Nov 30, 2011

#BDS: The Cultural Boycott Israel vs. South Africa

"Since the great majority of Palestinian civil society issued its call for boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) against Israel in July 2005 to compel it to fulfil its obligations under international law, there has never been a period with as many BDS achievements as that following the Israeli massacre in Gaza in the winter of 2008-2009 and the bloodbath on the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla in May 2010. People of conscience around the world seem to have crossed a threshold in challenging Israel’s impunity through effective pressure, not appeasement or “constructive engagement.” This has been most pronounced in the cultural field, where support for the 2004 call by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI)2 has witnessed spectacular growth."

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#BDS: مخاوف إسرائيلية من إقرار البرلمان التونسي الجديد قانون "مقاطعة إسرائيل

ذكرت صحيفة "إسرائيل اليوم" أن المستوى السياسي في إسرائيل يراقب بقلق التطورات في العالم العربي, وهم يحذرون منذ أسابيع من احتمالات تحول الربيع العربي إلى واقع كئيب بالنسبة لإسرائيل.

وأشارت الصحيفة إلى أن أول ثمار الربيع العربي تأتي من تونس حيث يعتزم البرلمان التونسي الجديد إقرار قانون "معارضة الصهيونية ومقاطعة إسرائيل", وهو بند يحظى بدعم من الحزبين الأكبر في البلاد "النهضة الإسلامي", و"التجمع الديمقراطي" بعد إبعاد زين العابدين بن علي .

وأعربت وزارة الخارجية الإسرائيلية عن مخاوفها من تفشي عدوى عداء إسرائيل في دول أخرى في الشرق الأوسط, الأمر الذي سيضع الاستقرار بالمنطقة في خطر.

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#BDS: الاتحاد الإماراتي للسباحة ينفي التطبيع... والإسرائيلي يؤكّده

هللت الدولة العبرية واتحاد السباحة لديها للدعوة التي تلقتها من الاتحاد الإماراتي للسباحة، للمشاركة في لقاء دولي للفئات العمرية للسباحة في شباط المقبل، إلا أن هذه الدعوة لاقت شجباً وإدانة واسعة من منظمات «مقاطعة إسرائيل» والمجتمع المدني الفلسطيني، ومنها «اللجنة الدولية لمقاطعة إسرائيل وسحب الاستثمارات منها وفرض العقوبات عليها»، والتي تختصر بـ BDS وتنضوي تحت لوائها منظمات فلسطينية ونقابات عمالية واتحادات شبابية وكشفية رياضية. وأرسلت هذه اللجنة رسالة مفتوحة إلى الاتحاد الإماراتي للسباحة بشخص رئيسه أحمد الفلاسي، حيث عدّت الدعوة الإماراتية شكلاً من أشكال التطبيع مع الدولة الصهيونية. وجاء في سياق الرسالة: «تستنكر BDS بشدة ما أوردته وسائل الإعلام حول قرار الاتحاد الإماراتي للسباحة توجيه دعوة إلى الاتحاد الإسرائيلي للسباحة للمشاركة في مباراة دولية ستقام في دبي، إن صح الخبر، فإن هذه الدعوة تمثّل تطبيعاً خطيراً مع دولة الاحتلال والتمييز العنصري، يأتي في وقت نحن في أمس الحاجة فيه إلى الدعم والتضامن العربي والعالمي في ظل استشراس الاحتلال الإسرائيلي للأراضي الفلسطينية والعربية...». وأضافت الرسالة: «نذكّر الاتحاد الإماراتي كذلك بأن عدم وجود علاقات دبلوماسية بين الإمارات وإسرائيل يعفي الأولى من واجب دعوة أي فريق أو وفد إسرائيلي، إلى أنشطة تقام في الإمارات».

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Punks Against Apartheid officially launches website, #BDS network

“Stumbling onto the scene” with a demand for legendary punk rocker and social justice activist Jello Biafra and his band, the Guantanamo School of Medicine, to cancel a performance in Tel Aviv last June — which Biafra eventually did — activists with theboycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) group Punks Against Apartheid (PAA) have announced their official launch as a website and activism network.

PAA was the major driving force behind the appeal to Biafra to cancel his gig, and was formed quickly and with large support by artists, musicians and solidarity activists worldwide who signed onto an online statement that was sent directly to Biafra. Immediately following the show’s cancellation, PAA didn’t stop there — they were motivated to engage with and expand the growing BDS movement, and continued to call on Biafra to look deeper into his political analysis to understand the situation for Palestinians under Israel’s apartheid system. Read more here.

#BDS Boycott #Israel campaign grows among UK unions, despite Zionist backlash

Over the last few years, UK trade unions have expressed solidarity with Palestine more and more explicitly. Union after union has overturned a previous orthodoxy of balance between “two sides” when it comes to policy on Israel and the Palestinians. So many unions have now passed motions in support of the Palestinian boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement that even the often conservative Trades Union Congress (TUC) has been compelled to change policy. Read more here.

#BDS #Israel fears boycott law in #Tunisia

Sources in Israel have expressed deep concern about the possibility of Tunisia adopting what is being called the "Opposition to Zionism and Boycott of Israel" law. According to the Hebrew language media, the political community in Tel Aviv is taking this seriously as the proposed law is being supported by the two largest political parties in the country, Al-Nahda and Democratic Rally. Read more here.

#BDS Student tells EI about #Sabra hummus boycott victory at her high school

Today Nadine Darwish, a sophomore at Lincoln-Way High School in the Chicago suburbs,tweeted the news that her school will no longer serve Sabra brand hummus.

Chicago’s DePaul University recently decided to provide an alternative to Sabra hummus after a campaign by the Students for Justice in Palestine.

Darwish had been working on an article for her school paper urging other students to call for the boycott of Sabra at their school. But she reported on Twitter that a brief conversation with the cafeteria’s lunch lady achieved the desired outcome — the school cafeteria will no longer sell Sabra hummus.

This afternoon she told me more about what happened, and that others concerned with human rights shouldn’t be intimidated from speaking up. Read more here. And follow Nadine on twitter here: @earthtonadine

Nov 29, 2011

BDS: Law suit filed after 'Boycott Israel' ads blocked in Michigan

"The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit against an Ann Arbor bus agency after it refused to allow an ad that says, "Boycott Israel."

The lawsuit filed today in federal court in Detroit claims the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority is violating the free-speech rights of Blaine Coleman, who wants to put the ad on buses near the University of Michigan.

The lawsuit says the bus agency's board met Nov. 17 and rejected the ad, claiming it violates a policy against ads that ridicule people or groups."

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BDS: بيان من جمعية مناهضة الصهيونية والعنصرية حول تزايد التطبيع الرسمي الأردني مع العدو الصهيوني

لاحظت جمعية مناهضة الصهيونية والعنصرية تزايد التطبيع الرسمي الأردني مع العدو الصهيوني خلال الأيام الماضية، وقد تجلى ذلك مثلاً من خلال استقبال السفير الصهيوني في عمان دانييل نيفو في وزارة المياه الأردنية في 22/11/2011، حيث أشارت تقارير صحيفة أنه تباحث مع وزير المياه الأردني موسى الجمعاني في مشروع ناقل البحر الأحمر، كما تجلى في استدعاء رئيس دولة الكيان الصهيوني شمعون بيريز إلى عمان يوم 28/11/2011 ولقاء الملك عبدالله الثاني معه، حيث أشارت تقارير صحفية إلى أن الحديث تطرق لسبل إعادة إحياء “عملية السلام” وفقاً لما يسمى “مبادرة السلام العربية” التي أعطت الجامعةُ العربيةُ الكيانَ الصهيونيَ مهلةً مفتوحةً لقبولها على ما يبدو!!

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#BDS: مقاضاة أنصار المقاطعة

في البدء، أوجّه تحيّة عرفان وتقدير إلى سماح إدريس ومركز 'عائدون' وجميع القوى اللبنانيّة المناهضة للتطبيع والمؤيّدة لمقاطعة إسرائيل. إنهم الوجه المشرق للبنان الذي يتبنّى سلاحَ المقاطعة كشكل رئيس من أشكال المقاومة المدنيّة السلميّة، لا تضامناً مع الشعب الفلسطينيّ فقط، بل أيضاً نضالاً ضدّ الاحتلال الإسرائيليّ المستمرّ للبنان، ومناهضةً للمحاولات الجارية من قِبل البعض لتطبيع العلاقات بشكل غير مباشر مع هذا الاحتلال.
يبدو أنّ بعضَ اللبنانيين قد نسوا أو تناسوْا أنّ إسرائيل ليست عدوَّ الشعب الفلسطينيّ وحسب، بل عدوّ الشعب اللبنانيّ والسوريّ والمصريّ والأردنيّ وكافّة الشعوب العربيّة أيضاً. لا مجال هنا لتذكير هؤلاء بكلّ ما اقترفته إسرائيل في حقّ شعب لبنان من جرائم منذ إقامتها في نكبة 1948 وتشريدها لمعظم الشعب الفلسطينيّ، ولكنْ تكفي الإشارةُ إلى أنّ تحرير مزارع شبعا اللبنانيّة وعودة اللاجئين الفلسطينيين إلى ديارهم التي شُرّدوا منها يبقيان ضمن أعلى أولويّات العمل الوطنيّ اللبنانيّ حسب برامج كلّ الأحزاب الوطنيّة في لبنان.

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BDS: الصحة العالمية تقرر نقل مؤتمرها من القدس الى تل ابيب- وانسحاب النرويج

غزة- معا- قررت منظمة الصحة العالمية نقل مؤتمرها الاقليمي الأول من مدينة القدس الى تل ابيب نتيجة الضغوطات والاحتجاجات من الداخل والخارج، فيما قررت النرويج الانسحاب من المؤتمر.

وقالت وزارة الصحة بالحكومة المقالة في تصريح مقتضب وصل لـ"معا": نتيجة الضغوطات من الداخل والخارج منظمة الصحة العالمية تقرر نقل المؤتمر الاقليمي الأول الى مدينة تل الربيع، وتحويله من مؤتمر الى لقاء تقني ومنع التغطية الاعلامية وانسحاب النرويج من المؤتمر".

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#BDS Streisand to sing at Israeli soldier benefit in LA

Streisand to sing at Israeli soldier benefit in LA

Rare performance: Barbra Streisand will play a Dec. 8 LA gala for the Israel Defense Forces. Hosted by Jason Alexander, who is going to forge the two-state solution. Sponsored by Haim Saban. (Hebrew link) She's a big Democrat, right? So's Saban, more or less. No Christian Zionists in sight. Here's Barbra talking about Bill Clinton's dedication to human rights. And kids in Africa, and global climate change. Progressive except Palestine. This is what J Street is up against, inside the Jewish community. And what America is up against. Read more here.

#BDS success or health problem? MF DOOM mysteriously cancels Tel Aviv show

BDS success or health problem? MF DOOM mysteriously cancels Tel Aviv show

According to Walla!, the producer of the Tel Aviv show said that Doom was suffering from heart trouble and canceled additional shows. He remarked that the cancellation was not due to political causes and that he anticipated that Doom would reschedule. In the meantime, ticket holders to the Tel Aviv show, which was scheduled to be held at the Block on Saturday night, could get a refund.

While MF Doom does have a history of heart trouble, the cancellation fueled speculation that Doom had answered the Palestination Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) call to boycott. PACBI published an open letter to Doom on November 11, just over two weeks before he was schedule to perform.

#BDS Europeans hold 60 ‘Boycott Israel’ actions in 10 countries

Europeans hold 60 ‘Boycott Israel’ actions in 10 countries
Organizers of the campaign claim that fruit and vegetable imports from Israeli settlements facilitate violations of Palestinian rights and international law. The campaign is focused on leading Israeli fruit and vegetable exporters Mehadrin and Agrexco, among others.

Demonstrations were held outside the British and French headquarters of leading Israeli fruit and vegetable exporter Mehadrin, which exports produce from illegal Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory, and which activists say works with state owned company Mekerot to deprive Palestinian communities of water. Campaigners in Rome organized a Palestine contingent on a national demonstration for affordable access to water.

Jamal Juma’, coordinator with Stop the Wall, the Palestinian anti-apartheid wall campaign that is currently working to support Al Hadidiye, a Bedouin community in occupied Palestinian territory recently served with demolition orders by the Israeli authorities, said, “The residents of Al Hadidye are denied access to water and can only rear livestock as a result. In the nearby illegal settlements of Ro’I and Beqa’ot, agricultural produce is grown with an abundance of stolen water for export to Europe by Mehadrin and other companies, and it is these companies that stand to benefit from the threatened demolitions at Al Hadidye.”

“Companies like Mehadrin profit from and are often directly involved in the ongoing colonisation of Palestinian land and theft of our resources. Trade with such companies constitutes a major form of support for Israel’s apartheid regime over the Palestinian people and must be brought to an end,” Juma’ added. Read more here.

#BDS DePaul University Students Declare Victory in Sabra Hummus Campaign

DePaul University Students Declare Victory in Sabra Hummus Campaign
Just prior to Thanksgiving, US Campaign coalition member group DePaul University Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) announced an important victory in its campaign against the sale of Sabra hummus in university dining halls. Earlier this year, DePaul SJP launched a campaign to have Sabra hummus removed from campus dining halls because it is partially owned by the Strauss Group, which provides material and financial support to Israeli military units. After an inquiry into the activities of the Strauss Group, the university elected to continue selling Sabra hummus. However, the university has quietly introduced the sale of an alternative brand of hummus in the university's dining halls providing students with the opportunity to make ethical consumer purchases. Read more here.

#BDS PCHR Strongly Condemns WHO’s Decision to Conduct a Conference in Jerusalem

PCHR Strongly Condemns WHO’s Decision to Conduct a Conference in Jerusalem
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns in the strongest possible terms the decision of WHO Europe to conduct an official conference in Jerusalem, hosted by Israel. The first World Health Organisation (WHO) European Conference on the New European Policy for Health is to take place on the 28–29 November 2011.

Nov 28, 2011

#BDS: 'It's hard to connect this way, as politics [AND ISRAELI BOMBS] always gets in the way''

"The 2011 Speaking Arts Conference, which was held in Jerusalem last week, attempted to bring together dozens of Jewish and Palestinian artists involved in performing arts (music, theater and movement). The conference featured open performances, workshops and mater classes held in a variety of auditoriums across the city.

The music workshops were led by musician and composer Sameer Makhoul, and the opening concert at the Masie House Theater Center was presented by Achinoam Nini and Gili Dor, with Arab dancer Mona Mashi'l."

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#BDS: #Engelbert to Perform in #Israel Next Month

"Engelbert Humperdinck is not at the height of his career right now, but that hasn't stopped pro-Palestinian elements from targeting him with the same pressures experienced by any foreign artist planning to perform in Israel.

The British pop singer has been facing an anti-Israel campaign in recent weeks, trying to convince him to cancel his scheduled performance at Tel Aviv's Nokia Arena on December 1."

#BDS: London Boycott Israel Committee Launches ‘Take Apartheid off the Menu’

"The Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC) in London and other European cities Saturday started its campaign 'Take Apartheid off the Menu: A European Day of Action against Israeli Agricultural Exporters,' according to campaign activists.

The activities in the UK included spreading brochures, raising banners in front of major shopping centers in more than 20 locations, such as London, Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham and Oxford.

BNC called European shoppers not to purchase Israeli agricultural products, especially those made in settlements in the Palestinian Territory, particularly after the organization succeeded in forcing importing enterprises in UK to specify the source companies, whether from

Israel

or Israeli settlements on Palestinian land."

#BDS: Chicagoans Show Support for Boycotting Israeli Goods and Apartheid

"On the morning of Black Friday - the single largest shopping day of the year - demonstrators went through three of the busiest shopping centers in Chicago: H&M, Nordstrom and the Water Tower Place Mall. The demonstrators asked holiday shoppers to think of the ethics behind their purchases, and organized brief two-minute chants in favor of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israeli apartheid and advocated a consumer boycott of Israeli products.

Specifically, this holiday season, they singled out five brands: American Apparel, H&M, Ahava, The Body Shop and Soda Stream. As they chanted, several shoppers walked out, expressing support and recognizing that their purchases should not lend financial assistance to corporations upholding Israel’s discriminatory and forcibly violent - not to mention generally-illegal - policies of colonial apartheid.

The demonstrations were led by the group Chicagoans for Palestinian Rights (CPR) and joined by Palestine Soldiarity Group (PSG) and members of various Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapters (DePaul University, Northwestern University and University of Chicago) as well as unaffiliated community members.

Palestine solidarity activist and University of Chicago doctoral student Ishan Chakrabarti explained, “Some of these companies, like Ahava, The Body Shop and Soda Stream produce goods in the occupied Palestinian territories, on stolen land with stolen resources. Still others, like American Apparel and H&M, profit from apartheid and turn oppression into money by opening numerous stores in Israel on land which was ethnically cleansed of Palestinians by Zionist settlers in 1948. All partake and invest in an ethically bankrupt system.”

In Chicago, the consumer boycott of Israel has seen recent success at DePaul University, where students successfully lobbied the university to allow them the choice of purchasing either Sabra Hummus (produced by the Strauss group, which supports two divisions of the Israeli Defense Forces implicated in human rights abuses) or an alternate brand.

“Each time, the message is the same: don’t buy into apartheid,” said Chakrabarti."

Nov 11, 2011

#BDS: قضيّة بلاسيبو في بيروت درس في الديموقراطيّة

يحار المرء كيف يتعامل مع الدعوى التي رفعها جهاد المرّ ضدّ شخصيّات ومؤسسات لبنانيّة وعربيّة وعالميّة، في إطار ما بات يُعرف بـ «قضيّة بلاسيبو» (راجع ص 15). النقاش حولها له فضائل تربويّة أكيدة على مستوى الحياة الديموقراطيّة، فيما هي مخالفة لمنطق الديموقراطيّة الذي يضمن حريّة التعبير، ويحترم الحقّ في الاختلاف. نكتب ذلك، متجاهلين أيّة خلفيّات تتجاوز السعي إلى تعويض الأرباح الضائعة التي يدّعيها المرّ، وقد انتظر سنة كاملة قبل اللجوء إلى القضاء.

تعود الحكاية إلى صيف ٢٠١٠، حين دعت شركته «تويو توسي»، فريق الروك البريطاني إلى إحياء حفلة في بيروت، على طريق عودته من فلسطين التاريخيّة المحتلّة. لم تصغِ فرقة «بلاسيبو» إلى الأصوات العربيّة والعالميّة التي طالبتها بالعدول عن زيارة الكيان الغاصب، أيّاماً قليلة بعد مجزرة أسطول الحريّة التي عزلته عالميّاً. وكان أن دعت جمعيّات في لبنان إلى مقاطعة حفلة الـ «فوروم دو بيروت»، حيث نظّمت وقفة احتجاجيّة مساء العرض. كيف تحوّل هذا التحرّك الهادئ عملاً تخريبيّاً؟

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#BDS: جهاد المرّ «يدعم» معركة المقاطعة

في انتظار تعيين الجلسة الأولى في الدعوى التي رفعها عليهم مدير شركة «تويو توسي»، أجمع نشطاء المقاطعة على شكر المدّعي لكونه بثّ روحاً جديدة في حملتهم

سناء الخوري

أيام قليلة تفصل رئيس تحرير مجلّة «الآداب» سماح إدريس و«حملة مقاطعة داعمي إسرائيل في لبنان» و«مركز حقوق اللاجئين عائدون»، و«الحملة العالمية لمقاطعة اسرائيل، وسحب الاستثمارات منها، وفرض العقوبات عليها» BDS، عن تحديد موعد للجلسة الأولى في الدعوى التي رفعها عليهم رجل الأعمال اللبناني جهاد المرّ. عطلة عيد الأضحى أخّرت الإجراءات القضائية الروتينيّة، لكنّها لم تنزع عن القضيّة طابعها الساخن.

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#BDS: عمر البرغوثي: المعركة تبدأ من الخشبة

منذ تأسيسها عام 2004، نجحت PACBI في توسيع رقعة نشاطها وكسب شركاء وحلفاء من أوروبا حتى أميركا. وقفة مع أحد مؤسّسي الحملة وجردة حساب بالإنجازات والتحديات

رشا حلوة

عكا | خلال سنوات قليلة، استطاعت «الحملة الفلسطينية للمقاطعة الأكاديمية والثقافية لإسرائيل» PACBI اختراق الحواجز العالمية وكسب حلفاء جدد في معركتها الرامية إلى مقاطعة إسرائيل أكاديمياً وثقافياً، بدءاً من أوروبا وصولاً إلى الولايات المتحدة، مروراً بكندا، والهند، وجنوب أفريقيا. عمر البرغوثي، أحد مؤسسي PACBI و«الحملة العالمية لمقاطعة اسرائيل، وسحب الاستثمارات منها، وفرض العقوبات عليها» (BDS ــ تعنى فقط بالمقاطعة الاقتصادية لإسرائيل) يقول لـ «الأخبار» إنّ الحملة الدولية لمقاطعة اسرائيل استطاعت سريعاً كسب تأييد عالمي، وتحديداً في بريطانيا وإيرلندا وجنوب أفريقيا.

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#BDS: فلسطينيو الداخل وفقاعة «الديموقراطية» الإسرائيلية

بسبب الظروف المختلفة التي تعيشها مناطق 48 عنها في الضفة وغزة والشتات، فإنّ معايير المقاطعة هناك تراعي تلك الاختلافات مع التأكيد على المبادئ الأساسية. في هذا الشأن، يشير عمر البرغوثي لـ «الأخبار» إلى أنّ «PACBI عقدت اجتماعات في رام الله وحيفا مع ممثلين وممثلات عن أهم المجموعات الطلابية المؤطرة في أحزاب سياسية في الداخل الفلسطيني. ومن خلال النقاشات والجدل المستمر منذ أشهر، بدأت تتضح ملامح معايير خاصة بفلسطينيي 48. ومن المتوقع أن تنضج في الأشهر القليلة المقبلة. إن كانت المواطنة الفلسطينية في مناطق الـ 48 لا تستطيع أن تقاطع المؤسسات الأكاديمية والثقافية والصحية والخدماتية العامة التابعة للدولة، فهي تستطيع أن تقاطع بعض المنتجات ذات البدائل. هناك مثلاً حملة تتسع في الداخل لمقاطعة بضائع المستعمرات المقامة في الأراضي المحتلة عام 67، كما تستطيع أن ترفض إعطاء إسرائيل «ورقة توت» تغطّي بها قبح استعمارها وعنصريتها.

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#BDS: Boycotting Placebo: A Lesson in Democracy

"How does one deal with the lawsuit filed by Jihad Murr, head of the event management company 2U2C, against Lebanese, Arab, and international figures and organizations in what has become known as the Placebo case?

Discussion of the case is important, especially since the case itself violates the very logic of democracy that guarantees freedom of expression and respects the right to disagreement.

I write this assuming that Murr has no other intent behind the lawsuit besides seeking compensation -- even though he waited a full year before finally resorting to litigation."

#BDS: Placebo Effect: Lawsuit Might Boost BDS Campaign in Lebanon

"A lawsuit against BDS activists in Beirut has ignited a debate about freedom of expression and is shaping up to be a landmark case in Lebanese courts.

The editor of Al Adab magazine, Samah Idriss, the Campaign to Boycott Israel Supporters in Lebanon, the Center for the Rights of Refuges-Aidoun, and the International Campaign for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Against Israel (BDS) are being sued by the head of the event management company 2U2C, Jihad Murr.

Perhaps unintentionally, Murr has breathed new life into the BDS campaign in Lebanon. The court case is no longer just a local concern; international campaigners are pledging to appear before the Lebanese court in support of their comrades."

#BDS: ثقافة المقاطعة... مـن القدس إلى بيروت

«مهرجان العود الدولي» الذي ينطلق اليوم في القدس المحتلّة، أقرب إلى كرنفال استشراقي في رعاية «بيت الكونفدرالية الصهيوني». وقد تتالت الدعوات إلى مقاطعة هذا النشاط التطبيعي، فيما يواصل الاحتلال سياسة التطهير الثقافي ضمن مخطط أسرلة المدينة

نجوان درويش

القدس المحتلة | سيرك حقيقي هو قصة المشاركين الفلسطينيين في «مهرجان العود الدولي» الذي يقيمه «بيت الكونفدرالية الصهيوني» في القدس بدءاً من اليوم حتى 19 الحالي. المهرجان الذي لا يخرج عن سياسة بلدية الاحتلال في القدس ـــــ الشريك الأساسي المموّل للمهرجان ـــــ يبدو سيركاً في حيثياته الاستشراقية، واستغفاله لفنانين فلسطينيين وأتراك ومغاربة بتحويلهم إلى بازار من الإثنيات والطوائف الملوّنة أمام جمهور «الكونفدرالية الصهيونية» من مستوطني «القدس الغربية».

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Nov 9, 2011

#BDS: Normalization between Gulf Arab States and #Israel

(...)

"Israel and the GCC discreetly work hand in hand: “I would be surprised if there is no knowledge about the Saudi positions (in Israel) or knowledge in Saudi of the Israeli positions,” said David Menashri, director of the Center for Iranian Studies at Tel Aviv University. “I would put it this way: The Gulf states, some of them, would like Israel to be more active against Iran, though they would never say it publicly,” said Meir Litvak, a regional expert at the Dayan Center think tank at Tel Aviv University. All this takes place under the umbrella of regional “defense strategy,” meaning the military exercises which keep Iraq and the Gulf under various kinds of Western political dominance so as to constrict oil supplies and justify ongoing arms purchases by the $700 billion dollar in annual spending US defense complex."

Read more

#BDS: Saudi Artist Ahmed Mater: A Normalizer with #Israel

"The Saudi artist Ahmed Mater has become the subject of an online campaign in Saudi Arabia calling for his immediate censure by the Saudi government, following the inclusion of his work Evolution of Man, 2010, in an exhibition in Israel.

The show, “West End”, opened this summer at Jerusalem’s Museum on the Seam, a socio-political contemporary art museum on the edge of the ultra-orthodox Jewish neighbourhood of Mea She’arim. The display garnered extensive media coverage largely thanks to the participation, alongside 21 other artists, of seven non-Israeli artists of Middle Eastern origin. Of these, only two live permanently in the country of their birth: the Egyptian artist Moataz Nasr and Mater."

#BDS: Palestinian Freedom Riders to Challenge Segregation By Riding 'Settler' Buses to Jerusalem: 11.15.11

"Palestinian activists will reenact the US Civil Rights Movement's Freedom Rides to the American South by boarding segregated Israeli public transportation in the West Bank to travel to occupied East Jerusalem.

Palestinian activists will attempt to board segregated Israeli public transportation headed from inside the West Bank to occupied East Jerusalem in an act of civil disobedience inspired by the Freedom Riders of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement in the 60's.

Fifty years after the U.S. Freedom Riders staged mixed-race bus rides through the roads of the segregated American South, Palestinian Freedom Riders will be asserting their right for liberty and dignity by disrupting the military regime of the Occupation through peaceful civil disobedience.

The Freedom Riders seek to highlight Israel's attempts to illegally sever occupied East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank, and the apartheid system that Israel has imposed on Palestinians in the occupied territories.

Several Israeli companies, among them Egged and Veolia, operate dozens of lines that run through the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, many of them subsidized by the state. They run between different Israeli settlements, connecting them to each other and cities inside Israel. Some lines connecting Jerusalem to other cities inside Israel, such as Eilat and Beit She'an, are also routed to pass through the West Bank.

Israelis suffer almost no limitations on their freedom of movement in the occupied Palestinian territory, and are even allowed to settle in it, contrary to international law. Palestinians, in contrast, are not allowed to enter Israel without procuring a special permit from Israeli authorities. Even Palestinian movement inside the Occupied Territories is heavily restricted, with access to occupied East Jerusalem and some 8% of the West Bank in the border area also forbidden without a similar permit.

While it is not officially forbidden for Palestinians to use Israeli public transportation in the West Bank, these lines are effectively segregated, since many of them pass through Jewish-only settlements, to which Palestinian entry is prohibited by a military decree."

#BDS Violation: Mikhail Baryshnikov dances his way to Tel Aviv

"In anticipation of his visit, for nine performances of a new play 'In Paris', 63-year-old dancer talks about staying young, politics, and why he won't boycott Israel.

September 11, 2011, was a rainy day in Paris. Outside the Theatre National de Chaillot, overlooking the Eiffel Tower, a large crowd huddled under umbrellas and watched the national ceremony marking a decade since the World Trade Center disaster in New York. In the bowels of the theater, in a subterranean dressing room with pink walls, Mikhail Baryshnikov sat cross-legged on a chair encased in blue velvet upholstery. In a little while he would get ready for the matinee performance of "In Paris," a new play he is starring in, which arrives in Tel Aviv for nine performances at the Suzanne Dellal Center beginning on November 15."

#BDS: Israel’s Exceptionalism: Normalizing the Abnormal

"In the Palestinian and Arab struggle against Israeli colonization, occupation and apartheid, the “normalization” of Israel is a concept that has generated controversy because it is often misunderstood or because there are disagreements on its parameters. This is despite the near consensus among Palestinians and people in the Arab region on rejecting the treatment of Israel as a “normal” state with which business as usual can be conducted. Here, we discuss the definition of normalization that the great majority of Palestinian civil society, as represented in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, has adopted since November 2007, and elaborate on the nuances that it takes on in different contexts.

It is helpful to think of normalization as a “colonization of the mind,” whereby the oppressed subject comes to believe that the oppressor’s reality is the only “normal” reality that must be subscribed to, and that the oppression is a fact of life that must be coped with. Those who engage in normalization either ignore this oppression, or accept it as the status quo that can be lived with. In an attempt to whitewash its violations of international law and human rights, Israel attempts to re-brand [1] itself, or present itself as normal -- even “enlightened” -- through an intricate array of relations and activities encompassing hi-tech, cultural, legal, LGBT and other realms."

Read more: http://www.pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=1749

Nov 1, 2011

#BDS: Boycott The Creative Community for Peace

"Artists Against Apartheid calls on allies to boycott the Creative Community for Peace(CCFP), which is in fact a complicit propaganda institution seeking to normalize Israeli apartheid and strongarm entertainers into its service. Fearing encroaching pressure from the Palestinian led globalBDS movement, CCFP has mobilized to counteract the cultural boycott of Israel, making itself a target of the human rights campaign in the process.

Capitalizing on ignorance, the CCFP proudly calls Israel “the only democracy in the region“ surrounded by states known for their human rights violations, while offering no solutions to any human rights violations anywhere in the Middle East. Of course CCFP does not acknowledge the human rights violations being carried out daily by the Israeli state throughout Palestine-Israel."

#BDS: Lettre adressée à Bijan Chemirani qui est invité à jouer au festival de Oud Jérusalem

"Bijan Chemirani,

Dans quelques semaines vous prévoyez de donner un concert à Jérusalem, dans le cadre du Festival international de Oud.

Bijan Chemirani, le pays dans lequel vous vous apprêtez à aller jouer n’est pas un État comme les autres. Israël maintient depuis de nombreuses années un blocus sur la bande de Gaza, laissant périr toute une population qui n’a pas accès aux droits les plus fondamentaux. Israël mène une véritable politique d’apartheid à l’encontre des citoyens arabes palestiniens qui ne bénéficient pas des même droits et des même services que les citoyens juifs israéliens. Israël continue à construire et à agrandir ses colonies sur les terres palestiniennes. Israël refuse toujours le droit au retour de millions de réfugiés palestiniens, bafouant ainsi les nombreuses résolutions de l’ONU."

Continuer à lire

#BDS: New Book calls for direct action against British companies complicit in Israeli apartheid

Corporate Watch has just released a book, Targeting Israeli Apartheid: A Boycott Divestment and Sanctions Handbook, encouraging campaigners to take direct action against the British companies complicit in Israeli apartheid, militarism and colonisation.

The book, based on extensive research in Palestine and the UK, and interviews with Palestinian and Israeli campaigners, takes its cue from the unified Palestinian call for Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS):

“We representatives of Palestinian civil society, call upon international civil society organizations and people of conscience all over the world to impose broad boycotts and implement divestment initiatives against Israel, similar to those applied to South Africa in the apartheid era.”
- Palestinian civil society call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, 2005."

Barnes and Noble coupons are always available for specialized books:

#BDS: #Iran chess player disqualified after refusing to play against Israeli

"One of Iran's top grandmasters was expelled from an international chess tournament Tuesday after he refused to play a match against an Israeli opponent, the director of the tournament said.

The Iranian, Ehsan Ghaem Maghami, was scheduled to play Ehud Shachar in the fourth round of the Corsica Masters, a pairing determined by computer. The director, Leo Battesti, said in a telephone interview that Maghami had asked him to change the pairing but was told that doing so would violate tournament rules. Maghami then failed to appear at the scheduled time to play Shachar."

#BDS: «قطار الحرمين»: الوجهة فلسطين

بعد حملة استمرّت ثلاث سنوات قادتها «اللجنة الوطنية الفلسطينية لمقاطعة إسرائيل وسحب الاستثمارات منها وفرض العقوبات عليها» بالتعاون مع حلفائها حول العالم، نجحت اللجنة في إقناع السعودية بحرمان شركة «ألستوم» المرحلة الثانية من مشروع «قطار الحرمين» الذي يربط مكة المكرمة بالمدينة المنورة. وبذلك خسرت الشركة الفرنسية قيمة العقد للمرحلة الثانية التي تبلغ 10 مليارات دولار، علماً بأنّها كانت قد فازت بعقد المرحلة الأولى سابقاً.

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#BDS Success: #Yardbirds cancel concert in #Israel

"Many Yardbird fans are thrilled to hear that these British legends, famous for the unmatched single “For Your Love,” will not play in apartheid Israel. Professor Haim Bresheeth, Mike Cushman, Professor Adah Kay, and Professor Jonathan Rosenhead, calling themselves “ancient geezers,” wrote an OPEN LETTER to the Yardbirds on August 30. They stated:

“…The world famous Yardbirds appear to have respected the South African liberation movement’s call for artists and musicians to assist them by denying legitimacy to the racist state. Have you thought through the implications of your appearance at the Barby Club in Tel Aviv on October 29? You’re telling Palestinian civil society organisations that are similarly calling for a cultural boycott of Israel that their dispossession and their oppression don’t matter. The Palestinian Teachers’ Federation; the Writers’ Federation; the League of Palestinian Artists; the General Union of Palestinian Women; and many others – your performance at the Barby will in effect tell all of these people that you side with the Israeli military occupation, that you don’t mind helping to airbrush the cruelties of racism and ethnic cleansing, and that you’re happy to behave as if there isn’t a Palestinian struggle for liberation and justice."

#BDS to Hindi Zahra: Do not Perform in #Israel

"Palestine activists are appealing to Moroccan singer Hindi Zahra to cancel shows scheduled in Israel this month.

Rabat - Hindi Zahra (b.1979) was intensely criticized as soon as news emerged of her scheduled performances in Tel Aviv on November 11 and 12. Her fans in Morocco were shocked to learn that the Moroccan-French singer was performing in Israel. Cultural normalization with the Zionist state is still a red line for many Moroccans. They have always been critical of cultural festivals and events that take place in their country that include Israelis.

The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) wrote an open letter to Zahra demanding that she not perform in Tel Aviv. Her performance, they argue, would contribute to whitewashing the image of the Israeli occupation. Activists on twitter and Facebook launched a campaign calling on the artist to cancel her gig."

#BDS: نداء إلى هندي زهرة: لا تغنّي للجلّاد

حالما انتشر خبر تقديم هندي زهرة أمسيتين في تلّ أبيب (11/12 تشرين الثاني/ نوفمبر المقبل)، انهالت ردود الفعل على خطوتها، أوّلها من المغرب حيث نزل الخبر كالصاعقة على جمهور المغنية المغربية الفرنسية (1979). التطبيع الفني مع الكيان الصهيوني كان ولا يزال خطاً أحمر بالنسبة إلى المغاربة الذين لطالما انتقدوا مهرجانات وأنشطة ثقافية تحتضنها المملكة وتشهد مشاركة وفود إسرائيلية.

وتزامناً مع توجيه «الحملة الفلسطينية للمقاطعة الأكاديمية والثقافية لإسرائيل» رسالة إلى زهرة تطالبها بعدم المساهمة في تلميع صورة الاحتلال من خلال الغناء في تل أبيب، أطلق ناشطون على تويتر وفايسبوك حملة تناشد الفنانة الاحجام عن هذه الخطوة. هكذا، كتبت الناشطة إشراق معتوق على تويتر: «الغناء في تل أبيب تطبيع مع سياسات التمييز العنصري التي يمارسها الكيان الصهيوني ومع احتلال الأراضي الفلسطينية». وتابعت «الغناء في تل أبيب يعني دعم سياسة التطهير العرقي التي تحوّل الفلسطينيين إلى لاجئين».

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#BDS: رسالة من طلاب فلسطين الى المغنية المغربية الأمازيغية هندي زهرة: لا تتنكري لدماء الضحايا في فلسطين!

نحن في حملة طلاب فلسطين للمقاطعة الأكاديمية لإسرائيل تلقينا خبر اعتزامك الغناء في تل أبيب بكثير من الدهشة والأسف. نأمل منك الا تنسي أن الدولة التي ستغنين فيها قامت بعمليات وصفت بانها إبادة جماعية وتطهير عرقي لأكثر من 750 ألف فلسطيني عام 1948 وإخضاع 3.6 مليون فلسطيني في الضفة الغربية وقطاع غزة والقدس الشرقية تحت وطأة الاحتلال والاستعمار والفصل العنصري-الأبارتهايد منذ عام 1967، وتاريخ حافل من عمليات الإعدام الميدانية غير القانونية بحق القيادات والنشطاء الفلسطينيين إضافة إلى اعتقال وسجن عشرات الآلاف من أبناء الشعب الفلسطيني منذ عام 1948 وبناء جدار الفصل العنصري، والعدوان الهمجي الأخير على قطاع غزة المحتل وقتل ما يقارب 1440 مدني، منهم 400 طفل على الأقل خلال 22 يوم فقط. و الان ,و خلال كتابة هذه الرسالة لك, تقوم الطائرات الاسرائيلية بقصف الكثير من المواقع السكانية في القطاع مما أدى الى مقتل 9 أشخاص.

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#BDS Victory: French Transportation Giant Alstom Loses $10 billion contract due to BDS pressure

"After several years’ worth of pressure by boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) activists worldwide, French transportation multinational Alstom has officially lost a significant contract bid with the Saudi Haramain Railway Project in Saudi Arabia. Alstom and Veolia, another French urban systems corporation, are involved with the illegal Jerusalem Light Rail project that links West Jerusalem with settlement colonies in the occupied West Bank, and boycott activists have been campaigning heavily across Europe and in Saudi Arabia to encourage governments to cut contracts with Alstom and Veolia, and award bids to other companies.

This comes on the heels of Veolia’s loss of more than $10 billion due to severed contracts in Europe, after BDS activists launched strategic campaigns targeting local governments who contracted with the corporation."

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