#BDS: Australian Students on trial over anti-Israel protest

"The trial of two Australian students opened in a Sydney court on Wednesday over charges of hindering police during a boycott Israel protest on June 9.


As part of the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions campaign, or BDS, a pro-Palestinian student group staged a protest outside of a Max Brenner café.

The franchise has been the target of BDS protests across the country. Although publicly protesting is a right in Australia, the June 9 student demonstration was forcefully stopped by the police who used batons to disperse the protesters. Ben Peterson and Patrick Langosch were arrested for allegedly hindering police. "

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#BDS: The recent rise in musical boycotts

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"More recently, many musicians have joined the cultural boycott against Israel, including artists such as Elvis Costello, Barbra Streisand, Gorillaz, Carlos Santana and The Pixies.

It's not just whole countries that have been the subject of musical protests. Last year, Kanye West, Shakira and Rage Against the Machine refused to play in the US state of Arizona after a state law gave police powers to stop and search anyone they suspected of being an illegal alien. Not all musicians support the concept, however. Elton John, who played South Africa under apartheid and Israel last summer, recently attacked the Arizona boycotters in extremely strong language."

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#BDS: Boycott bodies urge Palestinian filmmaker Sameh Zoabi to skip Israel festival

"BEIRUT: The U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel and Artists Against Apartheid, International Alliance, have issued a joint statement calling on Palestinian filmmaker Sameh Zoabi to withdraw his film from the Jerusalem Film Festival, which closes Saturday.


“As you have pledged support for the Cultural Boycott of Israel, we were surprised to learn of the inclusion of your film ‘Man Without a Cell Phone’ in the Jerusalem Film Festival of 2011,” said the statement released late Tuesday."


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#BDS: ECCP endorses the call for an international military embargo of #Israel

"The European Coordination of Committees and Associations for Palestine joins the European Network Against Arms Trade, in its support to the appeal of the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC) for an international military embargo of Israel.

This appeal, already endorsed by Nobel Peace Prize winners Desmond Tutu, Mairead Maguire, Rigoberta Menchú and Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, was released by the BNC, a coalition encompassing all Palestinian political parties, trade unions, NGOs and mass organisations to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the International Court of Justice ruling confirming the illegality of Israel’s West Bank apartheid Wall."

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#BDS: قانون منع المقاطعة والرد الجماهري المطلوب

تستمر إسرائيل في وضع سلسلة قوانين تهدف لإعادة رسم حدود الحريات السياسية المتاحة أمام أي قوة تعارض سياساتها وتوجهاتها الرسمية، خاصة بما يتعلق بمفهوم يهودية الدولة وتحديد حيز الحريات الدمقراطية فيها بالمفهوم المدني، وتبعاته السياسية والقانونية والاجتماعية، علاوة على نظامها الاقتصادي والاجتماعي.

 

وضمن هذه السلسلة أقرت الكنيست بالأمس قانوناً يحظر الدعوة لمقاطعة إسرائيل، بما في ذلك الدعوة لمقاطعة المستوطنات ثقافيا واقتصاديا ومقاطعة منتجاتها. ويفتح القانون الجديد الباب لاتخاذ إجراءات مدنية ومالية كالمطالبة بالتعويض من الجهات الداعية، دون الحجة لإثبات الضرر الحاصل من هذه الدعوة!

 

يشكل هذا القانون من حيث الجوهر رسماً جديداً لحدود حرية التعبير بما يتماشى مع رغبة الغالبية اليهودية (والصهيونية بالطبع)، وهو بالتالي تراجع إضافي لحرية التعبير التي تشكل عصب الحريات الديمقراطية ونخاعها الشوكي!

إقرأ/ي المزيد

#BDS: European anti-arms trade network endorses international call for #Israel arms embargo

"Seven years after the ruling by the International Court of Justice that the wall (the so-called “separation barrier “) between Israel and the Palestinian Territories was an illegal construction, European anti-arms trade groups have endorsed international calls for an arms embargo on Israel.

In support of the call of the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee we, groups of the European Network Against Arms Trade ask the European Parliament and European countries to:"

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#BDS: Who is arming #Israel?

"Amsterdam/Antwerp/Brussels July 11, 2011 — Today Campagne tegen Wapenhandel, Vredesactie and Quaker Council for European Affairs launched a website analysing arms trade and military relations between Europe and Israel. The website gives information about the nature and extent of these relations and about relevant arms trade regulations.

As an important economic partner of Israel, Europe could use its position to promote a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. There is no military solution to this conflict."

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#BDS: Muslim Jewish Conference 2011 in Kiev

"The second annual Muslim-Jewish Conference is acting as the first such meeting in a country of the former Soviet Union. The event took place with the support of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding (FFEU) and the Ukrainian Jewish Committee, with the President and Chairman of FFEU, Rabbi Marc Schneier and Russell Simmons, serving as patrons of the event.

Participants hailed from diverse countries including Pakistan, India,Lebanon, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Nigeria, Austria, Germany, Poland, France, Canada and the United States."

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#BDS: Amnesty Int'l: #ISRAEL ANTI-BOYCOTT LAW AN ATTACK ON FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

"A law passed by the Israeli Knesset (parliament) making it an offence to call for a boycott against the state of Israel or its West Bank settlements will have a chilling effect on freedom of expression in Israel, Amnesty International said today.

The controversial law, passed on Monday night, makes it a civil offence to call for an economic, cultural, or academic boycott of people or institutions in Israel or the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) for political reasons. Anyone making such calls could face a lawsuit and other financial penalties.

Sponsors of the bill, originally proposed in July 2010 by Knesset member and coalition chairman Ze’ev Elkin, have made it clear that one of the main aims of the law is to penalize those using boycott calls to campaign against Israel's illegal settlements in the OPT or highlight the ongoing violations of Palestinian rights caused by the settlements."

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#BDS: #Twitter Alert: Tell #Moby to cancel his trip to #Israel

"We are asking BDS supporters to get the word out and tell electronica musician Moby to cancel his July 12th performance in Israel! See the letter urging him to respect human rights and respect the call from Palestinian civil society to boycott, divest and sanction Israel until it complies with international law: http://bit.ly/BDSmoby

Tweet the BDS message, post it to his facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/mobymusic, or email a letter to his management (sample email provided below)."

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#BDS Alert: Sign Statement Condemning the Anti-BDS

"USACBI encourages all organizations in the Palestine solidarity and social justice movements to endorse the following statement condemning the so-called “Boycott Law” passed by the Israeli Knesset seeking to ban Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions."


Sign statement here

#BDS: Olympia Food Co-op's celebration on anniversary of joining BDS

On the anniversary of the Olympia Food Co-op's decision to boycott Israeli goods, join Olympia BDS in celebrating the diversity of social justice work happening in our community as we continue to build bridges across movements. 


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#BDS: Indigenous and Women of Color feminists endorse BDS

"A group of Indigenous and Women of Color feminists who recently returned from a visit to Palestine has issued a strong statement endorsing the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement. Explaining their decision to travel to Palestine, the group wrote:

We wanted to see for ourselves the conditions under which Palestinian people live and struggle against what we can now confidently name as the Israeli project of apartheid and ethnic cleansing. Each and every one of us – including those members of our delegation who grew up in the Jim Crow South, in apartheid South Africa, and on Indian reservations in the US – was shocked by what we saw. In this statement we describe some of our experiences and issue an urgent call to others who share our commitment to racial justice, equality, and freedom."

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#BDS: #Canada: The gift that keeps on giving to #Israel

"As Israel faces growing isolation and repercussions from an effective global Boycott Divestment and Sanctions Campaign, over the past month Canada has continued to deepen its economic, political, and ideological relationship with Israel.

Least discussed of late has been the merging economic ties between the two countries. This week, the Canada-Israel Technology Innovation Summit in Tel Aviv concluded with a renewal of the Canada-Israel Industrial Research and Development Foundation. Canada's Minister of International Trade Ed Fast described Canada's $5 billion towards this "treaty" -- which will be tabled in Parliament prior to final ratification -- as a collaborative project between Canada's private-sector and Canada's "key trading partner."

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