter had been circulated among their senior staff... more.. e-mail
Global boycott movement marks its successes Jeff Handmaker, Electronic Intifada 2/20/2009 Responding to the many calls for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel, solidarity movements around the world have marked many successes. It is important for human rights advocates to build on this momentum and seize the opportunity to do what is within their power to try and hold Israel accountable for its abuses of human rights and other international laws. Since the initial BDS call by Palestinian intellectuals and academics in October 2003, which was followed by separate calls for sports, arts, economic and other calls for BDS, there has been a seismic shift in the global solidarity movement for human rights in Israel-Palestine. Lawyers, doctors, academics, students, trade unionists, school teachers and many other activists have marked successes around the world. Their efforts are an inspiring reflection of the South African anti-apartheid movement, where BDS was also used very effectively. In first few weeks of 2009 alone, European... more.. e-mail
Student sit-ins in solidarity with Palestine spread from UK to US Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 2/17/2009 After a number of successful sit-ins at British universities calling for divestment from Israeli apartheid, students in the US have taken up the cause as well. The University of Rochester, in New York, is the first to declare success after a sit-in at the University Administration building. The University of Rochester sit-in consisted of a number of groups, including Students For a Democratic Society (SDS), the Campus Antiwar Network (CAN) and community members. They made a number of demands to the university administration: that university divest from corporations that manufacturer weapons and profit from the siege; commit to fundraising humanitarian aid for Gaza; donate extra computers and books to students and educational institutions in Gaza; and provide scholarships for Palestinian students. At first, the students were simply engaging in a teach-in on the issues, but when the. . . more.. e-mail
Israel launches covert war against Iran Philip Sherwell, Telegraph 2/16/2009 Israel has launched a covert war against Iran as an alternative to direct military strikes against Tehran’s nuclear programme, US intelligence sources have revealed. It is using hitmen, sabotage, front companies and double agents to disrupt the regime’s illicit weapons project, the experts say. The most dramatic element of the "decapitation" programme is the planned assassination of top figures involved in Iran’s atomic operations. Despite fears in Israel and the US that Iran is approaching the point of no return in its ability to build atom bomb, Israeli officials are aware of the change in mood in Washington since President Barack Obama took office. They privately acknowledge the new US administration is unlikely to sanction an air attack on Iran’s nuclear installations and Mr Obama’s offer to extend a hand of peace to Tehran puts any direct military action beyond reach for now. more.. e-mail
Queer activists call for boycott of Tel Aviv film festival Appeal, QUIT, Electronic Intifada 2/17/2009 Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism (QUIT!), a San Francisco Bay Area solidarity group, is calling on international Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans and Queer filmmakers not to participate in the Tel Aviv International LGBT Film Festival this June. QUIT!’s call for filmmakers to respect the cultural boycott of Israel initiated by more than 100 organizations of Palestinian civil society. The call has been joined by members of South West Asian and North African Bay Area Queers (SWANABAQ) and a founder of Trikone, the largest South Asian LGBT organization in the world. One filmmaker has already notified festival organizers of his decision not to participate. Maher Sabry, director of the Egyptian film Toul Omry (All My Life), wrote: "It would be hypocrisy of me to call for boycotting the Egyptian government for mistreating gay men and not to call for boycotting Israel for the mass punishment of innocent Palestinian civilians for assault by few militants. " more.. e-mail
Ram: ATP must take charge Al Jazeera 2/17/2009 The governing bodies of tennis should cancel or impose fines on tournaments if players are barred from competing in them, Israeli doubles specialist Andy Ram said on Tuesday. Ram’s compatriot Shahar Peer was denied an entry visa into the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which has no diplomatic links with Israel, at the weekend and hence was unable to participate in this week’s women’s Dubai Championships. "Cancelling the tournament is the last thing Shahar, the WTA or the ATP or anybody else wants," Ram, who has applied for a visa to play in next week’s men’s tournament in Dubai, told the BBC. "On the other hand, it’s one of the biggest tournaments on the calendar, so obviously they have to find a way to let the Israelis play there. I don’t know what should be done. . . . maybe cancelling the tournament or sanction them with money or any other thing. " more.. e-mail
At a Campus Sit-In against Israeli Occupation Ron Jacobs, Palestine Chronicle 2/16/2009 On Friday, February 6, the University of Rochester-SDS (UR-SDS) organized an occupation of Goergen Hall at the University of Rochester for peace and solidarity with the Palestinians. The action was partially inspired by the wave of occupations across the UK in support of Palestine the past few weeks. UR-SDS made a list of demands of the administration (including divestment from weapons manufacturers, educational and humanitarian aid to Gaza, and scholarships for Palestinian students). In a related event, on Thursday, February 12, 2008 Hampshire College of Amherst, MA. became the first US school to divest from corporations profiting from the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Back at the University of Rochester representatives of the occupying students and the university administration signed a Joint Statement of Understanding. The approximate wording of the statement is: 1. University of Rochester will commit to provide any surplus goods or supplies that could assist the devastated University... -- See also: U of R Students for a Democratic Society more.. e-mail
Irish civil society and trade unions support BDS Stop The Wall 2/13/2009 Irish civil society and trade unions have voiced thier support of BDS following the assault on the Gaza Strip. A number of groups and individuals from Irish civil society have again called for BDS, while the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) is set to launch a boycott of Israeli goods. A full-page advertisement was published in The Irish Times on 31 January 2009 explaining the situation in Palestine and calling for BDS. The signatories of the letter, who represented various groups in Irish civil society, demanded that the Irish government cease its purchases of Israeli military products, call for an arms embargo, and veto the proposed upgrades in EU – Israel relations. The Irish people were called on to boycott Israeli goods and services. The ICTU has also announced its intention of launching a boycott of Israeli goods. This development came after senior members who visited Palestine on a fact-finding mission were shocked by the situation on the ground. more.. e-mail
Irish trade unionists, U. Manchester students decide to boycott Israel Cnaan Liphshiz, Ha’aretz 2/13/2009 Irish trade unionists said this week that they plan to launch a boycott of Israeli goods this year. On Wednesday, the University of Manchester’s student union adopted a resolution supporting a boycott of Israel. In moving ahead with plans to boycott Israel, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) says it is relying on "evidence" left in the aftermath of December’s Israeli invasion of Gaza. The union is also said to be drawing from a "fact-finding mission" to Gaza by a dozen of its senior members more than a year ago. Leaders within the ICTU are to hold a conference this year to act as "a springboard" for their campaign. " The trip was over a year ago but its campaign will move up a gear this year with a major conference to highlight the Palestinian-Israeli situation, while research on a boycott of Israeli goods to press for a settlement will also be finalized," a statement by the organization read. more.. e-mail
Hampshire College cuts ties with fund invested in Israel Peter Schworm, Boston Globe 2/12/2009 Student activists at Hampshire College are hailing a divestment decision by the board of trustees that they say makes the college the first in the country to break financial ties with companies specifically because they do business with Israel. But the college strenuously denies the move was politically motivated. The campus group at the Amherst school, Students for Justice in Palestine, said it had pressured the board to divest from six companies because of human rights concerns in the Palestinian territories. The group said it urged trustees to sell off holdings in a mutual fund run by State Street Global Advisors that invests in companies that "provide the Israeli military with equipment and services in the Occupied West Bank and Gaza." But in a statement released today, university officials said the decision to divest from the fund was made "without reference to any country or political movement." more.. e-mail
Hampshire College becomes first college in U.S. to divest from Israeli Occupation Students for Justice in Palestine - Hampshire College, International Middle East Media Center News 2/13/2009 Hampshire College in Amherst, MA, has become the first of any college or university in the U. S. to divest from companies on the grounds of their involvement in the Israeli occupation of Palestine. This landmark move is a direct result of a two-year intensive campaign by the campus group, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). The group pressured Hampshire College’s Board of Trustees to divest from six specific companies due to human rights concerns in occupied Palestine. Over 800 students, professors, and alumni have signed SJP’s "institutional statement" calling for the divestment. The proposal put forth by SJP was approved on Saturday, 7 Feb 2009 by the Board. By divesting from these companies, SJP believes that Hampshire has distanced itself from complicity in the illegal occupation and war crimes of Israel. Meeting minutes from a committee of Hampshire’s Board of Trustees confirm. . . -- See also: Students For Justice In Palestine - Hampshire College more.. e-mail
US college cuts ties with Israeli occupation-affiliated businesses Ma’an News Agency 2/13/2009 Bethlehem – Ma’an – Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts has become the first of any college or university in the US to divest from companies on the grounds of their involvement in the Israeli occupation of Palestine. The landmark move is a direct result of a two-year intensive campaign by the campus group, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). The group pressured Hampshire College’s Board of Trustees to divest from six specific companies due to human rights concerns in occupied Palestine. Over 800 students, professors, and alumni have signed SJP’s "institutional statement" calling for the divestment. The proposal put forth by SJP was approved on Saturday, 7 Feb 2009 by the Board. By divesting from these companies,” SJP believes that Hampshire has distanced itself from complicity in the illegal occupation and war crimes of Israel,” according to a statement. more.. e-mail
Hampshire! First US college to divest from occupation Palestine News Network 2/12/2009 Hampshire College in Amherst, MA, has become the first of any college or university in the United States to divest from companies on the grounds of their involvement in the Israeli occupation of Palestine. This landmark move is a direct result of a two-year intensive campaign by the campus group, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). The group pressured Hampshire College’s Board of Trustees to divest from six specific companies due to human rights concerns in occupied Palestine. Over 800 students, professors, and alumni have signed SJP’s "institutional statement" calling for the divestment. The proposal put forth by SJP was approved on Saturday, 7 Feb 2009 by the Board. By divesting from these companies, SJP believes that Hampshire has distanced itself from complicity in the illegal occupation and war crimes of Israel. more.. e-mail
Tulkarem to boycott Israeli commercial goods starting 1 March Ma’an News Agency 2/12/2009 Tulkarem – Ma’an – The city of Tulkarem will begin a total boycott of Israeli goods starting March, the chamber of commerce announced Thursday. The chamber, in conjunction with several local merchants and organizations, decided to launch the campaign, called “Keeping Tulkarem Clean of Israeli Goods. ” The city will have assistance in organizing popular awareness of the efforts from coordinators from the popular anti-wall campaigns including Jamal Jum’ah. Member of the local coordination committee Jamal Barham stressed the importance of unifying efforts to ensure the success of the campaign. This will include helping shop owners identify non-Israeli goods to replace common items like milk, flour, juice and chocolate. The goal of the Tulkarem project is to increase the production of Palestinian goods from supplying 15% to 25% of consumer goods in Palestinian areas. more.. e-mail
Irish trade unionists plan boycott of Israeli goods in aftermath of Gaza op Cnaan Liphshiz, Ha’aretz 2/12/2009 Irish trade unionists said this week that they plan to launch a boycott of Israeli goods in 2009. Meanwhile, Manchester University Student Union adopted a resolution supporting a boycott of Israel. In moving ahead with plans to boycott Israel, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) says it is relying on "evidence" left in the aftermath of the Israeli invasion into Gaza in December. It also said to be drawing from a "fact-finding mission" to Gaza by a dozen of its senior members more than a year ago. Leaders within the Irish Congress of Trade Unions are to hold a conference this year to act as "a springboard" for their campaign. "The trip was over a year ago but its campaign will move up a gear this year with a major conference to highlight the Palestinian/Israeli situation, while research on. . . more.. e-mail
Hampshire College first in US to divest from Israel Press release, Students for Justice in Palestine - Hampshire College, Electronic Intifada 2/12/2009 Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, has become the first of any college or university in the US to divest from companies on the grounds of their involvement in the Israeli occupation of Palestine. This landmark move is a direct result of a two-year intensive campaign by the campus group, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). The group pressured Hampshire College’s Board of Trustees to divest from six specific companies due to human rights concerns in occupied Palestine. More than 800 students, professors and alumni have signed SJP’s "institutional statement" calling for the divestment. The proposal put forth by SJP was approved on Saturday, 7 February 2009 by the Board. By divesting from these companies, SJP believes that Hampshire has distanced itself from complicity in the illegal occupation and war crimes of Israel. Meeting minutes from a committee of Hampshire’s Board of Trustees confirm that... more.. e-mail
In Photos: Global mobilization in solidarity with Gaza, Part II Stop The Wall 2/8/2009 The Occupation’s barbaric assault on Gaza served to galvanize the people of the world, bringing millions of people together to denounce the atrocities being committed. From north to south, east to west, people joined forces not only to demand an end to the attacks, but also to call for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel, and to call upon the international community to hold Israel accountable for its crimes. The international solidarity was extremely important for the people of Gaza, and it is now vital that the mobilization continues to place pressure on Israel, forcing it to end its regime of apartheid in Palestine. -- See also: Part I more.. e-mail
In Photos: Global mobilization in solidarity with Gaza, Part I Stop The Wall 2/8/2009 The Occupation’s barbaric assault on Gaza served to galvanize the people of the world, bringing millions of people together to denounce the atrocities being committed. From north to south, east to west, people joined forces not only to demand an end to the attacks, but also to call for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel, and to call upon the international community to hold Israel accountable for its crimes. The international solidarity was extremely important for the people of Gaza, and it is now vital that the mobilization continues to place pressure on Israel, forcing it to end its regime of apartheid in Palestine. -- See also: Part II more.. e-mail
University of Rochester students in New York demand divestment, fundraising for Gaza Ma’an News Agency 2/8/2009 Bethlehem - Ma’an - Mirroring the action in UK schools last month, University of Rochester students and community members began an occupation of campus buildings Friday afternoon. The students have stated that they will remain in the buildings until the university agrees to the following:1. Divestment: A peaceful investment policy governing the university’s endowment funds, including divestment from corporations that manufacturer weapons and profit from war. Students say the university invests in General Dynamics, a weapon manufacturer supplying Israel. 2. Humanitarian aid: A day of fundraising for humanitarian aid in Gaza within two weeks as part of an ongoing commitment to provide financial support for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. 4. Scholarships: A minimum of five scholarships for Palestinian students per year. -- See also: U of R Students to Occupy Academic Building for Peace and in Solidarity with Gaza and U of R Students for a Democratic Society more.. e-mail
South African dockworkers refuse to offload Israeli goods Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 2/5/2009 South African dock workers have refused to offload a ship full of products from Israel. This action follows a decision by the Congress of South African Trade Unions to engage in boycott and sanctions against what they call apartheid in Israel. It’s part of a week of protests and rallies in South Africa, which include union protests in front of the South African Zionist Federation, and dock blockades. The Congress of South African Trade Unions was a leader in the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa. They make a comparison between the apartheid they suffered in South Africa and the Israeli policies of discrimination and occupation of the Palestinian people. [end]
Histadrut seeks int’l help over SA ports boycott Lior Baron, Globes Online 2/5/2009 South African port workers are refusing to unload Israeli goods in solidarity with the Palestinians. The Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) intends to ask the International Transport Workers’ Federation to help bring about an end to the boycott imposed on Israeli ships by port workers in South Africa. "The union in South Africa is against anything connected to Israel, and in the past even objected to a cooperation agreement we signed with the Palestinian transport workers union," explained Transport Wokers Union chairman Avi Edri. "It’s unacceptable that trades unions should intervene in a political matter, especially when those Israeli businesses suffering from the boycott employ Palestinian workers too," he added. Randall Howard, General-Secretary of the SA Transport and Allied Workers Union, announced yesterday. . . more.. e-mail
Palestinian boycott committee salutes S. African dock workers Press release, Secretariat of the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, Electronic Intifada 2/4/2009 The following press release was issued on 3 February 2009: The Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee, BNC, warmly salutes the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU), a member of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), for its decision today not to offload an Israeli ship that is due to arrive in Durban, South Africa, on 8 February. Coming weeks after the massive Israeli massacre in Gaza, this distinguished expression by SATAWU of effective solidarity with the Palestinian people in general, and with Gaza in particular, sets a historic precedent that reminds us of the first such action during the apartheid era taken by Danish dock workers in 1963, when they decided not to offload ships carrying South African products, triggering a similar boycott in Sweden, England and elsewhere. more.. e-mail
South African dock workers refuse to unload Israeli cargo Ma’an News Agency 2/4/2009 Bethlehem – Ma’an – South African dock workers announced their refusal to offload cargo from a ship carrying goods from Israel scheduled to arrive in Durban on Sunday. It follows the decision by dock workers there to strengthen the campaign in South Africa for boycotts, divestment and sanctions against “apartheid” Israel, a statement said. The pledge by union members in Durban “reflects the commitment by South African workers to refuse to support oppression and exploitation across the globe,” the workers said. Last year, Durban dock workers refused to offload a shipment of arms that had arrived from China and was destined for Zimbabwe to prop up the Mugabe regime. Now, the union’s members are committing themselves to not handling Israeli goods, according to General Secretary Randall Howard. In 1963, just four years after the Anti-Apartheid Movement was formed, Danish dock workers refused to offload a ship with South African goods. more.. e-mail
Report: South African ports to reject Israeli ships Ynetnews, YNetNews 2/4/2009 Congress of South African Trade Unions vows to close ports to ships carrying goods to, from ’apartheid Israel,’ local daily reports. Jewish Board of Deputies says decision election stunt - The Congress of South African Trade Unions has vowed to close ports to cargo ships from "apartheid Israel," the South African Daily News reported on Wednesday. The Congress has already announced it would refuse to offload a vessel scheduled to dock in Durban on Sunday. According to the report, this will be the second time COSATU’s affiliate, the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU,) refuses to unload goods from or destined to "dictatorial and oppressive rogue states," which include Israel, Zimbabwe and Swaziland. A statement issued by COSATU said "This follows the decision by COSATU to strengthen the campaign in South Africa for boycotts, divestment and sanctions against apartheid Israel. more.. e-mail
Families of Beit Dajan announce boycott of Israeli products Ma’an News Agency 1/24/2009 Nablus – Ma’an – Israeli goods are being boycotted by one hundred families affiliated with the Palestine People’s Party (PPP) in Biet Dajan, in the northern West Bank. The group organized in response to the Israeli war against Gaza, and decided to replace all Israeli goods with local Palestinian products where at all possible. The final decision came at a senior party leadership meeting this week. The leadership has also begun a campaign demanding the Palestinian National leadership, NGOs ad civil society institutions get on board with the boycott. The campaign hopes to begin with an economic boycott and move on from there. [end]
US academics: join us in boycott call Appeal, USCACBI, Electronic Intifada 1/22/2009 Mission statement Responding to the CALL of Palestinian civil society to join the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, we are a US campaign focused specifically on a boycott of Israeli academic and cultural institutions, as delineated by PACBI (Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel): In light of Israel’s persistent violations of international law, and Given that, since 1948, hundreds of UN resolutions have condemned Israel’s colonial and discriminatory policies as illegal and called for immediate, adequate and effective remedies, and Given that all forms of international intervention and peace-making have until now failed to convince or force Israel to comply with humanitarian law, to respect fundamental human rights and to end its occupation and oppression of the people of Palestine, and In view of the fact that people of conscience in the international community have historically shouldered the moral... -- See also: US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel and Boycott Israel more.. e-mail
Why American academics must join boycott of Israel Rania Masri and Marcy Newman, Electronic Intifada 1/18/2009 On Friday 16 January, Israeli occupation forces bombed the headquarters of the University Teachers Association-Palestine (UTA), in Gaza, during their indiscriminate, willful destruction of the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City. The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) noted that "the UTA, together with other Gaza-based civil society organizations, called on 15 January for a wide campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel in response to its well-documented, premeditated war crimes in Gaza. The Israeli bombing of UTA’s headquarters occurred on the exact following day, 16 January." On 28 December, Israel had already bombed the Islamic University of Gaza (IUG), with American-made F-16s destroying six buildings including research laboratories and a women’s dormitory. IUG, like all Palestinian universities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, has no political affiliation. Like the rest of the society, the faculty and... more.. e-mail
Gaza: The Beginning of the End of Israel? Alex Whisson, Palestine Chronicle 1/19/2009 more.. e-mail
Solidarity with Gaza: Just the Beginning Hammam Farah – Toronto, Palestine Chronicle 1/19/2009 more.. e-mail
Demonstrators: British bank cow-tows under US pressure to cut charitable aid PNN, Palestine News Network 1/17/2009 UK - Today in the United Kingdom the Bristol-branch of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign is hosting information stalls and looking for additional support for an ongoing boycott of Israeli goods. Yesterday there were scenes of chaos on Bristol’s Corn Street as police and security guards failed to hold back a surge of chanting protesters from reaching the doors of Lloyds-TSB Bank. The bank is accused of increasing the number of Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip by preventing the transfer of charitable donations. Bristol filmmaker Ed Hill said on Friday, "At a time like this, when people across the country want to help, and many of them are busy raising money. Anything that gets in the way of the money getting through to where it is desperately needed is an outrage. " In the face of some 60 nonviolent demonstrators demanding to see the manager, police and security guards. . . more.. e-mail
International boycott of Israeli products launched from West Bank PNN, Palestine News Network 1/15/2009 Ramallah -- Hundreds of calls have gone out for boycotts of Israeli goods during 40 years of occupation, with an increase during the past three weeks. In Ramallah today the Agricultural Relief Society launched a new campaign entitled, "Boycott Israeli goods - they pay for ammunition. " Economic strangulation, restrictions on exports and imports, and a steady creation of dependence are parts of the occupation that have led to a flooding of Israeli goods in West Bank stores. The Palestinian nonviolent resistance movement taken a role in reversing the phenomena and a rally organized by Agricultural Relief today is part of that. "In condemnation of the barbaric Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip," said Director-General Khalil Shiha, "this campaign begins in Ramallah and reaches all Palestinian communities in addition to the Arab nation and the world at large. -- See also: Boycott Israel! more.. e-mail
Erdogan calls on security council to impose sanctions on Israel Palestinian Information Center 1/13/2009 ANKARA, (PIC)-- Turkish premier Recep Erdogan strongly criticized the UN security council for its passivity towards the Israeli atrocities in the Gaza Strip, demanding it to impose sanctions on Israel. "The world is watching the brutal massacres perpetrated by Israel in the Gaza Strip and standing by idly as if watching a movie, Erdogan said during a gathering held by the justice and development party in Ankara. He demanded the security council to impose sanctions on Israel because of its refusal to comply with the council’s resolution, stressing that his country would deal with the resolutions of the security council in the same way if it did not stop Israel immediately. The Turkish consumers’ association called on Turkish citizens to boycott the products of the US, Britain and Israel in response to their limitless support for the war on Gaza, and issued a statement included a list of some American and British products. more.. e-mail
Enough. It’s time for a boycott Naomi Klein, The Guardian 1/10/2009 more.. e-mail
Union urges immediate boycott following Gaza university bombing Appeal, Palestinian Federation of Unions of University Professors and Employees, Electronic Intifada 12/30/2008 The following appeal was issued on 29 December 2008: The Palestinian Federation of Unions of University Professors and Employees condemns in the strongest possible terms the bombing today of the campus of the Islamic University in Gaza. This wanton destruction of an academic institution is only the latest in the ongoing lethal campaign launched by the Israeli government and army against Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip. This murderous rampage has caused more than 300 deaths and the injury of close to 1,500 Palestinians. And the carnage continues with impunity. We add our voice to the urgent appeal issued two days ago by the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC) urging international civil society not just to protest and condemn Israel’s massacre in Gaza, but also to join and intensify the international boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign more.. e-mail
BNC: 'Stop the massacre in Gaza - Boycott Israel now!' International Solidarity Movement 12/29/2008 Boycott & sanctions - Press release from the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC) - Occupied Ramallah, Palestine - 27 December 2008:Today, the Israeli occupation army committed a new massacre in Gaza, causing the death and injury of hundreds of Palestinian civilians, including a yet unknown number of school children who were headed home from school when the first Israeli military strikes started. This latest bloodbath, although far more ruthless than all its predecessors, is not Israel’s first. It culminates months of an Israeli siege of Gaza that should be widely condemned and prosecuted as an act of genocide against the 1. 5 million Palestinians in the occupied coastal strip. Israel seems intent to mark the end of its 60th year of existence the same way it has established itself - perpetrating massacres against the Palestinian people. more.. e-mail
Fight against settlements not about boycotting Israel, says U.K. envoy Reuters, Ha’aretz 12/23/2008 Britain’s envoy to the Middle East on Monday said the United Kingdom would continue its fight against West Bank settlements, but would not mount a broader divestment campaign. "This isn’t about boycotting Israel. The settlements are not Israel," said Bill Rammell. He made the comments in Jerusalem after meeting Israeli and Palestinian leaders and touring parts of the West Bank. While Britain has stepped up inspections of Israeli imports to make sure products from West Bank settlements not enter duty-free, Rammell said pressuring British companies to pull out of the settlements would be a step too far. In addition to random inspections of Israeli goods by the British tax authority, Britain has taken the lead in trying to get the European Union to set labeling standards to make clear to consumers which products come from Israel and which come from settlements in the West Bank. more.. e-mail
New UK stance on settlements may prevent nationals from buying property on 'occupied land' Ma’an News Agency 12/19/2008 Bethlehem - Ma’an - Details of the paper presented by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to the Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in London outlining the UK’s new stance on Israeli settlements were released Friday. The paper was handed over during Fayyad’s visit to the UK for the London Forum on Palestinian investment, and included details about a UK warning, and even legal measures preventing citizens from buying property in the occupied West Bank, Golan Heights and East Jerusalem. The paper indicates a harder UK stance on the issue of settlement construction and the yet-unresolved issue of Israeli borders. According to some reports the UK is considering a divestment policy in areas classified as under occupation. UK government websites will be posting the warning against property purchase in occupied areas. more.. e-mail
The Historical Meaning of the Palestinian Flag Matthew Taylor, The Daily Californian, Palestine Think Tank 12/7/2008 more.. e-mail
Petition in support of UN General Assembly President to boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel Haitham Sabbah, Palestine Think Tank 12/4/2008 Petition in support of call by United Nations General Assembly President Miguel D’escoto Brockmann for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel - During the 57th Plenary Meeting on the Question of Palestine, President of the General Assembly Miguel D’escoto Brockmann broke a diplomatic taboo by describing Israeli policies in the Occupied Palestinian Territories as similar to those of the defunct apartheid regime in South Africa. Brockmann also urged the United Nations to use the term "˜apartheid’ without fear, and recommended that the United Nations"…. should consider following the lead of a new generation of civil society, who are calling for a similar non-violent campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions to pressure Israel to end its violations. -- See also: Petition more.. e-mail
More transnational companies divest from illegal industrial settlements Adri Nieuwhof, Electronic Intifada 12/2/2008 more.. e-mail
UNGA head accuses Israel of apartheid Allison Hoffman, Jpost Correspondent In New York, Jerusalem Post 11/25/2008 A top UN official has called for "concrete action" against Israel over the country’s treatment of Palestinians. General Assembly President Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann said the international community should consider sanctions against Israel including "boycott, divestment and sanctions" similar to those enacted against South Africa two decades ago. D’Escoto, who told The Jerusalem Post in an exclusive interview last month that he "loved" Israel but disagreed with its policies, reiterated in his speech Tuesday that he had "great love for the Jewish people. " But he went on to say that the Holocaust and other historical crimes against the Jews didn’t give Israel "the right to abuse others, especially those who historically have such deep and exemplary relations with the Jewish people. " more.. e-mail
A Palestinian action plan to combat Israeli racism Adri Nieuwhof, Electronic Intifada 11/24/2008 more.. e-mail
Boycotting Israeli settlement products: tactic vs. strategy Omar Barghouti, Electronic Intifada 11/11/2008 more.. e-mail
Campaigning against Veolia kicks off in Bilbao, Basque Coutry Stop The Wall 11/6/2008 On November 1st in front of Bilbao’s city hall, a group of Palestinian, Israeli and international activists, answered the Palestinian civil society’s call for a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israeli occupation of Palestine by joining the international efforts to Boycott Veolia. Veolia, trough its participation in building the Jerusalem light train, is directly complicitin Israeli war crimes, and is an accomplice in the Occupation’s colonialist and apartheid regime. The city council of Bilbao has awarded a concession contract for bus transportation to Veolia, but the contract has not yet been ratified. The city of Bilbao is the first Spanish city where a direct action campaign has successfully raised awareness about European public institutions’ responsibility to boycott companies that collaborate with the Zionist colonization of Palestine. more.. e-mail
Leviev boycott moves forward with action in the UK and NYC Stop The Wall 10/8/2008 Palestine solidarity organization Adalah-NY was recently involved in two actions against Lev Leviev, the Israeli diamond magnate and construction mogul. The first action called on the British government to reverse its plan to rent its new embassy in Tel Aviv from Leviev’s company, Africa-Israel, as dealings with Leviev serve to condone the Occupation’s settlement construction on stolen Palestinian land. Adalah-NY’s call was part of a letter-writing campaign to the British Foreign Office, which Adalah-NY spearheaded, as part of large alliance of Palestinian and international civil society, including Architects & Planners for Justice in Palestine, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, War on Want, the West Bank villages of Bil’in and Jayyous, the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee, Jews Against the Occupation. more.. e-mail
BDS Newsletter #7 - October 2008 Stop The Wall 10/7/2008 The British-based Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) used the month of September as their Boycott Israeli Goods (BIG) Month of Action, as PSC supporters from over twenty towns created eye-catching and impact-achieving demonstrations. In order to support the demonstrations, the PSC also held meetings and film-screenings as a means of spreading their message about the BDS campaign. The highlight of the month came on 28 September, when activists occupied and shut down the UK freight warehouse and HQ of Carmel-Agrexco. Agrexco is one of the largest settlement agro-businesses and a key exporter of settlement produce to Europe. Both gates to the Carmel-Agrexco depot in Hayes, Middlesex were blocked for twelve hours, as four protestors locked themselves inside a cage blocking one gate while another was D-locked to the other gate. more.. e-mail
Dutch company acknowledges illegality of Israeli settlements, divests Shawan Jabarin, Palestine News Network 10/5/2008 Ramallah -- Ramallah’s Al-Haq human rights organization penned an open letter to the Royal Dutch Embassy, Israel, the Dutch Representative Office to the Palestinian Authority and Heineken Nederlands to praise the decision of Barkan Wineries to divest from illegal Israeli settlements in Barkan. The full text follows. "As a Palestinian human rights organisation committed to the promotion and protection of human rights of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), Al-Haq welcomes the decision by Barkan Wineries. . . . . . an Israeli subsidiary of Tempo Beer Industry Ltd. Drinks, to remove its activities from the industrial zone of the illegal settlement of Barkan, in the northern West Bank, and transfer them into Israel. This divestment conclusion is a result of positive developments in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), including the excellent commitment demonstrated by the Dutch consumers; Heineken N. more.. e-mail
Israeli exporter shut down as part of ’Boycott Israeli Goods’ week of action Boycott Israeli Goods Campaign, International Middle East Media Center News 9/29/2008 Human rights activists have occupied and shut down the HQ and only UK freight warehouse of Carmel-Agrexco, Israel’s largest agricultural exporter in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Both gates to the Carmel-Agrexco depot in Hayes, Middlesex, have been blocked. Four protesters have locked themselves inside a cage blocking one gate, while another is D-locked to the other gate. The action in the early hours of Sunday morning was timed to coincide with a Week of Action called by the Boycott Israeli Goods campaign. Protests against the sale of produce from apartheid Israel have taken place outside supermarkets around the country, which account for 60% of Carmel-Agrexco’s total exports. The Israeli government has a 50% stake in Agrexco Agricultural Export Company Ltd, whose exports include flowers, avocados and herbs grown in illegal Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land. more.. e-mail
Crossing the Line focuses on Arab undermining of boycott movement Podcast, Crossing the Line, Electronic Intifada 9/23/2008 more.. e-mail
Obama campaign cries foul after Republicans block Iran divestment bill Natasha Mozgovaya, Ha’aretz 9/20/2008 Barack Obama’s presidential campaign on Friday criticized Republican resistance to the Iran divestment provision authored by the Illinois senator, saying it would have been able to significantly set back the Islamic Republic’s nuclear weapons program, and blaming partisan politics for the bill’s failure. "Once again, Senator McCain and his Republican allies put partisanship ahead of our national security and the security of our ally Israel," the Obama campaign said, after the bill was voted down by Senate Republicans on Friday. Some predicted the Republicans would scuttle the passage of the bill, in order to prevent Obama from achieving a prominent legislative victory while he and McCain are locked in a close presidential race. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) held a conference call interview later on Friday, saying "Senator Obama’s commitment. . . more.. e-mail
How Arab normalization is undermining the boycott movement Wassim Al-Adel, Electronic Intifada 8/29/2008 more.. e-mail
Celebrated Latin diva urged to cancel Tel Aviv concert Open letter, PACBI, Electronic Intifada 7/21/2008 The following is an open letter to Latin musician Mercedes Sosa sent on 21 July 2008 by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel. When Palestinian artists and human rights activists first heard the news of your planned performances in Israel, we felt let down, betrayed, more than angry or apprehensive. We thought to ourselves, how can Mercedes Sosa, the quintessentially progressive diva of freedom songs in Latin America, sing in Israel, a colonial and apartheid state whose war crimes have reached new lows, systematically and deliberately destroying Palestinian society and engendering a process of slow ethnic cleansing of the indigenous people of Palestine? Your visit to Israel would not only violate the Palestinian civil society’s Call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel until it fulfills its obligations under international law, it would more.. e-mail
Boycott committee launches comprehensive website Announcement, Palestinian BDS National Committee, Electronic Intifada 7/9/2008 more.. e-mail
Adalah-NY: Support striking Namibian workers at Lev Leviev Diamonds! International Solidarity Movement 7/5/2008 Boycott & sanctions - Support Striking Namibian Workers at Lev Leviev Diamonds! Protest Firing Threats, Abusive Managers - By: Adalah-NY: The Coalition for Justice in the Middle East, Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Campaign National Committee (BNC) - Management at Lev Leviev Diamond Polishing Company (LLD) in Windhoek, Namibia is threatening to fire 153 diamond polishers who have been on strike since June 19th protesting abusive managers as well as overdue job appraisals, promotions, wages and outstanding overtime pay. The company, owned by Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev, whose companies are already a target of global condemnation for building Israeli settlements in the West Bank in violation of international law, has suspended the 153 strikers and is threatening to begin disciplinary hearings to fire them, claiming the strike is illegal. -- See also: Adalah-NY more.. e-mail
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