Tory leader calls himself 'Zionist'; U.K. Jews campaign against boycott

U.K. Conservative party leader David Cameron: Support of Israel is in DNA of party members; U.K. Jews object to call to boycott Israel's academe.

The leader of Britain's Conservative party, David Cameron, called himself a "Zionist" Tuesday as he slammed a British initiative for an academic boycott against Israel.

Cameron, responding to questions at the annual luncheon of Conservative Friends of Israel, said the academic boycott was completely uncalled for, and that attacks against Israel often slid into anti-Semitism.

"If by Zionist you mean that the Jews have the right to a homeland in Israel and the right to a country then I am a Zionist," the Tory leader said, adding that support for Israel is "in the DNA" of members of his party.

He also justified construction of the separation fence, but expressed concern that it might torpedo a two-state solution.

British Jews launch campaign against academic boycott

A coalition of British Jewish organizations will launch a campaign Thursday to combat the University and College Union's initiative for an academic boycott of Israel.

Advertisements signed by hundreds of anti-boycott academics were scheduled to appear in Wednesday's newspapers, followed Thursday by a press conference by Jewish politicians, university lecturers and community leaders.

Jeremy Newmark, director of the Jewish Leadership Council, told Haaretz that the campaign's goal was to get British University and College Union director Sally Hunt to make good on her pledge to bring the boycott proposal to a referendum of the union's rank and file.

Zionists and racist EDL unite to counter Ahava Protest

In celebration of the recent court victory in which four campaigners were acquitted for blockading the Covent Garden Ahava shop in 2009, approximately 60 protestors gathered outside its doors in Monmouth Street, central London, to celebrate and continue promoting boycott, divestment and sanctions against the Israeli occupation. While demonstrators were met by the usual Zionist counter-demonstrators, on this occasion they arrived flanked by the openly racist English Defence League.

Ahava, the cosmetics retailer and spa outlet, manufactures its products on the illegal Israeli settlement of Mitzpe Shalem. It has openly flouted tax requirements by exploiting the EU-Israel trade agreement and violates UK DEFRA guidelines in respect of proper labelling. The campaign against Ahava supports the Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions as a global nonviolent means to challenge the Israeli Occupation of Palestine and the ongoing siege upon Gaza.

At the outset the small group of around ten EDL members remained close to the Zionist contingent of Ahava supporters, handing out leaflets. Over the course of the demonstration they began to take an increasingly prominent role, culminating with the unravelling of a flag of St. George and chanting “E-E-EDL.” This was accompanied by racist remarks towards a number of Ahava protestors who were of Asian/Middle Eastern descent. What was more surprising, and unsettling, was the apparent unwillingness of the Zionist contingent to distance themselves from the EDL.

Support ISM work in Palestine

** please circulate widely **

The ongoing suppression of the Palestinian grassroots resistance has

included targeting international solidarity activists. Numerous

volunteers with the International Solidarity Movement have been

arrested or deported in past months.

A tactic of challenging the occupation and the Israeli authorities is

via legal measures.

As Israel’s crackdown on popular resistance escalates, International

Solidarity Movement activists are working on the ground to fight the

authorities’ attempts to arrest, imprison and deport us – all

strategies employed by Israel in their attempts at disconnecting us

from our role in the struggle against apartheid. Legal challenges are

an important battle field in non-violent resistance because often the

occupation is forced to change their policies when these are held up

to scrutiny.

The past six months have seen a surge in Israel’s crackdown on

Palestinian and international activists involved in the popular

resistance, marked by a wave of arrests targeting grassroots

organizers from the popular committees of Bil’in, Ni’lin, Al Masara

and Nablus and international activists involved in these regions’

struggles. Several ISM activists have been illegally abducted by

Israeli forces and continue to fight lengthy legal battles against the

Israeli state for these cases, in addition to the frequent arrests of

activists at the growing number of West Bank demonstrations that the

military has struggled in vain to crush.

American ISM activist Ryan Olander was arrested on December 18 in

Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem. He was then illegally re-arrested by

“Oz” immigration unit the following day, just moments after his

release. He spent 29 days in Ramle Givon detention center resisting

deportation before he was released. On June 3 the Israeli District

Court ruled in Olander’s favor, the precedent-setting ruling

articulating that the police and “Oz” immigration unit practices were

illegal. This victory paves the way for a legal grounding for future

activists (see: http://palsolidarity.org/2010/02/11278/).

Czech activist and ISM media co-ordinator Eva Novakova was kidnapped

by Oz forces in a night raid operation on her Ramallah apartment on

January 11. Australian activist and ISM international co-ordinator

Bridget Chappell and Spanish activist Araidna Jove Marti were abducted

by Israeli military forces in a similar night raid on the ISM media

office in Ramallah on February 7 (see: http://palsolidarity.org/2010/02/11224/).

All three activists pursued the issue in the Israeli Supreme Court,

bringing Israel’s repreated violation of the Oslo accords in to focus.

In the case of Chappell and Marti, the State Prosecutor was forced to

admit the their arrests had been outside the legal framework, with the

judge declaring their detention illegal.

These legal battles, taking the Israeli power structures on at their

own game, constitutes a form of “resistance” that has the potential to

set decisive precedents and alter Israeli policy, while at the same

time exposing the level of corroboration between various Israeli

departments in the occupation’s implementation.

This kind of legal work comes at a high price tag, we currently owe

around 18,000 NIS to our lawyers. The ISM is asking its supporters to

donate now to support the work of the ISM’s solidarity with the

Palestinian movement against apartheid. Activist groups may consider

throwing fund-raising events to raise money, and continue raising

awareness for the cause. You can donate online via Paypal (not through

AJ Muste), please see http://palsolidarity.org/donate for details.

--

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Boycott Apartheid Israel!

July 17 in the Myer Centre, Brisbane: activists target Israeli cosmetics company Seacret as part of the international boycott, divestment, sanctions campaign against apartheid Israel. Justice for Palestine activists dropped the banner (pictured), surrounded the cosmetics stalls and distributed information about the boycott to potential customers, causing the stall to close down for the day. The action launched an ongoing BDS campaign in Brisbane, with the next action planned for Saturday August 14. See Justice for Palestine, Brisbane for more information. Photo by Owain Lewis-Jones.

سفير فلسطيني يشارك بتجمع صهيوني

استنكرت منظمة جنوب أفريقية واتحادات طلابية فلسطينية مشاركة السفير الفلسطيني بجنوب أفريقيا في محاضرة نظمتها جمعية طلابية معروفة بدفاعها عن الصهيونية في جامعة فَتسْ بجوهانسبرغ، واعتبرتها "أمرا فاضحا".

وعبرت هيئات جنوب أفريقية عن انزعاجها من مشاركة السفير علي أحمد حليمة في التظاهرة الطلابية، واعتبرتها خرقا للمقاطعة الأكاديمية لإسرائيل.

ووفقا للناطقة باسم منظمة جنوب أفريقيا للتضامن مع فلسطين فإن "تلبية حليمة لدعوة اتحاد الطلاب اليهود بجنوب أفريقيا -وهو منظمة صهيونية عرفت بدفاعها عن إسرائيل أثناء الاعتداء على غزة وعلى قافلة الحرية- أمر فاضح".

وأضافت كيك جوزف للجزيرة نت "وجهنا رسالة للسفير قبل الحدث دعوناه فيها لعدم تلبية الدعوة لأن مجرد مشاركته، برأينا، ستستخدم سلاحا ضد الناشطين المناصرين للقضية الفلسطينية هنا".

من جهته قال السفير حليمة إن مشاركته جاءت بوصفه يمثل حكومته "التي ترى الحوار مع جميع الأطراف وسيلة وحيدة للسلام".

وأضاف بتصريح للجزيرة نت "هدفي من المشاركة هو إبراز الحق الفلسطيني وعرضه، فوظيفتي كدبلوماسي هي التعاطي مع كل الفاعلين في جنوب أفريقيا".

AJJP Endorses U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel

Responding to the call of Palestinian civil society to join the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction movement against Israel, American Jews for a Just Peace (AJJP) joins a U.S. campaign focused specifically on a boycott of Israeli academic and cultural institutions, as delineated by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI).

PACBI states:

"In light of Israel’s persistent violations of international law, and Given that, since 1948, hundreds of UN resolutions have condemned Israel's colonial and discriminatory policies as illegal and called for immediate, adequate and effective remedies, and Given that all forms of international intervention and peace-making have until now failed to convince or force Israel to comply with humanitarian law, to respect fundamental human rights and to end its occupation and oppression of the people of Palestine, and In view of the fact that people of conscience in the international community have historically shouldered the moral responsibility to fight injustice, as exemplified in the struggle to abolish apartheid in South Africa through diverse forms of boycott, divestment and sanctions;

"Inspired by the struggle of South Africans against apartheid and in the spirit of international solidarity, moral consistency and resistance to injustice and oppression, We, representatives of Palestinian civil society, call upon international civil society organizations and people of conscience all over the world to impose broad boycotts and implement divestment initiatives against Israel similar to those applied to South Africa in the apartheid era."

For more information: http://www.pacbi.org/campaign_statement.htm

Consumer group rejects Israel boycott call

The Swedish Cooperative Union (Kooperativa förbundet - KF) has ruled out calls from a regional member group to stop selling goods from Israel in Coop stores.

"KF's and Coop's criteria in selecting suppliers pays no heed to nationality. According to KF policy a boycott of trade with individual countries is determined by Sweden's government and parliament or the EU and/or the UN," KF wrote in a statement on Sunday.

Three resolutions urging a ban on Israeli products were approved by a majority of the 425 members in attendance at Saturday's annual meeting in Gothenburg of the consumer cooperative society for western Sweden, Konsumentföreningen Väst (KF Väst). The resolutions cited Israel's role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as grounds for a boycott.

"The board will now push the issue of a boycott to the other Swedish consumer cooperatives," said chairperson Carina Malmer in a statement.

KF Väst is one of the largest of the 47 consumer cooperative societies that make up the Swedish Cooperative Union, which has more than 3 million members.

The Swedish Cooperative Union owns the Coop chain of supermarkets. According to the union's own figures, the retail consumer cooperative societies and Coop together account for 21.4 percent of the grocery retail sector in Sweden.

Dempsey calls for Israel boycott

Singer-songwriter Damien Dempsey has called on artists around the world to stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine.

The Dubliner backed about 150 Irish creative and performing artists who have already signed a pledge to boycott Israel until it ends its blockade of Gaza.

Dempsey said he believed the recent commando attack on the aid flotilla brought home the lawlessness of Israeli forces, saying: "What's going on in Palestine is very wrong. We have a long history of oppression so I think anybody else who's being oppressed, we should have a duty. And as artists we yield a bit more power than ordinary people."

He continued: "We have a duty to speak out and do something about it. I just want to make a stand for the Palestinians and show them some solidarity and show them they're not alone."

Olympia Food Co-op: Israeli product boycott debate cordial, passionate mideast

OLYMPIA – About 300 people filled Olympia Center on Thursday night for a passionate debate on a recent controversial decision by the Olympia Food Co-op board to boycott Israeli-made products.

Nine of the 10 board members were at the meeting, and co-op members and nonmembers lined up early for the 6 p.m. start. By 5:30 p.m., more than 100 people stood in line; some had arrived as early as 3 p.m., said Dr. Muhammad Ayub, who spoke in support of the boycott. Ayub said he arrived at that time and was the fourth person in line.

Public testimony didn’t get under way until 7 p.m., and it wasn’t clear whether the meeting would extend beyond its scheduled completion time of 8:30 p.m.

Maralise Quan, executive director of the Pierce County Dispute Resolution Center, spelled out the ground rules and set the tone for the meeting. She asked for tolerance and that no speaker be disrespected. Rather than applaud, she asked that people show their support for a speaker by waving their hands in the air.

One by one, board members introduced themselves to the audience, but only board member Ron Lavigne spoke at length, saying the board understood its decision would be controversial but was there “to address the hurt and anger and to try and heal the community.”

Pro-Israel shoppers defy Ahava products boycott call

Best sales weekend Maryland store has ever seen.

WASHINGTON – A call to boycott Israeli-made Ahava products in a Maryland beauty supply store backfired last week when pro- Israel activists countered by purchasing the shop’s entire Ahava inventory.

When the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington found out that the pro-Palestinian group Sabeel DC had organized a protest and boycott call at Ulta in Silver Spring last Saturday, the organization sent out an action alert urging supporters to visit the store and buy Ahava.

“They cleaned the shelves out. It was the best Ahava sales weekend the store has ever seen. They had to order an expedited shipment” afterward, said Arielle Farber, director of Israel and International Affairs for the Community Relations Council. “The greater Washington community is not going to stand for this campaign to delegitimize Israel.”

PA to continue settlement goods boycott

Israeli, PA economic ministers meet for first time in 5 years.

Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer met with his Palestinian counterpart, National Economy Minister Hassan Abu Libda, in Tel Aviv on Thursday.

The ministers spoke about economic and trade issues between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. This was the first meeting between an Israeli industry, trade and labor minister and his Palestinian counterpart in five years.

Sources who attended the meeting reported that Ben- Eliezer had expressed frustration over the PA’s intention to pass a law making it illegal for Palestinians to work in Israeli-owned businesses in the West Bank. Ben-Eliezer told Abu Libda that he had instructed his ministry’s director-general, Sharon Kadmi, to prepare special aid to assist the Israeli factories in replacing the Palestinian workers with Israelis.

Ben-Eliezer also spoke to Abu Libda about the Palestinian consumer boycott of settlement- made products, which Abu Libda said his government was adamant about keeping in place despite Israeli threats.

According to the ministry spokesman, Abu Libda asked for Israel’s assistance in gaining observer status at the World Trade Organization.

Global conference passes RMT anti-Israel motion

The RMT transport union has passed a motion condemning Israel at an international conference representing more than 4,600,000 union members.

The resolution, voted for by delegates at the annual International Transport Federation (ITF) conference, calls for action on “illegal Israeli settlements”.

The RMT, which is led by Bob Crow, seconded the motion proposed by the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU) at the Mexico event.

It calls for transport workers to halt the movement of people and goods into the Palestinian Territories.

The ITF is the umbrella organisation for more than 750 transport unions in 155 countries around the world.

In June, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) rejected calls to boycott Israel and pledged its “universal recognition” of the country’s right to exist.

But trade unions around the world have been vocal in calling for divestment and sanctionson Israel.

Earlier in 2010 Britain’s largest union, Unite, unanimously passed a motion calling for a boycott of Israeli companies, while the University and College Union supported several anti-Israel resolutions at its national conference.

150 Irish artists pledge to boycott Israel

A CULTURAL boycott of Israel was launched yesterday, with more than 150 Irish artists announcing that they intend not to perform or exhibit in Israel, or to accept any funding from institutions linked to the Israeli government.

The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) said it was in protest at Israel’s “treatment of the Palestinian people”.

Raymond Deane of the IPSC cited a statement from the Israeli Foreign Ministry in 2005 saying they considered culture a propaganda tool.

He said: “Artists who perform there are backing it [the Israeli government] whether they like it or not.”

The pledge signed by the artists states the boycott would continue, “until such time as Israel complies with international law and universal principles of human rights”. Mr Deane said: “You can’t really pin this down”, but it means, “at least an end of the occupation of Palestine; dismantling or at least stopping the settlements; and Israel negotiating in good faith with the Palestinians”.

An Israeli embassy spokesman said the boycott “was regrettable and ill-advised” and that “vilifying and ostracising Israel and promoting a lose-lose programme of boycotts is not the way to secure legitimate Palestinian rights”.

Singer and songwriter Damien Dempsey hoped the boycott would encourage young people in Israel who disagreed with the government to “speak out”.

He said that the military were running the show in Israel and that they needed the world to stand up against them.

Musician Donal Lunny said he was taking part to “express solidarity with the Palestinian people”.

When asked about the boycott’s chances for success, Eoin Dillon, a performer with Irish and world music band Kila, said: “It worked in South Africa.”

حملات مقاطعة أوروبية قبل رمضان: لا تُفسد صيامك بتمور إسرائيلية!

بلغ السيل الاسرائيلي سعف النخيل وبلحه. نعم نخيل وتمر اسرائيلي أيضاً! هذا ما لا يعرفه كثيرون، خصوصاً مستهلكي التمور في اوروبا، الذين يشكل المسلمون غالبيتهم. لذلك بادرت مجموعة من المؤسسات الداعمة للقضية الفلسطينية، تنشط لمقاطعة البضائع الاسرائيلية، الى حملة متزامنة مع حلول شهر رمضان، وشعارها: إحذروا شراء التمور الاسرائيلية.

وبدأت هذه الحملة في بروكسل، متزامنة مع حملة مماثلة في كل من بريطانيا وهولندا وفرنسا، وستستمر نشاطاتها طوال شهر الصيام. منظموها يقولون إنهم لاحظوا وجود العديد من ماركات التمور، التي تصدرها حكومة الاحتلال الاسرائيلي، تنتشر في الاسواق الاوروبية بالرغم من انها تأتي من مستوطنات اسرائيلية. ويقوم ناشطو الحملة بزيارة العديد من الأماكن المعروفة بكونها ذات غالبية مسلمة في بروكسل، ويوزعون منشورات تحمل صوراً لماركات التمور المراد مقاطعتها.

ومن أبرز هذه الماركات، تلك التي تصدرها شركة «اغركسكو» الاسرائيلية، وتحمل اسم «كرمل»، ويضاف اليها ماركات «جوردن ريفر»، «كينغ سلومن»، «كالاهاري»، «توب» و«كدم». واللافت في ما يقوله نشطاء المقاطعة، إن هذه الماركات تأتي من المستوطنات الاسرائبلية في وادي نهر الأردن. ويشيرون الى أن المستوطنين هناك يعتمدون بشكل أساسي على ريع بيع التمور، ولذلك يؤكدون أن هدفهم هو وقف تصدير هذه التمور الى اوروبا، عبر توعية الزبائن، وبالتالي الضغط على المستوردين كي يوقفوا استيراد التمور الآتية من المستوطنات.

وفي هذا السياق، يبدو أن للمشترين المسلمين دورا بارزا في ذلك، إذ يؤكد مسؤولو الحملة البلجيكية أن 80 في المئة من مستهلكي التمور هم من المسلمين. ومع ذلك يلفت ناشطو المقاطعة الى صعوبة تحديد الإنتاج المقبل من المستوطنات وحصره، مشيرين الى أن بعض الشركات المصدرة للتمور تتعمّد عدم وضع عناوين تجارية تشير الى المستوطنات، وأيضاً ثمة شركات اسرائيلية تأتي بإنتاج المستوطنات وتخلطه بإنتاج أكبر، وتصدّره على ان مصدره واحد.

وبحسب الحملة، فإن حجم التصدير الإسرائيلي من التمور يبلغ حوالى خمسة آلاف طن، ما تقدر قيمته بحوالى 50 مليون يورو. ويركّز نشطاء المقاطعة في حملتهم على عدم شرعية انتاج المستوطنات، انطلاقاً من القانون الدولي الذي يحظر على المحتلّ القيام بنشاط اقتصادي، على الأرض التي يحتلها.

Besieging Israel's siege

In just a few years the Palestinian campaign to boycott Israeli goods has become truly global

Despite Israel's siege of Gaza, and the escalating displacement in the Negev and East Jerusalem, Palestinians have some reason to celebrate. In Washington a food co-op has passed a resolution calling for a boycott of Israeli products, confirming that the boycott movement – five years old last month – has finally crossed the Atlantic. Support for the move came from prominent figures including Nobel peace laureates Desmond Tutu and Máiread Maguire, and Richard Falk, the UN's special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories.

The movement for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel was launched in 2005, a year after the international court of justice had found Israel's wall and colonies built on occupied Palestinian territory illegal. Over 170 Palestinian political parties, unions, mass movements and NGOs endorsed the movement, which is led by the BNC, a coalition of civil society organisations.