#BDS: #Gaza2 Campaign

Dear friends,

Palestine suffers injustice, and oppression, and apartheid more than ever before. Torn into pieces, settlements scattering it all, the Holy Land is assaulted and its people massacred and discriminated while the whole political world is watching, turning blind to Israel’s violations of human rights and international laws toward the Palestinians.

As you all know, we are approaching the 2nd anniversary of the offensive on Gaza by the Israeli Occupation Forces, a massacre among others perpetrated against the Palestinian people. During 22 days in 2008-2009, more than 1,400 Palestinians were slaughtered, over a third of them were children and women.

Many initiatives aimed to break the siege imposed by Israel since Hamas took over the Strip in 2006, one of which resulted in the assassination of 9 peace activists in international waters on last May, when Israeli Navy assaulted the Mavi Marmara. Since then, a blockade ease has been demanded by the international community, in vain, as Gaza still lacks medicines, basic food and electricity, and is daily bombed by Israeli F16s.

We, citizens of the world, demand more than just an ease. We, citizens of the world, demand freedom for all Gazans, freedom of movement, freedom of exportation and importation, we demand the complete lift of that inhuman siege, claiming more lives day after day. Till when will the Palestinians of Gaza suffer power shortage? Till when will the patients bear the lack of medicines? Till when will the children of Gaza wake up and sleep to the sound of aircrafts? When will the Strip live on its own agriculture, and stop being dependent from the humanitarian convoys?

There is a real awakening, we can all feel it from the multiplication of convoys and flotillas, from the wave of recognition of Palestine as a State by other countries, from the NGOs’ calls denouncing the misery Israel keeps Gaza in. And this is because the information is being spread better and better.

Hence, we decided to launch an online campaign officially starting onDecember, 27th 2010 to raise awareness and mark the massacre’s 2nd anniversary. 

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#BDS: Celebrity posse to escort Depp to Israel

Johnny Depp, Vanessa Paradis will not be alone on trip to Holy Land this February: Karl Lagerfeld, several other celebrities expected to be among couple's glittering entourage

Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis announced their upcomingvisit to Israel months ago, but what was expected to be a quiet family trip has since turned into a convoy of celebrities set to arrive together in the Holy Land this February.

French singer Paradis, who will perform at the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center on February 10, plans to arrive two days earlier with boyfriend Depp, the couple's two children and a glittering entourage; German fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld is rumored to be accompanying them, along with French actress Isabelle Adjani, French singer and actress Bambou (best known for being Serge Gainsburg's last girlfriend), and several other French and American VIPs.

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#BDS: MNA Amir Khadir unapologetic for picketing store that sells Israeli-made shoes

Québec solidaire leader Amir Khadir is making no apologies for asking clients to boycott a family-owned shoe store in his own riding because it sells shoes made in Israel.

"Just because a business is in my riding, I am not going to abandon my principles," Khadir, member of the National Assembly for Mercier, told The Gazette on Friday.

Khadir participated in a demonstration last Saturday in front of Le Marcheur shoe store on St. Denis St. at Duluth Ave., handing out flyers asking customers to boycott the store until it stopped selling Israeli-made shoes.

The demonstration was organized by Palestinian and Jewish Unity, a Montreal-based human rights group that advocates for the right of Palestinians to live in safety.

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#BDS: Join us December 27: Remember Gaza

Please come join us in a walking vigil to remember the ongoing siege and attacks on Gaza.

Dec 27 will be two years from the day when Israel launched its three week attack on the captive population Gaza, killing 1400 people including 400 children. Israel continues frequent attacks and has maintained its illegal siege and blockade, restricting food, medical supplies and other necessities, as well as preventing reconstruction. After two years, the situation in Gaza is still desperate. And Israel continues driving out Palestinians in the West Bank to make room for Jewish-only settlements.

On Monday Dec 27, Palestine Solidarity Committee will hold a silent walking vigil in downtown Seattle. We'll meet at 5:00 pm at the south end of Westlake Plaza, near the trees and benches. We will dress in black and some people will wear kufiyehs and the tears-of-blood masks we have used many times before. We will walk in procession on sidewalks around the downtown area, with colleagues to hand out leaflets about the situation in Gaza. It will be a simple small mobile action and will be finished before 7:00. (Stores stay open later in this shopping season, and we'll be stopping at some boycott target locations.) We will do it rain or snow or clear sky.

If you would like to join us, come to the south end of Westlake Plaza by 5:00. Please wear black or dark colors (and dress warmly). If you have your own kufiyeh, bring it. We will have some signs to carry.

BRING CANDLES or lanterns if you can. It will be dark by that time of day, and though there will be streetlights, candles will still show up.

Monday December 27, 2010

5:00 pm

Westlake Plaza, 4th & Pine -- south end near benches and trees.

#BDS: Israeli arms firm to benefit from EU-funded research

BRUSSELS (IPS) - Arms traders are seeking to convince the European Union that publicly-funded scientific research grants should help develop weapons for future wars.

In a series of secret discussions, Brussels officials and representatives of the arms industry are examining if the EU's multi-billion euro "framework program" for research can be used for projects of a military nature.

Since the 11 September 2001 attacks in the United States, senior policy-makers in the European Commission, the EU's executive wing, have been eager to ensure a greater involvement of arms manufacturers in the program. Yet because of the reluctance of some EU governments to give the commission a greater say in military matters, the scope of "security research" has so far been limited to projects that, according to EU officials, can be categorized as "civilian" and "non-lethal."



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#BDS: ويكيليكس wikileaks :المخرج الامريكي سيبلبرغ تبرع لإسرائيل، ومصر والاردن رفضت مقاطعه افلامه

امريكا – نيويورك يتابع موقع ويكيليكس نشر الوثائق السرية والتي كان اخرها عندما كشفالنقاب عن مقاطعة جامعة الدول العربية افلام المخرج الامريكي ستيفن سيبلبرغ لدعمة لاسرائيل اذاء حرب لبنان الثانية عام 2006 الا ان الدول العربية لم تنفذ القرار باستثناء سوريا ولبنان رغم مصادقة 14 دولة عربية عليه.

ووفقا لمعلومات نقلتها صحيفة يديعوت احرونوت العبرية عن ويكيليكس دخل المخرج ستيفن القائمة السوداء للجنة المقاطعة العربية التابعه لجامعة الدول عندما تبرع بمليون دولار لصالحاسرائيل خلال حرب لبنان وجاء في برقية بعثت بها سفارة الولايات المتحدة في دمشق لواشنطن أن سوريا ولبنان هما الدولتان العربيتان اللتان التزمتا بقرار مقاطعة افلام المخرج سبيلبرغ وذلك بسبب الصندوق الذي انشأه عام 1994 في اعقاب صدور فيلمه ” قائمة شندلر” لتقديم الدعم المادي اللازم للكيان الصهيوني ” ايباك” بالولايات المتحدة .

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#BDS: مظاهرات فى الضفة لمقاطعة المنتجات الإسرائيلية

تظاهر المئات من الفلسطينيين بمدينة طولكرم شمال الضفة الغربية، رافعين الرايات الفلسطينية، لمقاطعة منتجات المستوطنات الإسرائيلية، وقادت المظاهرة منظمة "الإغاثة الزراعية الفلسطينية".

ونقلت جريدة "القدس"الفلسطينية عن مسئول العمل الجماهيرى فى منظمة الإغاثة "خالد منصور" مطالبته بضرورة مقاطعة البضائع الإسرائيلية، والاستمرار فى مراقبة المنتجات التى تصل إلى الأسواق الفلسطينية، والاهتمام بهذا الأمر حتى تختفى المنتجات الإسرائلية من أسواقهم.

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#BDS: Major success for the anti-settlements campaign: Multilock to close West Bank factory

Maariv and the financial paper The Marker report that the Israeli company Multilock is leaving the West Bank because of human rights organizations’ pressure. The locks company will move from the Barkan industrial zone, located on the road to Ariel, to a site in the town of Yavne.

This is from Maariv (translation by Israel News Today):

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#BDS: Protest to Mark the 2nd Anniversary of the War on Gaza, London

#BDS: As Bethlehem Readies For Christmas, All Markets Declared Free Of Settlement Products

During a special meeting with heads and officials of government institutions, and mayors in the Bethlehem district, Bethlehem Governor, Abdul-Fattah Hamayel, stated that as Bethlehem readies to celebrate Christmas, its markets are now 100% free of Israeli settlement products.

At the beginning of the meeting, Hamayel sent his Christmas wishes and greetings to the residents of Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus Christ, and stated that the city is ready to celebrate Christmas as it conducted all needed arrangements in cooperation with civil society institutions, and private sector organizations. 

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#BDS: Growing worldwide solidarity with Palestine

In June 1967 Israel invaded the neighboring states of Egypt, Jordan and Syria, gaining control of the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights and further fortifying its dominance over the Middle East. With one fell swoop Israel’s territory tripled and approximately 1 million Arabs were placed under its direct control in the newly captured territories. Palestinians had no power over the territories they lived in and were subject to rigorous military rule by Israel.

Within days of the invasion Workers World and its youth group Youth Against War & Fascism called a demonstration in support of the Palestinian people. This was before the development of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and other Palestinian revolutionary groups that grew out of the movement against the 1967 invasion. This set in stone the role that the youth of Workers World would take in speaking out against the Israeli occupation of Palestine during a period when it was an untouched struggle in this country. Even though there was a mass movement against the war in Vietnam, the issue of Palestine in resistance to the Israeli occupation remained a forbidden topic among many on the left in the U.S.

Because of 40 years of resistance from the Palestinian people, the fight for justice has finally come to the forefront of the youth and student movement in the U.S. and abroad, becoming the focus of anti-imperialist struggle. More and more people are beginning to understand that it is the billions of dollars in U.S. and military equipment that prop up the state of Israel itself.

The BDS movement

In July 2005 over 170 Palestinian groups from trade unions to women’s groups to refugee organizations called for the international community to boycott, divest and sanction Israel until it complies with international law. While this was not necessarily a revolutionary program, this caught the imagination of youth all over the world and became a vehicle for struggle. This was inspired by the boycott movement against apartheid in South Africa in the 1970s and 1980s. Since then youth and student groups all over the U.S. and the world have taken on the call and struggled to not only raise awareness through BDS but put a damper on the Israeli economy.

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#BDS: انتقال بعض المصانع من المستوطنات الى اسرائيل بسبب الحصار الدولي

بيت لحم- معا- نتيجة لموقف الاتحاد الاوروبي وكذلك بعض الدول في العالم وبسبب قرار مقاطعة البضائع الاسرائيلية التي تنتج في المستوطنات، بدأت بعض الشركات الاسرائيلية الهروب من المستوطنات الى اسرائيل، في الوقت الذي تُحمّل المسؤولية لرئيس الحكومة الاسرائيلية نتنياهو والسياسة التي يتبعها والتي قادت الى الحاق الضرر الكبير بهذه المصانع.

وبحسب ما نشر موقع "قضايا مركزية " العبري اليوم الثلاثاء فقد اقدم مصنع "بيغل بيغل" في مستوطنة بركان شمال الضفة الغربية على وقف الانتاج، نتيجة للمقاطعة الاوروبية لمنتجات هذا المصنع وكذلك منع تسويق بضائعه في مناطق السلطة الفلسطينية، حيث انضم هذا المصنع الى مصانع اخرى سبق واغلقت انتاجها في مستوطنات الضفة الغربية كان اشهرها شركة "مالتي لوك ".

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#BDS: معاريف:شركات إسرائيلية تغلق فروعها فى الضفة الغربية للضغط على أوروبا

القدس المحتلة / سما / ذكرت صحيفة معاريف الإسرائيلية أن شركة "مالتى لوك" أغلقت فروعها فى مستوطنات الضفة الغربية، واضطرت لطرد أكثر من 50 عاملا لديها بسبب الضغوط السياسية الأوروبية وحملة المقاطعة لمنتجات المستوطنات.

وأضافت الصحيفة أن شركة مالتى لوك هى أول شركة تضطر للخضوع للضغوط السياسية من أجل استمرار عملها، ولكنها لن تكون الأخيرة، فمن بين الشركات الأخرى التى أعلنت خطوات مشابهة شركة "بيجل بيجل" للصناعات الغذائية.

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#BDS: الضفة تخلو من منتجات المستوطنات

حقق الفلسطينيون نجاحا كبيرا بإخلاء أسواقهم بالضفة الغربية من منتجات المستوطنات، ضمن حملات انطلقت مراحلها الأولى مع بداية العام الجاري، وتميزت بطابعها الرسمي إلى جانب حملات اتخذت بعدا شعبيا قادتها مؤسسات المجتمع المدني.

وقال محمد أرشيد منسق حملة المقاطعة التي أطلقتها الحكومة الفلسطينية برام الله إن نجاحهم تمثل بإخلاء معظم المدن الفلسطينية من تلك المنتجات وفقا للشعار المعلن سابقا.

 

وأوضح أن مقاطعة منتجات المستوطنات لم تتوقف عند الخسائر الاقتصادية "الهائلة" للاحتلال الإسرائيلي وإغلاق الكثير من المصانع الكبيرة بالمستوطنات والانتقال بها لداخل إسرائيل، بل كان للحملة أبعاد سياسية تمثلت بالمقاطعة الغربية "وخاصة الأوروبية" ليس لمنتجات المستوطنات فحسب، "بل الإسرائيلية كلها".

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#BDS: A Request from Cindy Corrie

Friends,

The Seattle Mideast Awareness Campaign’s effort to publicize Israeli War Crimes support with U.S. tax dollars on city buses is getting considerable attention. Story broke about this on Seattle King 5 TV Friday evening. The Jewish Federation has put out a letter opposing the ads.

If you haven’t taken the simple step of voting in The King 5 TV poll about the effort, please do! And please pass along to your lists and let others know. Seattle activists will need support this week. Note that those supporting the ads surged ahead in the unofficial poll yesterday after we put word out - but today the opposition has taken the lead.

Over 4500 have voted in the poll in just over a day, and the story has been the first or second most read story for the past day - and the most frequently emailed. Comments are welcome.

http://bit.ly/dWALp9

Cindy