#BDS: Open Letter from U.S. Trade Unionists to AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka: Boycott Apartheid Israel

Dear Brother Trumka:

As labor and anti-apartheid activists, we strongly disagree with your October 27 speech denouncing the movement for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel.

The BDS campaign was initiated in 2005 by Palestinian civil society — including its entire labor movement. Inspired by the international boycott that helped topple apartheid South Africa, it demands Palestinian self-determination, including an end to Israeli military occupation, the right of refugees to return to the land from which they have been ethnically cleansed since the Nakba of 1947-1948, and equal rights for all throughout historic Palestine.

Support for BDS has grown rapidly, especially since December 27, 2008, when Israel broke a truce with the democratically-elected Palestinian government and attacked Gaza. In the resulting massacre, Israel killed more than 1400 Palestinians, hundreds of them children; maimed and wounded thousands more; and utterly devastated Gaza’s infrastructure, including the Gaza headquarters of the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions.

In the best tradition of labor solidarity, South African and Australian dockworkers responded by refusing to handle Israeli cargo, and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) “call[ed] on other workers and unions to follow suit and to do all that is necessary to ensure that they boycott all goods to and from Israel until Palestine is free.”

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#BDS: Israeli food company Strauss defends supporting IDF

The chairwoman of an Israeli food and beverages company slammed a campaign by students at Princeton University and Chicago's DePaul University to boycott a popular brand of hummus, the Sabra label, co-owned with PepsiCo, as “against all the good things” her company does.

Students sympathetic to the Palestinian cause in Princeton carried out a vote on the popular hummus and the results showed that Sabra's abuses were "tenuous" at most, according to a report recently published by Forbes magazine.

The story was picked up by international media in furious op-ed pieces against the Sabra label and a Facebook page ("Boycott Sabra Hummus") was created to further push for a boycott of the product.

The student campaign against the hummus came after Strauss Group, Israel’s second largest food and beverages company, posted a statement on its website saying that it commits funds "for welfare, cultural and educational activities" to officers in the Israeli Army’s Golani Brigade, which has fought in every major war since the Jewish state was created in 1948, according to Forbes.

Strauss Group’s 50-year-old chairwoman, Ofra Strauss, who is a third-generation member of the family business, is a proud supporter of the Israeli forces.

"For us, Israeli soldiers are not army; Israeli soldiers are our kids," Strauss told Forbes in an interview. "When children of this country are in need, we will be there." 

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#BDS: Petition to the Board of Directors of the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board

Petition

We, members of the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, ask the Board of Governors of the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board to initiate the process that will make the necessary changes in legislation and investment policy which would enable the Plan to:

1. Immediately divest from the following five companies in its portfolio: Lockheed Martin, Finning International, Cement Roadstone Holdings, Siemens AG, and MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates; 

2. Become a signatory to the Principles of Responsible Investment Initiative;

and

3. Divest from, as well as refrain from investing in, any company that contributes to violations of human rights or international law by:
- directly profiting from, or contributing to, the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem;
- providing products or services that contribute to the construction and maintenance of Israeli settlements and/or the Separation Wall, both of which are illegal under international law;
- providing products or services that contribute to or enable violent acts that target civilians.

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#BDS: Opposition groups urge Jordanian government to sever ties with Israel

Statement comes in the wake of reports that national security chief Uzi Arad met secretly with Jordanian FM in Amman last week.

A coalition of Jordanian opposition parties and trade unions on Monday rebuked the government for secretly receiving the chief of Israel's National Security Council, Uzi Arad, in Amman last week, and urged the rupture of ties with Israel.

The protest follows reports that Arad paid a secret visit to Jordan on December 27 and met with Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh.

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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: MKs urge boycott of Israeli companies building new Palestinian city

Forty-eight Knesset members have signed a petition calling to boycott Israeli companies which are involved in building the Palestinian city of Rawabi and who committed to divest from Israeli settlements during their work there.

"Israeli companies have sold their Zionist souls and their national solidarity for a handful of dollars," the petition read, which called on cabinet ministers to refrain from cooperating with some 20 Israeli companies who committed to boycott Israeli products from the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights.

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#BDS: قهوة التطبيع... يصبّها شاتوبريان!

مشروع «القهوة: بين الخيال والواقع»، كان آخر الأنشطة التطبيعية التي قدّمها في القدس المحتلة «المركز الثقافي الفرنسي ـــ شاتوبريان»، بالتعاون مع جارته في شارع صلاح الدين، «المكتبة العلمية». المشروع كناية عن أفلام قصيرة من إنتاج جامعة تل أبيب، أنجزها ثمانية شباب إسرائيليين وفلسطينيين، حضر بعضهم لاحتساء القهوة، وعرض الأفلام، و«النقاش» حولها.

كلمة تعريفيّة قصيرة اختصرت دوافع الحدث بكون «القهوة جزءاً من هويتنا الثقافية، وعنصراً مشتركاً في الحياة اليوميّة لجميع الأفراد... وما همّ من يكون هؤلاء الأفراد». وأضافت: «كل فيلم من الأفلام يعطي وجهة نظر شخصيّة وشجاعة حول الواقع الذي نعيش فيه». هكذا، أرادت جامعة تل أبيب تحويل القهوة إلى مساحة «للقاء والحوار»(!)، بعدما دارت معارك طاحنة على هويّة الحمّص والفلافل.

افتُتِح اللقاء الذي أقيم في مقهى «المكتبة العلمية» بكلمة ليائيل بيرلوف المشرفة على المشروع والمحاضرة في قسم السينما في «جامعة تل أبيب». تحدثت عن «أهمية إنتاج جامعة تل أبيب لهذه الأفلام»، وعن «معاناة» الإسرائيليين الذين «يمنعون من دخول أراضي الضفة الغربية»، قبل أن تنوّرنا بأن «علينا أن ننظر إلى المواطن الإسرائيلي على أنه ليس جندياً فقط».

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#BDS: Letter from senior European officials supports BDS approach on Israel

On December 2nd, a group of very high-level European ex-officials wrote to the President of the European Council to urge that the EU take much stronger action to hold Israel accountable for violations of international law, including the construction of settlements on occupied land, which is prohibited under the Fourth Geneva Convention.

The list of signatories includes former Presidents and Prime Ministers of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Holland, Norway, Ireland and Latvia, as well as other senior officials like Chris Patten and Javier Solana. They advocate a European boycott of products made or grown on Israeli settlements and sold as "Made in Israel" (in Section 4). "We consider it simply inexplicable that such products still enjoy benefits under preferential trade agreements between the EU and Israel."

They also imply that the EU should impose sanctions if Israel continues to violate international law (in Section 5). "The EU has stated unequivocally for decades that the settlements in the OPT are illegal, but Israel continues to build them. Like any other state, Israel should be held accountable for its actions. It is the credibility of the EU that is at stake."

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#BDS: الإغاثة الزراعية تواصل حملة مقاطعة البضائع الاسرائيلية في قلقيلية

رام الله- معا- أكد مسؤول العمل الجماهيري في الإغاثة الزراعية ومنسق الحملة الشعبية لمقاطعة البضائع الإسرائيلية خالد منصور، أن حملة مقاطعة البضائع الإسرائيلية لم ولن تتوقف، حتى تختفي كل منتجات المحتلين التي لها بدائل من أسواقنا الفلسطينية.

حديث منصور هذا، جاء في معرض رده على سؤال وجهه أحد تجار مدينة قلقيلية حين قال: إن مدينتنا خالية من بضائع المستوطنات.

وأضاف منصور: "إننا ننظر لحملة المقاطعة كسلاح نشهره بوجه الاحتلال لنلحق به الخسائر المالية، ونعتبر المقاطعةشكل من أشكال المقاومة لشعبية التي من حق شعبنا خوضها ضد الاحتلال بكافة إفرازاته.

كان ذلك خلال حملة دعوية تثقيفية تحريضية نظمتها الإغاثة الزراعية الفلسطينية اليوم، في أسواق وميادين مدينة قلقيلية، وذلك بالتعاون مع حزب الشعب الفلسطيني وجمعية التوفير والتسليف، وقيادات رسمية وشعبية، منهم ابراهيم الحمد مدير دائرة الزراعة الحكومية في قلقيلية، ومحمد ابو الشيخ مندوبا عن محافظة قلقيلية، بالاضافة الى ممثلين عن الحملة الشعبية لمقاومة الجدار والاستيطان واتحاد جمعيات المزارعين.

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#BDS: An open letter from Gaza to Thomas Quasthoff: Do not Forget the Gaza Concentration Camp and “Tell It like It Is!”

Dear Mr. Thomas Quasthoff,

We are a group of artists, singers, academics and students from Gaza, and our only fault is being Palestinians. For that, Mr. Quasthoff, we are imprisoned with our families and loved ones in what even main-stream Human Rights Organizations call the largest open air prison in modern history.  It has come to our knowledge that you have plans to perform in Apartheid Israel.  The state you are planning to entertain has been committing war crimes and crimes against humanity against us, the indigenous population of Palestine.

We in Gaza have been under a hermetic, medieval siege imposed since 2006 by the state you are planning to entertain. This blockade has cut off the main life-line of goods and people coming into Gaza resulting in severe shortages of food supplies, basic goods and importantly items like cement which is vital to rebuild the 17000+ homes that have been destroyed by Israeli attacks. Injured people are not allowed to travel abroad to receive needed medical care: consequently 400 sick patients have died because they had no solution but to stay in the besieged Gaza Strip where they spent their dying days, to the despair of their families. Do you have plans to sing for them?

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#BDS: Vanessa Paradis and Johnny Depp, Please do not allow the state of Israel to use your reputation to whitewash its crimes!

We are Israeli citizens. It has come to our attention that Ms. Paradis is planning on performing in Israel in March 2011, and that you are both expected to meet Israeli President Shimon Peres. You may not be aware, but there is an ongoing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel, due to its policies of apartheid and occupation. We, as Israeli citizens endorse this boycott, and we are urging you to take this opportunity to take a stand on an issue crucial to human rights and as such, to human lives as well.

You may be asking yourself what all this means and what it has to do with you. Indeed, you may feel you are being thrust into a situation which you had no interest in entering in the first place. However, we hope that we can help the both of you overcome your feelings of disconnect, outline the realities of the grim world you have entered, and give you the opportunity to choose to make a difference. Make no mistake; Because of your celebrity status, the choice you make will have an instant effect on the lives of millions of children, women and men.

Palestinians are living under a brutal military regime which practices policies of apartheid in what is known as Israel and the Occupied Territories. The army that controls everyday Palestinian life, at the barrel of a gun, is Israel's army. This means that Palestinians depend on the mercy of this army, controlled by the Israeli government, which for over 60 years, has been murdering, maiming, arresting civilians, all the while stealing their lands by extreme and brutal force. While illegal Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian Territories flourish, under the guise of "natural growth" (http://www.jewcy.com/uncategorized/unnatural_growth), Palestinian land is being robbed, homes are being demolished, whole communities left homeless, in the occupied territories as well as inside Israel. (background: http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=42702).

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#BDS: Israeli Companies to Build Palestinian City, Sign Pledge not to use Settlement Products

Israeli army radio reported this morning (28 December) that some twenty Israeli companies signed contracts to build the planned West Bank city of Rawabi, while committing themselves not to use raw materials, products or services originating in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Golan Heights.

The right wing in Israel responded to this report with anger. Knesset Member Carmel Shama (Likud), head of the Economic Committee of the Knesset, called for an emergency meeting of his committee next week. And the “Eretz Israel lobby” in the Knesset, headed by Zeev Elkin (Likud) and Arieh Eldad (National Unity) announced that next week they will propose legislation prohibiting Israeli companies from boycotting Israeli products. Member of Knesset Danny Danon said that he would propose a law calling for a company to be fined the amount of any contract it signs that calls on boycotting Israeli products.

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#BDS: وقفة إحتجاجية أمام وزارة الخارجية المصرية

 نظمت  حركة " ناشطون لأجل فلسطين " وقفة إحتجاجية أمام وزاة الخارجية المصريه وتقدموا  بخطاب رسمي إلى وزير الخارجية، أحمد أبو الغيط، تطالبه فيه بطرد السفير الإسرائيلي بالقاهرة، على الرغم من أنباء هروبه، مساء الجمعة الماضي، على خلفية قضية التجسس لحساب الموساد التي تم الكشف عنها مؤخرًا.

هذا الخطاب يأتي ضمن فعاليات الحملة الشعبية لمقاطعة " الكيان الصهيوني"، تزامنًا مع إحياء الذكرى الثانية للحرب على قطاع غزة، والتي تستمر لمدة 10 أيام، حيث قررت الحركة تنظيم وقفة احتجاجية أمام وزارة الخارجية كأولى فعاليات حملتها.

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#BDS: 2010 and the Palestinian cause

By AHMAD SABRI | ARAB NEWS

In the beginning of 2010 the world saw international activists protest in Cairo to pressure the Egyptian regime into opening its borders for them to enter Gaza with their aid convoys.

They eventually succeeded and in the following months hundreds of international activists managed to break the siege of Gaza. The most famous of them was the Freedom Flotilla, which had 663 passengers from approximately 40 nationalities.

The flotilla was attacked in international waters (and this wasn't the first time for Israel). 9 activists were killed, and at least 42 were injured. The massacre generated global rage and was condemned by many governments. Israeli ambassadors were summoned from 7 countries as well as the EU. And although the US tried to block it, an international inquiry soon began. In addition, a fact-finding mission was launched by the UN Human Rights Council. They found that Israel broke international law, and found "clear evidence" for prosecuting Israel for the war crime of "willful killing; torture or inhuman treatment". The report accused Israeli commandos of summarily executing 6 passengers.

But why were international activists attempting to reach Gaza in the first place? The reason is the Israeli blockade held since 2007. The blockade killed hundreds of Palestinian patients, and destroyed Gaza's economy. It was considered a "war crime" by the UN Fact Finding mission led by Judge Richard Goldstone, and it was considered a form of "collective punishment" by both a UN humanitarian affairs chief and a UN Human Rights Council monitor in 2008. This year another international testimony was added: the International Committee of the Red Cross called the blockade a violation of the Geneva Conventions and described it as "collective punishment". Another strong legal statement in 2010 came from Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights who announced Gaza's blockade as "illegal".

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#BDS: Gogol Bordello scheduled to perform in Israel

Gogol Bordello is scheduled to perform in Israel on February 28th and March 1st, 2011.