#BDS: دبابة الفيلسوف وتجريم مقاطعة المحتلين

نشرت صحيفة 'اللوموند' الفرنسية، في 2 تشرين الثاني/نوفمبر 2010 (ص 15)، نص مقالة أراد الموقعون عليها التنديد بمبادرة اطلقتها بعض الشخصيات والجمعيات في فرنسا، للتذكير بأن اسرائيل تحتل منذ 1967، الضفة الغربية وقطاع غزة، وتبني على هذه الاراضي مستعمرات للمستوطنين، وتنشئ مؤسسات صناعية وزراعية ، تقوم بتصدير انتاجها الى الاتحاد الاوروبي تحت علامة تجارية 'صنع في اسرائيل'، او'منتج اسرائيلي'. وفي هذا، بنظر اصحاب تلك المبادرة، احتيال على القانون وعلى الاتفاقيات المعقودة بين الاتحاد الاوروبي من جهة وبين اسرائيل من جهة ثانية. والتي تحظى اسرائيل بموجبها، بامتيازات اعضاء هذا الاتحاد كاملة، في مجال التبادل التجاري وتنقـُّل الافراد.

اذ ان نفاذ هذه الاتفاقيات وسريانها مشروطان، بحسب الوثائق الناظمة لها، باحترام حقوق الانسان، وعدم اغتصاب الارض واحتلالها وطرد الذين يعيشون عليها. ومهما يكن فان الاعفاءات الجمركية الممنوحة للمنتوجات الاسرائيلية لا تشمل ما يـُنتج منها في المستوطنات التي اقيمت في الضفة الغربية، كون هذه المستوطنات فاقدة للشرعية، فهي انشئت على ارض محتلة، بحسب القوانين الدولية. الاوروبيون يفرقون شكلا، وليس فعلا، بين اسرائيل التي تحتل واسرائيل التي لا تحتل، لتبرير تعاميهم عن العلاقة التي تربط بين هذه وتلك. المحتلون لا يستحقون المكأفاة وانما يستحقون العقاب والمقاطعة. 

واستنادا اليه، انطـــــلقت في اطار المـــبادرة المذكورة اعلاه حملة (BDS) التي تتجسد في فرنسا بالدعوة الى مقاطعة البضائع الاسرائيلية والضغط على الحكومة والشركات الفرنسية، لكي تجعل توظيفاتها في المشاريع الاقتصادية في اسرائيل مرهونة بانهاء احتلال الضفة والقطاع. 

ولكن الحكومة الفرنسية، ممثلة بوزيرة العدل، قررت في الواقع عدم السماح بمواصلة هذه الحملة ضد احتلال الضفة الغربية وقطاع غزة. عن طريق توصيفها بانها مظهر من مظاهر العداء للسامية. وشرّعت مقاضاة الناشطين من اجل مقاطعة اسرائيل اقتصاديا وثقافيا، حتى تتراجع عن احتلال الضفة والقطاع. هكذا بدأت في تشرين الاول/اكتوبر 2010، محاكمة عدد من هؤلاء الناشطين.

#BDS: Record Turnout For Olympia Food Co-op Board Election

Olympia, WA — In a record turnout, members of the Olympia Food Co-op have chosen four new representatives and one incumbent for the organization’s Board of Directors. The large turnout was attributed by many in the community as a response to the July 15 decision by the Olympia Food Co-op to boycott Israeli goods in support of Palestinian human rights. The ballot included 14 candidates and the five elected are: Rochelle Gause, Erin Genia, John Regan, Eric Mapes, and TJ Johnson.

“An organization that places social justice and sustainable practices at the forefront of the policy decisions is an organization I am proud to serve,” says newly elected Erin Genia, a low-income mother of three, a recipient of Master of Public Administration, and a member of the Sisseton-Wapheton Dakota Oyate.

#BDS: DePaul divests from Israeli hummus product

Today marks another win for the global boycott, divestment, sanctions (BDS) movement against corporations that profit from severe human rights violations. Chicago’s very own DePaul University just announced that their dining services will be discontinuing the sale of hummus manufactured by Sabra, an Israeli brand known for its vocal and material support of Israeli Defense Forces. The administration has temporarily suspended the sale of Sabra products and will likely move towards permanently banning the brand from campus.

A little over two weeks ago, members of DePaul’s Students for Justice in Palestine expressed concern over the sale of Sabra products after discovering that Chartwells, which provides dining services to the university, had introduced the Israeli-brand hummus to food and dining facilities throughout campus. Acting on their concern, the students compiled research and revealed that the Strauss Group, co-owner of Sabra, has direct monetary ties with elite Israeli military forces currently and historically involved in the illegal occupation of Palestinian land. One week after bringing the issue to the attention of campus administrators, the university informed campaign organizers that Sabra products are set to be removed from shelves for the remainder of the school quarter and will most likely not be sold on campus in the future. (Read the email sent to administrators at the end of the post.)

#BDS: What young Israeli refused to do in Palestine, she acted out on 116th St

I went to the Students for Justice in Palestine's mock checkpoint on the Columbia campus this afternoon and handed out fliers for an hour and a half. Columbia's LionPAC, HIllel, Just Peace, Grain Lavi and Tarbootnikim were counter-demonstrating, handing out fliers, some of them wrapped in Israeli flags, others of them attempting to get into provocative arguments, which for the most part SJP'ers were able to avoid. Maya Wind, one of the JVP/CODEPINK Shministim [Wind refused to serve in the Israeli Defense Forces] from last year who is now a freshman at Barnard, was carrying a cardboard rifle and helping to run the checkpoint. She was completely in character as a gruff and unpleasant checkpoint guard, so I didn't even say hello, but the photo above shows her in the role that she refused to play in real life.

#BDS: Student activism and the pro-Palestinian movement gains momentum

Activism and protest have long been a part of a student's passage through university. From fighting for women's right to vote, to equal rights for African Americans; from standing up to dictatorship in China to the global movement against South African apartheid - all of these historic popular movements succeeded in part due to the large number of students and others involved in higher education making their voices heard.

Such activism is particularly pertinent in today's pro-Palestinian movement and its counterpart pro-Zionist movement spreading like wildfire across campuses all over the world, especially in countries traditionally sympathetic to the Zionist state, such as Britain and the United States. Pro-Palestinian student activism on campuses is closely linked with the international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, which aims to take civil action against Israel similar to that taken against apartheid South Africa three decades ago.

#BDS: Students campaign for alternative hummus

The Princeton Committee on Palestine has sponsored a referendum in next week’s USG elections that asks Dining Services to sell an alternative to Sabra hummus in all its retail locations on campus.

The Strauss Group and PepsiCo each own 50 percent of Sabra Dipping Company.

In August, Philly Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, a Philadelphia group that encourages activism against Israel, released an open letter calling for a boycott of Sabra for the same reason.

Both PCP and Philly BDS take issue with The Strauss Group’s support of the Israeli Golani Brigade. Members of the Brigade have been reprimanded by the Israeli military for inappropriate behavior.

The brigade has “a culture of aggression,” Yoel Bitran ’11, president of PCP, adding in an e-mail.

Strauss is Israel’s second-largest food and beverage company. It provides care packages and sports equipment to Israeli soldiers as part of its corporate social responsibility program, Sabra representative Ilya Welfeld said in an e-mail.

PCP started a petition in support of the referendum last Thursday. More than 200 students have signed it, the threshold for getting a referendum on the ballot.

“The Princeton Committee on Palestine objects to the fact that Sabra is the only hummus brand that is offered in most University stores and that students who wish to eat this traditional Arab food are forced to buy a product that is connected to human rights abuses against Arab civilians,” Bitran wrote in a statement concerning the issue.

#BDS: UNRWA Head: Don’t Boycott Israel

John Ging is no stranger to conflict. As director of the Gaza-based United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) since 2006, the former officer in the Irish army has drawn frequent criticism from Israel and its advocates, and has also been the target of assassination attempts by Islamic militants.
So he wasn’t particularly fazed this week, when Columbia University’s J Street-affiliated student group, under pressure from Barnard-Columbia Hillel, abruptly withdrew sponsorship of his Sunday night appearance on the campus. Hillel, of which the group is a member organization, insisted the event include a moderator, but a mutually agreeable one could not be found in time.
Ging, in New York as part of a national campus tour sponsored by the Washington, D.C.-based J Street Education Fund, spoke anyway, sponsored by six non-Jewish student organizations; an estimated 150 people attended.
On a break from his tour, which included an invitation-only event at New York University’s Hillel, and speeches in Chicago and Washington, Ging spoke with The Jewish Week about his efforts to “reach out” and “correct misunderstandings” about UNRWA.

Do you support Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, and how do you feel about the boycott/divestment/sanctions movement?

The last time I was in the States I attended a celebration for Israel’s independence day with the Israelis at the UN. They know I’m pro-Israel. I celebrate Israel’s independence … It’s a concern that those representing themselves as pro-Palestinian are now linking that to anti-Israel sentiment and policies like divestment and boycott. I oppose that … The people of Israel need efforts to rebuild confidence that peace can be brought about. Talking about sanctions and boycotts is not going to bring about anything positive …

#BDS: حملة المقاطعة الفرنسية تردّ على منتقديها: مسعانا القانون وإسرائيل شوّهت سمعتها بنفسها

تعرضت «حملة المقاطعة وسحب الاستثمارات وفرض العقوبات ضد اسرائيل» (ب د س) الفرنسية لانتقادات عديدة واتهامات بمعاداة اليهود والسامية، والتشجيع على الحقد ضد اسرائيل، من بينها مقال نشرته صحيفة «لوموند» في 2 تشرين الثاني الحالي، ردّت عليه الحملة التي تشارك فيها السيناتورة الفرنسية عليمة بومدين تياري، وزعيم «الحزب الجديد ضد الرأسمالية» اوليفييه بوزانسنو، ومدير الابحاث في المركز الوطني للابحاث العلمية، جيرار تولوز، وعشرات آخرون، مؤكدين أن هدف الحملة «تطبيق القانون» ومعتبرين أن سياسات اسرائيل هي المسؤولة عن تدهور سمعتها العالمية، لا مقاطعيها. وفي الآتي نص الردّ:

«سلاح جائر». هكذا يصف الموقعون على مقال نشر في صحيفة «لوموند» بتاريخ 2 تشرين الثاني الحالي، طبيعة حملة المقاطعة وسحب الاستثمارات وفرض العقوبات ضد إسرائيل (ب د س). ولا يتردد هؤلاء في اتهام القائمين على الحملة بالانضمام إلى صفوف «الرقابة»، و«الفصل» و«الكراهية»... وهذا العبء الثقيل على «ب د س» ليس الأول من نوعه، ولكن القائمة الطويلة من الموقعين تعطيه طابعا غير عادي، ما يستدعي التوضيح.

أولا، يغفل الموقعون أو يخفون الطابع الدولي للحملة التي بدأت كاستجابة لدعوة من المجتمع المدني الفلسطيني في العام 2005. هذه «المبادرة التي أصبحت حديث الناس في فرنسا»، وفقا لتعبيرهم، يتحدث عنها الناس في الواقع في جميع أنحاء العالم منذ عدة سنوات. من كندا إلى استراليا عبر جنوب إفريقيا والولايات المتحدة وأميركا اللاتينية وأوروبا، هي حركة دولية سلمية وشعبية تتطور. النقابات والمنظمات غير الحكومية والجمعيات والكنائس والجامعات والبلديات، وشخصيات عالمية ومواطنون عاديون معا للدفاع عن هدف واحد: هو تطبيق القانون.

#BDS: Princetonians Call For Sabra Hummus Boycott

A student campaign at Princeton is calling for a boycott of Sabra hummus because the company that manufactures it provides Israel soldiers with care packages, the Daily Princetonian reports.

The Princeton Committee on Palestine has created a referendum that asks the school's dining services to sell an alternative hummus to Sabra on campus. Committee President Yoel Bitran wrote that his group "objects to the fact that Sabra is the only hummus brand that is offered in most university stores and that students who wish to eat this traditional Arab food are forced to buy a product that is connected to human rights abuses against Arab civilians." The referendum will be voted on by the student body next week.

Bitran created a Facebook event called "Boycott Sabra Hummus" that ran from Nov. 14 to Nov. 18. In response, pro-Israel campus group Tigers for Israel created an event titled "Save the Hummus! -- Vote Against the Sabra Hummus Boycott." So far, virtual support for the latter overwhelmingly outweighs the former.

#BDS: Boycott Sabra HUmmus