#BDS: Buying into Occupation and War: The implications of military ties between South America and Israel

Israeli military exports to South America have been on the rise in the recent years. Brazil is gearing up to become the gateway for Israeli military technology and companies. Israel continues to be a top supplier of the Colombian military. Ecuador, while not having extensive military ties with Israel, has recently purchased drone aircraft. Chile, already a buyer of Israeli arms, also has expressed interest in similar drone technology.

It is the goal of this report to analyze these trends, both in light of recent events and also as they relate to the history of Israeli involvement in South America. We will highlight that it is impossible for South America’s democratic governments to reconcile protection of human rights - whether at home or abroad - with military ties and arms trade with Israel. 

Any military ties with Israel support the state’s policies of occupation, apartheid and ethnic cleansing, policies whose sustainability depends on Israeli military capacities and the profits deriving from its military industry, and adversely affect the Palestinians and their struggle. Israel has developed an indigenous military industry that produces much of the equipment used by its military. International buyers help ensure the survival of the Israeli military industry which:


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#BDS: WMG, Motorola, and YouTube: Censoring Palestinian Solidarity Flash Mob Video

Dancing and singing to a parody of Lady Gaga and Beyoncé's "Telephone," more than forty members and friends of the St Louis Palestine Solidarity Committee (STL-PSC) serenaded holiday shoppers at Best Buy and AT&T stores in Brentwood, MO.  They urged patrons to join the boycott of Motorola products because of the company's involvement in Israel's unlawful military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.  (Find out more about Motorola's participation in the occupation.)  A video of the flash mob was posted on YouTube December 13th, quickly going viral, with coverage in media around the world including Israel's Ynet News ("Pro-Palestinian Dance Wows Shoppers," December 18, 2010).  It acquired 35,000 hits in less than a week.

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#BDS: تواصل حملات المقاطعة لمصانع المستوطنات في الداخل

حذرت جمعية اعمار للتنمية والتطوير الاقتصادي والتي تقوم على حملة "أنا مقاطع" لمقاطعة منتجات المستوطنات, في بيان لها من ما أسمته محاولات خداع تقوم بها بعض الشركات والمصانع المتواجدة في المستوطنات, وذلك من خلال إعلان هذه المصانع عن نيتها الخروج من تلك المستوطنات بهدف إيقاف ورفع المقاطعة - محليا وفلسطينيا وعالميا - والتي بدأت – كما تذكر إعمار - تؤتي ثمارها وتكبّد تلك الشركات خسارات فادحة .

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#BDS: ورشة عمل نسوية خاصة بمقاطعة بضائع المستوطنات

نابلس- معا- نظمت الإغاثة الزراعية في بلدة كفر عبوش بمحافظة طولكرم ورشة عمل نسوية في موضوع مقاطعة البضائع الإسرائيلية، وقد عقدت الورشة التي استمرت لمدة ساعتين في مبنى المجلس القروي، وشارك فها حوالي 25 سيدة من ربات البيوت وعضوات جمعيتي التوفير والتسليف وتنمية المرأة الريفية، وجرى فيها نقاش موسع حول أهمية وجدوى المقاطعة وسبل تفعيلها، ودور البيت والمدرسة ودور العبادة في نشر ثقافة المقاطعة، باعتبارها السلاح الذي يمكن للشعب الفلسطيني إشهاره لإلحاق الضرر باقتصاد دولة الاحتلال على طريق إنهاء الاحتلال ودحره كليا عن الأرض الفلسطينية، وإقامة الدولة الفلسطينية المستقلة وعاصمتها القدس، وعودة اللاجئين إلى ديارهم الأولى.

وقد تحدث في الورشة خالد منصور مسؤول العمل الجماهيري في الإغاثة الزراعية، منسق الحملة الشعبية لمقاطعةالبضائع الإسرائيلية وشرح للنساء أهمية المقاطعة وأهمية الدور الذي تلعبه النساء وخاصة ربات البيوت، داعيا إلى الامتناع عن شراء كل المنتجات الإسرائيلية التي لها بدائل وقال لهن: ( لا تشترين أي بضاعة كتب عليها باللغة العبرية بعد التأكد من أن مصدرها هو إسرائيل ).

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#BDS: International companies consider ending operations in West Bank settlement

A number of international companies are now considering closing down their branches in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, in what seems to be the growing momentum of the boycott movement. "Some of these companies were closed due to pressure exerted by the EU," said Israeli newspaper Maariv on Wednesday.


The newspaper noted that Mul-T-Lock, a locks manufacturer, was the first to shut its branches in Israeli settlements, as a result of a boycott on its settlement-produced goods.


The paper added that the major Swiss company, Assa Abloy, which owns Mul-T-Lock, decided to move its plant from the settlement of Brochin to inside Israel proper.


The move was decided after Swiss human rights organizations and churches issued a strongly worded report to the company's administration and representatives, raising the possibility of taking legal action against them for breaking international law.


According to the Israeli paper, more foreign companies like Mul-T-Lock are expected to follow suit, with food producer "Piegel Piegel" already planning to shut down its branches in West Bank settlements.

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#BDS: Gaza 2 years on events

Aberystwyth Monday 27 December, 11am-1pm, Gaza Vigil: Candle-lit vigil by the Clock Tower (top of Great Darkgate Street, Aberystwyth). Please bring banners, flags, candles (in a large glass jar is best). Between 11 am and 1 pm.

For more information email: eimorley@rocketmail.com

 

 

Rally for Gaza on Tuesday 18 January 2011, 7pm, Conway Hall, Holborn, London.

#BDS: أولي فعاليات الحملة الشعبية لمقاطعة الكيان الصهيوني

تدعوكم حركة ناشطون لأجل فلسطين الي حضور أولي فعاليات الحملة الشعبية لمقاطعة الكيان الصهيوني و هي الوقفة الإحتجاجية أمام وزارة الخارجية يوم الإثنين المقبل , الموافق 27 - 12 - 2010
وذلك لإحياء الذكري الثانية للحرب علي قطاع غزه
و للمطالبة بالآتي :-

1- طرد السفير الإسرائيلي بالقاهرة .
2- قطع العلاقات الدبلوماسية مع الكيان الصهيوني .

3- إنهاء كافة أشكال الحصار علي قطاع غزة و تسهيل دخول القوافل الإنسانية للقطاع .

4- غلق المتاجر و المحلات الصهيونية بمصر ( ستاربكس - ماركس اند سبنسر) و ذلك لوجود علاقة وثيقة بين المحلات المذكورة و الكيان الصهيوني و دوررها في تمويل المستوطنات الصهيونية و بناء جدار الفصل العنصري علي أرض فلسطين المحتلة .

5- وقف استيراد جميع البضائع و المنتجات الصهيونية .


و تأتي تلك المطالب الأساسية في إطار إيماننا بمناهضة التطبيع مع الكيان الصهيوني و عدم الاعتراف به كدولة مستقلة و انما سلطة احتلال تنبع من الفكر الصهيوني المتطرف .




للتواصل ومعرفة اخبار الحملة يرجي الإتصال ب :

0128669282
0161100033
0115788516

او عن طريق البريد الألكتروني :

mafam.AFP2010@gmail.com


ناشطون لأجل فلسطين Activists For Palestine

#BDS: Israeli, Palestinian ads won't run on buses, Metro says

SEATTLE -- King County Metro Transit officials announced Thursday the decision to halt all new non-commercial ads, including two controversial campaigns claiming Israeli war crimes and Palestinian war crimes.

Citing possible bus service disruption, King County Executive Dow Constantine said the proposed campaigns caused security concerns.

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#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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