#BDS: Israeli terrorist colonists uproot trees and PA purchases palm seedlings from 'settlements'

"RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- The "Save the Valley" campaign has called on de facto Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and his premier Salam Fayyad to stop purchasing palm seedlings from Jewish settlements.


Coordinator of the campaign Fathi Khudairat said in a press release that officials of the PA in Ramallah were paying million of dollars to buy thousands of palm seedlings from Jewish settlements at a time they claim to be championing boycott of those settlements' products.


He said that Palestinian products should be protected and the produce of those settlements should be boycotted, especially those produced by the Palestinian farmers."

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#BDS: Subsidiary of Israeli Elbit Company Wins Contract to Upgrade Brazilian Air Force Jets

"A Brazilian subsidiary of Israel’s Elbit Systems Ltd. has won an $85 million contract to upgrade eleven Brazilian Air Force F-5 fighter-bomber jets, Elbit announced in a press release on 11 April. The contract will be carried out in 2013.

The subsidiary is AEL Sistemas, a Brazilian company that became part of the Elbit Systems Group in 2001. Elbit Systems Ltd. is one of the world's largest defense electronics manufacturers and integrators.

In addition to its numerous international contracts, Elbit Systems also provides both Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and other military technology for Israel’s Occupation forces, as well as security systems for the Separation Wall and settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory."

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#BDS: Bob Geldof told 'boycott Israel or lose credibility'

"Pro-Palestinian campaigners have launched a campaign to stop Bob Geldof from visiting Israel next month on the basis that going there would damage the singer's "credibility as a defender of the rights of the dispossessed".

The former Boomtown Rats singer is to make his first trip to the country to accept an honorary degree from Ben Gurion University (BGU) in recognition of his anti-poverty work.

But Raymond Deane, the cultural and academic boycott officer for the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Camp (IPSC) has demanded that the star reject it and also pull out of a conference the same week on Israel's humanitarian aid work in Africa.

In a letter to Mr Geldof, who has an honorary knighthood, he said it was "a shock" that the Irish star would accept the BGU award."

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#BDS: Politics and Music Don't Mix, Ha? Netanyahu cancels Bieber date

"PM was scheduled to host pop star at his Jerusalem office; taking advantage of the PR situation, Netanyahu's advisers invited group of kids from communities near Gaza border to attend.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has canceled his date with pop sensation Justin Bieber over the singer's refusal to meet with children living in communities affected by Gaza rocket fire, Channel Two reported on Tuesday.

The prime minister was scheduled to host the young singer at his office in Jerusalem on Wednesday evening, before Bieber's Thursday night concert."

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#BDS: Action Alert: PETITION TO CALIFORNIA'S STATE RETIREMENT SYSTEMS

"TO CALIFORNIA'S STATE RETIREMENT SYSTEMS
From California Taxpayers and Members of CalPERS and CalSTRS

HONOR YOUR POLICIES OF SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTING

BEGIN YOUR PROCESS OF ENGAGEMENT WITH CORPORATIONS THAT FACILITATE ISRAELI VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND INTERNATIONAL LAW

We, the undersigned, oppose investments by the California State Retirement System (STRS) and the California Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) in any company that profits from the State of Israel's occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

According to your own investment reports, more than $3 billion is invested in companies that we believe facilitate Israel's violation of human rights, its repudiation of international law and its disregard of UN Conventions and Resolutions."

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#BDS: نائب "إسرائيلي" يتعرض لمقاطعة واستهجان خلال ندوة في أمريكا

تعرض عضو كنيست “إسرائيلي” إلى مقاطعة واستهجان طلاب جامعة برانديز الأمريكية خلال استضافته في حلقة نقاش أقامتها الجامعة، أمس الأول، بحضور مئات الطلاب . وقاطع طلاب وطالبات النائب “الإسرائيلي” آفي ديختر بشكل متواصل، ونعتوه باللغتين الإنجليزية والعبرية بأنه مجرم حرب . وحيث لم يتردد طلاب أمريكيون ويهود وفلسطينيون في مواصلة اعتراضاتهم على ديختر عضو كاديما ومدير “الشاباك” خلال الانتفاضة الفلسطينية الثانية .

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#BDS: Ahava 'leaving party', London

#BDS: After Board of Governors Rally, Carleton One Step Closer to Divestment

"On March 29th, 2011 students, faculty, staff, alumni and community allies made a significant stride toward divestment at Carleton University in Ottawa, the capital of Canada.  Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA) first launched our campus-based pension fund divestment campaign in January 2010.  The student-led campaign was motivated by the 2005 call from Palestinian civil society “to impose broad boycotts and implement divestment initiatives against Israel… until it fully complies with the precepts of international law.” 

After over a year of failed attempts to meet with Carleton’s Pension Fund Committee, SAIA submitted a formal request to present our motion to the Board of Governors (BOG) – the highest decision-making body of the university – to divest from four companies complicit in violations of international law in Palestine: BAE Systems, Northrop Grumman, Motorola and Tesco Supermarkets.  These companies manufacture weapons and weapons components used by the Israeli military against Palestinians, and also facilitate the expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank (for background see: http://carleton.saia.ca/pension-divestment-campaign.html).  SAIA’s motion also called upon Carleton to implement a binding socially responsible investment policy, in full consultation with the Carleton community." 

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#BDS: Brussels: Pro-Palestinian groups stage anti-Israel street play

"Activists dressed as IDF soldiers 'kill' boy playing Palestinian; women cover 'body' with Palestinian flag as crowd chants 'boycott Israel.' Mayor: Freedom of expression

Members of dozens of pro-Palestinian organizations held an anti-Israel exhibit on Brussel's main pedestrian-only street a few days ago, the Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported Friday.

During the street play, one activist dressed as an IDF soldier "kicked" a Palestinian, and in another a man dressed as an Israeli soldier "shoots" a Palestinian boy and "humiliates" a "pregnant Palestinian woman".

In a particularly harsh scene, an activist playing a Palestinian woman is "forcibly separated" from her "children"."

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#BDS: Univ. of Arizona student coalition builds massive mock wall to bring attention to the occupied territories and the US/Mexico border

"Students from the Arizona chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace at the University of Arizona (UA) collaborated with partners in the UA migrant rights group No Más Muertes/No More Deaths (NMM) to erect the largest mock apartheid wall in the country currently dividing the UA campus in Tucson. They aim to spotlight the lethal effects of U.S. policies in Arizona, the U.S. and Israeli-occupied Palestine.

Equipped with barbed-wire and stretching nearly four football fields’ length, the mock wall, entitled “Wall to Wall - Concrete Connections/Conexiones Concretas,” will stand for more than a week across the main traffic center of the more-than-50,000-person University of Arizona campus. Endorsed by numerous academic departments, as well as student and community groups, the JVP and NMM worked for nearly 8 months to bring the project to fruition."

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#BDS: Sacramento Co-Op Board Abandons Democratic Principles Won’t Let Members Vote On Proposed Israel Products Boycott

"What started out as a question of whether the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op should stop carrying certain products based on human rights considerations has now become a matter affecting the Co-op’s very democracy.

In an effort to prevent the Co-op’s members from voting on this issue, the Co-op Board has eliminated its long standing boycott policy, done away with Open comments at Board meetings, and is seeking to eviscerate member’s ability to put initiatives before a vote of the full membership as provided in the Co-op’s Bylaws. All of this while it discusses major policy changes at private meetings with no member input.

Almost forty years ago, the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op started as a buying club out of private homes, operating essentially as a direct democracy. Soon there was a store front, then a small store on Freeport Blvd. In 1989 the Co-op moved to its current location at Alhambra and S. As the Co-op grew, it incorporated and shifted to what might be viewed as a form of representative democracy, with a member-elected Board of Directors."

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#BDS: Elizabeth Taylor and Israel, a lasting love

"The world lost an icon Wednesday with the death of Elizabeth Taylor — and Israel lost one of its best friends in Hollywood.

Wednesday also brought the first bombing in Jerusalem in nearly four years, so the news of Taylor’s death was overshadowed there by the explosion and by escalating rocket fire from Gaza. But the actress’s passing represented the end of a relationship with the Jewish state that may have been the last of its kind.

American media coverage of Taylor’s life has understandably focused on her on- and offscreen dramas, as well as her pioneering AIDS activism. But she was also a supporter of Israel to a degree that largely went unmentioned this past week, bringing to the cause a commitment nearly unimaginable among Hollywood stars today. In a life famously shared with seven husbands, Taylor’s relationship with Israel was one of her longest."

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#BDS: LSE London Boycotts Israeli Company – Eden Springs

"Eden Springs, a major water supply company will not have its contract renewed by the London School of Economics. This development comes off the back of a lengthy, high profile and controversial campaign launched by the LSE Students' Union Palestine Society, which has drawn attention to Eden Springs' odious business dealings in the Illegally Occupied Golan Heights. The LSE joins a number of UK Universities, including Edinburgh and Strathyclyde, whom have successfully cut all ties with Eden Springs.

The student campaign has been supported by academics, with over 19 LSE Academics, signing a joint letter which calls upon the School to terminate its links with Eden Springs “forthwith”.

Zachariah Sammour, President of the LSE SU Palestine Society, said “I'm delighted with the incredible pace of progress on this campaign and the widespread support it’s received from the students and academics of the LSE. I believe the success of this campaign demonstrates the deep commitment of LSE staff and students to ethical investment and global justice."

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#BDS: طلبة ينجحون بمنع تجديد عقد كلية لندن للاقتصاد مع شركة مياه إسرائيلية

لندن -معا- تمكن طلبة كلية لندن للاقتصاد العريقة في العاصمة البريطانية من النجاح في إقناع إدارتها بعدم تجديد عقدها مع شركة مياه إسرائيلية، وذلك نتاج حملة قامت بها جمعية فلسطين في الكلية. 

وقالت الجمعية في بيان لها، إن الطلبة في كلية لندن للاقتصاد تمكنوا من تحقيق نصر أخر عبر قرار الجامعة بعدم تجديد عقدها مع شركة "ايدن" للمياه الإسرائيلية، وذلك فقط بعد أسابيع من استقالة رئيسها هوارد ديفيس على خلفية العلاقات مع ليبيا.

ولفتت إلى أن هذا القرار جاء نتاج حملة طويلة الأمد قامت بها الجمعية، منوهة إلى أن الشركة المذكورة تستخدم مياه مرتفعات الجولان السورية المحتلة.

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#BDS: الاتحاد العام للكتّاب والأدباء الفلسطينيين يدعو لمقاطعة مهرجان المغار

رام الله - تعقد جمعية نيسان مهرجاناً دولياً للشعر في قرية المغار في الجليل سنوياً كلّ نيسان، ويقوم عليه نعيم عرايدي، يدعى إليه شعراء من دول مثل روسيا وأوكرانيا وتركيا ورومانيا ومصر والأردن .

تموّل هذه المهرجانات من وزارة الخارجية الاحتلالية التي يقف على رأسها أفيغدور ليبرمان الذي يتشدّق دائماً بعنصرية يهودية ضدّ الشعب الفلسطيني، ويكون وراء كلّ القوانين العنصرية التي تتوالى من الكنيست، وكان آخرها قانون سحب الجنسية. ويقام المهرجان في قرية المغار الفلسطينية، في قاعة تملأ بالأعلام الإسرائيلية ويبرز فيها شعار وزارة ليبرمان بجلاء، بينما يغيب علم فلسطين عن سبق إصرار.

إنّ الاتحاد العام للكتّاب والأدباء الفلسطينيين يدين هذا المهرجان ويرفض أية تسويغات تحاول أن تبرر المشاركة فيه، من قبل بعض الكتّاب، لما في هذا المهرجان من خطورة واستهداف واستدخال للهزيمة، ولما فيه من تبرئة للاحتلال ومؤسساته واستطالاته من دم شعبنا .

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