#BDS: Cultural boycott biting, but quietly, Israel Festival’s classical music advisor admits

"The cultural boycott of Israel is beginning to bite, a prominent figure in Israel’s classical music world has admitted.

Gil Shohat, an Israeli composer and conductor, who is also the Classical Music Advisor to the Israel Festival and Artistic Advisor to Israel’s Red Sea International Classical Music Festival, told Israeli reporter Sharon Dubkin"

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#BDS: Cirque Du Soleil: Performing in Tel Aviv is a baroque ode to apartheid, colonialism and oppression

"It is with great disappointment that the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) has learned of your scheduled performance in Tel Aviv which opens on August 8th, 2012 [i]. Given that Israel is involved in grave violations of international law and human rights we urge you to cancel this performance until the time comes when Israel is in compliance with its obligations under international law and fully respects Palestinian rights.

 

You note on your website that your performance titled 'Allegria’ (Jubilation) is a baroque ode to the energy, grace and power of youth. Yet, by performing in Israel, you are placing this ode and energy in the service of Israeli colonization and apartheid, which brings sorrow and misery to the Palestinian people. Moreover, it is both cynical and hard to believe that a group such as yours, that is so dedicated to global citizenship and social involvement[ii] would stand against the wishes of a people’s movement for citizenship, freedom, equality and justice. It is for this reason that we appeal to you to reconsider your performance."

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#BDS: لاعب كويتي يرفض ملاقاة “إسرائيلي” في بطولة رومانيا الدولية #الكويت

أحرز المنتخب الكويتي للمعوقين ميداليتين برونزيتين في بطولة رومانيا الدولية المفتوحة لتنس الطاولة للمعوقين، والتي شهدت أيضا انسحاب اللاعب الكويتي عوض الحربي لرفضه لقاء منافسه (الإسرائيلي) جيفا ليران في الدور نصف النهائي للمسابقة. 

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#BDS: #Australia-n educational program bars speakers who support #Israel boycott

"Limmud Oz, an offshoot of the international festival of Jewish learning, canceled a panel featuring several controversial Jewish speakers for its upcoming conference in Melbourne.

The Jewish panelists no longer speaking, although they initially appeared on the Limmud Oz website, include Vivienne Porzsolt, a spokeswoman for Jews Against the Occupation who was detained in Israel last year en route to the flotilla to Gaza, and who recently marched in Sydney alongside Hezbollah supporters; Avigail Abarbanel, who renounced her Israeli citizenship in 2001; and Peter Slezak, a co-founder of the far-left Independent Australian Jewish Voices."

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#BDS: Palestine: a History of Nonviolence #PalHunger

"The recent hunger strikes of almost 1,600 Palestinian prisoners represent a watershed juncture in nonviolent resistance in Palestine. While Palestinians have long utilized methods of nonviolence—dating back to Mandatory Palestine of the thirties and epitomized by the First Intifada of the eighties—only recently has a truly international effort appeared. In the midst of the Arab uprisings, the international attention on the region provides a moment of focus for civil resistance, and the nascent coalition of actors utilizing these methods is growing. While the groups have different agendas and tactics, their notable successes in recent months show that, regardless of divisions among them, strategic nonviolence is gaining powerful momentum in Palestine.

The present international activity has been a long time coming. In 2001, the deeply controversial United Nations Durban conference convened to address Israeli repression of the Second Intifada. Though it failed to produce a formal resolution or offer recommendations, the NGO forum associated with the conference condemned “Israel as a racist, apartheid state” (Article 162), and spurred many to action. For Omar Barghouti, a prominent Palestinian activist, “Durban confirmed that grassroots support, even in the West, for the justness of the Palestinian cause was still robust.” Academic institutions, trade unions, and religious organizations began to use targeted boycotts and sanctions against Israel. In 2004, the US Presbyterian Church voted for “a process of phased selective divestment in multinational corporations doing business in Israel.”

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#BDS: Cafe at Evergreen State College #US Announces Boycott of Israeli Products

"According to the Flaming Eggplant’s mission statement, one of the cafe’s goals is to “nourish the local food system by making delicious, healthy, ecologically and socially just food accessible to all.” In its statement of principles, the collective also expresses its commitment to “supporting political participation and direct action to create a just and egalitarian society.” Office Coordinator Cris Papaiacovou said, “We came to a consensus as a collective to support the Palestinian civil society call for BDS because it is directly in line with our mission and statement of principles.” He added, “We are proud to join this non-violent movement to pressure Israel until it ends its human rights violations against Palestinians.”

The café’s support of the boycott becomes the latest victory in ongoing student-led activism for Palestinian human rights at TESC. In the Spring of 2010, the student body voted overwhelmingly to support two resolutions, one calling for divestment from companies profiting from Israel’s occupation of Palestine, and the other prohibiting the use of Caterpillar Inc. equipment on campus. Rachel Corrie, an Evergreen student, was killed in 2003 by a weaponized Caterpillar bulldozer operated by the Israeli military as she attempted to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian family’s home in the Gaza Strip."

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#BDS: #Egypt shuts down production of film that promotes #Israel ties

"Egypt's censor has stopped production of an Egyptian film because it reportedly promotes the normalization of relations with Israel, according to the Al-Ahram newspaper.

The film, called "A Loaf of Bread," was written and directed by Mohamed Kenawy, who denied the accusation, saying the film is meant to promote peace and cooperation among all people regardless of sex, race and religion.

The story revolves around an Egyptian, a Palestinian and an Israeli, and it deals generally with life in the Arab world. The movie had been in production for two months before filming was halted."

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#BDS Action Alert: UEFA - Play Fair - Don't Play Apartheid!

Lobby the UEFA President to stop the U21 Championship in Israel

Israel has been chosen to host the next UEFA U21 Football Championship in 2013. 

Hosting an international sporting competition is an honour which should not be given to a country that defies international law and bars Palestinians from taking part in international sporting competitions.

Please send a letter to the President of UEFA, Michel Platini asking him to reverse this decision.

Click here to send the letter

#BDS: Boycott Israeli goods campaign receives momentum from abroad

"The Palestinian campaign to boycott the Israeli goods made in the illegal settlements of the occupied territories in the West Bank has received a boost from abroad with South Africans and more European states joining the movement.

The “Made in Israel” label has already become a big problem for Israel’s international trade. 

The Palestinians have long called for a boycott of goods made in the illegal Israeli settlements and have even lit bonfires to destroy them."

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#BDS: من #الجزائر إلى #تونس موســم «الردّة» إلى #إسرائيل

كانوا في طليعة المناوئين للمشروع الصهيوني، فإذا بهم يستسلمون فجأة للاغراءات الاسرائيليّة. جميعهم دخلوا الكيان الغاصب من البوّابة نفسها: السفارة الفرنسية. وآخرهم نادية الفاني التي شاركت في ندوة «الديموقراطيّة والدين» في تل أبيب، مؤكّدة أنّ مبادرتها… «لا تتعارض مع دعمها للقضية»

باريس | أيّ لوثة هذه التي أصابت عدداً من أبرز مثقفي وفناني اليسار المغاربيين؟ منذ قرابة عامين، نشهد موجة غريبة ومفاجئة من التنازلات التطبيعية من قبل شخصيات كانت بالأمس القريب في طليعة المناوئين للصهيونية والمناصرين لحقوق الشعب الفلسطيني. وإذا بهذه الأسماء تقع تباعاً في الفخ الصهيوني، وتُستدرج جميعها إلى زيارة تل أبيب من البوابة ذاتها: السفارة الفرنسية لدى الكيان الغاصب.

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#BDS: Former Israeli Knesset Speaker endorses boycott of settlement products

"Former Israeli Knesset Speaker Avraham Burg endorses boycott of settlement products in The Independent -- what Peter Beinart calls Zionist BDS:

[The world must] tell Israel that it is impossible to be treated as "the only democracy in the Middle East", while it is also the last colonial occupier in the Western world."

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