Youth Against Normalization

Nov 29, 2011

BDS: Law suit filed after 'Boycott Israel' ads blocked in Michigan

"The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit against an Ann Arbor bus agency after it refused to allow an ad that says, "Boycott Israel."

The lawsuit filed today in federal court in Detroit claims the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority is violating the free-speech rights of Blaine Coleman, who wants to put the ad on buses near the University of Michigan.

The lawsuit says the bus agency's board met Nov. 17 and rejected the ad, claiming it violates a policy against ads that ridicule people or groups."

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BDS: بيان من جمعية مناهضة الصهيونية والعنصرية حول تزايد التطبيع الرسمي الأردني مع العدو الصهيوني

لاحظت جمعية مناهضة الصهيونية والعنصرية تزايد التطبيع الرسمي الأردني مع العدو الصهيوني خلال الأيام الماضية، وقد تجلى ذلك مثلاً من خلال استقبال السفير الصهيوني في عمان دانييل نيفو في وزارة المياه الأردنية في 22/11/2011، حيث أشارت تقارير صحيفة أنه تباحث مع وزير المياه الأردني موسى الجمعاني في مشروع ناقل البحر الأحمر، كما تجلى في استدعاء رئيس دولة الكيان الصهيوني شمعون بيريز إلى عمان يوم 28/11/2011 ولقاء الملك عبدالله الثاني معه، حيث أشارت تقارير صحفية إلى أن الحديث تطرق لسبل إعادة إحياء “عملية السلام” وفقاً لما يسمى “مبادرة السلام العربية” التي أعطت الجامعةُ العربيةُ الكيانَ الصهيونيَ مهلةً مفتوحةً لقبولها على ما يبدو!!

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#BDS: مقاضاة أنصار المقاطعة

في البدء، أوجّه تحيّة عرفان وتقدير إلى سماح إدريس ومركز 'عائدون' وجميع القوى اللبنانيّة المناهضة للتطبيع والمؤيّدة لمقاطعة إسرائيل. إنهم الوجه المشرق للبنان الذي يتبنّى سلاحَ المقاطعة كشكل رئيس من أشكال المقاومة المدنيّة السلميّة، لا تضامناً مع الشعب الفلسطينيّ فقط، بل أيضاً نضالاً ضدّ الاحتلال الإسرائيليّ المستمرّ للبنان، ومناهضةً للمحاولات الجارية من قِبل البعض لتطبيع العلاقات بشكل غير مباشر مع هذا الاحتلال.
يبدو أنّ بعضَ اللبنانيين قد نسوا أو تناسوْا أنّ إسرائيل ليست عدوَّ الشعب الفلسطينيّ وحسب، بل عدوّ الشعب اللبنانيّ والسوريّ والمصريّ والأردنيّ وكافّة الشعوب العربيّة أيضاً. لا مجال هنا لتذكير هؤلاء بكلّ ما اقترفته إسرائيل في حقّ شعب لبنان من جرائم منذ إقامتها في نكبة 1948 وتشريدها لمعظم الشعب الفلسطينيّ، ولكنْ تكفي الإشارةُ إلى أنّ تحرير مزارع شبعا اللبنانيّة وعودة اللاجئين الفلسطينيين إلى ديارهم التي شُرّدوا منها يبقيان ضمن أعلى أولويّات العمل الوطنيّ اللبنانيّ حسب برامج كلّ الأحزاب الوطنيّة في لبنان.

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BDS: الصحة العالمية تقرر نقل مؤتمرها من القدس الى تل ابيب- وانسحاب النرويج

غزة- معا- قررت منظمة الصحة العالمية نقل مؤتمرها الاقليمي الأول من مدينة القدس الى تل ابيب نتيجة الضغوطات والاحتجاجات من الداخل والخارج، فيما قررت النرويج الانسحاب من المؤتمر.

وقالت وزارة الصحة بالحكومة المقالة في تصريح مقتضب وصل لـ"معا": نتيجة الضغوطات من الداخل والخارج منظمة الصحة العالمية تقرر نقل المؤتمر الاقليمي الأول الى مدينة تل الربيع، وتحويله من مؤتمر الى لقاء تقني ومنع التغطية الاعلامية وانسحاب النرويج من المؤتمر".

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#BDS Streisand to sing at Israeli soldier benefit in LA

Streisand to sing at Israeli soldier benefit in LA

Rare performance: Barbra Streisand will play a Dec. 8 LA gala for the Israel Defense Forces. Hosted by Jason Alexander, who is going to forge the two-state solution. Sponsored by Haim Saban. (Hebrew link) She's a big Democrat, right? So's Saban, more or less. No Christian Zionists in sight. Here's Barbra talking about Bill Clinton's dedication to human rights. And kids in Africa, and global climate change. Progressive except Palestine. This is what J Street is up against, inside the Jewish community. And what America is up against. Read more here.

#BDS success or health problem? MF DOOM mysteriously cancels Tel Aviv show

BDS success or health problem? MF DOOM mysteriously cancels Tel Aviv show

According to Walla!, the producer of the Tel Aviv show said that Doom was suffering from heart trouble and canceled additional shows. He remarked that the cancellation was not due to political causes and that he anticipated that Doom would reschedule. In the meantime, ticket holders to the Tel Aviv show, which was scheduled to be held at the Block on Saturday night, could get a refund.

While MF Doom does have a history of heart trouble, the cancellation fueled speculation that Doom had answered the Palestination Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) call to boycott. PACBI published an open letter to Doom on November 11, just over two weeks before he was schedule to perform.

#BDS Europeans hold 60 ‘Boycott Israel’ actions in 10 countries

Europeans hold 60 ‘Boycott Israel’ actions in 10 countries
Organizers of the campaign claim that fruit and vegetable imports from Israeli settlements facilitate violations of Palestinian rights and international law. The campaign is focused on leading Israeli fruit and vegetable exporters Mehadrin and Agrexco, among others.

Demonstrations were held outside the British and French headquarters of leading Israeli fruit and vegetable exporter Mehadrin, which exports produce from illegal Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory, and which activists say works with state owned company Mekerot to deprive Palestinian communities of water. Campaigners in Rome organized a Palestine contingent on a national demonstration for affordable access to water.

Jamal Juma’, coordinator with Stop the Wall, the Palestinian anti-apartheid wall campaign that is currently working to support Al Hadidiye, a Bedouin community in occupied Palestinian territory recently served with demolition orders by the Israeli authorities, said, “The residents of Al Hadidye are denied access to water and can only rear livestock as a result. In the nearby illegal settlements of Ro’I and Beqa’ot, agricultural produce is grown with an abundance of stolen water for export to Europe by Mehadrin and other companies, and it is these companies that stand to benefit from the threatened demolitions at Al Hadidye.”

“Companies like Mehadrin profit from and are often directly involved in the ongoing colonisation of Palestinian land and theft of our resources. Trade with such companies constitutes a major form of support for Israel’s apartheid regime over the Palestinian people and must be brought to an end,” Juma’ added. Read more here.

#BDS DePaul University Students Declare Victory in Sabra Hummus Campaign

DePaul University Students Declare Victory in Sabra Hummus Campaign
Just prior to Thanksgiving, US Campaign coalition member group DePaul University Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) announced an important victory in its campaign against the sale of Sabra hummus in university dining halls. Earlier this year, DePaul SJP launched a campaign to have Sabra hummus removed from campus dining halls because it is partially owned by the Strauss Group, which provides material and financial support to Israeli military units. After an inquiry into the activities of the Strauss Group, the university elected to continue selling Sabra hummus. However, the university has quietly introduced the sale of an alternative brand of hummus in the university's dining halls providing students with the opportunity to make ethical consumer purchases. Read more here.

#BDS PCHR Strongly Condemns WHO’s Decision to Conduct a Conference in Jerusalem

PCHR Strongly Condemns WHO’s Decision to Conduct a Conference in Jerusalem
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns in the strongest possible terms the decision of WHO Europe to conduct an official conference in Jerusalem, hosted by Israel. The first World Health Organisation (WHO) European Conference on the New European Policy for Health is to take place on the 28–29 November 2011.

Nov 28, 2011

#BDS: 'It's hard to connect this way, as politics [AND ISRAELI BOMBS] always gets in the way''

"The 2011 Speaking Arts Conference, which was held in Jerusalem last week, attempted to bring together dozens of Jewish and Palestinian artists involved in performing arts (music, theater and movement). The conference featured open performances, workshops and mater classes held in a variety of auditoriums across the city.

The music workshops were led by musician and composer Sameer Makhoul, and the opening concert at the Masie House Theater Center was presented by Achinoam Nini and Gili Dor, with Arab dancer Mona Mashi'l."

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#BDS: #Engelbert to Perform in #Israel Next Month

"Engelbert Humperdinck is not at the height of his career right now, but that hasn't stopped pro-Palestinian elements from targeting him with the same pressures experienced by any foreign artist planning to perform in Israel.

The British pop singer has been facing an anti-Israel campaign in recent weeks, trying to convince him to cancel his scheduled performance at Tel Aviv's Nokia Arena on December 1."

#BDS: London Boycott Israel Committee Launches ‘Take Apartheid off the Menu’

"The Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC) in London and other European cities Saturday started its campaign 'Take Apartheid off the Menu: A European Day of Action against Israeli Agricultural Exporters,' according to campaign activists.

The activities in the UK included spreading brochures, raising banners in front of major shopping centers in more than 20 locations, such as London, Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham and Oxford.

BNC called European shoppers not to purchase Israeli agricultural products, especially those made in settlements in the Palestinian Territory, particularly after the organization succeeded in forcing importing enterprises in UK to specify the source companies, whether from

Israel

or Israeli settlements on Palestinian land."

#BDS: Chicagoans Show Support for Boycotting Israeli Goods and Apartheid

"On the morning of Black Friday - the single largest shopping day of the year - demonstrators went through three of the busiest shopping centers in Chicago: H&M, Nordstrom and the Water Tower Place Mall. The demonstrators asked holiday shoppers to think of the ethics behind their purchases, and organized brief two-minute chants in favor of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israeli apartheid and advocated a consumer boycott of Israeli products.

Specifically, this holiday season, they singled out five brands: American Apparel, H&M, Ahava, The Body Shop and Soda Stream. As they chanted, several shoppers walked out, expressing support and recognizing that their purchases should not lend financial assistance to corporations upholding Israel’s discriminatory and forcibly violent - not to mention generally-illegal - policies of colonial apartheid.

The demonstrations were led by the group Chicagoans for Palestinian Rights (CPR) and joined by Palestine Soldiarity Group (PSG) and members of various Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapters (DePaul University, Northwestern University and University of Chicago) as well as unaffiliated community members.

Palestine solidarity activist and University of Chicago doctoral student Ishan Chakrabarti explained, “Some of these companies, like Ahava, The Body Shop and Soda Stream produce goods in the occupied Palestinian territories, on stolen land with stolen resources. Still others, like American Apparel and H&M, profit from apartheid and turn oppression into money by opening numerous stores in Israel on land which was ethnically cleansed of Palestinians by Zionist settlers in 1948. All partake and invest in an ethically bankrupt system.”

In Chicago, the consumer boycott of Israel has seen recent success at DePaul University, where students successfully lobbied the university to allow them the choice of purchasing either Sabra Hummus (produced by the Strauss group, which supports two divisions of the Israeli Defense Forces implicated in human rights abuses) or an alternate brand.

“Each time, the message is the same: don’t buy into apartheid,” said Chakrabarti."

Nov 11, 2011

#BDS: قضيّة بلاسيبو في بيروت درس في الديموقراطيّة

يحار المرء كيف يتعامل مع الدعوى التي رفعها جهاد المرّ ضدّ شخصيّات ومؤسسات لبنانيّة وعربيّة وعالميّة، في إطار ما بات يُعرف بـ «قضيّة بلاسيبو» (راجع ص 15). النقاش حولها له فضائل تربويّة أكيدة على مستوى الحياة الديموقراطيّة، فيما هي مخالفة لمنطق الديموقراطيّة الذي يضمن حريّة التعبير، ويحترم الحقّ في الاختلاف. نكتب ذلك، متجاهلين أيّة خلفيّات تتجاوز السعي إلى تعويض الأرباح الضائعة التي يدّعيها المرّ، وقد انتظر سنة كاملة قبل اللجوء إلى القضاء.

تعود الحكاية إلى صيف ٢٠١٠، حين دعت شركته «تويو توسي»، فريق الروك البريطاني إلى إحياء حفلة في بيروت، على طريق عودته من فلسطين التاريخيّة المحتلّة. لم تصغِ فرقة «بلاسيبو» إلى الأصوات العربيّة والعالميّة التي طالبتها بالعدول عن زيارة الكيان الغاصب، أيّاماً قليلة بعد مجزرة أسطول الحريّة التي عزلته عالميّاً. وكان أن دعت جمعيّات في لبنان إلى مقاطعة حفلة الـ «فوروم دو بيروت»، حيث نظّمت وقفة احتجاجيّة مساء العرض. كيف تحوّل هذا التحرّك الهادئ عملاً تخريبيّاً؟

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#BDS: جهاد المرّ «يدعم» معركة المقاطعة

في انتظار تعيين الجلسة الأولى في الدعوى التي رفعها عليهم مدير شركة «تويو توسي»، أجمع نشطاء المقاطعة على شكر المدّعي لكونه بثّ روحاً جديدة في حملتهم

سناء الخوري

أيام قليلة تفصل رئيس تحرير مجلّة «الآداب» سماح إدريس و«حملة مقاطعة داعمي إسرائيل في لبنان» و«مركز حقوق اللاجئين عائدون»، و«الحملة العالمية لمقاطعة اسرائيل، وسحب الاستثمارات منها، وفرض العقوبات عليها» BDS، عن تحديد موعد للجلسة الأولى في الدعوى التي رفعها عليهم رجل الأعمال اللبناني جهاد المرّ. عطلة عيد الأضحى أخّرت الإجراءات القضائية الروتينيّة، لكنّها لم تنزع عن القضيّة طابعها الساخن.

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