#BDS: Apartheid is not Fair Play... Boycott #Adidas!

"Palestinian civil society warmly
welcomes the declaration of the Arab Youth and Sports Council of
Ministers in support of a boycott of Adidas due to its sponsorship of an
Israeli marathon that violates international law and whitewashes Israel’s
illegal occupation of Jerusalem.[1] Particularly praiseworthy is the
consequent decision by the Egypt Football Association to boycott Adidas
despite the financial penalties it will incur as a result of doing so. [2] The
BNC calls for an international boycott of Adidas until such time as it ends
its involvement in the so-called “Jerusalem Marathon” as well as in any
other Israeli events that serve to  whitewash  Israel’s  ethnic cleansing of
the city and violations of international law."

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#BDS Egypt to boycott 'pro-Israel' Adidas kit manufacturer

Egypt Football Association (EFA) president Anwar Saleh has confirmed that Egypt will boycott the Adidas sportswear company to comply with the decision of the Arab Youth and Sports Ministers.

"We will boycott the company whatever the consequences. It is not my call, this is a ministerial decision and I cannot ignore it," Saleh was quoted as saying on Ahram Sport.
Earlier this month, Saudi Prince Nawaf Bin Faisal, chairman of the Arab Council of Youth and Sports Ministers, announced during the council’s meeting in Jeddah that "all companies that have sponsored the marathon in Jerusalem, including Adidas, will be boycotted." Read more here. 

#BDS: Boycott of #Adidas company for sponsoring an Israeli marathon in occupied Jerusalem

"Political bureau member of Hamas Ezzet Al-Resheq has hailed the Arab ministers of youth and a Jordanian sports club for deciding to boycott Adidas company.

Resheq in a press release published on his Facebook page on Sunday described as honorable the ministers’ decision and that of the Jordanian Yarmouk club.

The Arab ministers decided in their Riyadh meeting on 5 April to boycott Adidas for sponsoring an Israeli marathon organized in occupied Jerusalem."

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#BDS Adidas draws Arab ire over Jerusalem marathon

Sports ministers from Arab states announce boycott of German sportswear giant over sponsorship of Jerusalem marathon.

Arab youth and sports ministers have announced a boycott of sportswear manufacturer Adidas over the company's sponsorship of last month's Jerusalem marathon.

"All companies that have sponsored the marathon of Jerusalem, including Adidas, will be boycotted," said Prince Nawaf bin Faisal, the Saudi chairman of the Arab Youth and Sports Council of Ministers, after a meeting in Jeddah on Wednesday.

Prince Nawaf told a press conference the ministers had also agreed to organise a separate marathon next year to coincide with the annual Jerusalem event.

Entitled "Jerusalem is Ours", that event will take place in cities throughout the Arab world next March.

"Israel is trying to misguide public opinion into believing that Jerusalem is its capital and that is a violation of all UN resolutions," added Nawaf.

About 15,000 runners took part in the March 16 Jerusalem marathon, which sparked controversy because part of the route passed through illegally occupied East Jerusalem, which Israel captured during the 1967 Six-Day War. Source.

#BDS: Using Sports to Whitewash Israeli Crimes: Adidas – Don’t Run With Apartheid

"On 8 January 2011, London BDS activists kicked off the Adidas – Don’t Run With Apartheid campaign at the Adidas store near Covent Garden regarding the company’s sponsorship of the first-ever Jerusalem Marathon due to take place on 25 March 2011.

BDS activists spoke with the manager, explained the reasons behind the campaign and presented a letter to be forwarded to the UK and European head office. The manager accepted the letter and claimed that Adidas was aware of their concerns. Activists then distributed flyers directly outside the shop and talked to passersby and customers, asking them to urge Adidas to withdraw its sponsorship.

A few weeks later, this was Adidas’ reply:

Thank you for your recent letter regarding the Jerusalem Marathon.

Adidas is convinced by the unifying power sport offers. As a general rule we do not influence any political processes or event details.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for contacting the Adidas Group.

Yours sincerely

Lauren Cruse
Customer Care Manager
For and on behalf of Adidas (UK) Limited"

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#BDS: Adidas: Apartheid is not fair play, drop sponsorship of Jerusalem marathon

"Occupied Palestine, 17 February 2011 – The Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC), the largest coalition of Palestinian civil society organizations and unions, calls on Adidas to withdraw its sponsorship of the first Jerusalem marathon to take place on March 25, 2011 to avoid becoming complicit in covering up Israel's war crimes and grave human rights abuses. Israel has been consistently, systematically, and quite blatantly working to “Judaize” Jerusalem through policies of ethnic cleansing directed at the indigenous Palestinian population to change the demographic reality of the occupied city, in contravention of the Fourth Geneva Convention and international human rights law.

A recent report by European Union Heads of Mission in Jerusalem stated that “the continued expansion of [colonial] settlements, restrictive zoning and planning, ongoing demolitions and evictions, an inequitable education policy, difficult access to health care, the inadequate provision of resources and investment and the precarious residency issue have not only serious humanitarian consequences, they undermine the Palestinian presence in East Jerusalem .” Adidas’s sponsorship of the marathon organized by the Jerusalem Municipality, the party responsible for the implementation of these policies, will be perceived as a stamp of approval of Israel’s violations of international law in Jerusalem and elsewhere.

The Jerusalem Municipality, a key node in the official Israeli structure of colonialism and apartheid, is a leading violator of Palestinian human rights. Since its inception, it has been a major instrument in the colonization of Israeli-occupied Jerusalem. It is particularly notable for its role in promoting and deepening one of the starkest cases of urban apartheid in the world. The municipality continues to be actively involved in the illegal gradual ethnic cleansing of Palestinians out of Jerusalem, the demolition of Palestinian homes and destruction of property, and the sustained suppression of development in the Palestinian neighborhoods as a matter of policy."

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#BDS: Jerusalem marathon changes course

TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma'an) -- Sportswear company Adidas forced the Jerusalem Municipality to reroute a planned marathon to avoid occupied Palestinian neighborhoods, Israeli media reported Sunday.

Hebrew-language daily Ma'ariv said Adidas threatened to withdraw sponsorship from the event after the company was lobbied by human rights organizations.

The newspaper reported that several organizations threatened to boycott the company over the issue.

The report said the March race would be held within the Green Line, in what Ma'ariv described as a submission to Adidas.

Three municipal council members wrote to Adidas in December urging the sportswear retailer to withdraw sponsorship unless the route was changed. 



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#BDS: Adidas, Don't Help Running Apartheid: Cancel Sponsorship of Jerusalem Marathon!

To Adidas International Headquarters (Global_Public_Relations@adidas.com),

We are a group of Israeli citizens who support the Palestinian 2005 Call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel until it complies with international law and universal principles of human rights. We have noticed the mounting campaign ^[1] against your company's sponsorship of the Jerusalem Marathon scheduled to be held in March, 2011. Going through the settlement of Pisgat Ze’ev in occupied East Jerusalem, to the background view of the illegal apartheid and annexation wall, and circling the Hebrew University, which is built on land belonging to the East Jerusalem neighborhood Issawiyah - this marathon boasts of the Israeli illegal control and occupation of the oppressed indigenous Palestinian population of East Jerusalem. Indeed, as the campaigners noted, the marathon aids and abets a violation of international law, namely the war crime described by article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which states: “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies”.

We would like to inform you that Adidas' sponsorship of this marathon, in its current route or a revised one, also undermines the Palestinian Call for a cultural, including sports, boycott of Israel. The marathon is organized by the same municipality that routinely organizes house evictions and demolitions in East Jerusalem. It signals an international 'business as usual' message to apartheid and occupation, perpetuated by Israel, on behalf of Adidas.

#BDS: دعوات لمقاطعة "اديداس" لرعايتها ماراثون اسرائيلي في القدس المحتلة

ذكرت وسائل اعلام اسرائيلية اليوم ان شركة "اديداس" الألمانية للألبسة والمستلزمات الرياضية تدرس إمكانية وقف رعايتها لماراثون اسرائيلي بمشاركة دولية تنظمه بلدية الإحتلال في القدس العام المقبل، في اعقاب تهديدات بالمقاطعة من قبل تنظيمات ومؤسسات حقوق إنسان.

وقالت صحيفة "معاريف" اليوم إن الشركة توجهت لبلدية الإحتلال لإستيضاح المسار المخطط للماراثون بعد حصولها على معلومات تفيد  بأن من المخطط ان يمر بعدد من الأحياء العربية المحتلة في المدينة وشرق ما يعرف بالخط الأخضر.

ولفتت الصحيفة إلى ان دعوات المقاطعة جاءت بعد ان توجه أحد المشاركين في الماراثون وهو "ناشط يساري" لعضو بلدية الإحتلال من حزب ميرتس وطالبه بتغيير المسار المخطط للمارثون الذي يمر من مناطق محتلة.

وأضافت الصحيفة ان اعضاء في الهيئة الإدارية للشركة طالبوا توضيحات حول مسار المارثون وعنه بشكل عام، خصوصاً وإنه ينظم للمرة الأولى في القدس.

في السياق ذاته، طالب نشطاء ضد الإحتلال الملحق الإقتصادي لصحيفة "هآرتس"، ذي ماركر، بسحب رعايته للماراثون  الذي يمر من مناطق عربية محتلة وهددوا بمقاطعة الصحيفة إذا لم تتراجع عن ذلك.