Youth Against Normalization: April 2011

Apr 29, 2011

#BDS: نجاح عالمي وكسل عربي

لم تستمر ضاحية ماركفيل الأوسترالية في حملتها لمقاطعة البضائع الإسرائيلية دعماً للشعب الفلسطيني، وذلك بعد ضغط مارسه

اللوبي الصهيوني على المجلس البلدي هناك

شاتيلا | قلّة في مخيّم شاتيلا تذكر تلك «الملصقات السرية» التي وزعت داخل المخيم أثناء الانتفاضة الثانية. فحوى تلك الملصقات لم يكن يهدف الى ثورة مسلحة ولا إلى تغيير اللجان الشعبية وتطهير الفساد المستشري في الأونروا وأخواتها. بكل بساطة، كانت الملصقات عبارة عن دعوة الى مقاطعة البضائع الداعمة لإسرائيل. الموقعون على الملصقات لم يكونوا إلا مجموعة من شباب المخيم أسبغوا طابع السرية على عملهم بهدف إثارة التشويق على نشاطهم.

إقرأ/ي المزيد

#BDS: اكتمال الاستعدادات لعقد مؤتمر نقابي للمطالبة بمعاقبة اسرائيل

رام الله- معا- أنهت اللجنة التحضيرية للمؤتمر النقابي الفلسطيني الأول لمقاطعة إسرائيل وسحب الإستثمارات منها وفرض العقوبات عليها، تحضيراتها لعقد مؤتمرها النقابي الأول في قاعة مدرسة الفرندز للبنين بالبيرة يوم السبت القادم الثلاثين من نيسان.

وأكدت اللجنة التحضيرية أن هذا المؤتمر يأتي ليؤكد على الدور المميز للحركة النقابية الفلسطينية، وهي مكون رئيسي من الشعب الفلسطيني في النضال ضد الإضطهاد الإسرائيلي بكافة أشكاله لإجبار اسرائيل على الإلتزام بالقانون الدولي والتسليم بحقوق الشعب الفلسطيني غير القابلة للتصرف في تقرير المصير وإنهاء الإحتلال والإستعمار ونظام الفصل العنصري، وتطبيق حق العودة إلى الديار بموجب قرار الأمم المتحدة رقم 194.

إقرأ/ي المزيد

#BDS: Campus BDS Heating Up This Spring!

"This spring, the weather is not all that's heating up! April has brought a burst of U.S. campus boycott and divestment (BDS) initiatives following inspiring actions around the country on the BDS Day of Action, held on the annual Palestinian Land Day. Active campaigns in California, Arizona, Indiana and beyond are becoming a force to be reckoned with.

We are thrilled to welcome and support many of these campus groups as new members of the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation!

Here are some of the exciting ongoing initiatives:"

#BDS: Appel BDS Maroc

"Les citoyennes et citoyens, associations, syndicats, et individualités marocain(e)s signataires,

Conscient(e)s de l’impasse à laquelle est arrivée en Palestine la communauté internationale des Etats en traitant par l’impunité la plus totale les violations répétées du Droit par l’Etat raciste d’Israël,

Soucieux(ses) de contribuer à un avenir de justice et de paix, pour toute la région et pour le monde, avenir qui se joue en Palestine aujourd’hui,

Inspiré(e)s par les succès historiques de la communauté citoyenne mondiale dans l’abolition du régime d’Apartheid en Afrique du Sud à laquelle ont largement contribué la campagne de Boycott et de Désinvestissement et l’application de Sanctions internationales,

En solidarité avec le peuple de Palestine, et en réponse à l’appel lancé par la société civile palestinienne, à se joindre à la campagne internationale Boycott-Désinvestissement-Sanctions,"

Continuer à lire

#BDS: مبادلات المغرب وإسرائيل ترتفع إلى 3.5 ملايين دولار بداية 2011

تطورت المبادلات التجارية بين المغرب وإسرائيل ، خلال الشهرين الأولين من السنة الجارية ، إلى 3.1 ملايين دولار مقابل 1.5 مليون دولار خلال الفترة نفسها من سنة 2010 ، بنمو بلغت قيمته ، حسب إحصائيات المكتب الإسرائيلي للإحصاء ، 1.6 مليون دولار ، وتعود أسباب هذا النمو إلى ارتفاع واردات المغرب من إسرائيل إلى 2.5 مليون دولار مقابل 1.1 مليون دولار بين الفترتين ، بتطور قيمته 1.4 مليون دولار ، ونمو واردات الدولة العبرية من المغرب ، التي تطورت من 400 ألف دولار نهاية فبراير من سنة 2010 إلى 600 ألف دولار خلال السنة الجارية .

وتأتي هذه النتائج لتقطع مع منطق التراجع الذي طبع المبادلات بين البلدين خلال السنة الماضية ، حيث انخفضت هذه الأخيرة ، عند نهاية السنة الماضية ، إلى 18.2 مليون دولار بتراجع بلغت قيمته ، حسب إحصائيات المكتب الإسرائيلي للإحصاء 3.5 ملايين دولار ، كما انخفضت واردات المغرب من إسرائيل عند نهاية السنة الماضية إلى 13.1 مليون دولار مقابل 18.5 مليون دولار خلال سنة 2009 ، بتراجع قيمته 5.4 ملايين دولار ، في حين تطورت واردات الدولة العبرية من المغرب ، من 3.2 ملايين دولار من سنة 2009 إلى 5.1 ملايين دولار خلال السنة الماضية .

إقرأ/ي المزيد

#BDS: Cultural boycott success in St. Louis

"Earlier this month, activists with the St. Louis Palestine Solidarity Committee scored an important victory in the cultural and academic boycott movement. Hip-hop artist Marvin Casey from Universal Beatz was disinvited to perform at Washington University in St. Louis, following revelations that his dance troupe is sponsored by the Jewish Agency for Israel.

From their press release:

The St. Louis Palestine Solidarity Committee (STL-PSC) welcomes the decision by program organizers to disinvite Israeli hip-hop artist Marvin Casey from Universal Beatz, a week of performances at Washington University in St. Louis by Middle Eastern rappers and dancers, due to begin on Monday, April 11, 2011."

#BDS Victory: Swedish Pension Funds call on Motorola to stop profiting from Israel’s occupation

"The Ethical Council of the four Swedish AP buffer pension funds (AP1, AP2, AP3 and AP4) is calling on US communications giant Motorola Solutions to pull out of the Israeli-occupied territories in the West Bank.

The Council wants the company, spun out of Motorola earlier this year, to cease delivery and maintenance of a custom-designed monitoring system for the settlements in the Palestinian territories. It states the settlements are located on occupied land and violate international humanitarian law.

It’s also calling on the Illinois-based firm to adopt a policy to prevent it contributing to human rights violations."

"Early this morning three activists locked themselves to the Brighton arms factory EDO/ITT, in solidarity with the people of Gaza.

Six Palestinians have been killed over the bank holiday weekend by Israeli air strikes in Gaza.

EDO is currently working on contracts for supply of weapons umbilical connectors to US firm Lockheed Martin who are incorporating them onto the new F35 fighter plane, bound for Israel. Paul Hills, EDO, managing director, has described the function of the connector as “to provide coordinates to the guidance unit… on the weapon.”
EDO’s connector systems have already resulted in civilian deaths in Afghanistan. In 2009 Royal Dutch Air Force F-16s, equipped with EDO’s FRCS connectors, killed 52 civilians in a bombing raid in Helmand."

#BDS: SJP Open Letter to the UCSD Community Regarding 2011 Divestment Effort

"This quarter, UCSD Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) had been organizing a “Resolution to Divest from Companies Profiting from Violent Conflict.” The resolution particularly addressed General Electric and Northrop Grumman, two companies that provide parts of Apache helicopters that have been documented by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International to cause deaths of civilians in the Palestinian territories.

The resolution was originally set to be presented on April 20, 2011. In respect of those students observing Passover, specifically those connected with the resolution, SJP leadership agreed to postpone the presentation until April 27. On April 22, five days before the resolution was to be presented, an unaffiliated third party council member arranged for representatives from Tritons for Israel (TFI) and SJP to meet."

#BDS: Another BDS Success! EUSA votes for boycott of Israeli goods.

"A motion to boycott Israeli goods was overwhelmingly passed at the Edinburgh University Students Association (EUSA) General Meeting on March 15.

Boycott Israeli Goods in EUSA shops and supply chains received around 270 votes in favour, with only 20 students voting against.

Proposed by students from Edinburgh University Students for Justice in Palestine, the motion noted that Israel is an apartheid state and resolved to affiliate EUSA to the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, to boycott Israeli goods in EUSA supply chains and shops, and to mandate the EUSA executive to lobby the University to do the same.

Since the call was made in 2005 by over 170 Palestinian civil society organisations, the BDS movement has grown rapidly in the UK.

University unions such as Sussex, Manchester and SOAS have had BDS motions passed."

#BDS: New Egypt: Egypt detains ex-energy minister over gas deal with Israel

"Egypt's public prosecutor on Thursday ordered former Energy Minister Sameh Fahmy and five other senior energy officials detained for questioning over a natural gas deal with Israel that the government is reviewing.

Israel gets 40% of its natural gas from Egypt under an arrangement put in place after a 1979 peace deal. Opposition groups have long complained the gas was being sold at preferential prices and that East Mediterranean Gas (EMG), the company which supplies it, violated bureaucratic regulations. (Reuters)"

#BDS: New BDS Song by Radio Rahim!

Apr 22, 2011

#BDS: ناشطون يوقفون بيع منتجات إسرائيلية في كبرى محال لندن

لندن: أقنع محتجون محلات بيع مستحضرات وأدوات تجميل معروفة وسط العاصمة البريطانية لندن, يوم السبت، في التخلي عن اقتناء وبيع مستحضرات التجميل التي تنتجها شركة اهافا الإسرائيلية والتعهد بعدم بيعها وتسويقها.

وتأتي الخطوة تتويجاً لجهود عشرات من الناشطين والمتضامنيين مع القضية الفلسطينية، حيث يسعون إلى توسيع نطاق حملات المقاطعة التي تستهدف المنتجات الإسرائيلية في أوروبا.

وأستخدم الناشطون طريقة وصفت بـ«الفعالة»، للترويج إلى حملتهم، حيث أحتشد عشرات المتضامنين والناشطين في حملات مقاطعة إسرائيل في «كوفنت جاردن» وسط العاصمة لندن، وأعلنوا هذا الانجاز الذي جاء بعد سلسلة من الاعتصامات التي استمرت نحو عام كامل، بواقع مرة كل أسبوعين.

إقرأ/ي المزيد

#BDS: Marrickville puts BDS on the map in Australia

"The Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC), the broadest coalition of Palestinian political parties, trade unions, NGOs and networks, warmly salutes those Marrickville councillors who remained steadfast and principled in their support of the three fundamental Palestinian rights that constitute the core of the boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS). In the face of what Mayor Fiona Byrne rightly described as a “sledgehammer of pressure”, these courageous councillors recalled the most sincere spirit of solidarity that marked the global struggle against South African apartheid by insisting on supporting the Palestinian struggle to end Israel’s decades-old occupation, colonization, apartheid, and obdurate denial of UN-sanctioned rights of our refugees to return and receive reparations. We deeply appreciate Marrickville’s moral commitment to the objectives of the BDS movement — freedom, justice and equality — despite the current inability to maintain a majority in support of taking effective BDS measures to help reach these noble objectives."

Read more

#BDS: Imaging Apartheid around the world

"A small collective of artists and activists under the name of Imaging Apartheid have spent the past six months calling upon their creative colleagues to submit work related to the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

With a stated goal to “bring awareness and support to the Palestinian struggle for liberation through the production and dissemination of poster art,” the collective has gathered a diverse collection of posters, from which they will select the strongest images to exhibit in Montreal and several locations across the world.

We caught up with designer Kevin Lo, one of the Imaging Apartheid organizers, to find out more about the project."

#BDS: بطل كرة السلة الأمريكي كريم عبد الجبار ينوي زيارة الكيان الصهيوني

أعلن لاعب كرة السلة المعتزل كريم عبد الجبار نيته زيارة الكيان الصهيوني قريباً والإلتقاء بأحد الحاخامت الصهاينة في سياق قيامه بالتجهيز لفيلم عن الحرب العالمية الثانية. وتأتي هذه الزيارة في ظل إزدياد عزلة العدو الإسرائيلي وإزداياد حالات المقاطعة الفنية له. وتستنكر مجموعة شباب ضد التطبيع هذه الزيارة المزمعة وتدعو عبد الجبار لإلغاءها وعدم الإنسياق خلف الدعاية الصهيونية التي تجعل من معاناة اليهود الأبرياء في الحرب العالمية الثانية مبرراً لإحتلال فلسطين وأراضي سورية ولبنانية إلى اليوم، ناهيك عن سياسات القمع والفصل العنصري وسرقة المياه والثروات الطبيعية والإعتقالات التعسفية والتعذيب وسياسات الإغتيال والحصار.

#BDS: Moby - Please Don't Play for Apartheid Israel!

"Moby is sceduled to play for the Pic.nic Festival in apartheid Israel. His concert is for July 12, in Tel-Aviv-Yafo. We ask Moby to stand for the Palestian call for the cultural boycott of Israel until it abides by international law and stops its brutal occupation of the Palestinian people. Following the lead of other artists such as Roger Waters, Pete Seeger, Massive Attack, Klaxons, Gorillaz Sound System, Carlos Santana, Elvis Costello, Devendra Banhart, Faithless, Gil Scott-Heron, The Pixies, Snoop Dogg (Snoop was quoted as telling Palestinian-American hip hop producer Fredwreck “Why they building a wall around y’alls people’s shit. That’s fucked up, cuz.’)

One way to contact moby is to call the cafe that he owns directly and leave a message, that # in nyc is 212-475-9190 see https://www.teany.com/cafe"

Also check the facebook event

#BDS: Southern African Christians call for BDS

"The Palestine Kairos Document was launched in South Africa on Monday evening 4 April 2011, at a meeting of Kairos Southern Africa in Bredell near Johannesburg. The document is called: A moment of truth – A word of faith, hope and love from the heart of the Palestian suffering.

The notion of a Palestine Kairos Document was inspired by the South African Kairos Document as a Christian testimony of faith during the dark and last days of apartheid. Palestinian lay people, theologians and church leaders came together to express a testimony of faith in relation to their experience under the occupation of Palestine by Israel.

In response to the message of the Palestine Kairos Document, Christians from South Africa and countries in Southern Africa gathering at the conference decided to state the following:"

#BDS: Understanding the Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions Movement Against Israel

"In the last few years, Palestinians and the solidarity movements in support of Palestinian rights have been successful in drawing attention to Israel as an apartheid state deserving of the same treatment as apartheid South Africa. Prominent individuals such as former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Richard Falk and many others, have used the term apartheid at various moments to refer to Israel’s regime of gross violations of international law. But what is apartheid and exactly why is Israel an apartheid state? Most importantly, why should conscientious people across the world join the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, which has been growing over the last six years?

What Is Apartheid?

Apartheid is an Afrikaans term meaning separation or apartness. While it was first used in the South African context and took the form of clear institutionalized and legalized segregation by white settlers over the rest of the population, apartheid later took on an international legal dimension. As a result, the “crime of apartheid” no longer exists as a crime limited to a South African-style apartheid context. Rather, the crime has come to hold a specific legal definition that was adopted by the 2002 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and that has its basis in the 1973 International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid.

Under the Convention, the crime of apartheid is defined as “a crime against humanity . . . inhuman acts resulting from the policies and practices of apartheid and similar policies and practices of racial segregation and discrimination, as defined in article II of the Convention, are crimes violating the principles of international law.” Article II of the Convention defines the crime as “inhuman acts committed for the purpose of establishing and maintaining domination by one racial group of persons over any other racial group of persons and systematically oppressing them,” and also includes “similar policies and practices of racial segregation and discrimination as practiced in southern Africa.” While South African style apartheid is one benchmark, the real determinant of the crime of apartheid is whether or not policies and practices of oppression fall under the list of violations included in Article II of the Convention.

Of particular significance, the crime speaks in terms of oppressor and oppressed (not majorities and minorities), and prohibits the institutionalization of racist discrimination and oppression in which racism is legally enshrined through state institutions. Racial discrimination is defined in international law as any distinction based on race, color, descent, or national or ethnic origin."

#BDS: Politics and Sports Definitely Don't Mix: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to visit Israel

"Former NBA star, who is making film about WWII, to meet Rabbi Lau whom his father liberated from Nazi concentration camp

American basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar will visit Israel in July and meet with Rabbi Israel Meir Lau to discuss a film that he is making about World War II, the rabbi said recently.

The film is based on the book "Brothers in Arms", which Abdul-Jabbar co-authored and deals with the American troops who liberated Nazi concentration camps in the end of World War II. Abdul-Jabbar's own father served on the 761st Tank Battalion, which liberated the Buchenwald Concentration Camp in Germany."

#BDS: BDS means freedom, justice and self-determination

"Daniel Meyerowitz-Katz’s ill-informed and manifestly misleading attack on the Palestinian-led, global movement of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel contained several misrepresentations and some outright fabrications. The historical account given by Meyerowitz-Katz is not only skewed; it is a typical attempt to obscure or omit altogether the basic facts about BDS.

An overwhelming majority of Palestinian civil society issued the BDS Call on July 9, 2005 as an effective, non-violent strategy to end Israel’s violations of international law and Palestinian rights. This civil, peaceful and inclusive struggle, largely inspired by the successful South African anti-apartheid movement, is based on international law and universal principles of human rights."

#BDS: Omar Barghouti - BDS: Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions book launch

#BDS: Bahrain's secret Mossad ties revealed?

"New Wikileaks cables expose classified documents that include evidence of alleged cooperation between Persian Gulf state and Israeli intelligence agency

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange released additional classified documents about Israel and the Middle East: Britain's Guardian newspaper stated that the sensitive documents expose, among other things, Israeli criticism of the man who is the de facto head of state in Egypt, Hussein Tantawi Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.

The diplomatic cables were transferred to Yedioth Ahronoth and some have been published on Friday."

#BDS: Academic sanctions and global solidarity for Palestinian liberation

"Academic sanctions and global solidarity for Palestinian liberation: A view from South Africa on the need to unfriend Israeli universities

By Patrick Bond
Presented to the Association of American Geographers Annual Meetings- Seattle, Washington -[12_04_11]

This panel is not only devoted to considering arguments about implementing the call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel, but also about broader problems of progressive political positioning and backlash in the academy. Although I do not deal with the April 2 case of Richard Goldstone’s unprincipled U-turn on the findings of the United Commissions commission into Israel’s 2008-09 Gaza invasion, the incident suggests the extent to which South African commentary on the oppression of Palestinians has become acutely politicized. For if Goldstone’s return to his Zionist past – recalling, too, his past as a minor apartheid-era judge (hence as a human rights ally, his zig-zag unreliability, reliability and now unreliability) – serves any purpose aside from empowering Israeli militarists, it will be to compel us to use South Africa as a base from which critical inquiry into the condition of Palestine must now be intensified.

Fortunately, just such an opportunity arises in the case of the University of Johannesburg faculty Senate’s decision on March 23 to support the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) struggle by breaking ties with Israel’s Ben Gurion University of the Negev. Recall that in the most extreme black-and-white case, fighting to end apartheid, scholar-activists played a useful role that has relevance to the Palestinian situation. To be sure, academic boycotts of the apartheid regime were nowhere near as successful as the sports, cultural and economic sanctions that hit South African elites from the late 1960s, which were decisive in undermining the racist state and dividing/conquering the white population, especially from 1985. These experiences bear consideration as a site for ongoing Palestinian solidarity, and they point to a trajectory by which social consciousness can be ratcheted up into more sustained commitments. "

#BDS: Picket Echo & Bunnymen to play in Apartheid Israel

"By playing Tel Aviv, "The implicit message is that the country is liberal and progressive. Music fans can dance, drink and pop pills long into the night, blissfully distracted from the immeasurable suffering endured by Palestinians living just 40km down the road in Gaza." [Faithless guitarist Dave Randall]

We are asking Ian McCulloch from Echo and the Bunnymen to cancel their scheduled performance in Israel:

Please don't breach the boycott picket line;
Respect the Palestinian call for Boycott of Israel;
Postpone until Israel respects human rights and abides by international law.

We'll hand out leaflets to the fans and if lucky to Ian McCulloch.
We'll hold banners, calling EATB to cancel.
Make your own banner with your personal message."

Link to event

#BDS: World Cup winning former France star Thuram visits Palestine

"World Cup winning former France star Lilian Thuram visited young Palestinians in a West Bank refugee camp in Qalandia, near Jerusalem.

The former Barcelona, Juventus and Parma defender, who won the World Cup in 1998, is spending four days in the Palestinian territories as part of his work for the Lilian Thuram anti-racism education foundation."

#BDS: Arab station broadcasting from Qatar ask to interview Israeli singer

"Dana International, Israel's representative to the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest, is expected to give an interview to a radio station broadcasting from Doha, Qatar.

In recent weeks Dana's managers have been receiving numerous requests for interviews ahead of her performance in Düsseldorf next month, including one from the Arab station."

#BDS: Australian City Faces Attacks for Supporting BDS

"The city of Marrickville is the first municipality in Australia to support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign. The city is now under attack, following the publication of a report saying that support for BDS could end up costing taxpayers $4 million.

In December 2010 the local council in the Australian city of Marrickville became the first municipality in Australia to support the Palestinian initiated Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, and “boycott all goods made in Israel and any sporting, institutional academic, government or institutional cultural exchanges.”

The city is now under attack, following the publication of a report saying that support for BDS could end up costing taxpayers $4 million. Marrickville Mayor Fiona Byrne has denied that would be the case."

#BDS: No surprise Bob Dylan is visiting the ‘neighborhood bully’

"You may have seen the recent letter by the Israeli peace and justice group "Boycott From Within" (BfW) asking Bob Dylan to heed the Palestinian call for BDS and therefore not perform in Israel. The letter follows reports of Dylan's 2011 summer tour, during which he will perform at Ramat Gan Stadium on June 20th.

The BfW letter hits all the right notes and speaks truth. It asks Dylan "not to perform in Israel until it respects Palestinian human rights," explaining that "a performance in Israel, today, is a vote of support for its policies of oppression." The letter speaks of ethnic cleansing, land theft, martial law, air strikes, and massacres. It beseeches the folk legend, who has "been part of a civil rights movement," to stand with the oppressed against the aggressor. BfW writes that "BDS is a powerful and united civil initiative in the face of a brutal military occupation and apartheid. It’s a nonviolent alternative to a waning armed struggle and it has reaped many successes and instilled much hope, in the past six years."

#BDS: How about they terminate the contract?! Egypt orders review of gas contracts w/Israel

"Egypt's prime minister says has ordered a price review of its contracts to supply natural gas to Israel and Jordan over widespread domestic criticism, reports Egyptian's official news agency MENA.

Prime Minister Essam Sharaf's spokesman, Ahmed el-Samman, was quoted by MENA as saying that the review is aimed at bringing in the greatest returns for Egypt. El-Samman said revised contracts could boost income by $3 billion to $4 billion."

#BDS: Swiss train service is ordered to allow signs stating that Israel was established with violence on Palestinian land

"A Swiss court has ordered the state's national train service, the SBB, to allow a pro-Palestinian group to hang anti-Israeli posters in Zurich's central train station, the Swiss newspaper Tages Anzeiger reported on Tuesday.

Members of the Palestine Solidarity Action first attempted to hang controversial posters in several locations within the station in 2009, but were ordered by the station's management to take them down after three days.

The posters appeared to argue against Israel's right to exist. "Sixty-one years of Israel, 61 years of injustice," the sign read."

#BDS: Brandeis students disrupt speech of former Shin Bet chief

Apr 13, 2011

#BDS: Israeli terrorist colonists uproot trees and PA purchases palm seedlings from 'settlements'

"RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- The "Save the Valley" campaign has called on de facto Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and his premier Salam Fayyad to stop purchasing palm seedlings from Jewish settlements.

Coordinator of the campaign Fathi Khudairat said in a press release that officials of the PA in Ramallah were paying million of dollars to buy thousands of palm seedlings from Jewish settlements at a time they claim to be championing boycott of those settlements' products.

He said that Palestinian products should be protected and the produce of those settlements should be boycotted, especially those produced by the Palestinian farmers."

#BDS: Subsidiary of Israeli Elbit Company Wins Contract to Upgrade Brazilian Air Force Jets

"A Brazilian subsidiary of Israel’s Elbit Systems Ltd. has won an $85 million contract to upgrade eleven Brazilian Air Force F-5 fighter-bomber jets, Elbit announced in a press release on 11 April. The contract will be carried out in 2013.

The subsidiary is AEL Sistemas, a Brazilian company that became part of the Elbit Systems Group in 2001. Elbit Systems Ltd. is one of the world's largest defense electronics manufacturers and integrators.

In addition to its numerous international contracts, Elbit Systems also provides both Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and other military technology for Israel’s Occupation forces, as well as security systems for the Separation Wall and settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory."

#BDS: Bob Geldof told 'boycott Israel or lose credibility'

"Pro-Palestinian campaigners have launched a campaign to stop Bob Geldof from visiting Israel next month on the basis that going there would damage the singer's "credibility as a defender of the rights of the dispossessed".

The former Boomtown Rats singer is to make his first trip to the country to accept an honorary degree from Ben Gurion University (BGU) in recognition of his anti-poverty work.

But Raymond Deane, the cultural and academic boycott officer for the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Camp (IPSC) has demanded that the star reject it and also pull out of a conference the same week on Israel's humanitarian aid work in Africa.

In a letter to Mr Geldof, who has an honorary knighthood, he said it was "a shock" that the Irish star would accept the BGU award."

#BDS: Politics and Music Don't Mix, Ha? Netanyahu cancels Bieber date

"PM was scheduled to host pop star at his Jerusalem office; taking advantage of the PR situation, Netanyahu's advisers invited group of kids from communities near Gaza border to attend.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has canceled his date with pop sensation Justin Bieber over the singer's refusal to meet with children living in communities affected by Gaza rocket fire, Channel Two reported on Tuesday.

The prime minister was scheduled to host the young singer at his office in Jerusalem on Wednesday evening, before Bieber's Thursday night concert."

#BDS: Action Alert: PETITION TO CALIFORNIA'S STATE RETIREMENT SYSTEMS

"TO CALIFORNIA'S STATE RETIREMENT SYSTEMS
From California Taxpayers and Members of CalPERS and CalSTRS

HONOR YOUR POLICIES OF SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTING

BEGIN YOUR PROCESS OF ENGAGEMENT WITH CORPORATIONS THAT FACILITATE ISRAELI VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND INTERNATIONAL LAW

We, the undersigned, oppose investments by the California State Retirement System (STRS) and the California Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) in any company that profits from the State of Israel's occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

According to your own investment reports, more than $3 billion is invested in companies that we believe facilitate Israel's violation of human rights, its repudiation of international law and its disregard of UN Conventions and Resolutions."

#BDS: نائب "إسرائيلي" يتعرض لمقاطعة واستهجان خلال ندوة في أمريكا

تعرض عضو كنيست “إسرائيلي” إلى مقاطعة واستهجان طلاب جامعة برانديز الأمريكية خلال استضافته في حلقة نقاش أقامتها الجامعة، أمس الأول، بحضور مئات الطلاب . وقاطع طلاب وطالبات النائب “الإسرائيلي” آفي ديختر بشكل متواصل، ونعتوه باللغتين الإنجليزية والعبرية بأنه مجرم حرب . وحيث لم يتردد طلاب أمريكيون ويهود وفلسطينيون في مواصلة اعتراضاتهم على ديختر عضو كاديما ومدير “الشاباك” خلال الانتفاضة الفلسطينية الثانية .

إقرأ/ي المزيد

Apr 7, 2011

#BDS: Ahava 'leaving party', London

#BDS: After Board of Governors Rally, Carleton One Step Closer to Divestment

"On March 29th, 2011 students, faculty, staff, alumni and community allies made a significant stride toward divestment at Carleton University in Ottawa, the capital of Canada. Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA) first launched our campus-based pension fund divestment campaign in January 2010. The student-led campaign was motivated by the 2005 call from Palestinian civil society “to impose broad boycotts and implement divestment initiatives against Israel… until it fully complies with the precepts of international law.”

After over a year of failed attempts to meet with Carleton’s Pension Fund Committee, SAIA submitted a formal request to present our motion to the Board of Governors (BOG) – the highest decision-making body of the university – to divest from four companies complicit in violations of international law in Palestine: BAE Systems, Northrop Grumman, Motorola and Tesco Supermarkets. These companies manufacture weapons and weapons components used by the Israeli military against Palestinians, and also facilitate the expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank (for background see: http://carleton.saia.ca/pension-divestment-campaign.html). SAIA’s motion also called upon Carleton to implement a binding socially responsible investment policy, in full consultation with the Carleton community."

#BDS: Brussels: Pro-Palestinian groups stage anti-Israel street play

"Activists dressed as IDF soldiers 'kill' boy playing Palestinian; women cover 'body' with Palestinian flag as crowd chants 'boycott Israel.' Mayor: Freedom of expression

Members of dozens of pro-Palestinian organizations held an anti-Israel exhibit on Brussel's main pedestrian-only street a few days ago, the Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported Friday.

During the street play, one activist dressed as an IDF soldier "kicked" a Palestinian, and in another a man dressed as an Israeli soldier "shoots" a Palestinian boy and "humiliates" a "pregnant Palestinian woman".

In a particularly harsh scene, an activist playing a Palestinian woman is "forcibly separated" from her "children"."

Read more

#BDS: Univ. of Arizona student coalition builds massive mock wall to bring attention to the occupied territories and the US/Mexico border

"Students from the Arizona chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace at the University of Arizona (UA) collaborated with partners in the UA migrant rights group No Más Muertes/No More Deaths (NMM) to erect the largest mock apartheid wall in the country currently dividing the UA campus in Tucson. They aim to spotlight the lethal effects of U.S. policies in Arizona, the U.S. and Israeli-occupied Palestine.

Equipped with barbed-wire and stretching nearly four football fields’ length, the mock wall, entitled “Wall to Wall - Concrete Connections/Conexiones Concretas,” will stand for more than a week across the main traffic center of the more-than-50,000-person University of Arizona campus. Endorsed by numerous academic departments, as well as student and community groups, the JVP and NMM worked for nearly 8 months to bring the project to fruition."

#BDS: Sacramento Co-Op Board Abandons Democratic Principles Won’t Let Members Vote On Proposed Israel Products Boycott

"What started out as a question of whether the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op should stop carrying certain products based on human rights considerations has now become a matter affecting the Co-op’s very democracy.

In an effort to prevent the Co-op’s members from voting on this issue, the Co-op Board has eliminated its long standing boycott policy, done away with Open comments at Board meetings, and is seeking to eviscerate member’s ability to put initiatives before a vote of the full membership as provided in the Co-op’s Bylaws. All of this while it discusses major policy changes at private meetings with no member input.

Almost forty years ago, the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op started as a buying club out of private homes, operating essentially as a direct democracy. Soon there was a store front, then a small store on Freeport Blvd. In 1989 the Co-op moved to its current location at Alhambra and S. As the Co-op grew, it incorporated and shifted to what might be viewed as a form of representative democracy, with a member-elected Board of Directors."

#BDS: Elizabeth Taylor and Israel, a lasting love

"The world lost an icon Wednesday with the death of Elizabeth Taylor — and Israel lost one of its best friends in Hollywood.

Wednesday also brought the first bombing in Jerusalem in nearly four years, so the news of Taylor’s death was overshadowed there by the explosion and by escalating rocket fire from Gaza. But the actress’s passing represented the end of a relationship with the Jewish state that may have been the last of its kind.

American media coverage of Taylor’s life has understandably focused on her on- and offscreen dramas, as well as her pioneering AIDS activism. But she was also a supporter of Israel to a degree that largely went unmentioned this past week, bringing to the cause a commitment nearly unimaginable among Hollywood stars today. In a life famously shared with seven husbands, Taylor’s relationship with Israel was one of her longest."

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