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BIG Campaign - Boycott Israeli Goods
The BIG Campaign was launched in the House of Commons on the 4th July 2001. There have been calls for a boycott from within Israel itself as well as in the Occupied Territories. Our decision to launch this campaign follows decades of Israel’s refusal to abide by UN Resolutions, International law and the 4th Geneva Convention.
Boycott Israeli Campaign - Innovative Minds
A lively British site full of graphics, poetry, protest and practical boycott information.
Boycott Israeli Goods Site
The definitive site for information about boycotting Israeli goods. A must for anyone interested in this method of opposing Israeli Apartheid.
Colorado Campaign for Middle East Peace
The Colorado Campaign for Middle East Peace (CCMEP) opposes economic sanctions and military actions against Iraq and U. S. support for the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine, and works for a better world based on social, economic, and environmental justice.
Divest from Israel
Links to university divesiture campaigns and other useful information. "If I were to change the names, a description of what is happening in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank could describe events in South Africa. " -- Archbishop Desmond Tutu, December, 1989.
Divest From Israel Campaign
This site is a compendium of links to divestment and boycott activism across the US and around the globe. "Complicity in the commission of a. . . . war crime, or crime against humanity, is a crime under international law. " Principle VII, Nuremberg Tribunal, adopted 1950, United Nations
MAIAP - The Movement Against Israeli Aparthied in Palestine
The Movement Against Israeli Apartheid in Palestine (MAIAP) takes as its point of departure: the values of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and their articulation in international law; the struggle of the peoples of South Africa against apartheid and their work for democracy and reconciliation. Supports divestiture campaigns and other anti-apartheid actions.
Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel
The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel was launched in Ramallah in April 2004 by a group of Palestinian academics and intellectuals to join the growing international boycott movement.
Stop Caterpillar
Jewish Voice for Peace site dedicated to the Caterpillar boycott.
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your disapproval by non violent means - boycott" (BIG - Boycott Israeli Goods
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The
National Lawyers Guild Urges Support for the Boycott of Israeli Goods by the Norwegian
County of Sor-Trondelag
National Lawyers Guild, March 6, 2006
....The National Lawyers Guild has been sending delegations
to report on Israel's occupation of the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza Strip since
1977. In 1978 the NLG issued, "Treatment of Palestinians in the Israeli-Occupied
West Bank and Gaza: Report of the National Lawyers Guild 1977 Middle East Delegation."
The report was the first comprehensive analysis of Israel's practices published
by any non-governmental organization (NGO) concerned with human rights. It documented
violations by Israel, as a belligerent occupant of the West Bank and Gaza Strip,
of the 1949 Geneva Convention.
More recently, in 2001, an NLG Delegation was sent to the occupied
Palestinian West Bank and Gaza Strip and issued a report titled, "The Al-Aqsa
Intifada and Israel's Apartheid: The US Military and Economic Role in Violation
of Palestinian Human Rights." (copies of that report are available at www.nlg.org).
In keeping with the NLG's historic and recent positions on Palestine,
particularly its "Resolution to Divest, in Practice and Principle, from Israel,"
"Resolution to Stop and Dismantle the Wall," and "Resolution Affirming
the Individual and Collective Palestinian Right of Return," the NLG strongly
supports the County of Sor-Trondelag's boycott Israel resolution and urges other
governmental and non-governmental entities to do the same.
more..
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| A logo
of the Stop Caterpillar site, created and maintained by Jewish Voice for Peace.
Promotes boycott and divestment of Caterpillar Corporation for its custom manufacture
of military bulldozers for the Israeli army, which uses them to demolish Palestinian
homes. |
US
Churches Address Divestment in Israel
Palestine Chronicle, October 12, 2005
Church delegates from five Christian denominations discussed
their church?s positions on Israel?s military occupation of the Palestinian Occupied
Territories and divestment.
At the Chicago Sabeel Conference, James M. Wall moderated the
panel discussion. He is a United Methodist clergyman and senior contributing editor
for ?The Christian Century? magazine. Hall asked panel members the question: ?What
are churches doing to promote peace and justice in Israel/Palestine??
John Bagley spoke on behalf of The Roman Catholic/ Pax Christi
Diplomatic Church and Peace Church. For 25 years Bagley has been a member of Pax
Christi and he is a founding member of the End the Occupation Coalition of Northern
Illinois.
According to Bagley, President Pax Christi International Latin
Patriarch of Jerusalem spoke against Caterpillar and Israel?s use of the trademark,
yellow machinery for demolitions of Palestinian homes. On March 16, 2003 an Israeli
soldier killed the first international, the late Rachel Corrie, a student with
the International Solidarity Movement in Rafah, Gaza. While Corrie stood in front
of a Palestinian home to prevent its demolition, the soldier killed Corrie with
a Caterpillar D9R bulldozer.
In November 2005 Pax Christi USA will have their annual meeting
in Washington.
?A group in the Twin Cities (St. Paul/Minnesota, MN) has
put together a divestiture resolution,? Bagley said. If they can add their presentation
to the meeting?s agenda, then they will present it to church representatives.
more..
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about Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions from our
Archives.. |
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Canadian postal workers back boycott, sanctions against Israel
Palestine News Network 5/6/2008
Reprinted from: Toronto / Sheri Shefa for The Canadian Jewish News— Anti-Israel groups are praising the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) for being the first national union in North America to pass a resolution in support of the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign against Israel. The Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA) released a statement after CUPW’s 23rd triennial convention, held April 13 to 17 in Ottawa, that praised the union for passing a "historic resolution’ in support of the global campaign of boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israeli apartheid." The CAIA says it’s the first time in North American history that a national union has passed such a resolution against Israel." The resolution recognizes Israel as an apartheid state and expresses CUPW’s support for boycott and divestment from Israel. more.. e-mail
Following boycott call, Dubai says Leviev has no license for planned jewelry stores
Adalah-NY Contact, International Solidarity Movement 4/30/2008
Boycott & sanctions - info@adalahny. org - www. adalahny. org - New York, NY, April 30 - In a sudden reversal, just 16 days after Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev publicly announced plans to open two new jewelry stores in Dubai this year, a high-level Dubai government official said that Leviev had no trade license to open a store in the Emirate. The report today in Dubai’s Gulf News, followed a flurry of media coverage of the April 18 call by Palestinians and New York activists for Dubai to boycott Leviev’s businesses over his companies’ settlement construction in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Issa Ayoub, a spokesperson for Adalah-NY, an activist group leading a boycott campaign against Leviev, commented, "We’re gratified that, by refusing trade licenses for Leviev, Dubai has joined the growing movement to boycott Leviev’s companies due to their violations of international law and human rights abuses in Palestine and Angola. more.. e-mail
Support the Canadian Union of Postal Workers’ campaign against Israeli apartheid
Appeal, Tadamon, Electronic Intifada 4/29/2008
We the undersigned organizations congratulate the Canadian Union of Postal workers (CUPW) for joining the international boycott of Israeli apartheid. We call on workers and labor unions worldwide to join CUPW in creating a strong and effective labor movement in solidarity with struggles against Israeli apartheid and violence.
At the national convention of CUPW, representing over 50,000 workers across Canada, a strong majority of delegates voted for a resolution in support of the international campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israeli apartheid.
Marking the first time a country-wide labour union in North America has voted to participate in the global campaign against apartheid in Palestine, CUPW’s resolution represents a critical juncture for the involvement of North American labour in this campaign. International support for CUPW’s resolution -- which recognizes the Palestinian people’s inalienable rights, including the right of return -- could prove key to shoring up this victory. more.. e-mail
Interview: Boycotting Israel at the Arab American University in Jenin
Aaron Lakoff, International Middle East Media Center News 4/28/2008
more.. e-mail
Eat, drink local only
Palestine News Network 3/30/2008
Hebron / PNN - Preparations are under way Sunday to begin a collective boycott. The title is "Eat, Drink Local Products Only. " The implementing institution is the mobile "Library On Wheels," a nonviolent campaign and organization in the southern West Bank city that put books in shared taxis to read while waiting at checkpoints, and that brings books to villages without libraries. Several local governmental and non-governmental organizations, and a number of local companies, are also organizing the boycott. A meeting is planned with the local government of Hebron for Monday at 2:00 pm, when the boycott will be officially underway. Store shelves are overflowing with Israeli products due to closures and restrictions on imports and exports. Israeli forces have also undertaken a lengthy procedure of destroying production facilities and agricultural lands, intended to increase Palestinian reliance on Israeli goods. more.. e-mail
VIDEO - Adalah-NY: New Yorkers protest Leviev’s Israeli settlements, commemorating Palestinian "Land Day"
International Solidarity Movement 3/30/2008
International Actions - Video - Boycott & sanctions - New York, NY, March 29 - Forty New Yorkers commemorated the Palestinian national holiday Land Day Saturday with the eighth protest at the Madison Avenue jewelry store of Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev. The protest included songs, theater and testimonials from villages threatened by Leviev’s settlements. Land Day marks Palestinians’ ties to their land, in defiance of Israeli efforts to displace them. "We targeted Leviev’s New York store on Land Day because his companies have recently built Israeli settlements on Palestinian land in at least four different locations in the Israeli-occupied West Bank," said Issa Mikel, a spokesperson for Adalah-NY. "He has also financed the Land Redemption Fund, a settler organization accused of using fraud to secure Palestinian land for settlement construction. more.. VIDEO - Adalah-NY: New Yorkers protest Leviev''s Israeli settlements, commemorating Palestinian "Land Day"
http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2008/03/30/leviev-protest-land-day/default.htm
link courtesy www.vtjp.org">e-mail
Foreign Press Association in Israel criticizes government sanctions against Al-Jazeera
Ma’an News Agency 3/15/2008
Bethlehem – Ma’an - The Foreign Press Association in Israel (FPA) has expressed deep concern about a reported Israeli Government boycott against the Qatar-based satellite television channel Al-Jazeera. The FPA Board issued a statement in protest, saying that “This incident could create a dangerous environment for the targeted media outlet, whose members could face physical harm from enraged citizens. ”FPA is worried that the threats of harsher sanctions, including the cancellation of Government Press Cards and visas, published in the Israeli media, may have created "a dangerously hostile atmosphere. " It appears these sanctions are being invoked, the FPA Board said, “simply because the government disagrees with the way the network has chosen to cover Israel and the Palestinian territories. ” more..
Trade union building targeted in Gaza
Mohammed Omer, Electronic Intifada 3/4/2008
GAZA CITY, 4 March (IPS) - Two F-16 missiles were all it took to bring down the five-story headquarters of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU).
The Union, established in 1965, is one of the forerunners of the movement calling for an international boycott of Israel, and imposition of sanctions on it until Israel meets its obligations over UN resolutions, borders, and the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland.
Following the bombing last Thursday, Union members have resumed their work from a tent, gathering what files and paper they could from under the rubble.
"The occupation doesn’t need any justifications to commit crimes against Palestinians," Nabil al-Mabhouh, acting head of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions in Gaza told IPS. But the building had apparently been targeted because "we at PGFTU are supporting the rights of tens of thousands of Palestinian workers." more..
Ma’ariv: Leviev’s Diamonds at the Oscars
Gal Karniel, Ma''ariv on-line, International Solidarity Movement 2/24/2008
International Actions - Boycott & sanctions - Ma’ariv on-line (Israel)
(Translation by Adalah-NY) - Human rights organizations around the world warn against wearing Angolan diamonds at the Oscar ceremony. Again Leviev is in the headlines. Leviev is loaning Oscar nominees jewelry for the award ceremony tonight organized by the U.S. film academy (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences). Human rights activists from Adalah-NY have asked the organizers of the 80th Oscar ceremony to respond in this matter. In their words, many of Leviev’s spheres of operation are involved in human rights violations. They refer among other things to the trade and mining of diamonds in Angola, for which the population there pays a high price in blood. Only last year the film "Blood Diamond" with Leonardo di Caprio was nominated for five Oscar awards. more..
AIC: Genocide in Gaza, Ethnic Cleansing in the West Bank
Ilan Pappe, International Solidarity Movement 1/30/2008
more..
Boycott: The Backlash
Ben White, Palestine Chronicle 12/16/2007
more..
No State Has the Right to Exist as a Racist State
Omar Barghouti, interviewed bySilvia Cattori, ZNet 12/15/2007
more..
UK charity targets Israel
Yaakov Lappin, YNetNews 8/28/2007
War On Want: Israel’s disregard for human rights is one of gravest injustices in century - A British charity has denied charges of anti-Semitism after coming under fire for producing a detailed guide to boycotting Israel. War on Want, ostensibly a charity set up to fight worldwide poverty, recently published a guide on its website, entitled, "Towards a global movement for Palestine; a framework for today’s anti-apartheid activism." "Boycotts, divestment, and sanctions have gained currency in recent years as a series of strategies to pressure Israel in pursuit of justice for Palestinians," the guide’s introduction said. "Yet, it is clear that initiatives need to strengthen and gain greater popular support if they are to be an effective force in support of Palestinians," it continued, before instructing... more..
Watching Gaza collapse
Yassmin Moor writing from Rafah, Gaza Strip, Electronic Intifada 8/21/2007
more..
PNI leader condemns "ugly crimes" committed by Israeli forces
Ma’an News Agency 8/21/2007
Ramallah - Ma’an – The Palestinian National Initiative (PNI) leader, Dr Mustafa Barghouthi, on Tuesday condemned the "ugly crimes committed by the Israeli forces in the Palestinian territories." In a statement Barghouthi added that "the Israelis are escalating their crimes and have killed 11 Palestinians in the last 24 hours in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including an 11-year-old child." Barghouthi called on international societies and movements across the world to pressurise their governments to boycott the Israeli government and to impose sanctions against Israel "which allows itself to shed the blood of Palestinians." He also said that Israel considers itself a state that is "above international law." [end]
Why Israel?
Jason Kunin, ZNet 8/19/2007
more..
US Lutherans Consider Israel Boycott
Haviv Rettig, MIFTAH 8/16/2007
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), which has almost five million members in the US, took a step toward a partial boycott of Israeli goods at its 2007 Churchwide Assembly in Chicago last week. On Saturday, the assembly, the church’s top legislative authority, passed a resolution calling to work toward a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and urging investment in the Palestinian Authority. The assembly then urged "consideration of refusing to buy goods or invest in activities taking place in Israeli settlements, and a review of other economic options," according to Bishop Christopher Epting, the presiding bishop’s deputy for ecumenical and interfaith relations," according to the Episcopal Life Online Web site. more..
Israel boycott campaign momentum grows
Emma Clancy, Green Left Weekly, ZNet 8/11/2007
more..
Methodists concerned with Israeli occupation
Michael Paulson, Boston Globe 7/31/2007
N. E. Conference pushes to divest - Ratcheting up the simmering debate over how Protestant denominations should express their concern about Israel, the New England Conference of the United Methodist Church is advising congregations and individuals to divest their holdings from a wide variety of American corporations that the United Methodists believe support the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land. The action, although largely symbolic, is being greeted with dismay by leaders of the local Jewish community, but is giving new energy to the divestment movement, which had lost steam in other mainline Protestant denominations. The United Methodist Church, with 8 million members nationally, is expected to discuss the Middle East at its General Conference next year... more..
U.S. Unions Organize Against British Boycott
Rebecca Spence, Forward 7/25/2007
more..
Palestinian labor leader calls for boycott of Israel; slams Israeli unions for lack of solidarity
Ma’an News Agency 7/23/2007
Bethlehem – Ma’an - Palestinian labor leader Manawel Issa Abdellal called on the worldwide labor movement to support a boycott of Israeli products and divestment from Israeli institutions. Speaking to union supporters in San Francisco, Abdellal said: "Factories actually exist inside the settlements and their products are going to the markets in Europe and in the United States. The whole world is saying these settlements are actually illegal settlements. So why would it be wrong to boycott them?" Abdellal is a member of the executive committee of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU), which represents 250,000 workers. During his address, he described the hardships imposed on Palestinian workers by the Israeli occupation. more..
US unions condemn boycott
Yaakov Lappin, YNetNews 7/19/2007
Letter signed by over 25 US labor union heads ’questions motivation’ of UK counterparts - Over 25 American labor union heads have signed a letter condemning their British counterparts for singling out Israel for a boycott
on Wednesday. "We view with increasing concern the phenomenon of trade unions in a number of countries, including, most recently, the United Kingdom, issuing resolutions that either directly or indirectly call for divestment from and boycotts of Israel," the letter stated, adding: "With the large number of local, regional and international conflicts, with the diverse range of oppressive regimes around the world about which there is almost universal silence, we have to question the motives of these resolutions that single out one country in one conflict. more..
Texas governor seeks divestment from companies dealing with Iran
The Associated Press, Ha’aretz 7/19/2007
The governor of Texas wants state pension funds to divest from companies doing business in Iran, a move advocated by Israeli officials he met with last month. Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican, said Wednesday he is trying to determine whether he could begin the divestment process without legislation. If he cannot, he said he might call a special legislative session. ? This is a country that has a clear terrorist focus, has a clear mission to wipe a friendly democracy and a very close ally of the United States off of the face of the earth,? Perry said, referring to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s calls for the elimination of Israel. The effort mirrors similar moves in various U.S. states where lawmakers have been considering pulling investment from companies doing business with Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria. more..
Irish Congress of Trade Unions calls for boycott and divestment
Press Release, Trade Union Friends of Palestine, 6 July 2007, Electronic Intifada 7/6/2007
In voting for the motions Conference has not only brought to the attention of the world the massive and enduring injustices being carried out by the Israeli state and by those who collude with it -- companies such as Caterpillar and Irish Cement Roadholdings -- but it has also authorized the leadership of the Irish trade union movement to undertake a wide range of measures to oppose such oppressive actions and to register its solidarity. These include a commitment to "actively and vigorously" promote a policy of boycott and of divestment, to make direct representations to government and to the EU, and to mobilize EU-wide trade union solidarity action. Conference also called upon ICTU to send a senior delegation to the Palestinian territories to establish solidarity links. more..
NUJ abandons Israel boycott
Stephen Brook, The Guardian 7/10/2007
The National Union of Journalists will take "no further action" on implementing the controversial resolution by its members to boycott Israeli goods and services. The NUJ’s national executive council (NEC) took the decision and called for members to unite instead behind the union’s "key workplace priorities". It unanimously backed a motion that recognised the NUJ would take no further action on the call for an Israeli boycott because the Trades Union Congress has rejected it. The motion was tabled by the NUJ general secretary, Jeremy Dear, and seconded by the union president, Michelle Stanistreet, at a NEC meeting on Friday. It recognised the concerns expressed by some members, chapels and branches about the proposed boycott and said that it had met the terms of the original delegate vote in favour of the boycott... more..
Methodists ’bordering anti-Semitism’
Yaakov Lappin, YNetNews 6/27/2007
ADL Director slams American Christian group for Israel divestment call -- The United Methodist Church’s call to divest from companies linked to Israel "is bordering on anti-Semitism," Anti-Defamation League Director Abraham Foxman told Ynetnews on Wednesday. Foxman furiously condemned recommendations made by the New England branch of the Methodist Church for its members to divest "from twenty companies identified as supporting the Israeli occupation in Palestine." The recommendations were made by a "task force" of clergy and church members set up to implement a "resolution to end the Israeli occupation," a statement by the Church added. Foxman, who is currently in Israel, said it was "sad that a religious institution whose job should be to reconcile continues to be biased and bigoted. more..
Divide and rule, Israeli-style
Jonathan Cook, ZNet 6/26/2007
more..
70% of Ma’an English readers support a boycott of Israeli products and academic institutions
Ma’an News Agency 6/16/2007
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Ma’an English publishes the results of its online questionnaire, regarding a boycott of Israeli goods and services, conducted over the previous two weeks. Several British organisations are pondering an academic boycott of Israeli services and products in response to Israeli conduct during conflicts with the Palestinians and in Lebanon. The most notable boycott proposal in recent weeks has been that of the UK’s University and College Union (UCU), which voted to hold further discussion on a full boycott of Israeli academics and academic institutions. The boycott movement is gaining momentum in the UK. In April, 130 British doctors called for the boycott of the Israeli Medical Association and its expulsion from the World Medical Association. more..
U.K.’s boycotters of Israel support a single-state solution
Assaf Uni, Ha’aretz 6/16/2007
Britain’s University and College Union’s decision to promote a boycott against Israel two weeks ago did not just materialize out of thin air. In recent years, the U. K. has seen a multitude of organizations devoted to protesting Israel’s occupation of the territories, who organized a mass rally last weekend in the center of London attracted thousands of participants. One of these groups, Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods, opened a stand at the rally, calling for protesters to disrupt Israel’s soccer match against England scheduled for Wembley Stadium on September 8. Next week, pro-Palestinian activists plan to call for a boycott against Israeli produce at a conference held by UNISON, Britain’s biggest trade union. Another organization, the Islamic Council for Human Rights, handed out flyers listing international... more..
Fighting ’the apartheid state’
Assaf Uni, Ha’aretz 6/14/2007
LONDON - Britain’s University and College Union’s decision to promote a boycott against Israel two weeks ago did not just materialize out of thin air. In recent years, the U. K. has seen a multitude of organizations devoted to protesting Israel’s presence in the territories, and the mass anti-Israeli rally last weekend in the center of London attracted thousands of participants. One of these groups, Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods, opened a stand at the rally, calling for protesters to disrupt Israel’s soccer match against England scheduled for Wembley Stadium on September 8. Next week, pro-Palestinian activists plan to call for a boycott against Israeli produce at a conference held by UNISON, Britain’s biggest trade union. Another organization, the Islamic Council for Human Rights, handed out flyers listing... more..
(VIDEO) “We Need an International Anti-Apartheid Campaign”
8220;We Need an International Anti-Apartheid Campaign”, International Solidarity Movement 5/19/2007
Video - Boycott & sanctions, presented by Jeff Halper, posted by Kathy, Halper is the Coordinator of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) and a Professor of Anthropology at Ben Gurion University. Originally from Minnesota (US), he has lived in Israel since 1973. Jeff has researched and written extensively on Israeli society and is the author of the book Between Redemption and Revival: the Jewish Yishuv in Jerusalem in the nineteenth century, (Westview Press, 1991). Halper gave this speech at the 2nd Bil’in International Nonviolence Conference, 19 April 2007.
more..
QUIT: Victoria’s Secret Weapon Fashion Show, SF
from, International Solidarity Movement 5/19/2007
Boycott & sanctions -- Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism, 15 May 2007 -- Victoria’s Army, a division of Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism (QUIT!), delighted Mother’s Day shoppers in San Francisco on Saturday, May 12, with a fashion show outside Victoria Secret’s Union Square storefront. The fashion show was the second outing for the bold Victoria’s Secret Weapon Line, underwritten by generous grants from the Pentagon. Tammy worked her Push "Em Out Bra, made popular by the late Golda Meir ("there is no such thing as Palestinians), while Danielle showed off the wonders of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s own Total Control Boundary Reshaper (checkpoints and apartheid walls give you the contours you want). Three types of Razor Wire bras help separate the welcome from the unwelcome and let you decide who gains access to your cleavage. more..
(AUDIO) “Moral Arguments and Counterarguments on BDS”
uploaded 16 May 2007 Omar Barghouti, International Solidarity Movement 5/17/2007
Omar Barghouti, “Moral Arguments and Counterarguments on Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, (BDS)” presented to the 2nd Bil’in International Nonviolent Conference, 19 April 2007. It’s in two parts, to make it easier to download. PART 1PART 2Omar Barghouti an independent Palestinian political and cultural analyst and human rights activist. He holds an MS in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University in New York (USA). He is currently working on his doctoral dissertation in Philosophy and Ethics at Tel Aviv University. He has contributed to the books, Controversies in Subjectivity, and The New Intifada: Nonviolent Means of Resistence. Barghouti feels the solution t the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict lies in changing the government to a secular democratic state of all its citizens in historical Palestine. more..
Fatah’s armed wing threatens to extend operations outside the Palestinian territories
Rami Almeghari - IMEMC & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center 5/3/2007
Fatah’s aL-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, threatened on Thursday to carry out resistance attacks outside the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, unless the internationally-imposed economic embargo is lifted. In a statement sent to reporters, the brigades held the Israeli occupation and the United States responsible for the financial and political boycott of the Hamas-led coalition government.
“We will not simply keep idle toward those who are imposing the siege”, the statement reads.
According to the statement, the armed group urged the Arab countries to help the Palestinian people get rid of the ongoing economic sanctions.
Earlier today, Prime Minister, Ismail Haniya, hinted the possibility that his Hamas-Fatah coalition government may be dissolved if the economic boycott goes on. more..
The backlash against the UK National Union of Journalists’ boycott motion
Ben White, Electronic Intifada 5/1/2007
There’s nothing quite like a boycott to test the limits of the mainstream ’liberal’ critique of Israel. This has been demonstrated once again by the reaction to a motion at the recent UK National Union of Journalists (NUJ) conference that gave the union’s support to the campaign to boycott Israeli goods.
An official statement described the successful vote as a "decision of NUJ members as trade unionists and as citizens to try to help put pressure on the Israeli government" to stop the "continued occupation", as well as referencing the specific issues of Israel’s withholding of PA money, and the refusal to recognise internationally-accredited Palestinian journalists.
A modest but important show of solidarity for a beleaguered people occupied by a state supported by powerful Western governments? Or an irrelevant... more..
The backlash against the UK National Union of Journalists’ boycott motion
Ben White, Electronic Intifada 5/1/2007
There’s nothing quite like a boycott to test the limits of the mainstream ’liberal’ critique of Israel. This has been demonstrated once again by the reaction to a motion at the recent UK National Union of Journalists (NUJ) conference that gave the union’s support to the campaign to boycott Israeli goods.
An official statement described the successful vote as a "decision of NUJ members as trade unionists and as citizens to try to help put pressure on the Israeli government" to stop the "continued occupation", as well as referencing the specific issues of Israel’s withholding of PA money, and the refusal to recognise internationally-accredited Palestinian journalists.
A modest but important show of solidarity for a beleaguered people occupied by a state supported by powerful Western governments? Or an irrelevant... more..
Looking for alternatives to failure: An answer to Uri Avnery
Ilan Pappe, Electronic Intifada 4/26/2007
more..
Art against Apartheid – International Call for Submissions
Stop The Wall 2/24/2007
The Coalition against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA) from Canada has created a space for artists and designers to submit and promote their artwork and to make it available for campaigners and activists fighting Israeli Apartheid. With the international call for submissions CAIA hopes to support the movement for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israeli apartheid as well as the efforts of artists all over the world. FULL TEXT: International Call For Submissions: ’NO MORE BANTUSTANS’ -- The Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA) is calling on all artists to lend their support to the growing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against the apartheid state of Israel. The movement against South African Apartheid left us with a rich legacy of poster art from communities engaged in the struggle all over the world... -- See also: Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid website and Against ''Sustainable'' Apartheid and Occupation (PDF) more..
Rice Jerusalem Summit about Regime Change
By Ira Glunts, Palestine Chronicle 2/23/2007
more..
Israeli flower exporters claim victory
International Solidarity Movement/Jerusalem Post 2/14/2007
Israeli flower exporters claimed Valentines Day victory Wednesday following a two-day demonstration by anti-Israel activists attempting to disrupt Israeli produce from leaving the UK headquarters of Carmel-Agrexco. Last weekend activists gathered, some chaining themselves to the gates of the factory, to try and stop the distribution of fresh Israeli flowers in the UK for Valentines Day. Tom Hayes, spokesman for the Boycott Israeli Goods campaign (BIG), said: “Before taking part in this action many of the defendants had witnessed first hand the suffering of Palestinian communities under the brutal Israeli occupation. They do not accept the UK’s complicity in the illegal occupation of Palestine and see the presence of this company as a violation of human rights. ” more..
Israeli Apartheid Week comes to New York City
Electronic Intifada 2/9/2007
The 3rd annual Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) will take place in New York City from February 10-17 2007. It will be a week-long series of events organized by a coalition of different groups in the city and will feature lectures, film screenings, and cultural activities. Concurrent events are being held in Canada and the United Kingdom. "This week of events, being held in New York for the first time, adds to the growing international chorus of opposition to Israeli apartheid that includes voices of Palestinians, Israelis, South Africans, and many others who stand for justice," says Ryvka Bar Zohar, an organizer of the week. The aim of IAW is to push forward the analysis of Israel as an apartheid state and to gather support for the international boycott, divestment, and sanctions campaign called for by over 170 Palestinian civil society organizations in 2005. more..
British protest of Israeli company importing Valentine’s Day flowers
Palestine News Network 2/6/2007
The Boycott Israeli Goods campaign is planning a mass picket of the depot of Carmel Agrexco on Saturday 10 February at 1:00 pm in opposition to the sale of Israeli goods and in support of Palestinian farmers who are not able to market their goods internationally. The aim is to draw attention to this company’s sale of flowers from occupied Palestinian land on Valentines day. Campaigners are asking the British public not to buy blood stained flowers for their loved ones this year. Carmel Agrexco is the largest importer of illegal settlement goods into the UK. The Valentines Day period is one of their busiest as the company deals with large amounts of fresh flowers from Israel and the settlements. In the UK Agrexco is known under the Carmel, Coral and Jaffa brands. -- See also: Agrexco Boycott for Valentine’s Day more..
Agrexco Boycott for Valentine’s Day
Stop The Wall 2/4/2007
The UK based BIG Campaign launches a boycott day against Israel’s Agrexco exporting company for Valentine’s Day. Under the slogan “Don’t Flirt with the Occupation” boycott campaigners are to picket the company premises in one of the days of major profit – Agrexco flowers are sold all over the UK. “The Boycott Israeli Goods campaign is planning a mass picket of the depot on Saturday February 10th at 1pm in opposition to the sale of Israeli goods and in support of Palestinian farmers who are not able to market their goods internationally The aim is to draw attention to this company’s sale of flowers from occupied Palestinian land on Valentines day. We are asking the British public not to buy blood stained flowers for their loved ones this year. more..
John Berger rallies artists for cultural boycott of Israel
The Guardian 12/15/2006
Supporters include Brian Eno and Arundhati Roy · Critics say sanctions will be counter-productive -- The celebrated novelist, critic and artist John Berger today calls on British writers and artists to undertake a "cultural boycott" of Israel. In a letter to the Guardian, co-signed by, among others, the artist Cornelia Parker, the musician Brian Eno, and writers Arundhati Roy and Ahdaf Soueif, Berger calls for support for "our Palestinian and Israeli colleagues". He suggests boycott tactics; in his case it meant declining to be published by a large mainstream Israeli publisher, he says. Yesterday he said of the boycott: "It could be a factor in Israeli policy changing. Of course its effects will not be gigantic but it is a way of not staying silent. It is a very personal call... a way of encouraging the very courageous Israelis who oppose their government..." more..
First Bank decides to Divest! Dutch Civil Society challenges investments in the Occupation
Stop The Wall 11/27/2006
Solidarity activists and the Palestinian community in the Netherlands have achieved a major success for the divestment movement as the first Bank decides to divest from Veolia, a company that actively supports Israeli colonization, and “all companies that benefit from Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory”. Veolia is a major stakeholder in the tramway built in occupied Jerusalem. After an exchange of letters between the activists and the bank regarding the issue, a group of activists have been meeting with directors of the ASN Bank to discuss their request that the Bank divests from Veolia shares. Veolia is the mother company of Connex, the service provider that will run the tramway built to connect the settlements in occupied Jerusalem. -- For more see our fact sheet click here more..
Round-up of Recent Media on the Boycott of Israel from PACBI
International Solidarity Movement/PACBI 7/24/2006
A collection of recent press articles on the Boycott, Divestment Sanctions (BDS) campaign from around the world. Compiled by PACBI. -- Boycott Israel to Stop its War Crimes in Lebanon and Gaza! Palestinian Civil Society Campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel — Acting Steering Committee, July 18, 2006 - Calls for boycott, divestment and sanctions -- 1. Formation of SANCTIONS AGAINST ISRAEL COALITION IN SOUTH AFRICA Press release | | July 21, 2006: “The crisis caused by the imperialist-backed Israeli state in their collective punishment of the Palestinians and the Lebanese people has demanded an urgent response. ” 2. Derry protesters demand Israeli goods boycott - Sarah Brett | Belfast Telegraph | July 21, 2006: “Anti-war protesters will be on the streets of Londonderry tomorrow.. " more..
PLC members host American delegation in Nablus
Ma''an News 7/15/2006
Nablus -- Ma''an- A number of Palestinian Legislative Council members from Hamas bloc met in Nablus on Saturday with a delegation representing North American institutions and organizations who show solidarity with Palestinians. On the Palestinian side were PLC members Daud Abu Sir and Hamid Al-Bitawi and Dr Saed Abu Hijlah, lecturer of political geography at An-Najah university. The American delegation was represented by Dr Mazin Qumsiyeh from the Al-Awda, Palestine Right to Return Coalition, and co-founder of the Boycott Israeli Goods website, journalist, Jill Tonsing, an official of Al Awda, and Glestin Mcceib from the International Committee of Green Parties in the USA. The delegation expressed their definite solidarity with the Palestinian people and confirmed that they do their best to maintain the Palestinian right of return. [end] more..
Apartheid Israel worse than SA apartheid: Cosatu
International Solidarity Movement/South African Broadcasting Corporation 7/11/2006
The “apartheid Israel state” is worse than the apartheid that was conducted in South Africa, Willie Madisha, the Congress of SA Trade Unions president, said today. He said Palestinians were being attacked with heavy machinery and tanks used in war which had never happened in South Africa. Cosatu and other organisations supporting Palestine have called on government to end diplomatic relations with Israel and establish boycotts and sanctions such as those against apartheid South Africa. Israel has launched several attacks on Gaza, bombing its main university and firing missiles which have killed Palestinian bystanders. This follows the capture of an Israeli soldier by Palestinians. “We see no justification for this attack,” said Ali Hamileh, Palestinian ambassador to South Africa. more..
A Race Against Time: An interview with Sam Bahour
By Christopher Brown, Electronic Intifada 6/28/2006
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Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel
Badil 6/6/2006
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Open Letter to the Presbyterian Church
Electronic Intifada/Jews Against the Occupation 6/14/2006
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Showdown Over Divestment Resolution Set for Upcoming Presbyterian Parley
Forward 6/9/2006
A group of Presbyterian activists is ramping up efforts to reverse their church''s policy advocating divestment from Israel, setting the stage for a showdown over the issue at next week''s General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA). When the more than 500 national delegates convene June 15-22 in Birmingham, Ala. , for the 217th General Assembly, they will be presented with a trove of proposals — known as "overtures" — calling on the church to rescind its current divestment policy. That policy, enacted two years ago at the last General Assembly, called on the church to begin "phased selective divestment in multinational corporations in Israel. "A firestorm of debate has raged within the church''s 173 presbyteries.... since the divestment measure first passed in July 2004. more..
Nonviolent resistance in the US from Palestinian - Americans
By Mazin Qumsiyeh, Palestine News Network 6/7/2006
The Palestine News Network often receives statements and calls to action by our fellow Palestinian who spends time in both the United States and in occupied Palestine. Today we have decided to reprint his call in full. -- "On Saturday, there were demonstrations in Ramallah and Tel Aviv to protest the siege and starvation of the Palestinian people. We also simultaneously marched in New Haven, CT at Congresswomen DeLauro''s office after letting her staff know of the reasons for our actions. We then had a get together in a hall where we discussed where to go and raised $600 for a convoy that will take medicine and food from Israelis to besieged Nablus in the occupied West Bank.... Below are some news and articles followed by this week''s action items especially on BDS (boycotts, divestment, and sanctions). more..
Largest labor union in Ontario unanimously votes to boycott Israel
Ha''aretz 6/1/2006
The largest labor union in the Canadian province of Ontario has voted unanimously to boycott Israel "until it recognizes the Palestinians'' right of self-determination" and accepts all UN resolutions relating to Palestinians, including the right of return. The Anti-Defamation League has harshly condemned the decision, calling it "deplorable and offensive. "The decision was made by the Ontario division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which has 450,000 members. The union''s decision says that it is joining an international campaign to boycott Israel and to impose sanctions on it, until it fulfills all UN resolutions including Resolution 194, which recognizes the right of return of Palestinian refugees from 1948. more..
Palestinians welcome UK vote for Israel academic boycott
Electronic Intifada/PACBI 5/29/2006
Today, British academics proved once again that they are up to the challenge of meeting injustice with the powerful message of civil resistance that boycott represents. The National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education (NATFHE) voted for an academic boycott of Israel in response to its "apartheid policies. "This is a significant accomplishment considering the campaign of intimidation and bullying waged against proponents of the NATFHE academic boycott initiative by Israeli networks and powerful Zionist lobbies in the United Kingdom and the United States. At this stage of the international boycott movement, Palestinian boycott advocates, including PACBI, aim first and foremost to keep alive an open and principled debate on the need for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel until it fully complies with international law and universal human rights. more..
Israeli group calls for boycott over Hebrew U. Shin Bet degree program
Ha''aretz 5/26/2006
An Israeli group is is planning to brief the British teachers'' association on a new Hebrew University program, approved last week, to grant undergraduate degrees to Shin Bet security services personnel. The Israeli initiative favors imposing sanctions on Israeli organizations that cooperate with the occupation. The British National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education (NATFHE) is to discuss a proposal Monday for an academic boycott of Israel. The program, which will award a B. A. in Middle Eastern studies, was modified after it was first reported in Haaretz, and was lengthened from 16 to 24 months. Sixty percent is to be conducted on campus. The humanities faculty council last week approved the program by a large majority, but must still be vetted by the Council for Higher Education. more..
Israeli group to brief Brits on pro-occupation university activity
Ha''aretz 5/26/2006
An Israeli group is is planning to brief the British teachers'' association on a new Hebrew University program, approved last week, to grant undergraduate degrees to Shin Bet security services personnel. The Israeli initiative favors imposing sanctions on Israeli organizations that cooperate with the occupation. The British National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education (NATFHE) is to discuss a proposal Monday for an academic boycott of Israel. The program, which will award a B. A. in Middle Eastern studies, was modified after it was first reported in Haaretz, and was lengthened from 16 to 24 months. Sixty percent is to be conducted on campus. The humanities faculty council last week approved the program by a large majority, but must still be vetted by the Council for Higher Education. more..
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The National Lawyers Guild Urges Support for the Boycott of Israeli Goods by the Norwegian County of Sor-Trondelag
National Lawyers Guild 3/6/2006
.... The National Lawyers Guild has been sending delegations to report on Israel''s occupation of the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza Strip since 1977. In 1978 the NLG issued, "Treatment of Palestinians in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank and Gaza: Report of the National Lawyers Guild 1977 Middle East Delegation. " The report was the first comprehensive analysis of Israel''s practices published by any non-governmental organization (NGO) concerned with human rights. It documented violations by Israel, as a belligerent occupant of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, of the 1949 Geneva Convention. More recently, in 2001, an NLG Delegation was sent to the occupied Palestinian West Bank and Gaza Strip and issued a report titled, "The Al-Aqsa Intifada and Israel''s Apartheid: The US Military and Economic Role in Violation of Palestinian Human Rights. " (copies of that report are available at www. nlg. org). In keeping with the NLG''s historic and recent positions on Palestine, particularly its "Resolution to Divest, in Practice and Principle, from Israel," "Resolution to Stop and Dismantle the Wall," and "Resolution Affirming the Individual and Collective Palestinian Right of Return," the NLG strongly supports the County of Sor-Trondelag''s boycott Israel resolution and urges other governmental and non-governmental entities to do the same. more..
Anglican panel: Don''t boycott Caterpillar over occupation
Ha''aretz 3/10/2006
A Church of England advisory panel has urged against pulling investments from the U.S. -based Caterpillar Inc. as part of a boycott call to break financial ties with companies linked to Israel''s control of Palestinian territories. The church''s Ethical Investment Advisory Group, in a statement dated Tuesday, reaffirmed a decision taken last year to favor talks with Caterpillar rather than seek divestment. Many religious groups and pro-Palestinian activists have targeted Caterpillar, whose heavy equipment is allegedly used by Israel Defense Forces in the demolition of Palestinian homes. In February, the Church of England''s governing body approved a resolution to divest from "companies profiting from the illegal occupation" of Palestinian areas. more..
Ilan Pappe on the Israel-Palestine conflict - text and audio
International Middle East Media Center 3/4/2006
Last October, when Prof. Ilan Pappe was visiting the San Francisco Bay Area, he was interviewed by Steve Zeltzer for his Labor Video Project cable TV program. This is the audio for the 57 minute program in which Pappe talks about the history of Zionism, the Palestinian Nakba, Israeli-Palestinian labor relations, the need for a one state solution, divestment, and the support of the Israeli public for the Iraq war. You can download or listen to the program by clicking on [the link below] and scroll down to the bottom right hand corner of the page.
My name is Ilan Pappe, I am a lecturer at Haifa University, in Israel. I am a long time activist, for peace, human rights, civil rights; basically, an historian who wrote several books on the Arab-Israeli conflict, focusing particularly on the 1948 events and their impact on the current situation. Q: So why did you decide to become an expert, or study the question of the Palestinians and the formation of Israel? I realized at the very early stage that the research of history in the cases of people like myself, or as anyone knows in Israel and Palestine, is not just an intellectual pursuit; that the reality, the realities of conflict are informed by what happened in the past. And therefore I thought that not only historians, professional historians, but the society at large should look deeply into the past if it wishes to understand the present better. And I also understood that the way history is taught, being taught and researched in Israeli academia is very loyal to the Zionist ideology, and it was very clear for me, from the early stage in my professional carrier that writing history books, and teaching history courses about the Palestine past, is also a political act, an ideological act, not just an intellectual act. Ever since then I am still convinced that my way of activism, which connects my professional history of writing, and my political activity in the present, is tightly closed together and I think this is why I still insist also on continuing researching the past, and being active in the present. -- See also: Click for audio: Scroll to the bottom right hand corner of the page for audio link more..
Divestment Conference in US promises surge of campus Activism
StopTheWall.org 2/26/2006
A major divestment conference in the US has attracted 376 activists. Representing 90 different campuses and solidarity organizations, the campaigners gathered together on the weekend of February the 17th to strategize around divestment initiatives against Israeli Apartheid. The diverse group spent two days discussing ways to project the story of Palestinian dispossession, life under military occupation, and how to make a concrete change towards pro-Palestinian actions and policies in the US. Panels, workshops, and a forum gave activists the possibility to network, share local strategies, and trade ideas for actions. The overriding theme centred upon pressuring institutions to end financial support for Israeli Apartheid. more..
Vote To Divest Seen Having Little Effect
Forward 2/17/2006
When the Church of England''s main legislative body voted last week to divest from companies whose products are used by Israel in the "occupied territories," Jewish groups were quick to offer condemnation. Missing, however, was the sense of alarm that greeted the June 2004 decision by the Presbyterian Church (USA) to start the divestment process rolling. Jewish communal activists largely attributed the lack of panic to a string of victories during the past year in the fight to ward off divestment campaigns. Indeed, even as the Anglican Church held its vote last week, the commission charged with carrying out the Presbyterian policy took steps to table any action against Israel until 2008. Anglican officials themselves rushed to say that last week''s vote would have little practical effect because the panel officially charged with setting the church''s investment policies already ruled against divestment in September. more..
Controversy Erupts at World Economic Forum over Call to Boycott Apartheid Israel
StopTheWall.org 2/1/2006
Palestinian activists have scored a major coup in the campaign to isolate Apartheid Israel and managed to publish an article calling on the world to boycott Israel in the Global Agenda, one of the major journals of the World Economic Forum (WEF). All of the participants in the latest meeting of the global capitalist elite received copies of the journal containing this article. The article reviews the history of Zionism and the role of the American media in concealing and enabling the crimes perpetrated by the Zionist regime. The article ends by referring to the Palestinian Civil Society Call for Boycotts, Divestments, and Sanctions against Israel and by proposing “that global civil society take this call seriously and build a coalition open to all people for a global Movement Against Zionism or a global Movement AgainstIsraeli Apartheid. ” more..
Boycott Israel
By Mazin Qumsiyeh, Global Agenda 1/25/2006
Global civil society ought to boycott Israel until it ends its apartheid-like treatment of Palestinians
Millions of activists have come to see an organic link between the occupation and colonization of Palestine and diverse and pressing global issues ranging from the war on Iraq to global poverty. How did we reach a point where Palestinian flags dominate anti-war rallies and the demonstrations against US-led world financial institutions? Why do these activists see the hypocrisy of American foreign policy with regard to Israel/Palestine as the Achilles heel that might allow a successful challenge to its hegemony? How did we get to the point where mainstream churches and more than 30 American campuses have active divestment and boycott campaigns against Israel? Why do the US and Israel stand isolated in international fora and in public opinion around the world?
The roots of Zionism: To answer these questions, we must first understand the history of Zionism and the roots of the Israeli/Palestinian conundrum, and then look to how we might advance towards a durable and just peace in Israel/Palestine, which is a key to peace and justice elsewhere.
In early 1840, the British imperial government hired lieutenant-colonel George Gawler, a founder of the British penal colonies in Australia, to look into the feasibility of Jewish colonization in Palestine. In 1845 Gawler published Tranquilization of Syria and the East: Observations and Practical Suggestions, in Furtherance of the Establishment of Jewish Colonies in Palestine, the Most Sober and Sensible Remedy for the Miseries of Asiatic Turkey. In 1852 British officials founded the Association for Promoting Jewish Settlement in Palestine. This society later evolved into the Palestine Fund, the first concrete modern Zionist project.
[Global Agenda is the magazine of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland.] more..
GU-SJP Hosts PSM Annual Conference
WAFA 1/25/2006
GEORGETOWN, January 25, 2006 (WAFA)-The Palestine Solidarity Movement (PSM) announced that its fifth annual conference will be held February 17 through 19 at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. "The annual conference comes to Georgetown’s campus, which possesses a Catholic and Jesuit identity, on the heels of a series of bold initiatives taken by the decision-making bodies of various Christian denominations to consider the use of divestment as a tactic to non-violently influence a just resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," PSM said. more..
''Don''t buy fruits of Occupation'': Activists remove Apartheid Israel goods from supermarket shelves
StopTheWall.org 12/29/2005
n Flanders, Belgium, the Flemish Palestine Solidarity Committee has stepped up its boycott campaign of Israeli goods. At the beginning of December, a coordinated action to remove Israeli goods from the shelves grabbed the attention of consumers and supermarket directors in some of the largest Flemish cities. Belgium is one of Israel''s biggest trading partners and a lot of Israeli goods are sold in its supermakets. Trademarks such as Jaffa and Carmel for fruit and vegetables are well known, but Sabra mediterranean salads, Tivall vegetarian meals and Yarden wine could also be found. more..
Why an Economic Boycott of Israel is Justified
By Norman G. Finkelstein, Palestine Chronicle 1/18/2006
Moral burden to avert the impending catastrophe must now be borne by individual states that are prepared to respect their obligations under international law.
The recent proposal that Norway boycott Israeli goods has provoked passionate debate. In my view, a rational examination of this issue would pose two questions: 1) Do Israeli human rights violations warrant an economic boycott? and 2) Can such a boycott make a meaningful contribution toward ending these violations? I would argue that both these questions should be answered in the affirmative.
Although the subject of many reports by human rights organizations, Israel''s real human rights record in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is generally not well known abroad. This is primarily due to the formidable public relations industry of Israel''s defenders as well as the effectiveness of their tactics of intimidation, such as labeling critics of Israeli policy anti-Semitic.
Yet, it is an incontestable fact that Israel has committed a broad range of human rights violations, many rising to the level of war crimes and crimes against humanity. These include:
Illegal Killings. Whereas Palestinian suicide attacks targeting Israeli civilians have garnered much media attention, Israel''s quantitatively worse record of killing non-combatants is less well known. According to the most recent figures of the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories (B''Tselem), 3,386 Palestinians have been killed since September 2000, of whom 1,008 were identified as combatants, as opposed to 992 Israelis killed, of whom 309 were combatants. This means that three times more Palestinians than Israelis have been killed and up to three times more Palestinian civilians than Israeli civilians. Israel''s defenders maintain that there''s a difference between targeting civilians and inadvertently killing them... more..
Gaza Farmers Further Squeezed by the Occupation
StopTheWall.org 1/14/2006
Farmers in Gaza have started a grassroots call for a boycott on Israeli goods as the Occupation simultaneously floods Palestinian markets with their products and disallows Palestinian farmers to sell their products in the West Bank or the ’48 lands or any kind of export. At the end of last week, farmers gathered in front of the fortified checkpoint “Karni Terminal” in South Gaza. The farmers decided to protect their crops and gain control over their livelihoods by threatening to burn all Israeli produce that enters Gaza in response to the Occupation policies that strangle and destroy Palestinian farmers.
Farmers who harvest strawberries in the Gaza Strip staged a second protest on Saturday January the 14th, this time in front of the Ministry of Agriculture. They demanded that the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) ensures their products can be marketed outside Gaza, while protecting Palestinians from Israeli produce that flood into Gaza without any restrictions. This has been responsible for destroying local Palestinian markets and denying sustainable livelihoods for Palestinian communities in the West Bank and Gaza.
The protests were triggered by a series of discriminatory procedures the Occupation employs. The system of exploitation – and eventual destruction - of Palestinian farmers is based on a contract forced upon them 30 years ago by the now semi-governmental Israeli company Agrexco. Having been given the monopoly on agricultural exports from Gaza by Israel, the farmers are forced to accept the company’s stranglehold to sell and export their crops. Left without any other viable choice, farmers are dependent on Agrexco which sets prices, quantities and time of export. The demonstration requested the Ministry to halt this relationship, to stand up against the Occupation and to support the people in their struggle to take control over their economic activities. more..
Norway minister "retracts" boycott call
YNetNews 1/8/2006
Finance minister Halvorsen apologizes after calling for boycott on Israeli goods -- Bad timing: Norway’s Finance Minister Kristin Halvorsen, who touched off a storm after calling on her countrymen to boycott Israeli products shortly before Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a massive stroke, has apologized for her controversial comments. Halvorsen, who is also the leader of the Socialist Left Party, was quoted as telling the major Oslo tabloid Dagbladet that she had stopped buying Israeli products long ago, and that she supports her party''s boycott campaign. more..
Flemish Palestine Solidarity Committee Steps up Israeli Goods Boycott Campaign
12/30/2005
BRUSSELS, December 30, 2005 (WAFA) - Flemish Palestine Solidarity Committee has stepped up its boycott campaign of Israeli goods in Flanders, Belgium. In the frame of Worldwide Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, the Committee said in a press release them at the beginning of December, a coordinated action to remove Israeli goods from the shelves grabbed the attention of consumers and supermarket directors in some of the largest Flemish cities. more..
''Don''t buy fruits of Occupation''
12/29/2005
Activists remove Apartheid Israel goods from supermarket shelves -- In Flanders, Belgium, the Flemish Palestine Solidarity Committee has stepped up its boycott campaign of Israeli goods. At the beginning of December, a coordinated action to remove Israeli goods from the shelves grabbed the attention of consumers and supermarket directors in some of the largest Flemish cities. Belgium is one of Israel''s biggest trading partners and a lot of Israeli goods are sold in its supermakets. more..
Quebec Launches Campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Against the Occupation and Israeli Apartheid!
12/22/2005
On Monday, 12th of December, the Coalition for Just Peace in Palestine (CJPP) in Montreal held a press conference to launch its Campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against the Occupation and Israeli Apartheid and for the respect of international law. Responding to the Palestinian call to Isolate Israel, the CJPP had worked for months to prepare a comprehensive BDS campaign to be initiated all over Quebec. more..
Norwegian county boycott of Israel ires Jewish groups
Ha''aretz 12/22/2005
A Norwegian county''s decision to boycott Israeli products because of its occupation of Palestinian territories has outraged Jewish groups. Soer-Trondelag became the first province in Norway to bar the purchase of Israeli goods when the provincial board voted on December 16 to impose the boycott. Torill Skaerseth, a board representative from the far-left Red Electoral Alliance, said she hopes the boycott will spread to other Norwegian provinces. "We see Israel as an occupying force that could be compared with the apartheid regime in South Africa. " more..
Norway: Parliament shuns Israeli products
12/22/2005
A regional parliament has ruled to boycott Israeli products in protest of ''Israel''s oppression of Palestinians''; ADL condemns ruling, says ''decision only serves to exacerbate tensions and ill-will'' -- The Norwegian parliament in the Sor-Trondelag region ruled Saturday to boycott products made in Israel and to forbid the sale and purchase of Israeli goods. It is estimated that the decision, determined by a parliamentary vote, was made due to Norway''s stance that Israel oppresses the Palestinians. more..
Entire Region of Norway to boycott Apartheid Israel!
12/16/2005
The regional council of the Sør-Trøndelag in Norway has passed a motion calling for a comprehensive boycott on Israeli goods to be followed up with an awareness raising campaign across the region. Sør-Trøndelag has a population of 270,000 out of Norway’s 4. 6 million. Trondheim, Norway`s third largest city, forms part of the region and will participate in the boycott initiative. The council committed itself to this motion as a result of intensive work by Norwegian activists that had launched a national Boycott Israel campaign this June. The success of this motion has marked a massive move forwards for boycotts of Apartheid Israel. more..
Norwegian government party to launch boycott campaign on Apartheid Israel
12/8/2005
The Socialist Left Party, a member of the center-left Norwegian government is to officially launch a solidarity campaign for Palestine beginning in the New Year. The campaign will focus on a consumer boycott of Israeli products and will push for a ban on any arms trade between the Norwegian government and the Israeli regime. After reactions in Parliament, the news of the campaign has already started a heated debate in Norwegian media bringing wider publicity and debate into the boycott and sanctions campaign. more..
Don`t buy Israeli Apartheid! - Consumer Boycott in the UK Steps Up
12/10/2005
On Saturday December 10th, branches of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (UK) kick-started the winter season of the Boycott campaign. Focusing on oranges, dates and avocados, the central aim of the campaign is to build the boycott of Israeli goods and encourage shoppers to let supermarkets know they will do this. Consumers in at least 15 cities across the UK will be highlighting their boycott of Israeli goods, and persuading others to do the same, to create solidarity with the Palestinian people. more..
US Green party calls for boycott and divestment against Israel
12/9/2005
On the 21st of November, the Green Party of the United States endorsed a statement calling for a comprehensive strategy of boycott and divestment against Israel. The resolution, introduced by the Wisconsin Green Party and passed by the party''s National Committee, comes within a growing global trend among left wing and progressive parties to adopt the Palestinian call for the Isolation of Apartheid Israel. (See text below) more..
Churches Address Divestment in Israel
Palestine Chronicle 10/12/2005
Church delegates from five Christian denominations discussed their church’s positions on Israel’s military occupation of the Palestinian Occupied Territories and divestment. At the Chicago Sabeel Conference, James M. Wall moderated the panel discussion. He is a United Methodist clergyman and senior contributing editor for “The Christian Century” magazine. Hall asked panel members the question: “What are churches doing to promote peace and justice in Israel/Palestine? ” John Bagley spoke on behalf of The Roman Catholic/ Pax Christi Diplomatic Church and Peace Church. more..
As Episcopalians Reject Divestment, Groups See a Threat to Israel Ebbing
Forward 10/14/2005
Church Panel Sees ''Nothing Positive'' in Bid -- The Episcopal Church of America voted this week to | | |
