#BDS: Letter from senior European officials supports BDS approach on Israel

On December 2nd, a group of very high-level European ex-officials wrote to the President of the European Council to urge that the EU take much stronger action to hold Israel accountable for violations of international law, including the construction of settlements on occupied land, which is prohibited under the Fourth Geneva Convention.

The list of signatories includes former Presidents and Prime Ministers of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Holland, Norway, Ireland and Latvia, as well as other senior officials like Chris Patten and Javier Solana. They advocate a European boycott of products made or grown on Israeli settlements and sold as "Made in Israel" (in Section 4). "We consider it simply inexplicable that such products still enjoy benefits under preferential trade agreements between the EU and Israel."

They also imply that the EU should impose sanctions if Israel continues to violate international law (in Section 5). "The EU has stated unequivocally for decades that the settlements in the OPT are illegal, but Israel continues to build them. Like any other state, Israel should be held accountable for its actions. It is the credibility of the EU that is at stake."

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#BDS: الإغاثة الزراعية تواصل حملة مقاطعة البضائع الاسرائيلية في قلقيلية

رام الله- معا- أكد مسؤول العمل الجماهيري في الإغاثة الزراعية ومنسق الحملة الشعبية لمقاطعة البضائع الإسرائيلية خالد منصور، أن حملة مقاطعة البضائع الإسرائيلية لم ولن تتوقف، حتى تختفي كل منتجات المحتلين التي لها بدائل من أسواقنا الفلسطينية.

حديث منصور هذا، جاء في معرض رده على سؤال وجهه أحد تجار مدينة قلقيلية حين قال: إن مدينتنا خالية من بضائع المستوطنات.

وأضاف منصور: "إننا ننظر لحملة المقاطعة كسلاح نشهره بوجه الاحتلال لنلحق به الخسائر المالية، ونعتبر المقاطعةشكل من أشكال المقاومة لشعبية التي من حق شعبنا خوضها ضد الاحتلال بكافة إفرازاته.

كان ذلك خلال حملة دعوية تثقيفية تحريضية نظمتها الإغاثة الزراعية الفلسطينية اليوم، في أسواق وميادين مدينة قلقيلية، وذلك بالتعاون مع حزب الشعب الفلسطيني وجمعية التوفير والتسليف، وقيادات رسمية وشعبية، منهم ابراهيم الحمد مدير دائرة الزراعة الحكومية في قلقيلية، ومحمد ابو الشيخ مندوبا عن محافظة قلقيلية، بالاضافة الى ممثلين عن الحملة الشعبية لمقاومة الجدار والاستيطان واتحاد جمعيات المزارعين.

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#BDS: An open letter from Gaza to Thomas Quasthoff: Do not Forget the Gaza Concentration Camp and “Tell It like It Is!”

Dear Mr. Thomas Quasthoff,

We are a group of artists, singers, academics and students from Gaza, and our only fault is being Palestinians. For that, Mr. Quasthoff, we are imprisoned with our families and loved ones in what even main-stream Human Rights Organizations call the largest open air prison in modern history.  It has come to our knowledge that you have plans to perform in Apartheid Israel.  The state you are planning to entertain has been committing war crimes and crimes against humanity against us, the indigenous population of Palestine.

We in Gaza have been under a hermetic, medieval siege imposed since 2006 by the state you are planning to entertain. This blockade has cut off the main life-line of goods and people coming into Gaza resulting in severe shortages of food supplies, basic goods and importantly items like cement which is vital to rebuild the 17000+ homes that have been destroyed by Israeli attacks. Injured people are not allowed to travel abroad to receive needed medical care: consequently 400 sick patients have died because they had no solution but to stay in the besieged Gaza Strip where they spent their dying days, to the despair of their families. Do you have plans to sing for them?

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#BDS: Vanessa Paradis and Johnny Depp, Please do not allow the state of Israel to use your reputation to whitewash its crimes!

We are Israeli citizens. It has come to our attention that Ms. Paradis is planning on performing in Israel in March 2011, and that you are both expected to meet Israeli President Shimon Peres. You may not be aware, but there is an ongoing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel, due to its policies of apartheid and occupation. We, as Israeli citizens endorse this boycott, and we are urging you to take this opportunity to take a stand on an issue crucial to human rights and as such, to human lives as well.

You may be asking yourself what all this means and what it has to do with you. Indeed, you may feel you are being thrust into a situation which you had no interest in entering in the first place. However, we hope that we can help the both of you overcome your feelings of disconnect, outline the realities of the grim world you have entered, and give you the opportunity to choose to make a difference. Make no mistake; Because of your celebrity status, the choice you make will have an instant effect on the lives of millions of children, women and men.

Palestinians are living under a brutal military regime which practices policies of apartheid in what is known as Israel and the Occupied Territories. The army that controls everyday Palestinian life, at the barrel of a gun, is Israel's army. This means that Palestinians depend on the mercy of this army, controlled by the Israeli government, which for over 60 years, has been murdering, maiming, arresting civilians, all the while stealing their lands by extreme and brutal force. While illegal Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian Territories flourish, under the guise of "natural growth" (http://www.jewcy.com/uncategorized/unnatural_growth), Palestinian land is being robbed, homes are being demolished, whole communities left homeless, in the occupied territories as well as inside Israel. (background: http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=42702).

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#BDS: Israeli Companies to Build Palestinian City, Sign Pledge not to use Settlement Products

Israeli army radio reported this morning (28 December) that some twenty Israeli companies signed contracts to build the planned West Bank city of Rawabi, while committing themselves not to use raw materials, products or services originating in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Golan Heights.

The right wing in Israel responded to this report with anger. Knesset Member Carmel Shama (Likud), head of the Economic Committee of the Knesset, called for an emergency meeting of his committee next week. And the “Eretz Israel lobby” in the Knesset, headed by Zeev Elkin (Likud) and Arieh Eldad (National Unity) announced that next week they will propose legislation prohibiting Israeli companies from boycotting Israeli products. Member of Knesset Danny Danon said that he would propose a law calling for a company to be fined the amount of any contract it signs that calls on boycotting Israeli products.

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#BDS: وقفة إحتجاجية أمام وزارة الخارجية المصرية

 نظمت  حركة " ناشطون لأجل فلسطين " وقفة إحتجاجية أمام وزاة الخارجية المصريه وتقدموا  بخطاب رسمي إلى وزير الخارجية، أحمد أبو الغيط، تطالبه فيه بطرد السفير الإسرائيلي بالقاهرة، على الرغم من أنباء هروبه، مساء الجمعة الماضي، على خلفية قضية التجسس لحساب الموساد التي تم الكشف عنها مؤخرًا.

هذا الخطاب يأتي ضمن فعاليات الحملة الشعبية لمقاطعة " الكيان الصهيوني"، تزامنًا مع إحياء الذكرى الثانية للحرب على قطاع غزة، والتي تستمر لمدة 10 أيام، حيث قررت الحركة تنظيم وقفة احتجاجية أمام وزارة الخارجية كأولى فعاليات حملتها.

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#BDS: 2010 and the Palestinian cause

By AHMAD SABRI | ARAB NEWS

In the beginning of 2010 the world saw international activists protest in Cairo to pressure the Egyptian regime into opening its borders for them to enter Gaza with their aid convoys.

They eventually succeeded and in the following months hundreds of international activists managed to break the siege of Gaza. The most famous of them was the Freedom Flotilla, which had 663 passengers from approximately 40 nationalities.

The flotilla was attacked in international waters (and this wasn't the first time for Israel). 9 activists were killed, and at least 42 were injured. The massacre generated global rage and was condemned by many governments. Israeli ambassadors were summoned from 7 countries as well as the EU. And although the US tried to block it, an international inquiry soon began. In addition, a fact-finding mission was launched by the UN Human Rights Council. They found that Israel broke international law, and found "clear evidence" for prosecuting Israel for the war crime of "willful killing; torture or inhuman treatment". The report accused Israeli commandos of summarily executing 6 passengers.

But why were international activists attempting to reach Gaza in the first place? The reason is the Israeli blockade held since 2007. The blockade killed hundreds of Palestinian patients, and destroyed Gaza's economy. It was considered a "war crime" by the UN Fact Finding mission led by Judge Richard Goldstone, and it was considered a form of "collective punishment" by both a UN humanitarian affairs chief and a UN Human Rights Council monitor in 2008. This year another international testimony was added: the International Committee of the Red Cross called the blockade a violation of the Geneva Conventions and described it as "collective punishment". Another strong legal statement in 2010 came from Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights who announced Gaza's blockade as "illegal".

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#BDS: Gogol Bordello scheduled to perform in Israel

Gogol Bordello is scheduled to perform in Israel on February 28th and March 1st, 2011.

#BDS: Erekat: Boycott Settlements, Not Israel

Chief PLO negotiator addresses World Union of Jewish Sudents in Jerusalem, says' the history of the Jewish-Arab relations can change.'


Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat on Thursday told a delegation of international Jewish students that the world should boycott products of the settlements, and not Israel.

Speaking at the annual congress of the World Union of Jewish Students in Jerusalem, Erekat delivered a positive message of peace to an audience of Jewish student leaders from around the world.


“I am not here to make propaganda, I do peace because I believe it is do-able,” said Erekat, explaining that the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians is not a religious one. “My world is divided between those who are pro-peace and those who are not,” he said “I don’t think G-d is anti-peace.”

Erekat emphasized that the only chance for peace is the two state solution. “We’ve come a long way in the negotiations,” he said, “75% of Palestinians support a two state solution and we want to make peace with all of Israel. It is not just about putting everyone to their sides, we are destined to live together.


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#BDS: Israeli to build housing for Turkey's middle class

While Turkey drafts bill that will prevent Israelis from buying land there, mega-developer Yossi Avrahami builds major housing project in Izmir

Real estate mogul Yossi Avrahami is set to be the first Israeli to market housing to the Turkish middle class – bypassing the irksome attitude Turkey has recently expressed towards Israeli developers.

In November, the Turkish media reported that the government is drafting legislation that will prohibit Israelis from buying land in the Muslim nation. Instead, it will promote selling land to citizens of Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries.

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