#BDS: Palestinian Prisoners Score Heroic Victory #PalHunger

Struggle to End Israel’s Oppression and International Complicity Continues

15 May 2012 -- Nearly a month into the Palestinian prisoners' hunger strike, a historic victory has been achieved, as Israeli authorities were forced to comply with the prisoners’ main demands. Coinciding with the Palestinian commemoration of the 64^th anniversary of the Nakba, the systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing that uprooted most Palestinians from their homeland around 1948, the prisoners’ victory has heightened hope about the prospects for Palestinian freedom, justice, self determination and the return of refugees.

This important triumph for the Palestinian popular struggle could not have been reached without the unwavering resolve of the prisoners themselves, grassroots mobilization in their support in Palestine, and the immense wave of effective solidarity and calls for holding Israel accountable that the strike has triggered around the world.

More than a thousand people around the globe have pledged to undertake a 24-hour hunger strike in solidarity with the prisoners, to take place this Thursday. While the solidarity hunger-strike has been called off, due to the prisoners' victory, injustice and illegal repression continue in Israeli prisons.

Emphasizing imprisonment as a critical component of Israel’s system of occupation, colonialism and apartheid practiced against the Palestinian people, Palestinian civil society and human rights organizations have called for intensifying the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign to target corporations profiting directly from the Israeli prison system. In particular, we call for action to be taken to hold to account G4S, the world’s largest international security corporation, which helps to maintain andprofit from Israel’s prison system, for its complicity with Israeli violations of international law.

Please click here to demand G4S ends its involvement in the Israeli prison system and its complicity in violations of Palestinian human rights.

Signed:Popular Struggle Coordination Committee
Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC)

#BDS Palestinian writers call for boycott of Jerusalem int’l writers’ fest, Eleanor Kilroy

As hunger striking Palestinian prisoners, Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahla, mark their 75th day without food today in protest against detention without charge, solitary confinement and restrictions on family visits in Israeli jails, the 3rd International Writers' Festival begins in Jerusalem. According to a statement released on Thursday by the General Union of Palestinian Writers, the festival "sends a clear message to the world that the 'Israeli cultural establishment’ is an integral part of the 'Israeli colonial establishment’: the first wages war on Palestinian memory, while the latter continues its war against Palestinian existence." Read more here.

BDS roundup: 10,000 signatures delivered to Irish corporation demanding divestment from Israeli contracts

This week in BDS news around the world: 10,000 signatures delivered to Irish building materials corporation demanding divestment from Israeli business contracts; a call for 24 hours of hunger in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails; and more!  Read more here.

#BDS: Join Global 24 hour hunger strike in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners #PalHunger

Their Fate is in Our HandsMay 17th: 24 hours of hunger in solidarity
with Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails

Coming Thursday, May 17, will mark a month to the hunger strike, with over 2,000 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails participating in it. As Israel refuses to accept the prisoners' demands for their basic rights, including humane treatment, many of them face immediate risk of death as the world watches over in silence.

The prisoners have decided to live in dignity or starve to death in their isolation cells, and a global mobilization is urgently needed to break the deafening silence! A month into the hunger strike, join a

Global 24-hour hunger strike

In front of Israeli embassies, consulates and UN offices

May 17, 2012

Endorse the Palestinian civil society call for a boycott of G4S due to its complicity inIsrael’s violations of Palestinian prisoners’ rights

Click here to pledge to join the Global 24-hour hunger strikeEmail if you are organizing a sit-in in your community

Background 
More than two weeks ago, some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners have launched an open-ended hunger strike and their life is in danger. Their demands are simple and the strike's slogan, echoing through the prison walls, is just as plain- freedom or death. The lives of all prisoners on strike are currently under danger, but among them is a smaller group, which has been striking for a longer period and whose lives are under immediate threat.

Thaer Halahleh and Bilal Diab have not eaten for more than 70 days - since the 29th of February. Israeli courts have rejected their appeals and refused to free them from administrative detention where they remain without charge or trial, subject to secret evidence and secret allegations. They are in critical condition.

Hassan Safadi has been refusing food since the 2nd of March, Omar Abu Shalal, 54, since the 4th of March, Mahmoud Sarsak, the only Gazan to have been incarcerated under Israel's Illegal Combatants Law, since the 24th of March, Mohammed al-Taj, 40, also since the 24th of March and Ja'afar Ezzadeen, 41, since the 27th of march.

The Prisoners' key demands include:

• Ending the policy of solitary confinement and isolation;
• End to the use of administrative detentions;
• The restoration of visitation rights to families of prisoners from the Gaza Strip, a right that has been denied to all families for more than 6 years;
• Canceling ‘Shalit’ law, which restricts prisoners' access to educational materials as punitive measure. The law remains intact despite a prisoner swap deal last October.
• Ending systematic humiliation, including arbitrary strip searches, nightly raids and collective punishment.

Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike have been hit hard with retaliation from Israel Prison Services, including beatings, transferring from one prison to another, confiscation of salt (anact that could have severe health consequences for hunger strikers), denial of family andlawyer visits, and isolation and solitary confinement of hunger strikers.

In response, Human Rights Watch issued a statement chiding Israel’s over its administrative detention policy; it said, “It shouldn’t take the self-starvation of Palestinian prisoners for Israel to realize it is violating their due process rights." Amnesty International also issued a call forurgent action from individuals around the world to contact Israeli authorities about Bilal Diaband Thaer Halahleh.

Emphasizing imprisonment as a critical component of Israel’s system of occupation, colonialism and apartheid practiced against the Palestinian people, Palestinian civil society and human rights organizations have called for intensifying the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign to target corporations profiting directly from the Israeli prison system. In particular, we call for action to be taken to hold to account G4S, the world’s largest international security corporation, which helps to maintain and profit from Israel’s prisonsystem, for its complicity with Israeli violations of international law.

Signed:Popular Struggle Coordinating Committee
Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC)

#BDS: Egyptian presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq says willing to visit #Israel

"Ahmed Shafiq, the last prime minister of the Mubarak era, who is currently in campaigning in the Egyptian presidential election, said Wednesday that he will be willing to visit Israel if it proves beneficial for Cairo.

"I would be willing to visit hell if it serves Egypt's interests," he said."

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#BDS: بريطانيا تلغي مشاركة خبير إسرائيلي بمؤتمر دولي

ألغت نقابة الخدمات الصحية الوطنية في بريطانيا مساء اليوم الإثنين، مشاركة المحامي الإسرائيلي والخبير في المفاوضات وإدارة الأزمات "موطي كريستال"، في مؤتمر دولي سيعقد الأسبوع القادم بمدينة مانشستر البريطانية، في أعقاب قرار اتحاد النقابات البريطانية اعتبار هذه المشاركة خرقا للمقاطعة التي تفرضها النقابات على إسرائيل.

وذكرت صحيفة "يديعوت احرونوت" أن اتحاد النقابات البريطانية UNISON تصر على موقفها المقاطع لإسرائيل بالرغم من الضغوطات الداخلية والخارجية التي تمارس عليها، مشيرة إلى أن الغاء المحاضرة جاء بالرغم من أن الدعوة تمت من قبل منظمة NHS وهي منظمة تحظى بدعم حكومي وتعارض مبدئيا فرض الحظر على إسرائيل.

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#BDS: Olympia Dukakis to perform in #Israel

"American actress Olympia Dukakis on Thursday arrived in Israel as a guest of the annual international theatre festival held at the Cameri Theatre. Dukakis will perform "Rose" - a one-woman play by Martin Sherman.

"Rose" is a monologue of a Jewish Holocaust survivor, who lost her daughter in World War II and sits shiva for a Palestinian girl who was shot by her grandson."

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#BDS: Barenboim's #Qatar concert cancelled

"Qatari authorities decided to cancel the performance of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra which is conducted by Daniel Barenboim a known supporter of the Palestinian cause. So why has the concert been cancelled? That depends on who you ask.

The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra was established by Barenboim and Palestinian-American Edward Said. It includes Palestinian and Israeli members and is based in Berlin."

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#BDS: Bobby McFerrin to perform in #Israel

"Vocalist, composer and conductor Bobby McFerrin will perform inTel Aviv as part of the White City Music Festival starting Tuesday.

McFerrin is slotted to hold four shows and host 37 Israeli musicians, including Idan Raichel, Achinoam Nini and the Mayumana group, among others. The performances are to be held at Tel Aviv's Hangar 11 venue."

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#BDS: منظمات التطبيع الفلسطينية الإسرائيلية في تراجع

قبل أيام أطلق التحالف المسمى “تحالف العائلات الثكلى” مبادة عبر الفيسبوك أسمها “شق في الجدار”، المبادرة تهدف لفتح المجال للفلسطينيين والإسرائيليين للحوار المباشر، وللتغلب على حواجز اللغة من خلال توفير خاصية الترجمة من العربية إلى العربية وبالعكس، المبادرة جاءت في ظل شعور منظمات التطبيع إن إمكانية الحوار بين الفلسطينيين والإسرائيليين في تراجع بشكل مقلق جداً.

وهذا القلق موجود لدى كافة المنظمات الإسرائيلية العاملة في إطار التطبيع بين الفلسطينيين والإسرائيليين، وهذا ما عرضه تحقيق نشر في صحيفة “هآرتس” العبرية تحت عنوان ” مل الفلسطينييون من الحديث عن الرياضة مع الإسرائيليين”.

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#BDS: دانيال بارنبويم: المايسترو الطيّب يحجب جرائم إسرائيل

تلقّى الرأي العام العربي بارتياح نبأ إلغاء «مهرجان الدوحة للموسيقى والحوار» الذي كان مشرّعاً للاحتلال، تحت غطاء الفنّ. لكن قرار اللحظات الأخيرة تفادياً للإحراجات، في وقت باتت فيه قطر «سبونسور» الربيع العربي، لا يلغي النقاش حول التطبيع الثقافي والموسيقي الإسرائيلي الذي ورّطنا بـ«صداقته» المفكّر الراحل إدوارد سعيد

عمر البرغوثي

إنّ خبر إلغاء قطر لاستضافة موسيقيين إسرائيليين على ضوء «التطورات السياسية الراهنة في المنطقة العربية» ربما كان سيعتبر طبيعياً ولا يستأهل التوقف عنده لولا وجود ملف طويل من مظاهر التطبيع القطري- الإسرائيلي والعربي- الإسرائيلي المستمر في مجالات عدة، حتى في ظل الثورات الشعبية العربية. رغم كل شيء، رحبت «الحملة الفلسطينية للمقاطعة الأكاديمية والثقافية لإسرائيل» PACBI بهذا الإلغاء القطري للحدث التطبيعي وحثت الدول العربية على ترجمة موقفها الرسميّ المؤيد لحقوق الشعب الفلسطيني إلى سياسات ملموسة وفعالة لإنهاء مختلف أشكال التطبيع مع دولة الاحتلال والأبارتهايد والمساهمة في «الحملة العالمية لمقاطعة إسرائيل وسحب الاستثمارات منها وفرض العقوبات عليها»، المعروفة بـ BDS.

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#BDS: Apartheid is not Fair Play... Boycott #Adidas!

"Palestinian civil society warmly
welcomes the declaration of the Arab Youth and Sports Council of
Ministers in support of a boycott of Adidas due to its sponsorship of an
Israeli marathon that violates international law and whitewashes Israel’s
illegal occupation of Jerusalem.[1] Particularly praiseworthy is the
consequent decision by the Egypt Football Association to boycott Adidas
despite the financial penalties it will incur as a result of doing so. [2] The
BNC calls for an international boycott of Adidas until such time as it ends
its involvement in the so-called “Jerusalem Marathon” as well as in any
other Israeli events that serve to  whitewash  Israel’s  ethnic cleansing of
the city and violations of international law."

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#BDS: In Defense of UCLA Professor David Shorter and All Scholars Who Support the Academic and Cultural Boycott of #Israel

"In March 2012, Tammi Rossman-Benjamin and Leila Beckwith, the co-founders of an anti-Palestinian organization known as the “Amcha Initiative,” emailed a letter to California politicians and administrators of the University of California that accused UCLA Professor David Shorter of misusing campus resources for “the purpose of promoting the academic and cultural boycott of Israel” to students in his course, “Tribal Worldviews”[1]. That course, which was offered in winter 2012, explores indigenous struggles around the world and the use of global media and arts to mobilize for indigenous rights.  Dr. Shorter’s course site included dozens of links to websites, articles, petitions, and videos, as examples of indigenous and activist campaigns, including a link to the website of the U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (USACBI), a campaign which Professor Shorter himself has endorsed along with hundreds of other faculty members from universities across the country [2]."

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#BDS: #Egypt وفد مصري يختتم زيارة لإسرائيل

اختتم وفد دبلوماسي مصري برئاسة محمود الديب مساعد وزير الخارجية لشؤون الأمن اليوم الجمعة زيارة لإسرائيل استغرقت أياما عديدة، وتأتي الزيارة بعد أقل من أسبوع على اتخاذ مصر قرارا بإلغاء اتفاق تصدير الغاز الطبيعي الذي يجمعها مع إسرائيل.

والتقى الديب خلال زيارته عددا من المسؤولين الإسرائيليين حيث بحث معهم مختلف الأمور الأمنية الخاصة بتأمين مقر السفارة المصرية في إسرائيل، إلى جانب بحث ملفات عدة حول العلاقات المصرية الإسرائيلية.

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#BDS: حملة مقاطعة داعمي «إسرائيل»: امتحنْ إنسانيتك يا أزنافور!

شارل أزنافور، الفنّان الفرنسيّ الأرمنيّ الشهير، سيطلق العنانَ لصوته في سماء لبنان، في السادس من تموز، في مهرجانات جونية. أزنافور فنّانٌ له عشّاقُه ومقدّروه الكثيرون، لكنّ ذلك لا يَحْجب تصريحاته "الإنسانيّة ذاتَ المعيار الواحد".

فلقد طلب إلى إسرائيل الاعترافَ بالمجزرة الأرمنيّة الرهيبة، لكنه تجاهل المجازرَ التي ارتكبتها ــ على مدى أكثر من ستة عقود ــ في حقّ الشعبين الفلسطينيّ واللبنانيّ والشعب العربيّ عامّةً. وإذا كان أزنافور لا يهتمّ إلا بأبناء قومه، فقد كان حريّاً به، على الأقلّ، أن يلتفتَ إلى الانتهاكات ضدّ الأرمن في فلسطين المحتلة.

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