#BDS Take Action: Pro-BDS Op-Ed Needs Letters to Editor

US Campaign member group WRITE! for Justice, Human Rights, and International Law in Palestine issued the following action alert yesterday. Please respond by writing a letter to the Philadelphia Inquirer in support of Ali Abunimah's op-ed promoting boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS). Click here for more.

#BDS Tunisians to launch campaign against normalization with Israel

Ahmed Kahlaoui, leader of Tunisia's National Committee to Support Arab Resistance to Normalization, has appealed for the awaited Tunisian constitution to include an article outlawing the normalization of relations with Israel. He asserted that the Committee would move to Pardo, set up a protest tent, and stage a sit-in which would continue until its demands have been met.

Kahlaoui was quoted by official Tunisian media on Sunday, January 29, as saying that for the Arab revolutions to succeed, a boycott against Israel must be established because it benefitted from services rendered by the two previous Tunisian regimes.

He emphasized that the Palestinian cause is the cause of all Arabs, noting that his Committee would work, by holding various workshops, to confront the normalization of relations with Israel in all areas.  Source.

#BDS Ana Moura's audience doesn't want her to play Israel

The opinions of Ana Moura’s audience at her recent Glasgow performance were clear, “Don’t perform in Israel – support the appeal from Palestinian civil society for a cultural boycott of Israel.”

From the first member of the audience we spoke to, who had appeared with friends and took extra leaflets to distribute inside, only one single individual mounted a dispirited defence of Israel. An Irish Palestine Solidarity Campaign member had earlier written from Dublin, following Ana Moura’s performance at the Concert Hall there, that the audience were “the most receptive people I’ve ever leafleted,” with a number of people saying that the planned Israel performance “would leave a sour taste."

After Dublin and Glasgow, [Portugese artist] Ana Moura can be in no doubt that her fans want her to honour the call from Palestine for artists to play their part in the growing campaign to isolate the apartheid state. Read more here.

SHAHADAT Publishes Arabic Hip Hop

SHAHADAT Literary Magazine Publishes a Bilingual Translation of Arabic Hip Hop

#BDS "Jordan: Israeli Potato Invasion Revives Resistance to Normalization"

US-led normalization efforts are taking a toll on the Jordanian potato farmers as Israeli potatoes have flooded the market, threatening local farmers’ livelihoods.

Amman – Jordan is in the middle of an intense debate about why its markets were flooded with Israeli potatoes, threatening local products from the Ghor region of the Jordan Valley.

A similar debate emerged during the olive harvest season, when the amount of exported olives from Jordan to Israel had reached 11,480 tons, before they were halted in mid-November.

By then, Israel had received more than 98% of Jordan’s olive exports, according to the agriculture ministry.

The new year has brought an unprecedented flood of Israeli potato shipments to Jordanian markets. This “invasion” was helped by the agriculture ministry’s leniency in giving out import licenses to a large number of importers of Israeli products.

By contrast, the same ministry refused to allow a shipment of Gulf potatoes to enter Jordan. Continue reading here. 

#BDS: #UK Labour Party student officials face backlash over free tour of #Israel, settlements

"A member of the UK’s National Union of Students Executive Council has denounced several youth and student officers from the opposition Labour Party for taking part in an all-expenses-paid tour of Israel and its illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. The Labour students delegation met with Captain Barak Raz, an Israeli army spokesperson and other Israeli officials.

The Union of Jewish Students (UJS), a pro-Israel group, paid for the entire junket. The 4-9 January tour was led by Dan Sheldon, UJS campaigns officer. It included meetings with Tony Blair, the former UK prime minister who now works as a representative of the Middle East “Quartet” (the US, European Union, UN and Russia), and Mark Regev, chief spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu."

Read more

#BDS: Noted French theorist Jacques Rancière cancels #Israel lecture, heeding boycott call

"Noted French philosopher and political theorist Jacques Rancière has canceled a visit to Israel after an appeal by PACBI, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel.

Rancière, emeritus professor of philosophy at the University of Paris VIII and Professor of Philosophy at the European Graduate School in Switzerland, had been scheduled to give a talk at Tel Aviv University on 25 January."

Read more

#BDS: Lara Fabian cancels #Lebanon tour after BDS campaign

"Belgian singer Lara Fabian announced via Facebook on Thursday that she has cancelled her February concert in Lebanon after pro-Palestinian activists campaigned against her visit.

Fabian wrote in a "Love Letter" to her "Lebanese friends" that she "won’t sing under threats" and that she will not "deal with hatred."

The self-confessed pro-Zionist Belgian artist said she "believe(s) in tolerance, generosity and truth" and said Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel (BDS) activists were "living with hatred because they weren’t loved enough."

Al-Akhbar ran a story earlier in the week highlighting a BDS campaign in Lebanon to stop Fabian from performing at the Casino du Liban, citing her pro-Israel activities."

Read more

#BDS: New comprehensive BDS booklet

"Corporate Watch has just published a new, comprehensive booklet for those who are partcipating in the Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) movement. Titled "Targeting Israeli Apartheid," the publication details who is profiting from the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian and Syrian territories as well as Israel's inhumane blockade of the Gaza Strip."

Read more

Download the full booklet

#BDS Duty Free America is responsible for half of Netanyahu's donations

Owners of Duty Free America, a large chain of duty-free shops that operates in 13 airports, pledged half of NIS 330,000 Netanyahu raised.

...The most prominent name among the prime minister's donors is that of the Falics, a well-known family that owns Duty Free Americas, a large chain of duty-free shops that operates in 13 airports and along the United States' northern and southern borders. At one point, the family also owned the Christian Lacroix fashion house.  More here. 

#BDS Activists call for British musician to boycott Israel

Dear James Blake,

We are a group of Israeli citizens who support the Palestinian call for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel. We oppose our government's policies of ethnic cleansing, occupation and apartheid, we strongly believe that international pressure is essential in bringing these crimes to an end and creating an equal and just society in this region. We are, therefore, asking you to cancel your planned show in Tel Aviv on January the 27th.

The state of Israel denies Palestinians their rights and their freedom. To note but a few examples, Palestinians living in the West Bank suffer limitations on their freedom of movement and in many cases are denied the right to access their agricultural land. When they try to protest against the Israeli policies, they face brutal treatment. Their relatives in the Gaza Strip (56% of whom are children) live under an ongoing siege placing strict limitations on their access to food, clean water, medical supplies and construction materials. This state of barbarism takes place only an hour away from your scheduled performance. In the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, 40 minutes away from the scheduled venue, kids are regularly being abducted from their beds in the dead of night and taken into violent police interrogations with no access to their parents or a lawyer.

The call for BDS was issued and signed by over 170 civil society organizations, representing all sectors of the Palestinian people: exiled refugees, those under a harsh military occupation, and those who remained in what later became the State of Israel. This non-violent initiative was inspired by a similar campaign of the indigenous people of South Africa against the former case of apartheid back there. Unlike its predecessor, however, the Palestinian BDS movement does not target Israeli individuals. It chooses instead to focus on public events that promote a facade of normalcy as well as targeting complicit institutions.
By performing in Israel, you will be lending your voice to the promotion and legitimization of a brutal military occupation as well as the siege of Gaza, a regime based on ethnic-supremacy and systematic discrimination, and the continued expulsion of Palestinian refugees. Many artists and public figures are now publicly supporting the cultural boycott of Israel which is backed by almost the entire community of Palestinian cultural workers. Notable amongst those who chose to speak in support of BDS are Roger Waters, David R. Randall, Maxi Jazz of Faithless, Elvis Costello, filmmakers Ken Loach and Mike Leigh, prominent activist Archbishop Desmond Tutu and many more. Others, who have already preformed here, declared that they shall not do so again and even expressed their regret for their choice to perform here. Macy Gray stated that: "I had a reality check and I stated that I definitely would not have played there if I had known even the little that I know now."

In the past month, many fans and activists have addressed you on this matter and many comments have been made on your Facebookand Twitter accounts. These fans wrote many comments, which you have refrained from addressing and your representatives have chosen to delete or ignore. Sending a green light to apartheid is a stain that will not be erased by hitting the delete button. Dear James, the picket line has been clearly marked and we now ask you to decide: Which side are you on?

Please stand by the oppressed and refuse to play in apartheid Israel, until it complies with international law and respects the three fundamental rights of the Palestinians - equality, freedom and return.  Original source here. 

#Solidarity Massive march organized in Jakarta in support of the Aqsa

JAKARTA, (PIC)-- Tens of thousands took part in a massive rally in front of the UN office in Jakarta in support of the Aqsa mosque and in rejection of the Israeli Judaization of the holy city of Jerusalem. Palestinian MP Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Jamal, who is on a visit to Indonesia which started a few days ago, delivered a speech at the rally warning of a “ferocious Zionist” campaign to Judaize occupied Jerusalem. He underlined that the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) was expanding its excavations under the holy Aqsa mosque, changing landmarks and names, and demolishing and confiscating land and property at a rapid, daily pace. Jamal said that the IOA was trying to empty the holy city of its indigenous people topped by their leaders, citing the banishment of Jerusalemite MPs Mohammed Abu Tir and Ahmed Attoun. The MP urged the Arabs, Muslims, and the Indonesian people to act in support of the Palestine cause and to swiftly intervene to defend occupied Jerusalem in face of the Judaization campaign.  Original source. 

#BDS Protest rallies waiting for Netanyahu in the Netherlands

AMSTERDAM, (PIC)-- Palestinian activists in the Netherlands called for protest rallies against the visit of Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu to Amsterdam. The Palestine home in Holland on Monday invited protestors to gather in front of the Dutch parliament next Thursday morning.  It said in a statement that demonstrating against the visit “is the least we can do against this criminal”, and against crimes committed by Israeli leaders against the Palestinian people. It urged participants to hoist Palestinian flags and placards denouncing the visit and occupation in addition to bringing “old shoes”.  Original source. 

#BDS Lebanese activists want Lara Fabian concert ban after pro-Israel gig

The Lebanese government is under pressure to ban a prominent Belgian singer from appearing in Lebanon after footage emerged of her performing at an event to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Israel.

Lara Fabian, a Belgian-Italian classical singer who has sold over 15 million records worldwide, is due to perform two concerts at Casino du Liban in Jounieh on the 14th and 15th of February, with tickets costing between US$200 and US$500.

YouTube videos have emerged showing the singer performing at a concert in France in 2008 to celebrate the creation of Israel in 1948.

In the concert, directed by her fiance Gerard Pulliccino, Fabian sang in Hebrew in front of images of various Israeli leaders, settlements and other iconography.

After her song finished she reportedly shouted: “I love you Israel” to the crowd. She has also performed in Israel on a number of occasions and attended pro-Zionist meetings.  Read more here. 

#BDS Palestinians Hold Third National BDS Conference

Last month, the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank hosted the Third National Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Conference. The Conference centered on BDS as a means of nonviolent popular resistance and addressed some key issues currently confronting the movement, both locally and internationally. Below is the Conference Report, published by the Palestinian BDS National Committee.

On 17 December 2011, Palestinians gathered in the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank for the Third National Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions  (BDS) Conference. The event took place against the backdrop of continuous Israeli violations of Palestinian rights, and a growing resistance against injustice worldwide as demonstrated by the Arab revolutions and the occupy movements.  Just minutes away from the conference venue, 500 Jewish settlers live under escort of the Israeli military in a colonial enclave in the middle of old Hebron, terrorizing local Palestinian residents on a daily basis, with the stated intent of driving them from their homes. Hebron is also an important commercial center in Palestine, and thus was a fitting venue to hold the national BDS conference, after it was held in Nablus and Ramallah in previous years.

The day started early with about 500 Palestinians from all corners of the West Bank, as well as 48 Palestinians representing a diverse sector of civil society including trade unions, student and women groups, academics, cultural workers and NGOs, all uniting under the banner of BDS.

There was also a visible international presence as well as that of Israeli partners who have responded to the 2005 BDS call.  Notable was the absence of representation from Gaza, under an Israeli imposed siege, and refugees outside historic Palestinian, although their contribution to the movement was acknowledged.

The conference was an opportunity to take stock of the movement’s achievements worldwide, and to develop strategies to face the challenges ahead. The BDS movement witnessed impressive growth in 2011. Achievements include the withdrawal of German company Deutsche Bahn from construction of the A1 train line connecting Jerusalem to Tel Aviv; the forced closure of settlement company Ahava’s London flagship store and the loss of a $10 bn contract by French company Alstom in Saudi Arabia as a result of its role in the construction of the illegal Jerusalem Light Rail in occupied Jerusalem. 2011 was also the year when Israel’s foremost agricultural export company and a major BDS target – Agrexco – went bankrupt thanks in part to a sustained Europe-wide campaign.  To read more click here.