#BDS: 5 protestors disrupt Netanyahu's speech in New Orleans

Five protestors who disrupted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech at a conference of the Jewish Federations of North America in New Orleans were escorted out of the room Monday.

The protestors made pro-Palestinian calls during Netanyahu's speech.

#BDS: Cape Town Opera Spreads False Information and Promotes Polishing the Chains of Apartheid Israel

In a recent report in the Mail and Guardian[1], a South African daily news source, the managing director of the Cape Town Opera reiterated his rejection of Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s appeal to the group to cancel their ill-conceived tour of Israel. Archbishop Tutu had urged the CTO to cancel their tour, saying that “to perform Porgy and Bess, with its universal message of non-discrimination, in the present state ofIsrael, is unconscionable” [2]. Tutu added:

Only the thickest-skinned South Africans would be comfortable performing before an audience that excluded residents living, for example, in an occupied West Bank village 30 minutes from Tel Aviv, who would not be allowed to travel to Tel Aviv, while including his Jewish neighbours from an illegal settlement on occupied Palestinian territory.

Feeling the heat, the CTO managing director added a new spin to the planned tour, in order to turn it, in his words, into “something constructive.” He claimed to be working with “Palestinian organizations” as though that would exonerate the CTO of charges of whitewashing Israeli apartheid and war crimes. But even if one were to ignore this attempt at “balance” or “parity between justice and injustice,” which Nelson Mandela cautioned against, one cannot ignore the fact that the claim of working with "Palestinian" groups to cover up this boycott-busting tour turned out to be an unfounded fabrication.

Two of the three groups mentioned, the West Eastern Divan and the Barenboim Said Foundation confirmed to PACBI that they have not agreed to work with or provide any assistance to the CTO on this tour. The third, the Palestinian Circus School, has condemned the CTO’s claim as a blatant lie in a letter to PACBI, affirming that it has nothing to do with the CTO tour.

PACBI calls on the CTO to retract its statements, apologize for making these false claims and to immediately cancel their tour of Israel which is clearly designed to polish the chains of Israeli apartheid, to use Archbishop Tutu’s eloquent metaphor, instead of helping the Palestinians in breaking those chains altogether.

#BDS: Launching a campaign for the Palestinian Prisoners: "Write a letter to Palestinian detainees"

- The campaign target is to send the "Maximum" number of Letters to the Palestinian prisoners + raise the Awareness about their issue .

- The campaign is simply a "solidarity message" to the Palestinian/Arab detainees in the Israeli jails.

- We WRITE, ask our friends to write, a personal letter "message" to a specific Palestinian detainee in the Occupation jails . THEN

TO tweet that .. "ex: I've sent a letter to the Palestinian detainee XYZ at XYZ Israeli detainee center "prison" #PalDetainee "

- Names of the detainees could be found on [[ www.freedom.ps ]]

- People will send their personal message to the email address: writealetter2010@gmail.com

- The campaign blog is [[ www.PalDetainees.wordpress.com ]]

- On the site you find: - Introduction about the campaign - some details -Arabic/English- when/how to send letters (emails actually), in addition to FACTS & numbers about the Palestinian detainees in the Israeli jails. + a list "to be added EVERY day of the 15 days of the campaign" containing

SUGGESTED names of Palestinian detainees, people can send their letter to.

- The campaign starts Nov. 01, 2010 and lasts 15 days.

- Twitter is our main media ... and #PalDetainees is our Hashtag .

- Attached the logo - avatar- for the campaign that we may use.

- Every single post related to #PalDetainees helps raising the awareness & is therefore welcomed.

#BDS: Pamela Anderson visits Western Wall

Former 'Baywatch' star, who will participate Monday in Israeli version of 'Dancing with the Stars', spends half an hour at Jewish holy site in Jerusalem

American-Canadian actress Pamela Anderson's first day in Israelcame to an end Sunday evening with a visit to the Western Wall in Jerusalem, where she arrived in modest clothing.

The visit evoked great interest among many men in the area, who documented the event with their cameras.

Anderson called Israel a "progressive" country because it had no fur farms, and said that it can serve as "an example for the rest of the world."

She said she intends to speak about the issue of fur to Israeli religious leaders on her trip.

"It's almost 2011. There are so many alternatives to things. We can be compassionate in our choices," Anderson said.

#BDS: Local & Global Actions: Week Against the Apartheid Wall 9-16 November 2010

Week Against the Apartheid Wall 9-16 November 2010:

Local Activities: Palestinian activists and human rights defenders from across the West Bank will come together in mass protests to show their steadfastness in saying NO! to Walls, Bantustans and the Apartheid regime.

• Nilin, Ramallah
  Date: 12 November
  Where: In-front of the Apartheid Wall in the village after Friday prayers.
  Contact Person: Yaffa, yaffaalmalky@yahoo.com, Tel: +972 2 2971505
  
• Al Walaja, Bethlehem
  Date: 13 November
  Where: In-front of the Apartheid Wall in the village.
  Contact Person: Yaffa, yaffaalmalky@yahoo.com, Tel: +972 2 2971505
  
• Qalqiliya
  Date: 14 November
  Where: In-front of the Apartheid Wall in the City
  Contact Person: Yaffa, yaffaalmalky@yahoo.com, Tel: +972 2 2971505
  
• Ramallah City
  Date: 29 November
  Where: Gathering in front of united nation center in Ramallah asking to activate the advisory opinion of the international court of justice.
  Contact Person: Yaffa, yaffaalmalky@yahoo.com, Tel: +972 2 2971505

---------------------------------------------------
Global Actions:

Argentina: Seminars and film screenings about apartheid, colonialism and racism in the Israeli expansion project, the construction of the Wall and the attack on Gaza
Date: 8 and 15 November, 7-9pm
Where: Buenos Aires
Organised by: UPMPM and Federacion de Entidades Argentinos-Palestinas
Contact: info@federacionpalestina.com.ar

Australia: Theatre production of ‘My Name is Rachel Corrie’ and panel discussion
Date: 7 November, 5.15pm; and performances running until 17 November
Where: Melbourne
Organised by: Women for Palestine
Contact: sonjakarkar@womenforpalestine.org

Austria: Silent vigil with materials on the Wall and settlements
Date: 6 November, 2-4pm
Where: Vienna
Organised by: Women in Black
Contact: WomenInBlack-Vienna@gmx.net

Canada: An evening of photography and discussion with Jon Elmer, photojournalist to mark the tenth anniversary of the Second Intifada
Date: 8 November, 7-9pm
Where: Beit Zaitoun, Markham Street
Organised by: Coalition against Israeli Apartheid
Contact: endapartheid@riseup.net

Canada: Panel discussion on Walls throughout the world and their impact on daily life, including Palestine, the US, Mexico and Canda
Date: 10 November, 6.30pm
Where: York University
Organised by: Coalition against Israeli Apartheid, Students Against Israeli Apartheid and No One is Illegal
Contact: endapartheid@riseup.net

Canada: Fundraiser for the Canadian boat to Gaza
Date: 12 November, 7pm
Where: Unitarian Church, Vancouver
Organised by: Canada Palestine Association
Contact: info@cpavancouver.org

England: Launch of new War on Want report on Palestine and BDS
Date: 11 November
Where: TBC
Organised by: War on Want
Contact: ykhan@waronwant.org

England: Protests outside Ahava, student actions and petitions on BDS
Date: 6-16 November
Where: TBC
Organised by: PSC
Contact: info@palestinecampaign.org


England: Public meeting on chances of peace in Palestine
Date: 9 November, 7.30pm
Where: Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry
Organised by: Coventry against Racism
Contact: info@palestinecampaign.org

England: Public meeting on BDS
Date: 10 November
Where: St. Matthew's Church, Brixton, London
Organised by: PSC
Contact: info@palestinecampaign.org

England: Mark Thomas 'Extreme Rambling' shows
Date: 9-16 November
Where: Jacksons Lane
Organised by:
Contact:

Ireland: Film tour of new film about Gaza Inshallah
Date: Launch in Belfast, 15 November
Where: across Ireland
Organised by: PSC Ireland
Contact: info@ipsc.ie

Korea: Picture exhibition of the Wall and protest in front of Israeli embassy and bicycle tour
Date: 13 November
Where: Seoul
Organised by: Korean solidarity group
Contact: nablus3@gmail.com

Netherlands: Anti-Apartheid Wall Caravan touring across the Netherlands, with images and stories about the Wall and apartheid and petition to Government
Date: 9-16 November
Where: Across the Netherlands, starting in Dinsdag
Organised by: NPK and Sloop de Muur
Contact: muurkaravaan@hotmail.com

Switzerland: distribution of flyers, photo exhibition and conference on BDS and the Wall
Date: 13 November
Where: Geneva
Organised by: BADIL Geneva
Contact: geneva@badil.org


... More will follow
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#BDS: London hosts campaign to boycott Israel

Hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists and anti-Zionist groups have demanded a full boycott of goods and products made in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Pro-Palestinian activists convened a protest rally in front of a store in London that sells Israeli-made goods and called on all people to refrain from buying such products.

The activists hold a bi-weekly gathering outside the Ahava cosmetics store that sells the Israeli-made cosmetics and are urging Britons and tourists to boycott Israel.

In the latest gathering outside the Israeli-owned shop in London's Covent Garden, the activists called for an end to the siege on Gaza, the right of return for Palestinians and an end to Israel's occupation.

#BDS: How Arab normalization is undermining the boycott movement

Wassim Al-Adel, The Electronic Intifada - While boycott and divestment campaigns in the West become more sophisticated and widespread, the Arab world's longstanding boycott of Israel is being undermined by Arab governments, companies and businessmen. This attempt at no-concession normalization with Israel must be countered by all those working for justice in Palestine. The recent Adalah-NY campaign against Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev sheds light on the burgeoning relationship between Arab governments and businesses, and Israel.

Earlier this year, the New York-based coalition Adalah-NY successfully spearheaded a campaign to prevent Leviev from opening a branch of his diamond chain in Dubai. Leviev is the chairman of Africa Israel Investments, which is constructing illegal Jewish-only settlements in the area of the West Bank village of Jayyous through its subsidiary, Danya Cebus. A mixture of media exposure and public outcry forced the Emirati authorities to deny that the jeweler had been granted any permission. This was a victory for those who wish to see an end to the Israeli occupation.

The success of the Adalah-NY campaign offers activists two insights: first, there is a growing culture of numbness and complicity toward Israel and its financial backers which is being cultivated at the highest levels of Arab governments. Second, these same governments are susceptible to pressure when the extent of this collusion becomes apparent.

It is disappointing to learn that, while public outcry and media attention effectively prevented Leviev from setting up shop in Dubai, other companies with known links to Israel continue to operate freely there. Giant retailer Marks & Spencer is high on the boycott list of most pro-Palestinian groups, and yet it has just recently opened one of its biggest stores in Dubai with an investment of approximately $3.9 million and plans for further expansion throughout the region.

#BDS: Une vaste campagne africaine pour boycotter les universités sionistes

Des centaines académiciens africains ont annoncé, par l'appuie des personnalités mondiales, une initiative pour boycotter les universités sionistes jusqu'à la fin de l'occupation sioniste des territoires palestiniens occupés. Dans leur communiqué publié, le dimanche 7/11 dans les médias, plus de 200 académiciens de 13 universités africaines ont promis de soutenir l'initiative de l'université de Johannesburg, pour mettre fin à la collaboration avec l'entité sioniste. Cette initiative est la première de son genre en Afrique du sud. Le journal égyptien "al-Ahram" a rapporté aujourd'hui que plusieurs personnalités importantes soutiennent cette initiative dont le révérend Desmond Tutu, le prix Nobel de la paix en 1984 et des dizaines des célèbres personnalités en Afrique du sud. Al-Ahram a rapporté de ces académiciens que les universités de l'entité sioniste ne sont pas visées à cause de leur identité ethnique ou religieuse, mais à cause de leur implication avec le régime d'apartheid sioniste, surtout l'université de "Ben Gouriuon" qui garde les faits de l'occupation sioniste.

#BDS: Dump Veolia Protest at the Natural History Museum, London

The Dump Veolia Campaign lead a demonstration outside the Natural History Museum on 23rd October 2010 to protest against Veolia's sponsorship of the Environment Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition at the Natural History Museum.

Veolia still holds shares in the Jerusalem Light Railway project which the UN Human Rights Council has declared is a "clear violation of international law", despite the recent announcement that it was selling its shares to Egged. The tram line runs across stolen Palestinian land connecting illegal Israel settlements and West Jerusalem thereby helping consolidating the occupation.

Veolia also runs bus services to the settlements on roads barred until recently to West Bank Palestinians despite the fact that the roads run through the West Bank.

Veolia's shameful crimes in Palestine also include the Tovlan landfill site it operates in the occupied Jordan Valley where it helps Israel dump its toxic waste on to Palestinian land next to the Palestinian village of Abu Ajaj.

#BDS: Marks & Spencer

Historically, Marks & Spencer has made statements in support of Zionism. Lord Sieff, chairman and founder of M&S who died in 2001, made several statements in support of Israel’s military policies. In 1941, Sieff said that "large sections of the Arab population of Palestine should be transplanted to Iraq and other Middle-Eastern Arab States" (Jewish Chronicle, 21/09/1941). In 1990, Sieff, in a book entitled On Management: The Marks and Spencer Way, wrote that one of the fundamental objectives of M&S was to "aid the economic development of Israel."

There have been no reports of M&S openly showing ideological support for Israel since 2004. The retail company has repeatedly asserted that "[it has] no 'special' relationship with any government, political party or religious group" but accepts that M&S does "make representations to governments in support of [its] commercial aims." M&S management has not, to our knowledge, commented on Lord Sieff's remarks in support of Zionism and has not made a statement as to whether the current management stands by them.

In 1998, Sir Richard Greenbury, then CEO of Marks & Spencer, received the Jubilee Award from Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. In 2000, the Jerusalem Report stated that "M&S supports Israel with $233 million in trade each year."

In October 2000, the Jewish Chronicle reported that the British-Israel Chamber of Commerce (B-ICC) had held meetings at Marks & Spencer's offices in Baker Street. However, in 2008 the store claimed that M&S "do not host meetings on our premises for the B-ICC." Nevertheless, in December 2004, Stuart Rose, CEO of Marks and Spencer at the time, was a listed speaker at the annual dinner of the B-ICC.

When questioned in correspondence about the sale of Israeli goods in M&S stores in 2008, an M&S spokesperson said that the company buys "from Israel as… from 70 other countries…" and went on to state that the company would continue to do so. The letter continued to say that, "[w]e always put the country of origin on the products we sell. Where we buy Israeli products we label them as products of Israel."

M&S stocks Israeli grapes, lychees, figs, plums, dates, fresh herbs, sweet potatoes, potatoes (Maris Piper, Desiree, Jacket, Marfona, and King Edward). Many of these products are imported through Carmel-Agrexco, a company part-owned by the Israeli state.

#BDS: Boston-area towns back pro-Palestinian resolutions

BOSTON (JTA) -- Voters in five Boston-area districts backed a nonbinding resolution supporting Palestinian rights in Israel.

The ballot question passed with about 56 percent in favor in the five districts in the Nov. 2 election.

The referendum, sponsored by a group called Massachusetts Residents for International Human Rights, an offshoot of the Somerville Divestment Project, asked voters if the state representative from their district should be instructed to vote in favor a nonbinding resolution calling on the U.S. government “to support the right of all people, including non-Jewish Palestinian citizens of Israel, to live free from laws that give more rights to people of one religion than another.”

A question with the same text as last week's nonbinding resolution was passed in the Boston suburbs of Somerville and Cambridge in 2008.

Two years earlier, Somerville had voted against questions asking whether Palestinian refugees had the right to “return to their land of origin” and whether Massachusetts should divest its holdings in State of Israel Bonds.

#BDS: Paris Declaration of a European Platform for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel

This declaration announces the establishment of a common European platform for the academic and cultural boycott of Israel. The national, regional and local organisations and movements adhering to this platform:

* Accept and promote the boycott of Israeli academic and cultural institutions and divestment from companies that contribute to Israel’s grave violations of international law and human rights;

* Support the call of Palestinian civil society for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) and accept the guidelines on its implementation issued by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) through the Palestine Boycott National Committee (BNC).

* Agree to develop and strengthen the boycott until the Palestinian people secure a resolution of their current injustices in compliance with international law and internationally acknowledged human rights.

#BDS: Palestine solidarity conference sets boycott plans

aMore than 100 Palestine solidarity activists gathered in Melbourne over October 29-31 for Australia's first national BDS conference.

Palestinian civil society groups called for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel five years ago. The BDS campaign demands an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestine, the dismantlement of the separation wall in the West Bank, equal rights for Palestinian citizens of Israel, and the right of return for Palestinian refugees.

The BDS campaign has significant support, especially after Israel’s attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla in March, in which Israeli soldiers killed eight peace activists. Some labour councils and trade unions around Australia have endorsed the campaign.

The conference was launched with a public meeting on October 29 at the Victorian State Library, chaired by ABC satirist Bryan Dawe and addressed by Palestinian artist and activist Rafeef Ziadah, the Australian Society for Palestinian Iraqi Refugees Emergency’s Yousef Alreemawi, Israeli editor Ofer Neiman and Unions ACT's Kim Sattler.

Ziadah said she was happy with the outcomes of the conference.
"There was so much enthusiasm and dedication from the various Palestine solidarity groups. People really put differences aside and decided to work together in a non-sectarian way", she told Green Left Weekly.

Other guest speakers included prominent US activist Anna Baltzer and Australian-Palestinian author and activist Samah Sabawi. The conference also included a concert, which launched the group Australian Artists Against Apartheid.

The conference brought together activists from many Australian cities to establish a national agenda for the BDS campaign. It also coordinated actions and shared skills and experiences through action workshops and sector-based discussion.

#BDS: LAU cancels hosting the designer of the "Peres Peace Center" in Tel Aviv

Lebanese American University (LAU) has canceled hosting the architect Massimiliano Fuksas, the "celebrated designer of the 'Peres Peace Center' in Tel Aviv", which was scheduled on Tuesday November 9, 2010.

#BDS: The tired “academic freedom” argument: PACBI response to Nobel laureates’ attack on the academic boycott of Israel

Occupied Ramallah, 8 November 2010

Once again, the specter of the suppression of academic freedom has been invoked in what is now becoming an organized campaign to counter the growing global movement for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) of Israel, and the academic and cultural boycott in particular. This time, a number of American, European, and Israeli Nobel laureates have been enlisted in the campaign, in the hope that their plea to defend “academic freedom” will stem the tide of this ever-expanding movement.

The Nobel laureates claim that academic and cultural boycotts, divestments and sanctions in the academy are antithetical to principles of academic and scientific freedom; to principles of freedom of expression and inquiry; and may well constitute discrimination by virtue of national origin. They “appeal to students, faculty colleagues and university officials to defeat and denounce calls and campaigns for boycotting, divestment and sanctions against Israeli academics, academic institutions and university-based centers and institutes for training and research, affiliated with Israel,” and “encourage students, faculty colleagues and university officials to promote and provide opportunities for civil academic discourse where parties can engage in the search for resolution to conflicts and problems rather than serve as incubators for polemics, propaganda, incitement and further misunderstanding and mistrust.” They also claim that as persons dedicated to “improving the human condition by doing the often difficult and elusive work to understand complex and seemingly unsolvable phenomena,” they believe that “the university should serve as an open, tolerant and respectful, cooperative and collaborative community engaged in practices of resolving complex problems.” [1]

This statement distills the main, long parroted and falsely premised, lines of defense deployed by opponents of the academic boycott of Israel, albeit this time propounded by scholars of global repute who by implication are assumed to command more respect and occupy higher scientific—perhaps even moral--ground. Yet, it is ironic that these world renowned scholars would allow themselves to be used by the unabashedly pro-Israel lobby group, Scholars for Peace in the Middle East. The sponsorship by SPME of the Nobel laureates’ statement in fact compromises the scholars’ credibility, clearly aligning them with one of the most right-wing defenders of Israel, at a time when even liberal Zionists are expressing grave doubts about the plausibility of the official Israeli narrative.

PACBI has responded more than once to the now familiar charges against the academic and cultural boycott of Israel. It is useful, however, to comment on some of the more egregious claims made by the Nobel laureates.
PACBI and its global supporters do not advocate a boycott of individual Israeli academics. To misrepresent the morally consistent and by now well-known institutional boycott call as targeting individuals and thus possibly constituting “discrimination by virtue of national origin” is disingenuous and becomes a slur, not a serious engagement with the argument and rationale for the academic boycott. PACBI has been advocating a boycott of Israeli academic and cultural institutions precisely because of their entrenched complicity in the maintenance of the system of colonial domination that oppresses Palestinians. This complicity has been amply documented, and we believe that the Nobel laureates, most of whom work in the sciences, are aware of the deep involvement of the Israeli academy in policy and research networks involving the Israeli army, weapons developers, and the security establishment in Israel and constituting violations of international law.[2]

The charge that boycott precludes or prevents the free exchange of ideas is a worn-out rebuttal of the boycott call. As ex-Israeli British academic Oren Ben-Dor has argued, “criticism of the boycott is couched in terms of the need for academic freedom. How ironic it is that academic freedom, the very factor which is absent from the Israeli academy, the very factor whose creation provides a powerful motivation for the boycott, is the one whose pretended existence is used by critics of the boycott.” [3]

On a related theme, the laureates claim that because academics can improve “the human condition by doing the often difficult and elusive work to understand complex and seemingly unsolvable phenomena,” “the university should serve as an open, tolerant and respectful, cooperative and collaborative community engaged in practices of resolving complex problems.” The laureates again go against the spirit of scientific inquiry by invoking the supposed complexity of the “problem.” It is well known that the characterization of “the conflict” in Palestine as “complex,” unsolvable, and intractable, is a deliberate obfuscation—and by those who should know better, in this case--of the stark simplicity of the issue: the struggle is one between the colonizer and the colonized, not some “conflict” between equally culpable parties who do not seem to be able to resolve their differences or settle their squabbles over territory. The establishment of a settler-colonial regime in Palestine after the expulsion of most of the indigenous people is the basic and defining moment, and until Israel respects the spirit and the letter of the numerous United Nations resolutions on Palestine and abides by the many stipulations of international law and international humanitarian law in dismantling its system of occupation, apartheid, and colonialism, it should expect to be isolated in the global community as apartheid South Africa was.
PACBI has also argued elsewhere [4] that the protection of academic freedom and the free exchange of ideas cannot be the only norm dictating the political engagement of scholars. Often, when oppression characterizes all social and political relations and structures, as in the case of South Africa during apartheid or indeed in Palestine, there are equally important and sometimes more basic freedoms that must be fought for, especially by academics and intellectuals. The aim of the academic boycott of Israel, in this context, is not to safeguard academic freedom as an abstract principle, but to obtain justice and fundamental rights for the Palestinian people.

A recent, precedent-setting petition endorsed by 250 leading South African academics, including the heads of four South African universities and prominent figures such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Breyten Breytenbach, John Dugard, Antjie Krog, Barney Pityana, and Kader Asmal, has condemned Israeli academic institutions for their complicity in violating international law. It stated [5]:

While Palestinians are not able to access universities and schools, Israeli universities produce the research, technology, arguments and leaders for maintaining the occupation.

We believe that the Nobel laureates would do well to reflect upon their responsibilities as public figures—now that they have ventured into the real world of politics—and to speak truth to power, not reiterate the increasingly vacuous defenses of the centers of colonial power.
PACBI
pacbi@pacbi.org
www.pacbi.org

Notes:

[1] http://www.spme.net/cgi-bin/articles.cgi?ID=7322

[2] See Alternative Information Center, “The Economy of the Occupation: Academic Boycott of Israel,” October 2009.http://www.alternativenews.org/images/stories/downloads/Economy_of_the_occupation_23-24.pdf; and SOAS Palestine Society, “Urgent Briefing Paper: Tel Aviv University-a Leading Israeli Military Research Centre.” February 2009.http://www.electronicintifada.net/downloads/pdf/090708-soas-palestine-society.pdf

[3] Oren Ben-Dor, “Academic Freedom in Israel is Central to Resolving the Conflict,” CounterPunch, May 21/22, 2005. http://www.counterpunch.org/bendor05212005.html

[4] http://www.pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=1132&key=\%22academic%20freedom\%22

[5] http://pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=1377

#BDS: Pamela Anderson takes sex appeal to Israel, pushing Orthodox Jewish lawmakers to pass anti-fur law

Pamela Anderson plans to use her sexy powers of persuasion to push for an anti-fur law in Israel.

The amply endowed ex-"Baywatch" star wants ultra-Orthodox lawmakers to endorse an animal rights bill that critics fear could limit production of traditional fur hats worn by Hassidic Jews.

"It's almost 2011. There are so many alternatives," Anderson said. "We can be compassionate in our choices." Anderson, an animal rights activist and honorary director of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), is in Israel to participate in the local version of "Dancing with the Stars."

An anti-fur bill in Israel was shelved amid opposition by Orthodox parliamentarians.

Even though skimpy bikinis like those favored by Anderson are commonplace in Israel, thousands of members of Hassidic sects dress the same way their ancestors did in the 18th century.

They wear long black coats and hats made with fur.

Anderson called Israel a "progressive" country because it has no fur farms, and said that it can serve as "an example for the rest of the world."

She said she intends to speak about the issue to Israeli religious leaders on her trip.

The curvy pin-up babe said she tries to incorporate her campaign for animal rights during other "Dancing with the Stars" shows worldwide.

#BDS: Montreal Students Call on Concordia, McGill Universities to Cut Off Ties With Israel’s Technion

Following the boycott, divestment and sanctions conference convened in Montreal last month, a group of students, professors and staff from Concordia and McGill universities are calling on the schools to cut ties with the Israeli Institute of Technology, also known as Technion University.

A report compiled by the group says that the links between Concordia, McGill and Technion universities "serve to normalize the Israeli state's policies of institutionalized oppression and should be of serious concern to students, faculty and all members of McGill and Concordia's campus community."

The 13-page report, entitled "Structures of Oppression: Why McGill and Concordia's campus community must sever their links with the Technion University", examines Technion's links to military technologies and manufacturers and the militarization and repression of political dissent on the Israeli university's campus. The report also details the nature of Concordia and McGill universities' relationships with the Israeli institution.

"Technion is complicit in the violations of international law and human rights abuses committed by the Israeli military against Palestinians by providing new military technologies to defense manufacturers," the report stated.

#BDS: Marilyn Monroe launches ‘Boycott Israeli Blood Diamonds’ campaign in Dublin

On Saturday 30th October 2010 the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) held a nationwide awareness-raising day to expose the contamination of the global diamond market with Israeli “blood diamonds” ahead of the annual meeting of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KP) in Jerusalem on November 1st. To launch the Boycott Israeli Blood Diamonds campaign activists from the IPSC in Cork, Galway, Limerick, Wexford and Waterford activists from the IPSC handed out thousands of leaflets and collected petition signatures to while in Dublin, a blood-stained Marilyn Monroe even turned up to endorse the campaign saying "the fact that Israeli diamonds are sold as 'conflict free' means that diamonds can no longer be considered a girl's best friend!"

Outlining the rationale for the actions, IPSC National Chairperson Freda Hughes said: “Israel is the world’s top diamond exporter with exports worth over $19 billion in 2008, accounting for over 30% of Israeli exports. Recent investigations by the UN have concluded that Israel committed war crimes in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead in 2008/09 and during the attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla earlier this year, while the brutal occupation of Palestinian land by Israel continues. The Israeli state which oversees these crimes and the military which carries them out are funded by revenue from these same diamond exports. In the view of the IPSC and the Palestinian Boycott National Committee (BNC) this Israeli diamonds should be unequivocally categorised as blood diamonds.”