#BDS: First Israeli store to open in Dubai, #UAE

"Ml clothing chain, which specializes in large sizes, to open four stores in prestigious Dubai shopping areas

The ml men's clothing chain which specializes in large sizes will be opening a store in Dubai

in the near future, making it the first Israeli brand to reach the Arab emirate.

Opening the Dubai branch will bring the clothing brand back on the international scene, after other overseas stores have failed.

It was reported by Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper on Thursday that ml signed a distribution agreement with a French company which specializes in marketing large-size fashion lines."

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#BDS: Israeli Officials and History Affirm the Power of BDS

"Are boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) proving effective at isolating Israel as a form of pressure to end its violations of Palestinian rights? We at the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation think so, but you don’t have to take our word for it.

Two recent articles in The Jewish Daily Forward and the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretzhave affirmed the power of the growing BDS movement in placing a cost on Israel’s occupation and apartheid policies. The Forward’s piece, “Survey of Campus BDS Finds Few Serious Cases,” sets out to diminish concern over the recent surge in campus BDS campaigns, but ends up making the case as well as anyone could for how and why ongoing BDS campaigns—on-campus and off—are succeeding!"

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#BDS: Peace Demands Challenging Israel's Exceptionalism

"Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation Leaguerepeats the mantra that by advocating comprehensive Palestinian rights, including full equality for Palestinian citizens of Israel and the UN-sanctioned right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes from which they were forcibly displaced, the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement is "de-legitimizing" Israel and threatening its very "existence." This claim is frequently made by Israel lobby groups in an obvious attempt to muddy the waters and to push beyond the pale of legitimate debate the mere statement of facts about and analysis of Israel's occupation, denial of refugee rights, and institutionalizedsystem of racial discrimination, which basically fits theUN definition of apartheid.

Specifically, what is often objected to is the demand for full equality for Palestinian citizens of Israel. One can only wonder, if equality ends Israel's "existence," what does that say about Israel? Did equality destroy South Africa? Did it "delegitimize" whites in the Southern states of the U.S. after segregation was outlawed? The only thing that equality, human rights and justice really destroy is a system of injustice, inequality and racial discrimination."

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#BDS: Stolen Beauty boycott culture jam turns #Ahava’s online marketing contest into a social media

"On Wednesday, May 11 and Thursday, May 12, Ahava US, the U.S. arm of the Israeli cosmetics firm based in an illegal West Bank settlement, and @birchbox, an online cosmetics retailer, ran a marketing contest on the social media site Twitter using the hashtag #AhavaReborn, which is the slogan for Ahava’s current rebranding campaign. Members of the public were invited to submit beauty care questions with the lure of a prize of $300 worth of Ahava products for the best query.

US group CODEPINK Women for Peace, which manages the Stolen Beauty Ahava Boycott campaign, alerted other BDS activists about the marketing campaign and suggested using the opportunity for a culture jam to subvert Ahava’s rebranding effort.

What followed can only be described as a total disaster for Ahava. From early Wednesday European time and for the next 48 hours BDS campaigners flooded the twitter stream #AhavaReborn with hundreds of messages advocating the boycott of Ahava products. The BDS campaigners hailed from the US, UK, Netherlands, Belgium, South Africa, Singapore, Occupied Palestine and elsewhere, reflecting the international nature of the campaign against Ahava."

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#BDS: Roxette: Don’t Entertain for Apartheid!

"Occupied Ramallah, 18 May 2011

Dear Roxette,

We have recently heard of your planned performance in Israel through our partners in the Palestine Solidarity Association in Sweden.  They have informed us that they have already been in communication with you. Given that Israel is involved in grave violations of international law and human rights we urge you to cancel your performance until the time comes when Israel is in compliance with its obligations under international law and fully respects Palestinian rights.  In what follows we want to explain the background of our movement and who we are, so that you will be better informed in making the right decision and hearing our call for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) to achieve our UN-sanctioned rights."

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#BDS:جمعية الأخوة العراقية الفلسطينية تتبنى نداء المقاطعة الفلسطينية

غزة—21.5.2011

في لقاء ضم ممثلين عن جمعية الأخوة العراقية الفلسطينية و ممثلين عن حملة المقاطعة في قطاع غزة قررت جمعية الأخوة تبني وبشكل كامل نداء المقاطعة الفلسطينية لدولة إسرائيل الصادر عام 2005 والذي تبنته الأغلبية الساحقة من مؤسسات المجتمع المدني وهيئة العمل الوطني والإسلامي.

واتفق الطرفان على عقد لقاءات مشتركة خلال الفترة لزيادة التشبيك والتواصل في قضايا المقاطعة على الصعيد المحلي والعربي ,خاصة في العراق, والمشاركة بالفعاليات والأنشطة التي تعمل على توعية الجمهور الفلسطيني بأهمية المقاطعة بأشكالها المختلفة لإسرائيل.

#BDS: Lessons from Marrickville for BDS Activists

"On April 19th, the Marrickville Council in Sydney’s inner west, Australia, met to debate and eventually overturn its four months old motion supporting the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) Campaign against apartheid Israel. The experience of the Marrickville Council provides revealing insights into the state of the Palestine solidarity movement in Australia and important lessons for ongoing BDS campaigns locally and internationally.

The BDS motion initially passed in Marrickville reflected a genuine expression of support for the people of Palestine and was based on the experiences of a number of councillors who had recently visited the Occupied Territories, Israel and the Palestinian refugee camps in neighbouring countries. It also reflects many of the councillors’ sincere commitment to defending basic Palestinian human rights. Conversely, the strength and ferocity of the backlash reflected the decades old complicity of Australia’s political elite. Apartheid Israel is reportedly the most visited state by Australian politicians and trade groups such as the Australia – Israel Chamber of Commerce, which claims to be one of the most prestigious and active national business organisations in the country."

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#BDS: Scottish First Minister supports sanctions against Israel

"First Minister Alex Salmond supported economic sanctions against Israel. He described Israel's massacre of nine Mavi Marmara passengers as an "atrocity on the high seas" and put Israel firmly beyond the pale. "This has implications for example in trading relationships—you can't have normal relationships if you believe another country has been involved in what Israel has been involved in."

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#BDS: DePaul students vote by large margin to ban Sabra hummus

"Students at DePaul University in Chicago voted by a large margin in a referendum asking if they support ending sales of Sabra brand hummus on their campus. Due to a technicality, however, the result will not be binding. A note received by The Electronic Intifada from campus activists with Students for Justice in Palestine at the university announced today the results of voting that took place earlier this week:

Results of the referendum: 1127 voted in favor; 332 voted against ; 8 extraneous write ins. To be valid a referendum must have a turnout of no less than 1500 students. Although we had an amazing win, the referendum is not valid as we were 33 votes short. But this isn’t over. SJP will make a statement about what’s next for the campaign."

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#BDS: eBook release – Greenwashing Apartheid: The Jewish National Fund’s Environmental Cover Up

"The book, Greenwashing Apartheid: The Jewish National Fund’s Environmental Cover Up, is available free on line. It documents evidence that the JNF is not an environmental organization but rather an instrument of ethnic cleansing and complicit in war crimes. Contributors are from the USA, UK, Canada and Palestine, with an afterward by American writer and environmental activist Joel Kovel. In the book, Akram Salhab describes the environmental disaster by the JNF’s draining of Lake Hula and Corey Balsam analyses the ideological role of tree planting. David Schwartzman makes the connection between the JNF, the siege of Gaza and climate security, while Coya White Hat-Artichoker, a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, contributes a speech on First Nations-Palestinian solidarity.

One of the contributors, Eurig Scandrett of Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh said:

“The book is a contribution to making people aware of the real nature of this organization, which plants trees and establishes nature parks and pretends to be environmental, but infact exists for more insidious purposes – to drive the Palestinians from their homes and prevent them from returning.”

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#BDS: BDS update: 'I went because I needed to go'

"So said a Holocaust survivor and anti-apartheid activist about his trip to Jackson, Mississippi in 1961. The same impulse inspires BDS activists from all walks of life today.


International boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) activities got a boost at the founding conference of the Palestinian Trade Union Coalition for BDS in Ramallah on 30 April. It called on trade unions around the world to sever all links with the Israel labour federation Histadrut. Histadrut protects illegal Israeli workers in the settlements and doesn’t protect the legal Palestinian workers there, having withheld almost $2.5 billion of their wages over the years, deducted for “social and other trade union benefits” that they have never received.



There was good and bad news on the political front in the past month. Scottish voters rejected the pro-war, pro-Israel Labour Party and elected the Scottish Nationalist Party, whose leader leader Alex Salmond supports sanctions against Israel."

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#BDS: Dear Coen Brothers, It’s Nothing Personal, It’s all Political!

"On May 15th, while thousands of people were getting shot and gassed in the streets, the Coen Brothers (and many others) took a million dollars from Tel Aviv University, in the form of the Dan David Prize. I’m sure someone would have cared to protest, had  over 15 people not been killed and hundreds injured, during the Nakba Day commemoration demonstrations, that same day."

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#BDS: Show #Caterpillar it can run, but it can't hide

"For the past seven years, the US Campaign and many of our coalition member groups, including Chicagoans Against Apartheid in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace, have dominated Caterpillar's annual Chicago-area shareholder meetings by organizing creative protests inside and outside the meetings, like these actions in 2009 and in 2010 (click to learn more). 

Together, we've challenged the corporation for supplying Israel with D9 bulldozers -- which Israel misuses to demolish Palestinian homes, uproot olive trees, construct Jewish-only settlements and the Apartheid Wall, and kill and maim unarmed civilians -- at Caterpillar's most important annual gathering."

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#لآ]ٍ: Move Over AIPAC Flashmob!

#BDS: عذراً AFP... المصوِّر الإسرائيلي ليس ضيفاً عاديّاً

نقلت «وكالة فرانس برس» نبأ إغلاق المحطّة البيروتيّة لمعرض «وورلد برس فوتو» قبل أوانها، وأخذته عنها حرفيّاً صحف ومواقع مختلفة، بينها «الحياة» السعوديّة، من دون أدنى مسافة نقديّة. لا بدّ طبعاً من تسليط الضوء على الحدث، وتناول الأسباب التي أدّت إلى إسدال الستار المبكّر على معرض عالمي مهمّ، يضمّ أعمالاً لافتة لعشرات المصوّرين من العالم، وتقف وراءه منظّمة هولنديّة تستحق مبدئيّاً كل احترام. لكن طريقة تناول الوكالة المذكورة للموضوع تثير بعض الاستغراب. سبب الإغلاق المباغت للمعرض، وجود مصوّر إسرائيلي بين المشاركين، طلبت السلطات اللبنانيّة سحب أعماله، كما يقتضي القانون اللبناني، على أثر احتجاجات شعبيّة نقلها الإعلام، بما في ذلك مقالة منشورة في «الأخبار» (راجع مقالة الزميل أحمد محسن، ٢٠/ ٥/ ٢٠١١). أما المنظّمون الهولنديون، ففضّلوا الانسحاب الكامل لحماية معرضهم من أي تدخّل. وهو موقف يستحقّ التحيّة بالمطلق، إذا وضعنا جانباً أنّ المشارك ـــــ مهما كان أداؤه الفنّي، وإلى أن يتبرأ بقوّة، وبالفعل لا بالقول، من جرائم دولته ـــــ سكينه مغروزة في خاصرة جمهوره العربي المفترض.

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#BDS: Great News: Beirut photo exhibit closed over work of Israeli artist

"World Press Photo decides to close showcase after presence of prizewinning work by Israeli photojournalist sparks local protests.

An exhibit in Beirut closed down earlier than planned on Friday following controversy over the presence of an Israeli photographer’s work.

The Amsterdam-based World Press Photo organization said it would not agree to remove individual photos and decided instead to close the entire show."

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#BDS: مقاومة التطبيع تدعو إلى مقاطعة نشاطات الجامعة الهاشمية

دعت لجنة مقاومة التطبيع النقابية النقابات المهنية إلى وقف أي تعاون أو تنسيق مع الجامعة الهاشمية، ومقاطعة أية نشاطات علمية أو اجتماعية تنظمها الجامعة لقيامها بأنشطة تطبيعية مع الكيان الصهيوني كان آخرها مشروعا لتحلية المياه يقام بشكل مشترك مع جامعة بن غوريون الإسرائيلية.

وأكد رئيس اللجنة بادي الرفايعة أن اللجنة ستخاطب كافة النقابات المهنية بهذا الخصوص حتى يتم وقف كافة أشكال التطبيع التي تقوم بها الجامعة الهاشمية والتي تجد معارضة طلابية واسعة وكذلك شعبية ونقابية، مشدداً على أن اللجنة تدرس الكثير من الإجراءات لمواجهة التطبيع في الجامعة الهاشمية وفي بعض الجامعات الأخرى.

وقال إن التطبيع على المستوى الأكاديمي الجامعي من أخطر أنواع التطبيع ويعتبره الكيان الصهيوني مدخلاً لغزو عقول وأفكار الطلاب الجامعيين الذين هم سيقودون المجتمع مستقبلاً بعد تخرجهم وانخراطهم في سوق العمل.

وأشار الرفايعة إلى أن الجامعة الهاشمية لها أسبقيات في التطبيع مع الكيان الصهيوني منها قصة أرواب التخرج التي كان مكتوباً عليها بالعبري وصناعة إسرائيلية، وورشة جيولوجية مشتركة مع الكيان الصهيوني حيث نظمها أحد الأساتذة في الجامعة كان من ضمن فعالياتها زيارة للوفد الإسرائيلي المشارك في الورشة إلى بعض المواقع الأردنية للتعرف على طبيعتها الجيولوجية، بالإضافة إلى إنشاء محطة رصد للزلازل والهزات الأرضية في مقر الجامعة الهاشمية يتم من خلالها تزويد الكيان الصهيوني بمعلومات علمية.

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#BDS: الجامعة الهاشمية و التطبيع الأكاديمي

في الوقت الذي استطاعت حملة المقاطعة الأكاديمية تحقيق انتصار نوعي من

خلال العمل على إقناع جامعة جوهانسبرج الجنوب أفريقية بقطع علاقاتها مع

جامعة بن غوريون الإسرائيلية و عدم تجديد عقد التعاون في مشروع لتحلية

المياه, فوجئنا بتوقيع الجامعة الهاشمية الأردنية مشروع مشترك مع نفس

الجامعة الإسرائيلية في تحد صارخ لنداء المقاطعة الفلسطيني وعلى وجه

الخصوص الأكاديمية والثقافية منها.

إن الادعاء بأن المشروع يهدف إلى تبادل الخبرات العلمية في تحلية المياه

المالحة باطل و يعمل على تجميل وجه إسرائيل و الجرائم التي ترتكبها بحق

الشعب الفلسطيني من خلال سياسات معروف أنها مخالفة للشرعية الدولية. إن

إسرائيل لا زالت تحتل الضفة الغربية و قطاع غزة, و لا تطبق قرار الأمم

المتحدة 194 و القاضي بعودة اللاجئين الفلسطينيين إلى ديارهم و تعويضهم,

و تمارس سياسة التفرقة العنصرية ضد سكان فلسطين 48. و يتم الحديث عن

تعاون من هذا النوع في الوقت الذي تتم سرقة المياه الجوفية للضفة المحتلة

واستمرارالمعاناة الهائلة بسبب شح المياه في قطاع غزة المحاصر منذ عام

2006.

و من الواضح أن إسرائيل تحاول تبييض و جهها من خلال حملة إعادة تسويق

تشرف عليها وزارة الخارجية و تهدف لإبراز إسرائيل بمظهر الدولة الحضارية

و التكنولوجية التي تتعاون حتى مع العرب. وبالضبط كما حصل ضد نظام

التفرقة العنصرية في جنوب أفريقيا, فإن مؤسسات المجتمع المدني في أنحاء

العالم تعمل الآن على عزل إسرائيل من خلال حملة مقاطعة و عدم استثمار و

فرض عقوبات عليها(BDS). و من المعروف أن هذه الحملة تكتسب زخما هائلا و

بالذات بعد المجزرة التي ارتكبتها قوات الاحتلال ضد سكان قطاع غزة

المدنيين عام 2009 و التي قتلت خلالها أكثر من 1430 فلسطيني و جرحت و

شوهت أكثر من 5000, كثير منهم من الأطفال, تبعا لتقارير منظمات حقوق

الإنسان الدولية والمحلية.

أن هذا المشروع التطبيعي يتناقض مع مطالب الشعب الفلسطيني و قواه الحية و

التي عبر عنها في نداء المقاطعة عام 2005, والذي يتمحور حوله شبه إجماع

من مؤسسات المجتمع المدني و القوى الوطنية. كما أنه يخالف ما تطالب به كل

الجامعات الفلسطينية من مقاطعة المؤسسات الأكاديمية الإسرائيلية بسبب

تواطئها, و أحيانا مشاركتها, في جرائم الاحتلال من استيطان و تطهير عرقي

و تفرقة عنصرية.

و نذكر في هذا السياق بقرار إدارة الجامعة الهاشمية فتح تحقيق في حادثة

توزيع أرواب حفل تخرج مصنوعة في إسرائيل في العام المنصرم.

إن الجامعة الهاشمية مدعوة لإعادة النظر في هذا القرار التطبيعي و

الالتزام بالقرار العربي القاضي بمقاطعة إسرائيل حتى إحقاق الحقوق غير

المنقوصة و المشروعة للشعب الفلسطيني.

حملة طلاب فلسطين للمقاطعة الأكاديمية لاسرائيل

غزة المحاصرة-فلسطين

#BDS: Scotland: Glasgow districts boycott Israeli books

"Several districts in southwest Scotland expands boycott on Israeli products, bar stores from carrying English translations of Israeli books.

LONDON – Scottish citizens might not be able to purchase English translations of Israeli pieces such as "A tale of love and darkness" by Amos Oz and "Someone to run with" by David Grossman, due to a boycott on Israeli books.

Two and a half years ago, shortly after Operation Cast Lead, the West Dunbartonshire Regional Council, located west of Glasgow, approved a bill that called to boycott goods produced in Israel."

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#BDS Works: Israeli Businessmen Plan Peace Initiative to Head off BDS, “South Africanization” of Israel

"The Hebrew online news site Calcalist reports that some of Israel’s most senior and powerful businessmen conducted a meeting last week to begin promotion of the “Israel Initiates” peace initiative in order to head off the growing international movement of boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel.

“We are quickly turning into South Africa” noted Idan Ofer to the Israeli paper Calcalist, a prominent Israeli player in international ventures and future technologies. “The economic damage in the wake of boycott and sanctions will be felt by every family in Israel. The top percentiles, members of the middle class and first and foremost the distressed classes,” he added.

Together with Yaakov Peri, the former head of Israel’s General Security Services (GSS) and Dani Gilerman, the former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, Ofer initiated the meeting of some 80 of Israel’s most prominent businessmen."

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#BDS: Jordanian Student Group Calls for Protest at Hashemite Univ over Normalization with Israel

"The Islamist Current Student movement at the Hashemite University on Tuesday called for a demonstration in front of the university President's office on Thursday afternoon in protest against what they called 'the policy of normalization with the Zionist entity being pursued by the university'.

In a statement issued Tuesday morning, the students demanded that the Zarqa-based university abandon its normalization and cooperation program with Ben Gurion University in Israel."

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#BDS: UK students boycott Israel

"The University of London Union (ULU) has voted 10-1 to institute and campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against the Israeli regime and in support of Palestine.

The motion clinched on Wednesday, May 18 called for “thorough research into ULU investments and contracts” with companies guilty of “violating Palestinian human rights” as set out by the Palestinian Boycott National Committee (BNC).

“We have precedents for boycotting campaigns at ULU, especially with South Africa and the boycott campaign over Barclays bank that supported the Apartheid regime. We are now responding to the Palestinian call for civil action in support of their fight against racism”, said Ashok Kumar, Senate member for LSE, speaking in favour of the motion."

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#BDS: بعد إلغاء معرض «وورلد برس فوتو» مطلوب الاعتذار إلى الشعب اللبناني

التفاعلات مستمرّة بعد إغلاق المعرض الفوتوغرافي الذي استضافته «أسواق بيروت»، وشاركت في تنظيمه «جامعة اللويزة»، وضم أعمالاً لمصوّر إسرائيلي

سماح إدريس

...إذاً سحبتْ «وورلد برس فوتو» الهولنديّة معرضاً بأكمله من «أسواق بيروت» لأنها رفضتْ قرارَ الأمن العامّ اللبنانيّ سحب صور مصوّر إسرائيليّ من ذلك المعرض بذريعة رفضها لـ«الرقابة». جاء ذلك بعد حملة ناجحةٍ قام بها مناهضون للتطبيع ووسائل إعلاميّة وطنية («الأخبار 20 ثمّ 23 أيار/ مايو 2011).

إنه انتصار جديد لحملة مقاطعة إسرائيل، وبرسالة مؤدّاها: لا يمكن أن تُعتبر إسرائيلُ أمراً طبيعياً في أيّ محفل ثقافيّ في لبنان. لكنّ قلّةً من اللبنانيين تنبّهتْ إلى وجوب إلحاق الخزي والعار بمن يسمّى «منظّمي» المعرض اللبنانيين، أيْ «سوليدير» و«جامعة سيّدة اللويزة»، و«أسواق بيروت». هؤلاء صمتوا صمتَ القبور إزاء قرار «وورلد برس فوتو» سحْبَ صور المعرض بأكمله (لا صورِ الإسرائيليّ وحده)، كأنّهم محضُ مشغّلين محليّين ــــ وهم كذلك فعلاً ولا يستحقون لقب «وكلاء محليين»: لم ينبسوا ببنت شفة، لا حين جاءت الصورُ إلى «أسواق بيروت» ولا حين سُحبتْ. هؤلاء المشغّلون مجرّدُ سوق للعرض... سوى أنّ السوقَ أفضلُ حالاً منهم لأنها تأخذ عادة رغباتِ الجمهور المحلّي في الاعتبار، فيما المشغّلون اللبنانيون هنا لا يراعون إلا مشاعرَ الجمهور الغربيّ المتحضّر الذي يأنف أن تُمسّ إسرائيلُ بأدنى خدش!

ماذا قالت «وورلد برس فوتو» بقرارها سحبَ المهرجان بأكمله كرمى لعينيْ إسرائيل؟ قالت بالحرف الواحد: لبنان هو البلدُ المنبوذ لا إسرائيل، ولبنان لا إسرائيل من يستحقّ العقابَ بالإقصاء من جنّة الصورة الفوتوغرافيّة.

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#BDS: BDS victories: Dexia bank to sell Israeli subsidiary; Veolia loses another contract

"Just six weeks after French-Belgian bank Dexia gave notice that it was looking for a buyer for its Israeli subsidiary company, the Israeli business news website Globes reported on 15 May that the bank will sell off its 65 percent stake in Dexia-Israel (established in 2001) “by the end of the summer,” even as the parent company faces a loss with its sale. 

This news comes as a victory to the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement. For two years, BDS activists in Belgium and the Netherlands — along with solidarity groups in France, Turkey and and Luxembourg — sustained a campaign against Dexia after it was revealed that the bank provided long-term loans to illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Who Profits, a project of the Coalition of Women for Peace,publicized Dexia’s role in financing the Israeli settlement industry. "

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#BDS: Ahava promotional campaign on Twitter jammed with BDS messaging

"The Stolen Beauty campaign focusing on a boycott of Ahava cosmetics, which are illegally manufactured in the occupied West Bank using Palestinian natural resources, has launched a culture jamming initiative currently underway on Twitter:

This Wednesday, May 11 and Thursday, May 12, Birchbox.com is sponsoring an Ahava Twitter contest. They are calling on people to Tweet skincare question with the hashtag #AHAVAreborn. People who Tweet using that hashtag – part of Ahava’s REBRANDING campaign –will be entered into the contest and given a chance to win $300 worth of Mineral Magical Skincare. (See details below by clicking on the link.)

AHAVA Twitter Contest! Win $300 Worth of Mineral Magical Skincare"

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#BDS: Deep Purple: Only 'wimps' cancel concerts in #Israel

"Ahead of their third Israeli tour, English rock band Deep Purple took a stand against other musicians who cancel their concerts in Israel due to politics, saying artists should not take sides in political conflicts, with drummer Ian Paice calling these musicians "real wimps."

The band spoke at a press conference Wednesday ahead of two concerts they are due to perform in Caesarea on Saturday and Sunday. This visit is Deep Purple's third Israeli tour. The last time they visited was in 2008, when they played four concerts to full crowds of cheering fans."

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#BDS; Pizzarotti should follow in Deutsche Bahn’s footsteps

"Italian construction firm Pizzarotti is stupefied, bewildered, stunned.

In an article on today's Corriere della Sera, Italy's top newspaper, covering Deutsche Bahn's withdrawal from the Israeli project for a high-speed train line that cuts through the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Michele Pizzarotti said "We are astonished to find ourselves involved in these protests."

Pizzarotti, through a joint venture with Israeli Shapir Engineering, has been contracted to build tunnels in section C of the planned A1 train route from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv; section C starts in the Latrun enclave and ends at Cedars Valley, both in the occupied West Bank."

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#BDS: Flash Mobs Help Palestinian Protest Groups Gather Support

"Two days before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) held their policy conference at Capitol Hill, an accordion player and a group of protestors put on a flash mob performance of a remixed version of the Hebrew wedding song “Hava Nagilis” inside Union Station. Protesters urged that “justice is dying, AIPAC is lying, lies we’re not buying” while dancing to original choreography. Although only a handful of bemused commuters saw the initial performance, a video of the protesters received over 10,000 before the conference began."

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