I'm reprinting the [url=[=red]Call">http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10056.shtml][b]Call of the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee,[/url] issued December 27, 2008, and entitled:
"Stop the massacre in Gaza - boycott Israel now!"
Today, the Israeli occupation army committed a new massacre in Gaza, causing the death and injury of hundreds of Palestinian civilians, including a yet unknown number of school children who were headed home from school when the first Israeli military strikes started. This latest bloodbath, although far more ruthless than all its predecessors, is not Israel's first. It culminates months of an Israeli siege of Gaza that should be widely condemned and prosecuted as an act of genocide against the 1.5 million Palestinians in the occupied coastal strip.
Israel seems intent to mark the end of its 60th year of existence the same way it has established itself -- perpetrating massacres against the Palestinian people. In 1948, the majority of the indigenous Palestinian people were ethnically cleansed from their homes and land, partly through massacres like Deir Yassin; today, the Palestinians in Gaza, most of whom are refugees, do not even have the choice to seek refuge elsewhere. Incarcerated behind ghetto walls and brought to the brink of starvation by the siege, they are easy targets for Israel's indiscriminate bombing.
Prof. Richard Falk, the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and international law expert at Princeton University, described Israel's siege of Gaza last year, when it was still not comparable in its severity to the current situation, as follows:
"Is it an irresponsible overstatement to associate the treatment of Palestinians with this criminalized Nazi record of collective atrocity? I think not. The recent developments in Gaza are especially disturbing because they express so vividly a deliberate intention on the part of Israel and its allies to subject an entire human community to life-endangering conditions of utmost cruelty. The suggestion that this pattern of conduct is a holocaust-in-the-making represents a rather desperate appeal to the governments of the world and to international public opinion to act urgently to prevent these current genocidal tendencies from culminating in a collective tragedy."
The most brutal episode of this "collective tragedy" is what we have seen today.
Israel's war crimes and other grave violations of international law in Gaza as well as in the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, could not have been perpetrated without the direct or indirect complicity of world governments, particularly the United States, the European Union, Egypt, and other Arab regimes.
While the US government has consistently sponsored, bankrolled and protected from international censure Israel's apartheid and colonial policies against the indigenous people of Palestine, the EU was able in the past to advocate a semblance of respect for international law and universal human rights. That distinction effectively ended on 9 December, when the EU Council decided unanimously to reward Israel's criminal disregard of international law by upgrading the EU-Israel Association Agreement. Israel clearly understood from this decision that the EU condones its actions against the Palestinians under its occupation. Palestinian civil society also got the message: the EU governments have become no less complicit in Israel's war crimes than their US counterpart.
The large majority of world governments, particularly in the global south, share part of the blame, as well. By continuing business as usual with Israel, in trade agreements, arms deals, academic and cultural ties, diplomatic openings, they have provided the necessary background for the complicity of world powers and, consequentially, for Israel's impunity. Furthermore, their inaction within the United Nations is inexcusable.
Father Miguel D'Escoto Brockman, President of the UN General Assembly prescribed in a recent address before the Assembly the only moral way forward for the world's nations in dealing with Israel:
"More than 20 years ago we in the United Nations took the lead from civil society when we agreed that sanctions were required to provide a nonviolent means of pressuring South Africa to end its violations. Today, perhaps we in the United Nations should consider following the lead of a new generation of civil society, who are calling for a similar nonviolent campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions to pressure Israel to end its violations."
Now, more than ever, the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee, BNC, calls upon international civil society not just to protest and condemn in diverse forms Israel's massacre in Gaza, but also to join and intensify the international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel to end its impunity and to hold it accountable for its persistent violation of international law and Palestinian rights. Without sustained, effective pressure by people of conscience the world over, Israel will continue with its gradual, rolling acts of genocide against the Palestinians, burying any prospects for a just peace under the blood and rubble of Gaza, Nablus and Jerusalem.
The Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC) includes: Council of National and Islamic Forces in Palestine; General Union of Palestinian Workers; Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions; Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations' Network (PNGO); Federation of Independent Trade Unions; Union of Palestinian Charitable Organizations; Global Palestine Right of Return Coalition; Occupied Palestine and Golan Heights Advocacy Initiative (OPGAI); General Union of Palestinian Women; Palestinian Farmers Union (PFU); Grassroots Palestinian Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign (STW); Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI); National Committee to Commemorate the Nakba; Civic Coalition for the Defense of Palestinian Rights in Jerusalem (CCDPRJ); Coalition for Jerusalem; and Palestinian Economic Monitor.
Comments and ideas are welcome as to how Canadians can support this international movement.
Good post.
Looks like Herr Ryan went too far:
Union representative apologizes for ‘Nazi’ reference
Toronto -- CUPE Ontario's president yesterday said a Nazi reference he used to justify criticism of Israel was "a poor choice of analogy," after a trustee with the Toronto District School Board condemned such references in calling on his board to disavow the union's proposal to ban Israeli academics from the province's post-secondary schools.
"The example I gave was inappropriate and left people with the impression I was trying to compare the people of Israel with the Nazis," said Sid Ryan yesterday.
On Monday Mr. Ryan likened Israel's attack on the Islamic University in Gaza to Nazis targeting educational institutions and burning books in the Second World War. These comments, and similar statements in subsequent media interviews, were met with widespread scrutiny.
However, in an interview with the National Post yesterday evening, Mr. Ryan said he would apologize to "any member of the Jewish community or Israelis who I've offended ... and I know I've offended some people."
Good. Now we can get back to the discussion about sanctioning Israel.
Yes, he can apologize as he killed no one. So, back to the sanctions against Israel ....
You know, it occured to me that last year the Canadian government of Stephen Harper, the one cheering on Israel's murderous rampage through the Palestinian ghetto it created, introduced what it described as the world's "toughest" sanctions against Burma. And you know what? Not a single troll or other poster came on babble to denounce those sanctions nor to complain that Burma was being singled out. Oddly, the same trolls and usual suspects also never criticize sanctions against Cuba by the US as being unfair, racist, and singling out a single state and when was the last time there was an academic exchange between a US university and a Cuban university? Sven? Any idea?
As I said, I think some of those opposed to sanctions are principled in their opposition. I think those that cry "racism" are themselves racist as they are really only interested in defended the racist and cruel occupation and on-going rampage of murder.
Yeah, it's much worse to make a Nazi analogy (something I understand is quite common in Israeli political rhetoric) than it is to support mass slaughter. I mean, heck, the JDL does both (supports mass slaughter of Palestinians AND makes Nazi analogies) but that's okay, right OO?
Any sanction that makes life as uncomfortable for the Israelies as the Israelies make if for the Palestinians seems fair to me at this stage. The trouble is how do we get our politicians to support any kind of sanctions. Any wedge issues that might work to split the political unity on the brutalization of the Palestinians?
Can't do anything about the politicians. Have to work up through the professional organizations, unions and such to build momentum.
I wouldn't support economic sanctions. Having been to several countries that have been on the receiving end of punishing UN sponsored sanctions initiated by western powers, I've witnessed how extreme and tragic it's deprivations can become. Sanctions mostly hurt the people at the bottom of the food chain, and in the case of Israel, it is the occupied people that would suffer the most, far more than they are now. Israel will see to that through revenge. They would close off everything to the Palestinians. Diplomatic, an end to military support, and foreign asset freezes would be far more effective at aiming toward the leadership.
Uhm, they're already doing that without any sanctions. I remember the same argument being made about South Africa but it was the oppressed of South Africa, themselves, who supported sanctions. When people have suffered so, so much, a little more at the hands of friends isn't such a bad thing if it can open the light at the end of the tunnel.
Palestinians in Gaza are already economically sanctioned. What is the difference?
"Can't do anything about the politicians. Have to work up through the professional organizations, unions and such to build momentum."
You could be right with respect to our politicians, they get seasick when their boat rocks a bit in the swell. But I am not sure if one gets far with your suggestions. But you know Israel better then I do. How would it hurt them?
It would be nice if we could get China involved in forcing a solution. They are looking for world recognition and they could make the whole house of cards come tumbling down by getting rid of their American currency. And with the current downward trend in the American economy and the probably huge inflation that could result from the extreme spending increase why hang on to the US dollar when they could demand to be payed in their own currency.
And with the US in the dump Israel will follow in short order. China might not feel quiet ready for that, but it will not be that much longer in my opinion. Their gun boats are practicing on the Somali coast already. How history repeats itself.
Cueball, you brought up the example of South Africa repeatedly by stating that during Apatheid, all SA sports players, whether playing individualy or as representatives of SA, were banned.
However the wiki link in the following seems to differ with that view. According to this link, South African individual players (such as Golfers, tennis players etc) continued participating in international competitions. They were banned only where they participated as South African national team:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sporting_boycott_of_South_Africa
Sanizadeh, your views about the call for boycott? Apart from the issue of banning academics or individuals, which is being treated in other threads?
The worsening of their situation, if that can be imagined, both in Gaza and the West Bank. If Israeli's suffer as a result of economic sanctions, they have already proven time and time again they are capable and quite willing to bring down devastating catastrophy upon the defenceless for far less provocation. If products become scarce in Israeli markets, they will see to it that Palestinian markets are barren. They care nothing about malnourished Gazans unless the act of allowing a few token truckloads of food can help the propaganda effort. If they are forced into a corner through international economic sanctions, the Palestinians would suffer even more than they are now as a result.
Of course you are correct, Sanizadeh, and I can recall that every effort to bar professional SA athletes was met with the same howls of outrage by the same sectors that opposed any sanctions and who now oppose any sanctions against Israel. But, again, these are people who can turn a blind eye to any suffering in the interests of dollars, race, or even an hour of entertainment. It's too bad we can send them and their families to live as Palestinians for a while. It would be interesting to see if their views would change. I read today an entire family of 60 people was wiped out by the Israelis ... in self-defence I'm sure.
Slumberjack, your concern is touching, but the fact remains that it is the mass civil organizations of the Palestinians themselves that have demanded boycott action. Solidarity suggests that we bow to their wishes, rather than applying our superior intellect to say, "Oh, you may think you want that, but trust us, we know better."
Sorry, I thought this wa sthe continuation of the other thread that was closed for length.
The statement you posted was short on details of the call for boycott. What form of boycott or diversification they are calling for?
I'm not here to touch you. Boycotts are different than economic sanctions. If you have it available, I'd like to see where they call for economic sanctions.
[url=[=red]My">http://www.badil.org/Boycott-Statement.htm][b]My pleasure.[/url]
Please look at the highlighted or italicized sections below. I'm sure you will see that ALL OF PALESTINE is asking for these economic and other sanctions. You and I should respect their plea.
Here's an interesting POV from a Palestinian academic, making a case for the boycott:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2007/may/24/highereducation.uk
However, ATU's resolve to move foreward with an academic boycott was thwarted by a legal opinion.
http://www.metimes.com/International/2007/09/30/israel_hails_end_of_uk_a...
I don't understand how a boycott would be considered unlawful. I remember CUPE following ATU's lead without concern about it being an unlawful action.
Anyway, it seems to me that our politicians and media are not going to advance any meaningful protest against Israel's occupation of Palestine or their brutalization of Palestinians. It will be up to NGOs and unions to keep up the fight much like it was in the fight to liberate East Timor from occupation. I support any move that furthers that agenda.
And which confirms our obligation internationally, as allies of the Palestinian people's quest for emancipation, not to second-guess their requests for aid but come forward and help in any way they request.
I guess what you are not getting here is that Israel has actively pursued a program of eliminating Palestinians from the core of the Israeli economy. Previous to 2000, Palestinians played a fundamental role in the Israeli economy, much the same as Black South Africans did. They did the manual labour, the cleaning, and other kinds of semi-skilled labour.
However, the program since 2000 has been to elminate the Palestinian from the economy and isolate them in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Enter the seperation wall, and hieghtened restrictions for Palestinians entering Jerusalem, where they could be part of the labour market.
This cheap labour force has systematically been replaced by foreign "guest workers" from around the world, and the explicit intention is to make the Israeli economy "Palestinian Free". This means a few things. For one thing it means that labour strikes and other kinds of peaceful actions are not actually effective, since of course non-Isreali Arabs no longer work in Israel.
Another thing it has done is cast the Palestinian society into deep poverty, where they are increasingly dependent on international aid. The situation in the West Bank is better, but in fact the Gaza Strip has basically been under economic embargo for the last two years, even from the international aid,
Sanctions and boycotts against Israel, would do little to the Palestinian economy, as Israel has already sanctioned it by boycotting Palestinian labour. The Palestinians have nothing to lose, and almost everything to gain from a boycott, which is why the measure is supported by almost every Palestinian activist group on the planet.
Migration news
Gotta like that. The Israeli government spins depriving Palestinians of the right to work in their own lands as reducing the "dependence of Palestinians on the Israeli labor market".
Beautiful.
More on that here: The Effects of Foreign Guest Workers in Israel on the Labor Market Outcomes of Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip
I do not recall Sid Ryan and other members of CUPE's Ontario University Workers Co-ordinating Committee proposing bans on:
-Palestinian academics from the Islamic University in Gaza who have not publicly disassociated themselves from their elected Hamascontrolled government's policy of firing over 10,000 rockets into Israel (specifically targeting civilian population);
-Lebanese academics who have not publicly disassociated themselves from the Hezbollah (who were members of the elected Lebanese government until 2006) policy of repeatedly firing rockets into northern Israel.
-Iranian academics who have not publicly disassociated themselves from their elected government's policy of denying Israel's right to exist, questioning the Holocaust and subsidizing terrorist organizations around the world.
Somehow, Mr. Ryan and his CUPE colleagues manage to selectively pick on the members of a single ethnic group in their proposed boycotts. There is a name for people practising such selective treatments, and there are regulations in Canada designed to deal with them. I do not think Sid Ryan should be allowed to speak at any publicly funded university in Ontario.
There you go again! One day, Israel is not racialist state, and then the next recomending a boycott against Israeli academics is targetting Jews in general. Can't you at least get your story straight?
Did I miss something? Is it the case that there are no Arab-Israeli academics?
I'd like to address one particular defence put forward by supporters of the proposed academic boycott of Israel who I think are ducking the question of why Israel is being singled out and why not apply the same standards toa cademics from otehr countries that engage in human rights violations (including my country of citizenship and the country that employs me).
The argument that the fact that we're not boycotting EVERY country doesn't mean we shouldn't fight injustice perpetrated by ONE of them. I fully recognize the folly of the logic that "if you can't solve EVERY problem, don't bother trying to solve ANY." However, that simply doesn't apply to this situation and is a complete red herring.
There are things that we can do to affect change that are difficult and costly and there are things that we do which are easy and don't cost a thing. The absurdity of the "if not ALL, then why any?" would apply in SOME situations, but not this one. The fact that I can't afford to give a generous donation to support cancer research AND AIDS research AND heart disease research AND diabetes research shouldn't stop me from making a donation to support cancer research. The fact that I don't ahve time to volunteer at the food bank AND the homeless shelter AND the soup kitchen AND the senior's residence isn't an excuse not to volunteer at the food bank.
But the action proposed by CUPE takes no effort and costs nothing. It literally costs nothing because everyone, CIPE included, knows it will never actually be implemented. It is purely symbolic. So if you're going to take a purely symbolic action - and an easy and cost-free one - why not add other countries to the boycott list? What does it really take for CUPE to do this? 2 extra minutes of typing and an extra sheet of paper (sadly the list of human rights violators is a lengthy one). THIS is the reason that people think israel is being treated unfairly and ahve come to question teh motivations of those behind the proposal.
We wouldn't stand for this in other areas. I imagine, for example, that some people of Italian descent steal cars. People of Italian descent are certainly far from the ONLY group that steals cars. An Italian guy stealing a car isn't inherently morally worse than a Swedish guy or Mexican guy or Japanese guy or Dutch guy stealing a car. It doesn't take any extra effort on my part to condemn ALL car thiefs than it does to condemn ITALIAN ones. So, if I were to put out a public statement specifically condemning "Italian car thiefs", would it maybe be reasonable to suggest that I was treating italians unfairly? Could one plausibly suggest that I may harbour some sort of bigotry towards italians?
Isn't it ironic though, apart from individual divestment, that this can only be effectively achieved through the one of the primary vehicles for international white supremacy, the UN security council. I believe you've mentioned something about the white man's burden on occasion. But then, who are we to second guess a process that has been called for by the emancipated themselves.
Well of course. And it is precisely this institution, which is primarily responsible for this situation, so I see no reason why they should not take responsibility for it.
Intel's most recent microprocessor achievement, the Core i7 architecture, is produced at the factory in Israel. The product is called "Nehalem". I doubt that boycotting that product line will make an impact, but it is an idea.
As far as alternatives - AMD has recently introduced their second-generation quad core, and it keeps up with the Intel products.
http://www.anandtech.com/
has a good review of the AMD alternative to the Israeli-made Intel product, though the website is down part of Thursday.
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http://LASIK-Flap.com ~ Health Warning about LASIK Eye Surgery
[url=http://www.counterpunch.org/bricmont01082009.html]Source[/url]
I don't understand why that should be the case. The Commonwealth played a very effective role (surprisingly) once it began ostracizing the South African apartheid regime. Individual countries can play a very significant role.
But you asked for a source where Palestinian civil society requests economic sanctions. Did you have a chance to review the document I cited?
That depends who stole your car.
Point being ... The issue of concern in this thread is the immediate bombardment and blockade of Palestinians by Israel, the immediate events and possible effective responses to stop the immediate atrocities ... by Israel.
the comparison to Apartheid ... Naomi Klein
http://www.alternet.org/audits/118332/want_to_end_the_violence_in_gaza_b...
"Ronnie Kasrils, a prominent South African politician, said that the
architecture of segregation that he saw in the West Bank and Gaza was
"infinitely worse than apartheid." That was in 2007, before Israel
began its full-scale war against the open-air prison that is Gaza."
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http://LASIK-Flap.com ~ Health Warning about LASIK Eye Surgery
[url=Klein">http://rabble.ca/columnists/want-end-violence-gaza-boycott-israel][...'s article now appears on Rabble.ca.[/][/url]
Does anyone have any realistic suggestion as to how to tackle the two most lucrative sectors of Israel's economy (tourism and arms/technology), which would seem to be hard to crack?
Is there an effective campaign to challenge and refute the mainstream media figures who support Israel-right-or-wrong? (I mean demos, massive email campaigns, pickets)
Thinking of the Argentine "escrache": an effective tool to smoke out former torturers enjoying impunity in their homes and places of business - graffiti, spontaneous demo, pickets, lots of noise and publicity. Personalize the protest.
Re. boycott/sanctions hurting the weakest in a society: I believe that is the case (e.g., Cuba, Zimbabwe, South Africa), and I would support it with a heavy heart, but in this case it would always be a token gesture because the Diaspora will keep on pouring millions into Israel, so I wouldn't worry excessively about the little Israeli children suffering hunger and want from a boycott.
Well, I'm flattered that Naomi Klein has come out in support of my call.
Note Klein's clear insight on this popular riddlers quip:
[IMG]http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/6655/kanoutepalestineso8.jpg[/IMG]
Letter of support from Canadian Union of Postal Workers
Thanks, Maysie! I'm re-posting this in my [url=other">http://rabble.ca/babble/labour-and-consumption/cupe-condemns-israeli-cri... thread[/url] dedicated to such items.
The European Union exports over 500 million euros in weaponry.
France is No. 1.
Sweden is currently not exporting.
All individual country sales are supposed to be justified and cleared in Brussels, but there are loopholes.
A Spanish-language website (rebelion.org) Jan 10 ran an article on this.
Anyone know of English-language sources?
Anyone know of Canadian exports to Israel? This should be a logical target for the boycott and divestment (Canadian companies doing business with Israel).
Anyone have any ideas about tackling essential arms exports to Israel ?
Anyone know the best way(s) to deal with tourism?
Unionist, I forgot about that other thread, thanks for re-posting it.
[url=You">http://coat.ncf.ca/lebanon2006.html][u]You'll find information here.[/url]
Great info re war industries in Canada exporting to Israel !
1993-2002
Anybody know of an update ?
It only lists Libs and Cons. Is that it?
Canada's biggest arms customer is the USA, and Israel is the USA's biggest arms customer. Undoubtedly there is a great deal of Canadian war materiel going to Israel via the USA, with no records or controls.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Mark Regev shut up by Alex Thompson
[url=">http://www.freefilisteen.com/2009/01/mark-regev-sht-up-by-alex-thompson....
You can turn off the music at the top right, next to the moving banner.
The banner contains names of companies doing business in Israel that can be boycotted/picketed, etc.
Here they are from the banner link:
http://inminds.co.uk/boycott-israel.php
I think it's critical that a credible Canadian body come forward with a list for
Canadians to boycott effectively. Even those not actively involved may
stay away from those places if the word gets out strongly enough.
Also, I got this info from a link provided above here">http://www.rabble.ca/comment/977957/M-Spector-wrote-Hoodeet
and I thought it might be useful to anyone organizing pickets, news releases about boycotts, etc:
Military Contractor’s Disclosed
Donations to Canadian Political Parties, 1993-2002
Corporation Totals
Total 7,924,185
Bombardier Inc Dorval 1,347,656
SNC - Lavalin Montréal 1,063,780
Magna International Metro Toronto 438,909
Pratt & Whitney Cda. Longueuil 401,793
Spar Aerospace Ste. Anne de Bellevue 310,098
Atco Ltd. Calgary 299,016
DuPont Cda. Inc. Mississauga 256,459
Nortel Networks Corp Ottawa 204,045
Canadian General Electric Mississauga 197,476
Rio Algom Ltd Toronto 182,961
Suncor Energy Inc Calgary 170,242
MDS Aero Support Ottawa 168,633
Inco Ltd Toronto 132,883
Stelco Inc Hamilton 128,464
MacDonald Dettwiler Richmond 128,246
Cameco Corp Saskatoon 109,304
AMEC Inc. Oakville 102,684
Rockwell Int’l. of Cda. Ottawa 96,708
General Motors Cda, Diesel Div. London 94,805
There are more, but these are the top ones.
-edited to remove icons-
Oops! Sorry about the bandwidth. I thought I was copying just the names ... posted ... doorbell rang ... didn't check ... fixed now.
From AdBusters:
http://www.adbusters.org/blogs/rethink_capitalism_blog/enough_boycott_is...
Quebec Professors and University Employees Call for Boycott
Over 80 professors and employees at colleges and universities in Quebec have signed a petition calling for a comprehensive campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions, including a boycott of Israeli academic institutions. Below is the open letter that they have issued.
[url=Source.[/url]">http://bdsmovement.net/?q=node/275]Source.[/url]
In the wake of Operation Cast Lead, a group of American university professors has for the first time launched a national campaign calling for an academic and cultural boycott of Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1059775.html
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