#BDS: Palestinians welcome boycott of OECD conference in Jerusalem

Ramallah - Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat on Monday welcomed a decision by Arab and some western states to boycott an international tourism conference hosted by Israel in Jerusalem - and urged others to follow suit.

The Arab League sent letters to world leaders on Sunday calling for the boycott of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) conference, set to start Wednesday. Turkey, Britain and Spain have said they will not attend.

'Israeli control over Jerusalem is illegal and the Security Council has been clear on calling all member states not to recognize Israeli claims over the Holy City,' Erekat said in a statement.

'By hosting the OECD conference in Jerusalem, Israel seeks de facto recognition of its illegal annexation of East Jerusalem,' he charged.

'And by not attending, countries have sent Israel a clear message that it is not a state above the law.'

#BDS: SJP Press Release: Students denounce demonization of student activism by Anti-Defamation League

On campuses around the country, groups promoting Palestinian freedom respond to attack by the Anti-Defamation League

UNITED STATES (October 17, 2010) – Representing campus organizations at over 60 campuses around the country, university students promoting Palestinian freedom have responded to a vilifying report by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) listing “Students for Justice in Palestine” (SJP) and a variety of other American organizations as the “Top 10 Anti-Israel Groups in America.” The report was released the same day the ADL honored Rupert Murdoch, the media mogul who owns Fox News Network.

The report – which also names prominent Muslim-American organizations, Jewish Voice for Peace, and the Christian ecumenical organization Friends of Sabeel – criticizes SJP chapters for “regularly organiz[ing] activities presenting a biased view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including mock ‘apartheid walls’ and ‘checkpoint’ displays.” SJP chapters have independently proliferated across the country as awareness about the brutality and violence of Israel’s occupation grows on university campuses. In an unprecedented statement, 60 student groups around the country affirmed, “we are unified by our purpose of confronting these wrongs that cause so much death and suffering.”

#BDS: California Attorney General Issues Title and Summary for Divest from Israel Initiative

The Israel Divestment Campaign (IDC) is the first citizens’ effort in the country to appeal directly to voters to hold Israel accountable for violations of international law and human rights.

With the official assignment of a title* and summary to our Initiative by the Attorney General on September 1^st, the IDC has begun the process of collecting the signatures of at least 434,000 registered California voters by January 31, 2011.

#BDS: Peres cancels Morocco trip after king denies request to meet

Moroccan King Mohammed VI wrote Peres last Friday that such a rendezvous was impossible at the moment; President's Bureau believes decision was made to protest Israeli policy.

President Shimon Peres has canceled his upcoming visit to Morocco after the king of the North African state rejected his request to meet during the trip.

Peres had been invited to take part in the World Economic Forum in Morocco next week and had been scheduled to deliver a keynote address to the event. But according to the policy of the President's Bureau, Peres is entitled to refuse a visit to any country in which he is not able to meet the head of state.

Moroccan King Mohammed VI wrote Peres last Friday that he would ordinarily be pleased to meet with him, but that such a rendezvous was impossible at the moment.

The President's Bureau believes that the king's refusal is based on protest of Israeli policy and thus decided to cancel Peres' trip.