Jul 21, 2011
#BDS: Despite opposition, #Finland proceeds with Israel arms deal
"Despite an unprecendented public outcry, Finland’s Ministry of Defense is set to go ahead with a controversial collaboration with Israeli arms companies deeply involved in Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land. Finland is turning to Israel for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) — commonly known as a “drones” — in a deal with more than 17 million euros.
On 10 October last year, the main Finnish daily and the largest subscription newspaper in the Nordic countries Helsingin Sanomat published in its Sunday edition a full page article titled “Israel, Our Brother-in-arms” (“Aseveljemme Israel“ [PDF])."
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#BDS: Boycott the state, not just the settlements
"Recent legislation passed in the Israeli Knesset, which many people call the "Anti-BDS" bill, has raised a number of questions about a rising tide of "fascism" in Israel. This language is not only used by Palestinian critics, who have long borne the brunt of Israel's undemocratic policies. Now, many Israeli and Jewish-American writers can no longer ignore the trend.
If something good has come out of the passage of this legislation, it is two things: First, a growing number of people are recognising that the Zionist aim - the imposition of an ethnocentric majority by force in a territory where the majority of the native inhabitants are disenfranchised - is fundamentally and inherently undemocratic. Second, the passage of this bill has brought discussion of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement to the foreground.
While increased discussion about BDS will only strengthen the movement, a troubling trend has become apparent in some of the commentaries on BDS written in response to the passage of the "Anti-BDS" bill. This is the assertion that boycotting colonies or settlement goods is acceptable, while boycotting the Israeli state or Israeli products outside of the occupied territories is somehow unacceptable."
If something good has come out of the passage of this legislation, it is two things: First, a growing number of people are recognising that the Zionist aim - the imposition of an ethnocentric majority by force in a territory where the majority of the native inhabitants are disenfranchised - is fundamentally and inherently undemocratic. Second, the passage of this bill has brought discussion of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement to the foreground.
While increased discussion about BDS will only strengthen the movement, a troubling trend has become apparent in some of the commentaries on BDS written in response to the passage of the "Anti-BDS" bill. This is the assertion that boycotting colonies or settlement goods is acceptable, while boycotting the Israeli state or Israeli products outside of the occupied territories is somehow unacceptable."
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#BDS: Two Open Letters: #Riverdance should not go to #Israel
"See below for two Open Letters concerning Riverdance’s planned tour of Israel in September 2011. The first is from Irish artist Robert Ballagh who was the set designer for Riverdance, and the second is from Raymond Deane, Cultural Boycott Officer of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
Riverdance in Irsael: Robert Ballagh’s Open Letter
26th April 2011
As the designer of Riverdance I am personally disappointed to learn of the decision to perform the show in Israel at this time.
Many years ago I was honoured to meet Nelson Mandela when he was in Ireland. I took the opportunity to ask his opinion on the cultural and sporting boycott of South Africa. He replied by saying that the boycott was an essential weapon in the struggle against apartheid. His forceful words came back to me last year when I, along with many other Irish creative and performing artists, signed a cultural boycott pledge not to visit Israel (www.ipsc.ie/pledge). This was a positive response to the call by Palestinian film-makers, artists and cultural organisations for a cultural boycott of Israel. I believe that this non-violent cultural boycott will contribute to the struggle for justice for the Palestinian people."
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#BDS: Protesters gather outside TIAA-CREF shareholder meeting
"With organized chants and giant signs, dozens gathered outside TIAA CREF's
annual shareholder's meeting in Charlotte Tuesday.
The
group, Jewish Voice for Peace, is calling on the Fortune 100 financial services
company to cut ties with companies in its investment portfolio they say are
profiting from the Israeli occupation. They referenced companies like
Caterpillar Inc. and Veolia.
"It's so important what we do with our money, especially money that's for people's retirement," said Jerry Markatos, who came all the way from Pittsboro to attend the demonstration."
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The
group, Jewish Voice for Peace, is calling on the Fortune 100 financial services
company to cut ties with companies in its investment portfolio they say are
profiting from the Israeli occupation. They referenced companies like
Caterpillar Inc. and Veolia."It's so important what we do with our money, especially money that's for people's retirement," said Jerry Markatos, who came all the way from Pittsboro to attend the demonstration."
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#BDS, #LGBT, and Why You Should Care about Pinkwashing
(...)
"“Pinkwash” is the term we, LGBT (Bisexual, Transgender, Lesbian and Gay) activists, use in order to describe the way in which the Israeli government makes cynical use of both the Palestinian and Israeli queer communities in order to market Israel to the international public as a “liberal” “progressive” “gay haven,” while demonizing Arabic Middle Eastern cultures and presenting them – and Palestine in particular – as inherently homophobic (an Islamophobic notion whose goal is to further justify Israeli war crimes in Gaza, the occupied territories and against Palestinian citizens of Israel). The Israeli government, through the Ministry of Tourism and with kind help from the Tel Aviv municipality, makes use of the relative tolerance and meager rights given to Jewish gays and lesbians (but not bisexuals and transgenders), as a way of diverting attention from the many Israeli war crimes performed in Gaza, the occupied Palestinian territories and inside Israel itself."
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"“Pinkwash” is the term we, LGBT (Bisexual, Transgender, Lesbian and Gay) activists, use in order to describe the way in which the Israeli government makes cynical use of both the Palestinian and Israeli queer communities in order to market Israel to the international public as a “liberal” “progressive” “gay haven,” while demonizing Arabic Middle Eastern cultures and presenting them – and Palestine in particular – as inherently homophobic (an Islamophobic notion whose goal is to further justify Israeli war crimes in Gaza, the occupied territories and against Palestinian citizens of Israel). The Israeli government, through the Ministry of Tourism and with kind help from the Tel Aviv municipality, makes use of the relative tolerance and meager rights given to Jewish gays and lesbians (but not bisexuals and transgenders), as a way of diverting attention from the many Israeli war crimes performed in Gaza, the occupied Palestinian territories and inside Israel itself."
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#BDS Alert: Reggae star Ziggy Marley rejects calls to boycott #Israel
"Online pressure to boycott Israel didn’t dissuade reggae star Ziggy Marley from performing in Tel Aviv Tuesday night or on Thursday at the Return to Zion festival at Sacher Park in Jerusalem.
“People say, don’t disgrace your father’s name by going to Israel and all these type of things,” the eldest son of the late musical icon Bob Marley said at a press conference Tuesday at the Sheraton Hotel in Tel Aviv, referring to the negative responses he saw on Facebook and other sites upon publication of his Israel tour dates."
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“People say, don’t disgrace your father’s name by going to Israel and all these type of things,” the eldest son of the late musical icon Bob Marley said at a press conference Tuesday at the Sheraton Hotel in Tel Aviv, referring to the negative responses he saw on Facebook and other sites upon publication of his Israel tour dates."
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#BDS: Normalizing Israeli apartheid through international sporting events
"The use of sport to unite children divided by street violence and traumatized by war is a compelling idea. 'Serious Play: The Goal is Peace' is the title of a 7 July Huffington Post article by Alison Craiglow Hockenberry. It opens with the anecdote of a young Jürgen Griesbeck overcoming the murder of his friend in Colombia in 1994 by founding a program called Football for Peace, which brings at-risk kids together to play in Medellín, “one of the most dangerous and violent cities in the world”. Next up is the story of Palestinian children, of whom interviewee Hani Qattan of PACES - the Palestinian Association for Children's Encouragement of Sports is quoted as saying, "are exposed to drugs, smoking, and... extremism that may result in violence" if they are left idle in the street. Looking at the PACES website homepage, these young girls do not look like potential terrorists, but never mind, they are Palestinian. That is why the Peres Centre for Peace, established in 1996 by current Israeli president Shimon Peres, who has played a prominent role in successive Israeli wars of choice, inflicting death and suffering on countless children, has stepped in with its ‘Twinned Peace Sport School’ to bring over 2,000 Palestinian and Israeli kids together on teams to play and compete."
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#BDS: #Agrexco, #Israel’s largest goods exporter, facing possible bankruptcy
"The fate of Agrexco, the largest exporter of Israeli produce, may be decided in a Tel Aviv court Wednesday, as a two week extension on bankruptcy proceedings expires. The company has been in receivership for several months, but if new sources of funding are not secured by Wednesday's deadline, the company will be unable to pay growers for produce, and will essentially cease operations."
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#BDS: Doha Film, #Qatar Institute participates in normalization with #Israel
"We are disappointed to learn of the Doha Film Institute participating in normalization with Israel through an Israeli-Qatari coproduction with an Israeli production company, with its co-production represented as an Israeli film in the Jerusalem Film Festival in the Israeli Competition.”
Zoabi’s 2010 film had its world premier at 2010’s Doha-Tribeca Film Festival. An Israel / France / Belgium / Palestine / Qatar co-production, the film was the first to issue from cooperation between an Arab funding agency and an Israel production company."
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Zoabi’s 2010 film had its world premier at 2010’s Doha-Tribeca Film Festival. An Israel / France / Belgium / Palestine / Qatar co-production, the film was the first to issue from cooperation between an Arab funding agency and an Israel production company."
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