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NO TO GOOGLE! // NO TO OCCUPATION!! — PHOTO ESSAY
January 22, 2013 at 08:29 (Activism, Associate Post, International Solidarity, Israel, Occupation, Palestine, Photography)
AN APPEAL TO ALL JEWS OF CONSCIENCE
January 13, 2013 at 08:46 (Action Alert, Human Rights, International Solidarity, Israel, Palestine, Petition)
Please read, sign and spread the following …
Thank you for supporting Jews for Palestinian Right of Return.
Now please ask your friends, family and coworkers to join the growing list of supporters below by joining at http://bit.ly/JewsForRoR
Praise for JFPROR
Ali Abunimah (Electronic Intifada): “Beautiful!”
Mezna Qato (US Palestinian Community Network): “Absolutely beautiful.”
Dr. Ghada Karmi, M.D.: “An excellent statement which gets at the heart of the Palestinian cause. All people of conscience must sign it.”
Fatin Jarara (Al Awda-NY: The Palestine Right to Return Coalition): “Thank you, JFPROR, for your support of the right of return for Palestinian refugees to all of Historic Palestine and for the call for a single democratic state, a point that must never be compromised by Palestinians, first and foremost, or their allies.”
Max Blumenthal: ”I was proud to join so many outstanding people in signing.”
Stuart Bramhall (Daily Censored): “Profoundly moving.”
Kevin Ovenden (Palestine solidarity activist, London): “Well done – forwards to peace and justice, without which there can be no peace.”
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Jews For Palestinian Right of Return
“For Palestinians, the right to return home and the right to live in dignity and equality in their own land are not any less important than the right to live free of military occupation.”
–Prof. Saree Makdisi
For more than a century, Zionists have sought to construct a “Jewish state” through forced removal of the indigenous Palestinian people.
In 1948, this state was established through the Nakba (Catastrophe): erasure and occupation of more than 500 Palestinian towns and villages, dispossession of over 750,000 Palestinians, and a terror campaign of which the massacre at Deir Yassin is but the most infamous example.
Since 1967, Israel has also occupied and colonized the remainder of historic Palestine. Today, this relentless ethnic cleansing continues — armed and financed by the U.S. and its allies — on both sides of the 1948 “Green Line.”
As a cumulative result, seventy percent of Palestinians are in exile, the world’s largest refugee population.
Nowhere is this clearer than in Gaza, where Israel inflicts particularly brutal collective punishment on 1.7 million people — most of them refugees — for defiantly resisting expulsion from their homes throughout historic Palestine.
“Pick a point, any point, along [Gaza's] 25-mile coastline,” writes Gaza City resident Lara Aburamadan, “and you’re seven or so miles — never more — from the other side. The other side is where my grandparents were born, in a village that has since become someone else’s country, off limits to me. You call it Israel. I call it the place where the bombs come from.”
To hide these crimes and shield itself from their consequences, the Zionist regime officially denies the Nakba, the ethical equivalent of Holocaust denial. It has even authorized legislation to penalize those who memorialize the Nakba — a step toward criminalizing its observance altogether.
As it is for all colonized peoples, liberation means reversing dispossession. “The Palestinian cause,” writes Dr. Haidar Eid in Gaza, “is the right of return for all refugees and nothing less.”
Return — one of the key demands of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign — is affirmed in U.N. resolution 194, but derives from the principle of universal human rights and, as such, cannot be renounced or abandoned by any body or representative; it inalienably attaches to Palestinians, both individually and collectively.
Despite this, even some who criticize Israel’s 1967 occupation claim that Palestinian return is “unrealistic.”
However, solidarity means unconditional support for the just aims of those resisting oppression. As Palestinian journalist-activist Maath Musleh explains: “If you think that [return] is not possible, then you are really not in solidarity with the Palestinian cause.”
Some also object that refugees’ return would mean an end to the “Jewish state.” But supporters of social justice must ask themselves how they can defend a state whose very existence depends on structural denial of Palestinian rights.
Recently, more than a hundred leading Palestinian activists reaffirmed their opposition “to all forms of racism and bigotry, including, but not limited to, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, Zionism, and other forms of bigotry directed at anyone, and in particular people of color and indigenous peoples everywhere.”
Such racism and bigotry is reflected precisely in Zionism’s attempt to erase the Palestinian people, a century long campaign that dishonors the memory of Jewish suffering and resistance in Europe.
The moral response is clear: “There is one geopolitical entity in historic Palestine,” writes Palestinian journalist Ali Abunimah. “Israel must not be allowed to continue to entrench its apartheid, racist and colonial rule throughout that land.”
As Jews of conscience, we call on all supporters of social justice to stand up for Palestinian Right of Return and a democratic state throughout historic Palestine — “From the River to the Sea” — with equal rights for all.
The full measure of justice, upon which the hopes of all humanity depends, requires no less.
Initial Signers
(List in formation; affiliations listed for identification only)
Max Ajl, Writer and activist; Cornell Students for Justice in Palestine
Gabriel Ash, International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network Switzerland
Max Blumenthal, Journalist and author
Prof. Haim Bresheeth, Filmmaker, photographer and film studies scholar
Lenni Brenner, Author and antiwar activist
Mike Cushman, Convenor, Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods (UK)
Sonia Fayman, French Jewish Union for Peace; International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network France
Sherna Berger Gluck, Founding member, U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel; Israel Divestment Campaign
Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb, Coordinator, Fellowship of Reconciliation Peacewalks, Mural Arts in Palestine and Shomer Shalom Network for Jewish Nonviolence
Hector Grad, International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network Spain
Abraham Greenhouse, Blogger, Electronic Intifada
Tony Greenstein, Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods (UK)
Jeff Halper, Director, Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD)
Stanley Heller, Host of “The Struggle” TV News
Tikva Honig-Parnass, Former member of the Zionist armed forces (1948); author of False Prophets of Peace: Liberal Zionism and the Struggle for Palestine
Adam Horowitz, Co-Editor, Mondoweiss.net
Selma James, Global Women’s Strike; International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network UK
David Klein, Organizing Committee, U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel
Dennis Kortheuer, Organizing Committee, U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel; Israel Divestment Campaign; Dump Veolia LA
David Letwin, Activist and writer; Gaza Freedom March
Michael Letwin, Co-Founder, Labor for Palestine; Organizing Committee, U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel; Al-Awda NY: The Palestine Right to Return Coalition
Antony Loewenstein, Australian journalist and author
Barbara Lubin, Executive Director, Middle East Children’s Alliance
Mike Marqusee, Author of If I Am Not for Myself: Journey of an Anti-Zionist Jew
Hajo Meyer, Auschwitz survivor; International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network
Linda Milazzo, Participatory journalist and educator
Prof. Ilan Pappé, Israeli historian and socialist activist
Miko Peled, Author of The General’s Son
Karen Pomer, Granddaughter of Henri B. van Leeuwen, Dutch anti-Zionist leader and Bergen-Belsen survivor
Diana Ralph, Assistant Coordinator, Independent Jewish Voices-Canada
Dorothy Reik, Progressive Democrats of the Santa Monica Mountains
Prof. Dr. Fanny-Michaela Reisin, President, International League for Human Rights (German Section FIDH); Founding member, Jewish Voice for a Just Peace – EJJP Germany
Rachel Roberts, Civil rights attorney and writer
Ilana Rossoff, International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network
Carol K. Smith, Activist and civil rights attorney
Lia Tarachansky, Director, Seven Deadly Myths
Hadas Thier, Contributing author of The Struggle for Palestine; Israeli-born daughter and granddaughter of Nazi Holocaust survivors
Dr. Abraham Weizfeld, Jewish People’s Liberation Organization (Montréal)
Sherry Wolf, Author and public speaker; International Socialist Organization; Adalah-NY
Marcy Winograd, Former Congressional peace candidate; public school teacher
Dr. Roger van Zwanenberg, Non-Executive Director, Pluto Books Ltd.
Additional Signers
(Complete list at: http://jfpror.wordpress.com/2013/01/12/january-12-updated-supporters-jews-for-palestinian-right-of-return/ . Affiliations listed for identification only.)
Stephen Aberle, Vancouver, BC, Independent Jewish Voices
Deborah Agre, Berkeley, CA, Middle East Children’s Alliance
Seymour Alexander, Slough, Jews for Justice for Palestinians UK
Ruth Bader, Australia, German-Jewish/Australian, daughter of Holocaust survivors
Adam Balsam, Independent Jewish Voices Canada
Moran Barir, Human rights activist, Jerusalem
Ronnie Barkan, Tel-Aviv, Boycott from Within
Nora Barrows-Friedman, Journalist
Dalit Baum, Israeli feminist teacher and activist
Medea Benjamin, Codirector, Codepink
Mark Berman, Playwright
Rima Berns-McGown, Toronto, Writer and Adjunct Faculty, University of Toronto at Mississauga
Elizabeth Block, Toronto, Independent Jewish Voices
Audrey Bomse, National Lawyers Guild, Free Gaza
Dennis Brasky, Professor – Political Science – Rutgers University
Estee Chandler, Founding Member, Jewish Voice for Peace, L.A. Chapter
David Comedi, Tucumán, Argentina
Prof. Roger Dittmann, CSU Fullerton
Mark Elf, Jews sans frontieres
Prof. Sam Farber, NYC
Deborah Fink, UK, Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods
Alexei Folger, Jewish Voice for Peace, Bay Area
Maxine Fookson, Portland, Oregon, Jewish Voice for Peace
Racheli Gai, Tucson Women in Black, Jewish Voice for Peace
Kamran Ghasri, Israel Divestment Campaign
Dr. Terri Ginsberg, NYC; film scholar; Committee for Open Discussion of Zionism
Neta Golan, Palestinian Territories, ISM
Nathan Goldbaum, ISO, Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators, Chicago Teachers Union
Steve Goldfield, Ph.D., Oakland, CA, Former chair, Palestine Solidarity Committee, former editor, Palestine Focus
Jean R. Goldman, Miami Beach, Women in Black
Sue Goldstein, Toronto, Women in Solidarity with Palestine
Marty Goodman, NYC, Former Executive Board member, Transport Workers Union Local 100
Heidi Grunebaum, Cape Town
Cathy Gulkin, Toronto, Independent Jewish Voices, Queers Against Israeli Apartheid
Georges Gumpel, Union Juive Française pour la Paix
Freda Guttman, Montreal, Tadamon!
Evelyn Hecht-Galinski, Author and journalist, Germany
Annette Herskovits, Berkeley, Holocaust survivor, writer, and activist
Rebecca Hom, International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network-U.S.
Bec Hynek, Sydney, Australia, Socialist Alternative
Jews Opposing Zionism, Not In Our Name – NION (Canada)
Riva Joffe, London, Jews Against Zionism
Ramsey Judah, Los Angeles activist and Immigration Rights Attorney
Alex Kane, Assistant Editor, Mondoweiss.net and World editor, AlterNet
Dan Kaplan, Executive Secretary, AFT Local 1493, San Mateo, CA Community College Federation of Teachers
Asaf Kedar, Zochrot
Alice Diane Kisch, Emerryville, CA, Jewish Voice for Peace
Bud Korotzer, Brooklyn
Yael Korin, Campaign to End Israeli Apartheid, Southern California
Steve Kowit, American poet, Professor emeritus, Southwestern College
L.A. Jews for Peace
Sylvia Laale, Ottawa
Stephen Landau, Translator and publisher, White Plains, NY
David Landy, Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Melanie Lazarow, University of Melbourne
Howard Lenow, Sudbury, MA, Union Attorney, Founder American Jews For A Just Peace
Leah Levane, London, Jews for Justice for Palestinians
Daniel Levyne, France, UJFP
Brenda Lewis, Guelph, Ontario, child of Holocaust survivor
Abby Lippman, Montreal, Professor Emerita, McGill University
Jennifer Loewenstein, Madison
Henry Lowi, IDF veteran
Alex Lubin, Professor, American University of Beirut
Helga Mankovitz, Kingston, ON, Independent Jewish Voices
Eli Marcus, Occupied Palestine
Richard Marcuse, West Vancouver, BC, Independent Jewish Voices
Peter Melvyn, Critical Jewish Voice, Vienna
Waldo Mermelstein, Sao Paulo
Gail Miller, NY, Passenger, U. S. Boat to Gaza–The Audacity of Hope
Prof. Hilton Obenzinger
Akiva Orr, Matzpen
Peter Rachleff, Saint Paul, Professor of History, Macalester College
Zohar Chamberlain Regev, Dúrcal, Granada, Spain
Fanny-Michaela Reisin, Jewish Voice for a Just Peace – EJJP Germany
Ernest Rodker, Jews for Justice for Palestinians, UK
Professor Jonathan Rosenhead, Chair, British Committee for the Universities of Palestine
Martha Roth, Vancouver BC, Independent Jewish Voices
Cheyl A. Rubenberg, Boca Raton, Professor (retired)
Leslie Safran, London
Margot Salom, Brisbane Australia, Just Peace for Palestine
Christiane Schomblond, Brussels, Belgium, professor retired from University of Brussels
Ralph Schoenman, Vallejo, CA., Author: Hidden History of Zionism
Yossi Schwartz, Haifa, Internationalist Socialist League
Amanda Sebestyen, International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network UK, JfJfP, JBIG, IJV
Sid Shniad, Vancouver, BC, National Steering Committee, Independent Jewish Voices
Mya Shone, Author, The Hidden History of Zionism and other works
Abba A. Solomon, Author of The Speech, and Its Context
Peter Sporn, Oak Park, Illinois, Arab Jewish Partnership for Peace and Justice in the Middle East
Marsha Steinberg, BDS LA for Justice in Palestine
Cy & Lois Swartz, Philadelphia, Grandparents for Peace in the Middle East
Prof. Barry Trachtenberg
Matthew Taylor, Berkeley, founding member, Young Jewish and Proud group within Jewish Voice for Peace
Steve Terry, Criminal defense attorney, Brooklyn
Lily van den Bergh, Documentary filmmaker & organiser, Women in Black The Netherlands
Dominique Ventre, French Jewish Union for Peace; International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network France
Judith Weisman, Toronto, Independent Jewish Voices, Not in Our Name
Suzanne Weiss, Toronto
Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi, Founder member, Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods
Tamar Yaron, Kibbutz Hazorea, Israel, founder & moderator: Encounter-EMEM for international Israel-Palestine peace activities
DON’T PLAY APARTHEID ‘TOP 48 LIST’
January 10, 2013 at 11:58 (Activism, Apartheid, Boycott Israel, International Solidarity, Israel, Palestine, Social Justice)
Don’t Play Apartheid Israel logo. Image from facebook.com
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Following is OUR ‘Hate List’. A list of artists and musicians who refused to support apartheid in Israel in 2012. A list of people who HATE APARTHEID!
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2012 Summary of the Cultural Boycott of Israel
The year 2012 was an amazing year full of many successes in the campaign for the cultural boycott of Israel. This summary focuses on the cultural boycott with an emphasis on musical artists and groups.The fall of South African apartheid was preceded by the movement by artists of conscience to boycott “Sun City.” A similar anti-apartheid movement is rapidly growing; and musicians increasingly do not want to perform in Israel.
The Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, Habima, Batsheva, and the Cameri Theater continued to be sent to perform abroad as “cultural ambassadors” for Israel. This year people who oppose apartheid gathered in many cities to raise awareness of the complicity of these artists. Almost all Batsheva performances were protested. Demonstrations took place in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Italy, throughout the UK and in Edinburgh, Scotland.
January, 2012: The Tuneyards cancel their gig in Israel. The lead singer Merrill Garbus is a signatory of the Artists Against Israeli Apartheid pledge.[1]
Jacques Ranciére, acclaimed French intellectual and Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, University of Paris (St. Denis) writes that he will not violate the boycott, and cancels plans to give public readings at Tel Aviv University. [2]
February, 2012: Award winning singer-songwriter Cat Power (Chan Marshall) cancels her gig in Tel Aviv, tweeting, “MUSIC IS HEALING AND IT IS NOT HUMANE IF ALL CANNOT HAVE THE CHOICE, THE RIGHT, TO ATTEND. H E L P, A W A R E N E S S”[3]
New York Indie band The Pains of Being Pure at Heart announce they will not play Israel. Israel’s “Walla” press reports the cancellation was political. [4]
Grammy-winning jazz singer Cassandra Wilson was scheduled to be the featured performer at the Holon International Women’s Festival. Just days before her sold out performances, she politely bowed out, saying “As a human rights activist I identify with the cultural boycott of Israel.” [5] Wilson received letters of thanks signed by solidarity groups from around the world.
Israeli TV uses the term “refuseniks” to refer to Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, U2 and Coldplay. The term implies that these artists have a political reason to refuse to perform in Israel. [6]
March, 2012: The cultural boycott moves to New York City as Batsheva attempts to present Israel’s pretty face through dance; Adalah-NY volunteers are ready with their own performance outside the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Palestinian dancer Hana Awwad writes, “Exhibits and performances by Palestinian artists are systematically banned, sabotaged, and closed down by the Israeli occupation. Artists themselves are targets of violence, arbitrary arrests, and deportations.” [7]
Actors and artists sign onto a letter asking Shakespeare’s Globe in London to withdraw its invitation to Habima, and refuse to be complicit with human rights violations and the illegal colonisation of occupied land. Thirty seven artists sign, including the highly acclaimed Academy Award, Emmy and and Golden Globe winning Emma Thompson. [8]
Staying true to punk rock, Zdob si Zdub from Moldavia keep Israel off their tour plans. Punks Against Apartheid wrote a letter to the band in January, asking them to respect the boycott.[9]
April, 2012: The six member Irish band Dervish agrees to respect the cultural boycott, cancelling a series of planned shows in Israel, stating: “At the time we agreed to these performances we were unaware there was a cultural boycott in place. We now feel that we do not wish to break this boycott,” and adding, “Our decision to withdraw from the concerts reflects our wish to neither endorse nor criticise anyone’s political views in this situation.”[10] Fullset, also from Ireland, announce that they had not been aware of the cultural boycott, and cancel their concert in Israel on the back of the Dervish cancellation. [11]
The Mediterranean Delight International Bellydance Festival was slated to take place in Marrakech, Morocco. When it was uncovered that the festival was sponsored by an Israeli belly dancer, a campaign against normalization successfully shut down the show. Belly dancer Noor refuses to participate in the Israeli backed festival, and it was relocated to Greece. [12]
Qatar cancelled the Music and Dialogue Festival which featured Israeli musicians, scheduled for April 30 – May 4, marking another milestone for the growing anti-apartheid movement.[13]
Singer Macy Gray responds to a letter written to the Red Hot Chili Peppers asking them to boycott apartheid Israel. Gray reaffirms her commitment to justice when she tweets to activist Tali Shapiro (Boycott From Within) “Nvr give up the good fight Tali. Yer a great human. “ [14]
May, 2012: Huzama Habayeb, a Palestinian novelist, led an overwhelmingly successful academic boycott effort involving the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. The Center’s planned book project titled Memory of a Promise: Short Stories by Middle Eastern Women was cancelled because nearly half of the authors (13 out of 29) withdrew their literary contributions in protest of the inclusion of two Israeli authors celebrated amongst ‘institutionalised’ Israeli literary circles. Habayeb wrote “My overly conscious heart was heavy. I cannot accept, ethically and morally, that my voice be shared equally with writers who reflect the voice of an obnoxious occupier” [15] Regarding the large number of authors who refused to participate, the center’s Director Kamran Scot Aghaie writes, “On balance, the net result is that the book project is no longer viable. Therefore, we are discontinuing publication of this volume.” [16]
Slumdog Millionaire author Vikas Swarup cancels his appearance at the International Writers Festival in Israel. [17] The Indian Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel (INCACBI) had written to him in February. [18]
Shakespeare’s Globe in London hosted Israel’s National Theatre Habima. A twitter campaign using #loveculture developed by Israel’s UK embassy was transformed into #loveculture hate apartheid, and made global trends. As Habima performed The Merchant of Venice, streets were filled with people, signs, and Palestinian flags outside the Globe. Inside, numerous people peacefully held banners, and mentioned Palestine throughout the performance. British actor and audience member, John Graham Davies arose, delivering Shylock’s famous line during the trial scene, saying ”Hath not a Palestinian eyes?” – for a moment the production almost lost its balance. Davies was then promptly removed by hired security personnel. [19]
June, 2012: Israeli advisor to the Red Sea International Classical Music Festival, tells Haaretz “I can testify that more than once projects have been cancelled or postponed based on their ‘Israeliness.’ And again – these things are not said crassly, no one will say: we are conducting a boycott. The word boycott doesn’t exist, but the political situation of Israel also impacts this field.” [20]
Grammy-Award winning tabla player Zakir Hussain of India cancels his gig in Israel. Hussain was contacted by the INCACBI. [21]
Pulitzer Prize winner and highly acclaimed author Alice Walker declines the publishing of the Color Purple by an Israeli publisher, stating: “It is my hope that the non-violent BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement, of which I am part, will have enough of an impact on Israeli civilian society to change the situation.”[22]
July, 2012: When a celebration promoting Israeli culture in Switzerland attempts to include the Palestinian dance troupe Juthor, they withdraw. Organizers of the International Folklore Encounters Festival, Fribourg had intended to bring Juthor onto the stage together with the Israeli group Shalom Israel. [23]
Rocker Serj Tankian releases Occupied Tears, raising awareness about Palestinian life under occupation. [24]
Ottawa musical group Three Little Birds sing Apartheid on CTV Morning Live, and are subsequently attacked by pro-Israel media watchdog HonestReporting Canada.[25]
Nino Katamadze’s five concert tour was quietly cancelled, Katamadze was contacted by Boycott From Within, and plans for a five concert tour in November were scrapped. [26]
Anti-apartheid fans of Hollywood actors Bruce Willis and Jean Claude Van Damme were relieved they cancelled their planned visit to Tel Aviv, where they were scheduled to attend a local premiere screening of their latest film Expendables 2. [27]
Controversial reggae artist Sizzla Kalonji cancels his gig in Israel after tweeting his disappointment that Obama had awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Israeli President Shimon Peres. [28]
August, 2012: The importance of the cultural boycott was emphasized when reports reassured disappointed and, at times, angry Israeli fans that the cancellations of concerts in Tel Aviv by the Swedish Cardigans [29] and by Lenny Kravitz were for reasons not related to the cultural boycott of Israel. [30]
Highly successful protests of Batsheva take place in Edinburgh, Scotland. [31]
An Israeli website announced that English electronica big beat group Prodigy would perform in Tel Aviv. Emails from Prodigy’s manager showed claims the band would perform in Israel were completely false. The same site also made false claims that Jennifer Lopez and Bruce Springsteen would perform in Israel in 2012.
The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg-South Africa, Student Representative Council passed a resolution that calls for the full cultural and academic boycott of Israeli institutions, stating they “will not participate in any form of cultural or academic collaboration or joint projects with Israeli institutions and will not provide any support to Israeli cultural or academic institutions.”[32]
September, 2012: Noted British theater director Peter Brook and the Bouffes du Nord theatre troop of France honored the call to boycott Israel, cancelling planned performances for December at the Cameri Theater in Tel Aviv. Brook wrote: “The fact that the Cameri Theatre has accepted to support the brutal action of colonisation by playing in Ariel [in the West Bank] has made us aware that in coming to your theatre we would appear as a support for that brutal action. This forces us to decline your invitation to perform in your theatre. The decision is entirely ours, and not to come to you, it is our free choice. We know that there are many amongst you and in your country who share our attitude and it is them we wish to support as well as the people of Palestine.” [33]
The Red Hot Chili Peppers are asked to accept the anti-apartheid call, in a campaign that unites thousands in support for the cultural boycott of Israel. When the RHCP refuse to cancel their gig in Tel Aviv, internationally acclaimed Lebanese group Mashrou’ Leila, tweets “we will not be opening for the red hot chili peppers on september 6 in beirut.”[34]
Palestinian film directors refuse to participate in the filming of 24h Jerusalem, and production is halted. Twenty directors, including Israelis, pulled out of the film project in support of the cultural boycott. Though it appeared to be a benign film about culture, it was actually funded in part by the Jerusalem Development Authority, an organization implicated in numerous violations of human rights and illegal activities against Palestinians. Enas aL-Muthaffar, filmmaker, wrote: “I refuse to be part of a peace propaganda machine that continues to ignore Israel’s cruel colonization of Palestine.” [35]
A survey done in Britain finds that one in four support a full cultural boycott of Israel by musicians. [36]
October, 2012: Pulitzer Prize–winning author Alice Walker, Palestinian spoken word artist Remi Kenazi and Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters join dozens of other cultural workers to call for Carnegie Hall to cancel the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra’s performance.[37]
Hip hop duo Rebel Diaz, artist Narcenio Hall and Cairo-based art collective Mosireen boycott the two-day 2012 Creative Time Summit in Manhattan because of the summit’s partnership with an Israeli organization that is funded by the Israeli government.[38]
Ramallah-based Palestinian MC Boikutt, Syrian singer Lena Chamamyan, Lebanese MC Malikah (Lynn Fattouh), and Palestinian DJ Sotusura all pull out of the Salam.Orient cultural festival in Austria, because it is sponsored in part by the Israeli embassy. [39]
Turkish band Baba Zula’s concert in Israel was cancelled, while obviously not all cancelling performers have the courage to publicly state their reasons, it isn’t a surprise when they don’t rebook.
Remi Kanazi releases Normalize This! on youtube in support of the cultural boycott of Israel, explaining why normalization cannot lead to positive change.
November, 2012: The legendary Stevie Wonder (winner of 22 Grammy Awards and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award) makes international news when he cancels a scheduled December performance at a Los Angeles fundraiser for Friends of the IDF(FIDF), an organization that raises money for the Israeli army. [40] His statement is posted on the website of his radio station, Radio FREE KJLH 102.3FM.
The Cape Town World Music Festival had to do without one of its star acts when Pops Mohamed boycotted the event because of co-sponsorship by the Israeli embassy.
Ten talented young harpists bow out of the International Harp Contest in Israel, leaving only 22 non-Israelis to complete in the increasingly unpopular state sponsored event. In addition, acclaimed harpists Naoko Yoshino and Park Stickney also quietly cancelled their performances for the Harp Contest. [41]
At least 10 international actors withdrew from the IsraDrama festival, following last minute appeals asking them not to collaborate with the Cameri Theater in Tel Aviv which performs in settlements. [42]
Zebda, a popular band from France, releases One life less-(une vie de moins), which draws attention to Israeli occupation, Gaza, and how children are affected by apartheid.[43]
Electronica musician and DJ Carl Craig of Detroit quietly cancels his gig in Tel Aviv.
Ross Daly, Giorgos Xylouris, Giorgos Manolakis, and Kelly Thoma cancel plans to play at the Israeli state sponsored Jerusalem Oud Festival, stating “After all, we’re musicians with feelings and sensibilities, not music machines which can operate under all and any circumstances.” [44]
Roger Waters, musician and founder of Pink Floyd, explains the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement in his address to the United Nations on behalf of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine: “It aims, as many of you know, to bring non-violent economic pressure to bear on Israel to force an end to its violations, an end to occupation and apartheid, an end to the denial of Palestinians’ right of return, and an end to Palestinian citizens of Israel being required to live as second class citizens, discriminated against on racial grounds, and subject to different laws than their Jewish compatriots. The BDS movement is gaining ground hand over fist. Just last week I was happy to write a letter of support to the Student Government of the University of California, Irvine, congratulating them on demanding that their University divest from companies that profit from the Israeli occupation.”[45]
December, 2012: The London-based Jazz group Portico Quartet, cancelled their planned concert for the Red Sea Jazz Festival in Israel. The band courageously voiced their support for the cultural boycott, linking fans on their Facebook page to the Palestinian BDS National Committee’s website. [46]
Swedish virtuoso guitarist Andreas Öberg was congratulated for cancelling his planned gigs in Israel, honoring the call for a cultural boycott of the apartheid state. Öberg let fans know about his cancellation on Facebook. [47]
A campaign launched July to persuade Woody Allen to shoot his next film in Israel failed. The goals of the movie were to “enable Israel to enter the world’s imagination in a way a billion dollars of hasbara (public relations/propaganda) couldn’t possibly buy.” In an open letter to Allen, he was asked “Would it not be more ingenious to develop a movie satirising Israel’s desperate attempts to obscure its crimes against humanity?” [48]
Looking ahead to 2013:
Bruce Springsteen’s choice to refrain from playing Israel in 2012 is a welcome one to anti-apartheid campaigners. Multiple claims in the Israeli press, as well as several campaigns to pressure Springsteen to play Israel, confirm that there are still major efforts underway to convince The Boss to ignore the boycott in 2013.
Israel tends to ask bands who previously played in the apartheid state to return. Bands whose members are Kabbalists are also often invited to play in Israel. All artists are invited to respect the boycott, regardless of their spiritual commitments and if they have previously played in Israel. Campaigns are already underway to educate artists involved with Lollapalooza Israel about the boycott. The catchy “lollapartheid” has already been used to describe the festival.
Notes:
[1] 500 Artists Against Israeli Apartheid http://www.tadamon.ca/post/5824
[2] Jacques Ranciére cancelled his visit to Israel http://thesip.org/2012/01/ranciere-cancellatio/
[3] BDS Victory: Cat Power cancels show in Tel Aviv http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora/bds-victory-cat-power-cancels-show-tel-aviv
[4] The Pains of Being Pure At Heart dismissed for political reasons
http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&ie=UTF8&langpair=auto%7Cen&rurl=translate.google.com&tbb=1&u=http://e.walla.co.il/%3Fw%3D%252F6%252F2509963&usg=ALkJrhg9BlEd4I6ePpoln6_co901s_K56Q
[5] Cassandra Wilson cancels Israel show: “I identify with the cultural boycott of Israel”
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora/singer-cassandra-wilson-cancels-israel-show-i-identify-cultural-boycott-israel
[6] From Israeli TV see 1.50 min [Hebrew] at:
http://www.mako.co.il/news-channel2/Channel-2-Newscast/Article-066c02822978531018.htm
[7] NY Activists protest Batsheva Dance Company performance in Brooklyn http://mondoweiss.net/2012/03/ny-activists-protest-batsheva-dance-company-performance-in-brooklyn.html
[8] Dismay at Globe Invitation to Israeli Theater http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/29/dismay-globe-invitation-israeli-theatre?newsfeed=true
[9] Zdob si Zdub: Stand in Solidarity with Palestinians! http://punksagainstapartheid.com/2012/01/zsz-open-letter/
[10] Heeding boycott call, Irish band Dervish pulls out of Israel concerts
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/heeding-boycott-call-irish-band-dervish-pulls-out-israel-concerts
[11] http://www.facebook.com/FullSetBand/posts/432263436801746
[12] Israeli Orientalist Festival in Morocco Bellyflops http://www.kadaitcha.com/2012/04/21/israeli-orientalist-festival-in-morocco-bellyflops/
[13] Israeli-Arab Normalization Hits a Snag http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/israeli-arab-normalization-hits-snag
[14] The Blessings of 2012, an album http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=426830113999740&set=a.383361181679967.117866.100000182654841&type=1&permPage=1
[15] My ‘No’ says more, and matters more http://www.pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=1894&key=texas
[16] Statement on the Cancellation of “Memory of a Promise: Short Stories by Middle Eastern Women”
http://www.utexas.edu/cola/depts/mes/news/5111
[17] http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4223273,00.html
[18] INCACBI Appeal to Vikas Swarup: Boycott the International Writers Festival 2012 in Jerusalem! http://www.pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=1827
[19] ‘Hath not a Palestinian eyes?’: Protesters disrupt Habima performance at Globe
http://mondoweiss.net/2012/05/hath-not-a-palestinian-eyes-protesters-disrupt-habima-performance-at-globe.html
[20] Cultural boycott biting, but quietly, Israel Festival’s classical music advisor admits
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/cultural-boycott-biting-quietly-israel-festivals-classical-music-advisor-admits
[21] Zakir Hussain Cancels Performance in Tel Aviv http://www.pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=1913)
[22] http://www.pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=1917
[23] Palestinian group Juthour withdraws from International Folklore Encounters Festival in Fribourg http://bit.ly/Yl9nvj
[24] Occupied Tears http://youtu.be/9Qtyw84F5DM
[25]http://mondoweiss.net/2012/07/canadian-band-attacked-by-israel-lobby-group-after-playing-song-titled-apartheid.html
[26] Nino Katamadze Will Not Play Apartheid Israel http://www.usacbi.org/2012/07/nino-katamadze-will-not-play-apartheid-israel/
[27] Expendables 2: Stallone, Willis and Van Damme will not come to Israel http://news.walla.co.il/?w=%2F6%2F2553554
[28] Sizzla Tweets about Israel https://www.facebook.com/notes/dont-play-apartheid-israel/sizzla-tweets-about-israel/446169305432463
[29] Tel Aviv Cancelled! MAYDAY! MAYDAY! http://www.cardigans.com/?sid=default&bfs=1
[30] Apartheid Israel: Lenny Kravitz is not Boycotting Israel, Be Reassured
http://refrainplayingisrael.blogspot.com/2012/08/apartheid-israel-lenny-kravitz-is-not.html
[31] Hora, EIF 2012, Review http://www.edinburghguide.com/festival/2012/edinburghinternationalfestival/horaeif2012review-11441
http://refrainplayingisrael.blogspot.com/2012/09/peter-brooks-courageous-support-for.html
[32] South Africa’s Wits University student council unanimously passes boycott of Israel resolution http://www.bdssouthafrica.com/2011/08/university-of-witwatersrand-student.html
[33] Peter Brook’s Letter to the Cameri: “It is our free choice”
[34] Lebanon’s Mashrou’ Leila cancels on Chili Peppers after latter refuses Israel boycott call
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/lebanons-mashrou-leila-cancels-chili-peppers-after-latter-refuses-israel-boycott
[35] Jerusalem Development Authority Implicated in Boycotted Film Funding.
http://www.kadaitcha.com/2012/09/04/jerusalem-development-authority-implicated-in-boycotted-film-funding/
[36] YouGov Survey Results http://cdn.yougov.com/cumulus_uploads/document/0kh4fq1eb8/Jewish%20Chronicle%20Results%20120924.pdf
[37] Open Letter from Artists to Carnegie Hall
http://adalahny.org/web-action/1002/open-letter-artists-carnegie-hall-cancel-israel-philharmonic-orchestras-performance
[38] Artists Cancel Creative Time Summit Appearances Over Israeli “Partnership” [UPDATE 7]
http://hyperallergic.com/58499/artists-cancel-their-creative-time-summit-appearances-over-controversial-israeli-partnership/
[39] Three more Arab performers pull out of Austrian music festival due to Israel embassy sponsorship
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/three-more-arab-performers-pull-out-austrian-music-festival-due-israel-embassy
[40] http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/rights-groups-launch-petition-thank-stevie-wonder-canceling-israel-army-benefit
[41] Ten Harpists Bow out of Apartheid Israel Harp Contest!
http://harpsofconscience.wordpress.com/2012/11/24/ten-harpists-bow-out-of-apartheid-israel-harp-contest-thank-you-for-having-a-conscience/
[42] http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4313061,00.html
[43] One life less-(une vie de moins) http://youtu.be/Cq2MpG4gQgk
[44] http://www.rossdaly.gr/en/news/102-oudfestivall
[45] http://www.russelltribunalonpalestine.com/en/3140/roger-waters-specch-at-the-un
[46] http://refrainplayingisrael.blogspot.com/2012/12/portico-quartet-respects-boycott-of.html
[47] http://refrainplayingisrael.blogspot.com/2012/12/andreas-oberg-respects-cultural-boycott.html
[48] http://www.kadaitcha.com/2012/07/10/woody-allen-please-refuse-israels-hasbara-bribes/
[1] 500 Artists Against Israeli Apartheid http://www.tadamon.ca/post/5824
[2] Jacques Ranciére cancelled his visit to Israel http://thesip.org/2012/01/ranciere-cancellatio/
[3] BDS Victory: Cat Power cancels show in Tel Aviv http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora/bds-victory-cat-power-cancels-show-tel-aviv
[4] The Pains of Being Pure At Heart dismissed for political reasons
http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&ie=UTF8&langpair=auto%7Cen&rurl=translate.google.com&tbb=1&u=http://e.walla.co.il/%3Fw%3D%252F6%252F2509963&usg=ALkJrhg9BlEd4I6ePpoln6_co901s_K56Q
[5] Cassandra Wilson cancels Israel show: “I identify with the cultural boycott of Israel”
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora/singer-cassandra-wilson-cancels-israel-show-i-identify-cultural-boycott-israel
[6] From Israeli TV see 1.50 min [Hebrew] at:
http://www.mako.co.il/news-channel2/Channel-2-Newscast/Article-066c02822978531018.htm
[7] NY Activists protest Batsheva Dance Company performance in Brooklyn http://mondoweiss.net/2012/03/ny-activists-protest-batsheva-dance-company-performance-in-brooklyn.html
[8] Dismay at Globe Invitation to Israeli Theater http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/29/dismay-globe-invitation-israeli-theatre?newsfeed=true
[9] Zdob si Zdub: Stand in Solidarity with Palestinians! http://punksagainstapartheid.com/2012/01/zsz-open-letter/
[10] Heeding boycott call, Irish band Dervish pulls out of Israel concerts
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/heeding-boycott-call-irish-band-dervish-pulls-out-israel-concerts
[11] http://www.facebook.com/FullSetBand/posts/432263436801746
[12] Israeli Orientalist Festival in Morocco Bellyflops http://www.kadaitcha.com/2012/04/21/israeli-orientalist-festival-in-morocco-bellyflops/
[13] Israeli-Arab Normalization Hits a Snag http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/israeli-arab-normalization-hits-snag
[14] The Blessings of 2012, an album http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=426830113999740&set=a.383361181679967.117866.100000182654841&type=1&permPage=1
[15] My ‘No’ says more, and matters more http://www.pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=1894&key=texas
[16] Statement on the Cancellation of “Memory of a Promise: Short Stories by Middle Eastern Women”
http://www.utexas.edu/cola/depts/mes/news/5111
[17] http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4223273,00.html
[18] INCACBI Appeal to Vikas Swarup: Boycott the International Writers Festival 2012 in Jerusalem! http://www.pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=1827
[19] ‘Hath not a Palestinian eyes?’: Protesters disrupt Habima performance at Globe
http://mondoweiss.net/2012/05/hath-not-a-palestinian-eyes-protesters-disrupt-habima-performance-at-globe.html
[20] Cultural boycott biting, but quietly, Israel Festival’s classical music advisor admits
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/cultural-boycott-biting-quietly-israel-festivals-classical-music-advisor-admits
[21] Zakir Hussain Cancels Performance in Tel Aviv http://www.pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=1913)
[22] http://www.pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=1917
[23] Palestinian group Juthour withdraws from International Folklore Encounters Festival in Fribourg http://bit.ly/Yl9nvj
[24] Occupied Tears http://youtu.be/9Qtyw84F5DM
[25]http://mondoweiss.net/2012/07/canadian-band-attacked-by-israel-lobby-group-after-playing-song-titled-apartheid.html
[26] Nino Katamadze Will Not Play Apartheid Israel http://www.usacbi.org/2012/07/nino-katamadze-will-not-play-apartheid-israel/
[27] Expendables 2: Stallone, Willis and Van Damme will not come to Israel http://news.walla.co.il/?w=%2F6%2F2553554
[28] Sizzla Tweets about Israel https://www.facebook.com/notes/dont-play-apartheid-israel/sizzla-tweets-about-israel/446169305432463
[29] Tel Aviv Cancelled! MAYDAY! MAYDAY! http://www.cardigans.com/?sid=default&bfs=1
[30] Apartheid Israel: Lenny Kravitz is not Boycotting Israel, Be Reassured
http://refrainplayingisrael.blogspot.com/2012/08/apartheid-israel-lenny-kravitz-is-not.html
[31] Hora, EIF 2012, Review http://www.edinburghguide.com/festival/2012/edinburghinternationalfestival/horaeif2012review-11441
http://refrainplayingisrael.blogspot.com/2012/09/peter-brooks-courageous-support-for.html
[32] South Africa’s Wits University student council unanimously passes boycott of Israel resolution http://www.bdssouthafrica.com/2011/08/university-of-witwatersrand-student.html
[33] Peter Brook’s Letter to the Cameri: “It is our free choice”
[34] Lebanon’s Mashrou’ Leila cancels on Chili Peppers after latter refuses Israel boycott call
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/lebanons-mashrou-leila-cancels-chili-peppers-after-latter-refuses-israel-boycott
[35] Jerusalem Development Authority Implicated in Boycotted Film Funding.
http://www.kadaitcha.com/2012/09/04/jerusalem-development-authority-implicated-in-boycotted-film-funding/
[36] YouGov Survey Results http://cdn.yougov.com/cumulus_uploads/document/0kh4fq1eb8/Jewish%20Chronicle%20Results%20120924.pdf
[37] Open Letter from Artists to Carnegie Hall
http://adalahny.org/web-action/1002/open-letter-artists-carnegie-hall-cancel-israel-philharmonic-orchestras-performance
[38] Artists Cancel Creative Time Summit Appearances Over Israeli “Partnership” [UPDATE 7]
http://hyperallergic.com/58499/artists-cancel-their-creative-time-summit-appearances-over-controversial-israeli-partnership/
[39] Three more Arab performers pull out of Austrian music festival due to Israel embassy sponsorship
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/three-more-arab-performers-pull-out-austrian-music-festival-due-israel-embassy
[40] http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/rights-groups-launch-petition-thank-stevie-wonder-canceling-israel-army-benefit
[41] Ten Harpists Bow out of Apartheid Israel Harp Contest!
http://harpsofconscience.wordpress.com/2012/11/24/ten-harpists-bow-out-of-apartheid-israel-harp-contest-thank-you-for-having-a-conscience/
[42] http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4313061,00.html
[43] One life less-(une vie de moins) http://youtu.be/Cq2MpG4gQgk
[44] http://www.rossdaly.gr/en/news/102-oudfestivall
[45] http://www.russelltribunalonpalestine.com/en/3140/roger-waters-specch-at-the-un
[46] http://refrainplayingisrael.blogspot.com/2012/12/portico-quartet-respects-boycott-of.html
[47] http://refrainplayingisrael.blogspot.com/2012/12/andreas-oberg-respects-cultural-boycott.html
[48] http://www.kadaitcha.com/2012/07/10/woody-allen-please-refuse-israels-hasbara-bribes/
Issued BY
A MUST WATCH VIDEO ON THE SITUATION IN PALESTINE TODAY
December 17, 2012 at 11:05 (Activism, International Solidarity, Israel, Occupation, Palestine)
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The following video is an articulate review of the rights and grievances of Palestinians living in Israel and in the Palestinian lands occupied by Israel.
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Roger Waters, speaking on behalf of the Russell Tribunal, delivers a very nicely put speech in front of delegates on International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. This day also marks an important development in the Palestinians’ bid to statehood as they are now recognized as a non-member observer state. Hopefully the world sees both sides of the story and that both conflicting parties go into negotiations towards a two-state peaceful solution and put an end this long and dragged out conflict. Enough is enough!
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Roger Waters UN Address
received FROM
CAROLING AGAINST APARTHEID
December 16, 2012 at 12:27 (Activism, Apartheid, Associate Post, DesertPeace Exclusive, International Solidarity, Israel, Occupation, Palestine, Photography)
Even the Grinch made an appearance…
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Scores of New York activists brought in Christmas early this year with their annual round of carols in front of Apartheid’s representative, Lev Leviev. It was the 6th year that his diamond emporium was targeted by these good folks.
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Photos © by Bud Korotzer
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The carols were heard load and clear as far away as New Zealand …
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The New Zealand Superannuation Fund, which invests money on behalf of New Zealand’s government, announced on December 12 that it is divesting from Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev’s company Africa Israel and its construction subsidiary Danya Cebus over their construction of Israeli settlements. The announcement came amidst heightened international criticism of Israeli settlement expansion. The move also follows a 2010 decision by the Norwegian government to divest from Africa Israel, and a 2009 decision by the British government not to do business with the company. The organizations Oxfam America, CARE and UNICEF have also severed ties with Leviev.
The announcement came as Adalah-NY is petitioning the New York City anti-hunger nonprofit City Harvest to publicly disavow Leviev, and is preparing for its sixth annual anti-apartheid caroling protest outside Leviev’s Madison Avenue jewelry store this Saturday. Adalah-NY launched a campaign for the boycott of and divestment from Leviev’s companies in 2007.
The New Zealand fund, which invests $20 billion for the government of New Zealand, announced that it would exclude Africa Israel and Danya Cebus, along with the Israeli companies Elbit Systems Limited and Shikun and Binui because the companies are involved in Israeli settlement construction and building Israel’s wall on Palestinian land in violation of international law. In a press release the New Zealand fund explained, “Africa Israel and its subsidiary Danya Cebus have been excluded because of their involvement in the construction of Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The settlements have been cited as illegal under international law, and the Fund considers the companies’ involvement to be inconsistent with the United Nations Global Compact.”
Hazem Jamjoum from Adalah-NY stated, “We are very heartened to see the growing momentum to boycott and divest from Leviev’s companies. This announcement by New Zealand’s Superannuation Fund is a victory and yet another sign of the growing strength of the worldwide BDS movement which aims to pressure Israel through boycott, divestment and sanctions to respect Palestinian rights. We hope that City Harvest understands the seriousness of the human right issues at stake and follows this fund’s lead.”
Daniel Strum from Adalah-NY and the We Divest National Coordination Committee added: “Both Africa Israel and Elbit Systems Limited are also part of US pension giant TIAA-CREF’s investment portfolio. We strongly urge TIAA-CREF to follow the examples of Norway and New Zealand and divest from these two companies and others that support Israeli human rights violations.”
From 2000-2008, Leviev’s flagship company Africa Israel built homes in the settlements of Har Homa, Maale Adumim (two different projects), Adam, and in Mattityahu East on the land of the West Bank village of Bil’in. In November, 2010 Africa Israel made ambiguous statements, suggesting it would not build more settlements, seemingly as a result of international pressure. However, in June, 2012, Adalah-NY released extensive information showing that a subsidiary of Leviev’s company Africa-Israel is building homes in the settlement of Gilo. Additionally, a separate Leviev-owned company, Leader Management and Development, continues to develop the Zufim settlement on the land of the West Bank village of Jayyous (see documentation). Leviev has also been a major donor to the Land Redemption Fund, an organization dedicated to seizing Palestinian land for Israeli settlement expansion.
Leviev’s companies have also been accused of involvement in human rights abuses and unethical business practices in the diamond industry in Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
A number of media reports have stated that Leviev has hostedfundraisers for City Harvest, leading to two letters (First Letter, Second Letter) and an email campaign calling on City Harvest to publicly disavow Leviev. This Saturday at 1 PM, for the sixth consecutive year, human rights advocates will perform holiday carol parodies calling for the boycott of Leviev outside his Madison Avenue jewelry store.
VIVE le QUEBEC // VIVE le PALESTINE LIBRE
December 8, 2012 at 15:13 (Canada, International Solidarity, Palestine, Quebec)
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“The National Assembly’s motion clearly confirms the ever-growing support for the Palestinians’ fundamental right to live as full citizens in their own state, as do Israelis.”
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Canada’s Vote Opposing UN Recognition of Palestine. Quebec’s Motion to Recognize Palestine Statehood
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) hails the motion to recognize Palestinians’ right to self-determination and to establish a state, adopted without opposition yesterday by Quebec’s National Assembly. Presented jointly by Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-François Lizée (Parti Quebecois) and MNA Amir Khadir (Quebec Solidaire), the National Assembly motion is significant, the result of fruitful negotiations between the political parties that generated a unanimous decision on the question.
Such a unanimous stance has not been seen for 25 years in the National Assembly. The Assembly opted to send a clear message to Ottawa, urging it “to take note of the United Nations’ decision recognizing Palestine’s status as an observer state, and to continue the much-needed Canadian aid for the construction of a state of law in the Palestinian territories.” The motion also reaffirmed “Quebec’s unwavering support for a negotiated solution that meets Israel’s need to live in peace within secure and recognized borders and also recognises Palestinians’ right to self-determination and to establish a state.”
“The National Assembly’s motion clearly confirms the ever-growing support for the Palestinians’ fundamental right to live as full citizens in their own state, as do Israelis,” explains CJPME President Thomas Woodley. “It also demonstrates the desire of Quebec’s elected representatives, as an assembly, for Canada to provide generous aid to the Palestinians,” he adds. CJPME notes that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians depend on foreign aid-especially that of the UN agency UNWRA-to survive. The Harper government should confirm that it intends to at least maintain the current level of aid provided to the Palestinians.
CJPME has denounced Canada’s vote opposing UN recognition of Palestine. CJPME also criticizes the near-silence of the Harper government on the hostile and unilateral measures taken by Israel following the UN decision. CJPME encourages the opposition parties to critically assess the Harper government’s counterproductive stances. All of the parties should be more attentive to the need to denounce Israel’s violations of international law, especially its illegal confiscation of land in the occupied Palestinian territories with the intention of expanding its colonies.
ISRAELI MASSACRE IN GAZA REMEMBERED BY CANDLE LIGHT IN NEW YORK
December 6, 2012 at 14:09 (Activism, Associate Post, DesertPeace Exclusive, Gaza, International Solidarity, Israel, Palestine, Photography, War Crimes)
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Earlier in the week New York University Students for Justice in Palestine held two events. The first, a candle light vigil in Washington Square Park “IN MEMORY OF ALL MEN, WOMEN & CHILDREN LOST DURING ISRAEL’S ASSAULT ON GAZA PILLAR OF CLOUD” All the names were read aloud including the names of Israelis killed as a result of the Gaza assault. Thirty to forty people participated.
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The second event, “Reflections From the Rubble”, was in NYU’s student activity center. Two speakers addressed the meeting: Sherry Wolf , writer/activist and Hesham Mhanna, a Gaza journalist, currently a NYU student, who spoke about his experiences during the Zionist “Cast Lead” assault on Gaza. Mr. Mhanna spoke of the brutal actions perpetrated by the IDF that he witnessed and that were relayed to him by Gazans who pleaded with him to tell their stories to the world. He told them he would and is now keeping that promise.
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Photos © by Bud Korotzer, Text also
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LET’S SEE WHO WILL STAND FOR JUSTICE IN THIS UNJUST WORLD OF OURS
December 3, 2012 at 10:45 (Boycott Israel, Britain, France, Illegal Settlements, International Solidarity, Israel, Palestine)
Photo © by Bud Korotzer
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“This time it won’t just be a condemnation, there will be real action taken against Israel,” a senior European diplomat said.
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What will be the actions taken by these nations, the ones that voted for the UN Resolution granting Observer Status to Palestine; Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Comoros, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, East Timor, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kirghistan, Kiribati, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Qatar, Russia, Russia, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Spain, Sri Lanka, St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Sweden, Switzerland, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, UAE, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
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So far, only a few nations might be recalling their envoys from Israel as a protest against the proposed settlement expansions …. let’s see who will follow.
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Here’s the situation as it stands now …
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U.K., France may recall ambassadors to protest Israel’s settlement construction
Moves against Israel will be made in next the few days following Netanyahu’s decision to move ahead on planning in E1 and build 3,000 housing units in the settlement blocs, and in East Jerusalem, say senior European diplomats.
By Barak Ravid
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Britain and France are poised to take action − possibly including the unprecedented step of recalling their ambassadors, according to senior European diplomats − in protest at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to move settlement construction ahead in the area known as E1, between Ma’aleh Adumim and Jerusalem.
“This time it won’t just be a condemnation, there will be real action taken against Israel,” a senior European diplomat said.
Netanyahu’s decision Friday to move ahead on planning in E1 and to build 3,000 housing units in the settlement blocs and in East Jerusalem, has apparently shocked the foreign ministries and the leaders in London and Paris. Not only do Britain and France view construction in E1 as a “red line,” they are reportedly angry because they view Israel as having responded ungratefully to the support the two countries gave it during the recent Gaza operation.
“London is furious about the E1 decision,” a European diplomat told Haaretz.
According to three senior diplomats from various EU countries, Britain and France were coordinating their moves against Israel, which they will reportedly implement over the next few days, and have discussed the extraordinary step of recalling their ambassadors from Tel Aviv for consultations. This step has never been taken before by these countries toward Israel. It would be so extreme that Britain and France may not take such action at this point but, rather, could invoke it in the case of further escalation of Israeli actions against the Palestinians. A final decision in the matter will be made today by the British and the French foreign ministers.
A source in the Prime Minister’s Bureau said Israel was planning more steps against the Palestinian Authority. “The Palestinians will soon realize they made a mistake in taking unilateral steps that breached agreements with Israel,” the source said.
Netanyahu and Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz decided Sunday morning to confiscate the tax money that Israel had collected for the PA in November − a total of NIS 460 million − and to use it against the PA’s debt to the Israel Electric Corporation.
Britain and France are said to have informed Washington of their reported moves against Israel, as well as other European countries, including Germany.
Among the more moderate steps under consideration are suspending strategic dialogue meetings between the two countries and Israel, making a decision in each country to label consumer products that originate in the territories, and even promoting sanctions against the settlements in EU institutions.
At this point, Germany is not expected to join a move to recall its ambassador from Tel Aviv, but it might join more moderate steps. Netanyahu will be in Berlin Thursday for a periodic bilateral summit. According to a German diplomat, Netanyahu is expected to hear sharp opposition from Chancellor Angela Merkel over punitive steps against the Palestinians by Israel, especially construction in E1.
The EU is putting heavy pressure on Israel to retract its decision to move ahead on construction in E1. Five senior European ambassadors have lodged very sharply worded protests with the Foreign Ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem since Friday evening.
A senior European diplomat said that Friday evening, shortly after the government’s decision was announced, British Ambassador Matthew Gould and French Ambassador Christophe Bigot called Foreign Ministry director general Rafi Barak and held what was described as a “very tough” conversation. The British and French ambassadors told Barak they were calling on Israel to rescind its decision on construction in E1.
Dutch Ambassador Caspar Veldkamp, EU Ambassador Andrew Standley, and the German deputy ambassador called the Foreign Ministry yesterday morning. The Dutch ambassador, whose country abstained in Thursday’s UN vote on Palestinian nonmember-state status, told Barak that if the E1 construction went forward, his country could not support Israel in future UN votes. The German deputy ambassador conveyed a similar message.
Standley asked officials in the Prime Minister’s Bureau for clarifications about the decision to speed up construction in the settlements.
Netanyahu spoke out harshly against the PA at Sunday’s cabinet meeting, claiming it “was waging a struggle against the very existence of the State of Israel.”
The cabinet voted unanimously Sunday to reject the UN General Assembly resolution recognizing Palestine as a nonmember observer state. The cabinet decision described the West Bank as “disputed territory” over which “the Jewish people has a natural right and territorial claims.” At the start of the meeting, Netanyahu compared last week’s UN resolution with that body’s 1975 resolution equating Zionism with racism.
Netanyahu read out a cabinet decision in response to the 1975 resolution in which Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin said Israel would expedite construction in the settlements in response to the resolution.
GE PROFITS FROM THE DEVASTATION OF GAZA // NEW YORKERS COMMEMORATE THOSE KILLED
November 28, 2012 at 07:55 (Activism, Associate Post, Boycott Israel, Corporate Crime, DesertPeace Exclusive, Gaza, International Solidarity, Israel, Palestine, Photography, War Crimes)
“GE engines have been used in Israeli Helicopters and F16s to inflict indiscriminate violence against Palestinians in Gaza, resulting in death and destruction.”
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We received the following release from Jews Say No!
IN COMMEMORATION OF THOSE KILLED IN ASSAULT IN GAZA
New York, NY, November 26, 2012: This morning, over 50 New Yorkers braved the chilly rain for a solemn march in front of the iconic General Electric Building at the heart of Rockefeller Plaza in commemoration of those killed by the assault on Gaza that ended in a cease fire on November 21st. Surrounded by preparations for the holiday season, the protesters, accompanied by the haunting music of the Rude Mechanical Orchestra, read the names and ages of all the people killed in the assault in the mic check style popularized by the Occupy Movement. The protesters called for divestment from General Electric, which provides the Israeli military with the engines for the F-16s and Apache helicopters used in the recent aerial bombardments of Gaza.
Riham Barghouti from Adalah-NY, explains: “Our protest against General Electric is a direct response to the call by Palestinian civil society to redouble our boycott, divestment and sanctions efforts in response to Israel’s latest attack on Gaza. GE, and a number of other United States companies, are complicit in Israeli violations of international law and Palestinian human rights and as such must be held accountable by people of conscience.”
General Electric is also in the portfolio of pension-fund provider TIAA-CREF, which the growing national We Divest campaign is calling on to divest from companies that profit from Israel’s occupation.
Rebecca Vilkomerson, the director of Jewish Voice for Peace, said, “It was very moving to read the name of each person killed in the assault on Gaza and thus highlight the human cost of Israel’s policies.”
“GE engines have been used in Israeli Helicopters and F16s to inflict indiscriminate violence against Palestinians in Gaza, resulting in death and destruction. As American Jews, we believe it is critically important to participate in the movement for justice in Palestine/Israel and join in the boycott of all GE products,” asserted Ray Wofsy of Jews Say No!
Israel still controls the air space, commerce, and water and electricity supplies in Gaza, as well as outlets to the Mediterranean Sea. This siege of Gaza is condemned by a majority of the world’s nations. Notwithstanding that the U.S. is obliged to uphold principles of international law, it contributes $3 billion from our tax money every year to support the Israeli military and to perpetuate the unlawful siege of Gaza.
The latest Israeli assault on Gaza left at least 170 Palestinians dead and 1000 injured, and six Israelis dead and dozens injured. Gaza’s infrastructure was extensively damaged.
The protest was cosponsored by Jewish Voice for Peace-NY, Adalah-NY, Jews Say No!, NYU Students for Justice in Palestine, Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, Granny Peace Brigade, Women In Black Union Square, Peace Action of New York State.
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Photos © by Bud Korotzer
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Names of the dead worn by the protesters …
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WHAT THE ZIONISTS HID FROM YOU IN THE NEWS LAST WEEK ….
November 26, 2012 at 11:03 (Activism, Censorship, DesertPeace Editorial, Gaza, International Solidarity, Israel, Oppression, Palestine, Photography, War Crimes, zionist Media)
The favourite game of the zionists is called ‘hiding the truth’….. especially in cases where it hurts them. They lie about the facts and more recently just hide behind death masks to protect their image.
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You were shown video clip after video clip of rockets fired from Gaza,
BUT
What you didn’t see in the western mainstream media about Gaza
was actual footage of what happened
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was actual footage of what happened
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Here we see footage of what Israeli zionists actually believe (also hidden from the Western viewer)
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Also hidden from the Western eye were the protests that took place against the Israeli atrocities..
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Vas sent us this short video
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Our Associate and photographer Bud Korotzer was offline as a result of Sandy’s havoc … he finally got back last night. Here are a few photos he took at the demos in New York. Despite their own suffering caused by the storm, New Yorkers still came out by the hundreds to stand in solidarity with the people of Gaza.
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UPDATED TIMELINE OF INTERNATIONAL PROTESTS AGAINST ISRAELI AGGRESSION IN GAZA
November 19, 2012 at 14:02 (Action Alert, Gaza, International Solidarity, War Crimes)
Worldwide protests against Israeli aggression in Gaza
Prepared by Adam Horowitz
A protest in London in 2009. (Photo: AFP)
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Here is a list of Emergency Global Actions for Gaza being planned around the world. This list is being constantly updated, please check here for the latest. Tweet @southsouth or @riverdryfilmto add events to the list.
MONDAY, 19th November
A Corunha (Spain) | Obelisco, 8:30 p.m. [link]
Angers (France) | Place du Raliement, 6:00 p.m. [link]
Asheville (North Carolina, USA) | Vance Monument, 1:00 p.m.
Benghazi (Libya) | Tahrir Sq, 4:00 p.m.
Berlin (Germany) | Brandenburger Tor, Pariser Platz 5:00 p.m.
Besançon (France) | Place Saint Pierre, 5:30 p.m. [link]
Brussels (Belgium), Place Shumann,10.30 a.m. [link]
Chicago (USA) | 219 S Dearborn St, 4:30 p.m. [link]
Clermont-Ferrand (France) | In front of the préfecture, 6:00 p.m. [link]
Dijon (France) | In front of the préfecture, 6:00 p.m. [link]
Glasgow (Scotland) | Ahl al Bayt Centre, 25 Woodside Pl., 6:00 p.m. [link]
Greensboro NC (USA) | Federal Courthouse, 4:00 p.m.
Grenoble (France) | Rue Felix Poulat, 6:00 p.m. [link]
Hebden Bridge (UK) | Central Intersection, 5:00 p.m.
Le Mans (France) | Place de la Republique, 5:30 p.m. [link]
London (UK) | LSE Campus – Old Building, 5:00 p.m. [link]
London (UK) | Rosebery Avenue , 6:30 p.m. [link]
Managua (Nicaragua)| U.S. Embassy, 4:00 p.m.
Montauban (France) | In front of the préfecture, 6:00 p.m. [link]
O Barco de Valdeorras (Spain) | Frente ao Concello 8:30 p.m. [link]
Rennes (France) | Place de la Mairie, 6:30 p.m. [link]
Romans (France) | Place Charles de Gaulle, 4:30 p.m. [link]
San Francisco (USA) | Israeli Embassy, 4:30 p.m. [link]
Seattle (USA)| University of Washington hub, 11:00 a.m.
Tallahassee (USA)| FSU Campus at Integration Statue, 1:00 p.m.
Traverse City (MI, USA)| Grandview Pkwy and Division Ave, 4:15 p.m.
Vienna (Austria) | Vienna International Centre, 8:15 p.m.
Vigo (Spain) | Farolde Principale, 8:30 p.m. [link]
UK | Call EcoStream: +44 (0) 127 356 7924, @ecostream, @sodastreamuk with questions about their business
TUESDAY, 20th November
Atlanta (USA) | Israeli Consulate, 1100 Spring St. NW, 4:00 p.m. [link]
Beauvais (France) | Place de la Fontaine, Rue Carnot, 6:00 p.m. [link]
Belfast (Ireland) | 7 p.m. (tbc)
Boston (USA) | Copley Square, 7:00 p.m. [link]
Hebden Bridge (UK) | Central Intersection, 5:00 p.m.
Iowa City (USA) | Iowa City Ped Mall, 6:00 p.m. [link]
London (UK) | Rosebery Avenue , 6:30 p.m. [link]
Manchester (UK) | Friends Meeting House (Meeting), 7:00 p.m. [link]
Mexico City (Mexico) | Israeli Embassy, 9 a.m. [link]
Philadelphia (USA) | Bell Tower, Temple University, 1:00 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, 21st November
Alès (France) | Place Gabriel Péri, 12:00 p.m. [link]
Avignon (France) | In front of the préfecture, 10:45 a.m. [link]
Brest (France) | In front of La Mairie Place de la Liberté, 6:00 p.m. [link]
Caen (France) | In front of the préfecture, 6:00 p.m. [link]
London (UK) | Saddlers Wells Theatre, Rosebery Avenue , 6:30 p.m. [link]
THURSDAY, 22nd November
Hebden Bridge (UK) | Central Intersection, 5:00 p.m.
Copenhagen (Denmark) | Rådhuspladsen, 5:00 p.m. [link]
FRIDAY, 23rd November
Asheville (North Carolina, USA) | Vance Monument, 4:30 p.m.
Hebden Bridge (UK) | Central Intersection, 5:00 p.m.
Melbourne (Australia) | State Library of Victoria, Swanston St., 6:00 p.m.
SATURDAY, 24 November
Canberra (Australia) | Israeli Embassy, Turrana St, Yarralumla, 12:00 p.m.
SUNDAY, 2 December
Sofia (Bulgaria) |National Palace of Culture, 4:30 p.m.
Prepared FOR
INTERNATIONAL TIMELINE OF PROTESTS AGAINST ISRAELI AGGRESSION IN GAZA
November 15, 2012 at 14:15 (Action Alert, Gaza, International Solidarity)
Worldwide protests against Israeli aggression in Gaza
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A protest in London in 2009. (Photo: AFP)
Here is a list of Emergency Global Actions for Gaza being planned around the world. Please tweet @southsouth or @riverdryfilm or email southissouth@gmail.com to add events to the list.
THURSDAY, 15 Nov
Alexandria (Egypt) | Qaid Ibrahim, 12:00 p.m.
Ann Arbor (USA) | Campus Diag, in front of Hatcher Graduate Library, 3:00 p.m.
Austin (USA) | I-35 and 12th Street (overpass), 2:00 p.m. [link]
Atlanta (USA) | Israeli Consulate, 4 p.m. [link]
Beirut (Lebanon) | Cola, 10:00 a.m.
Belfast (Ireland) | City Hall, 7:00 p.m.
Boston (USA) | 4:30 p.m., Copley Square [link]
Bradford (UK) | 4.30 p.m. [link]
Brighton (UK) | Outside EcoStream HQ, 12:00 p.m. [twitter]
Brighton (UK) | Victoria Gardens, 5:30 p.m. [link]
Cairo (Egypt) | Omar Makram, 12:30 p.m.
Cairo (Egypt) | Arab League, 4:00 p.m.
Chicago (USA) | Outside Obama HQ, 130 E Randolph Street, 4:00 p.m. [link]
Dublin (Ireland) | Israeli Embassy, 5:30 p.m.
George Mason University (USA) | The North Plaza, 1:30 p.m. [link]
Jerusalem (Palestine/Israel) | Outside Hebrew University, 12:00 p.m.
Leeds (UK) | Parkinson Steps, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT, 1:00 p.m. [link]
London (UK) | Israeli Embassy, 5:30 p.m. [link]
Los Angeles (USA) | UCLA, Meyerhoff Park, 11:30 a.m. [link]
Los Angeles (USA) | Israeli Consulate, 11766 Wilshire Boulvard, 4:00 p.m. [link] [link]
Manchester (UK) | Piccadilly Gardens, 5:00 p.m. [link]
Montreal (Canada) | Hall Building, Concordia University, 5:00 p.m.
Nashville (USA) | Centennial Park, 3:00 pm [link]
New York (USA) | Israeli Consulate, 42nd Street & 2nd Ave, 5:00 p.m. [link]
Nottingham (UK)| Nottingham Market Square, 5:30 p.m. [link]
Olympia (USA) | Red Square at Evergreen State College, 12:00 p.m. [link]
Oxford (UK) | Cornmarket Street, 4:00 p.m. [link]
Paris (France) | Ministry of Justice, 6:00 p.m. [link]
Princeton (USA) | Princeton University, outside of Frist Campus Center, 12:30 p.m.
San Diego (USA) | US Federal Building, 880 Front Street, 4:30 p.m. [link]
San Francisco (USA) | Israeli Consulate, 5:15 p.m. [link]
Santiago (Chile) | Croatian Stadium (Vitacura 8049) to Israel Stadium, 8:00 p.m. [link]
Seattle (USA) | Henry Jackson Federal Building, 915 2nd Avenue, 4:00 p.m. [link]
Sydney (Australia) | Parmatta Town Hall, 6:00 p.m. [link]
Toronto (Canada) | Israeli Consulate, 180 Bloor Street (E. of St. George TTC), 6:00 p.m.
Tunis (Tunisia) | In front of the National Theatre, 11:00 a.m.
Tunis (Tunisia) | Front of all Trade Association Buildings (Sa7et Mohamed Ali) 1:00 p.m.
Vancouver (Canada) | The Art Gallery, Hornby and Robson Streets, 5:00 p.m. [link]
Washington D.C. (USA) | Israeli Embassy, 3:30 p.m. (tbc)
FRIDAY, 16 Nov
Albuquerque (USA) | UNM Bookstore, 5:00 p.m. [link]
Birmingham (USA) | 1400 University Boulevard, 1:30 p.m. [link]
Cairo (Egypt) | Tahrir Square
Calgary (Canada) | City Hall, 3:00 p.m. [link]
Cincinnati (USA) | MLK Boulvard and Clifton Avenue, 4:30 p.m. [link]
Cleveland (USA) | Public Square, 4:30 p.m. [link]
Houston (USA) | Intersection of Westheimer & Post Oak Boulevard, 4:30 p.m. [link]
Manchester (UK) | Picadilly Gardens, 5:00 p.m.
Ottawa (Canada) | Israeli Embassy, 50 O’Connor b/w Queen and Albert, 12:00 p.m. [link]
Perth (Australia) | Murray Street Mall, Perth City, 5:30 p.m. [link]
Philadelphia (USA) | Israeli Consulate, 19th and JFK Boulevard, 12:00 p.m. [link]
Pittsburg (USA) | U.S. Federal Building, 1000 Liberty Avenue, 5:00 p.m. [link]
Sacramento (USA) | Federal Building, 5th and I Street, 4:30 p.m.
San Francisco (USA) | Israeli Consulate, 4:00 p.m. [link]
Seoul (Korea) | Israeli Embassy, Kabool Bulding, 149 Seorin-dong, 110-726, 1:00 p.m. Washington D.C. (USA) | March from State Department, 6:00 p.m.
Wellington (New Zealand) | Cuba Mall, by the Buckets, 12:00 p.m. [link]
SATURDAY, 17 Nov
Aukland (New Zealand) | Aotea Square, 2:00 p.m. [link]
Cardiff (UK) | Aneurin bevan Statue, Queen Street, 2:00 p.m. [link]
Edinburgh (UK) | Charlotte sq, 12:00 p.m. [link]
Melbourne (Australia) | Bourke St Mall, 12:30 p.m. [link]
Nottingham (UK)| Nottingham Market Square, 5:30 p.m. [link]
Oslo (Norway) | Israeli Embassy, 3:00 p.m. [link]
Stockholm (Sweden) | Israeli Embassy 3:00 p.m. [link]
[PREVIOUSLY] WEDNESDAY, 14 Nov
Bethlehem | Manger Square, 7:30 p.m.
Istanbul | al Fateh Mosque, 9:00 p.m.
Jerusalem | Damascus Gate, 7:00 p.m.
London | Israeli Embassy
Ramallah | al Manara Square, 7:00 p.m.
Tel Aviv | Ehud Barak’s doorstep, 8:00 p.m.
Quebec | Hall Building, Concordia U, 1455 de Maisonneuve West, 6:00 p.m. [link]
Prepared by Adam Horowitz FOR
INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT FOR BDS MOVEMENT CONTINUES TO GROW
October 31, 2012 at 07:47 (Activism, Boycott Israel, International Solidarity, Israel, Occupation)
A special rapporteur for the UN’s Human Rights Council has called for a boycott on all companies involved with Israeli settlements until they adhere to international rights standards. Israel and the US have condemned the move.
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‘Boycott them!’ UN rapporteur slams companies aiding Israeli settlements
The illegal Ulpana outpost, adjacent to the Beit El Jewish settlement. (AFP Photo / Gali Tibbon)
A special rapporteur for the UN’s Human Rights Council has called for a boycott on all companies involved with Israeli settlements until they adhere to international rights standards. Israel and the US have condemned the move.
In a report presented to the UN General Assembly, American professor Richard Falk said that many US, European and Mexican companies appeared to be violating international human rights and humanitarian laws. The companies are allegedly exploiting Palestinian resources, helping Israel construct illegal settlements and providing security for settlers.
Falk said the call for a boycott is an effort to take infractions of international law seriously. He said the pace of Israeli settlement building has accelerated and that Israel has ignored UN resolutions condemning the practice, so “there is a sense that what the UN says doesn’t count.”
Although Falk admitted that further investigations were necessary to determine severity of the violations, the US and Israel were quick to condemn the report, accusing the UN special rapporteur of bias against Israel and calling for his removal.
US Ambassador Susan Rice stated, “Mr. Falk’s recommendations do nothing to further a peaceful settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and indeed poison the environment for peace. His continued service in the role of a UN Special Rapporteur is deeply regrettable and only damages the credibility of the UN.”
Spokesperson for the Israeli Mission Karaen Peretz added that, “Israel is deeply committed to advancing human rights and firmly believes that this cause will be better served without Falk and his distasteful sideshow. While he spends pages and pages attacking Israel, Falk fails to mention even once the horrific human rights violations and ongoing terrorist attacks by Hamas.”
The Anti-Defamation League urged UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to rescind his preliminary endorsement of the report. Ki-moon has previously said that settlement activity is illegal, and “runs contrary to Israel’s obligations under the Road Map and repeated Quartet calls for the parties to refrain from provocations.”
Representatives from several countries in the UN General Assembly – including Egypt and Iran – praised Falk’s report as fair.
Richard Falk, an American professor emeritus of international law at Princeton University, previously angered Israel by comparing the country to Nazi Germany, and accusing it of crimes against humanity for its treatment of Palestinians.
Since 2008, Israel has barred Falk from visiting the Palestinian territories.
In July 2012, the UN Human Rights Council initiated a probe into Jewish settlements. Israel responded by saying it would bar the Council’s experts from accessing the sites.
The vast majority of the international community considers the settlements in the occupied territories to be illegal. The United Nations has repeatedly upheld the view that Israel’s construction of settlements constitutes a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
The International Court of Justice also said the settlements were illegal. No foreign government actively supports Israel’s building of settlements.
Israel disputes the position of the international community and the legal arguments deeming the settlements illegal. The country cites its historical and biblical links to the West Bank, saying the status of the settlements should be decided in peace negotiations.
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And from South Africa via The Electronic Intifada
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Israel “far worse than apartheid South Africa” says ANC chair as Pretoria conference backs boycott
Submitted by Ali Abunimah
People around the world increasingly agree with Palestinians who say they live in an apartheid system.(Mamoun Wazwaz / APA images)
Activists in South Africa have welcomed a decision by the African National Congress(ANC) International Solidarity Conference to support the Palestinian-led campaign ofboycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel.
The ANC, South Africa’s ruling party, led the decades-long struggle against apartheid.
The official declaration of the conference, held in Pretoria/Tshwane from 25-28 October, “Reiterated its support for Palestinian aspirations for an independent state including the full membership of the UN; and called on the UN Security Council to show leadership in halting the expansion of Israeli settlements and the harassment of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.”
It also stated that the conference “supports the call of civil society’s BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) campaign.”
ANC Chair: Israel “far worse than Apartheid South Africa”
BDS South Africa said in a press release distributed via email:
There was widespread support from international delegates for the adoption and support of the Palestinian BDS call. However, there was one objection from a delegate from Germany who argued that Israel cannot be compared to Apartheid South Africa and thus an all-out boycott of Israel is “ill-informed.” The ANC Chairperson, Baleka Mbete, strongly responded saying that she has been to Palestine herself and that the Israeli regime is not only comparable but “far worse than Apartheid South Africa.” Ms Mbete received a resounding round of applause from delegates for articulating this position.
Mbete, the National Chairperson of the ANC, was Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa from 2008-2009 and is a former Speaker of the National Assembly.
Muhammed Desai of BDS South Africa, who heard Mbete make her statement, told The Electronic Intifada that the adoption of the BDS call was an “absolutely beautiful moment.”
A spokesman for South Africa’s Jewish Board of Deputies, the most outspoken Zionist organization in the country, condemned the conference decision and claimed that “Israel is starting to see the South African government as being as hostile as the Iranian regime,”according to local newspaper The Citizen.
The conference declaration was issued after Adri Nieuwhof presented an appeal, on behalf of over 150 former international anti-Apartheid activists, calling on the ANC to support the BDS movement.
The statement read by Nieuwhof, BDS South Africa noted, “had the support of signatories from more than 19 countries, belonging to over 35 organizations. It also had the backing of long-time South African supporters such as E.S. Reddy, Alice Walker, Victoria Brittain and Prexy Nesbitt.”
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And from Israel as well … From the Archives
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ISRAELI SUPPORT FOR BOYCOTT IS GROWING
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Boycott From Within
Boycott from Within is a group of Israeli citizens that supports the Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS). The AIC sat down with Israeli activist Ofer Neiman to discuss the Boycott from Within movement, its goals and what impact he thinks it will have on ending the Israeli occupation.
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DON’T HARMONISE WITH ISRAELI APARTHEID ~~ PHOTO ESSAY
October 28, 2012 at 09:02 (Activism, Associate Post, Boycott Israel, International Solidarity, Israel, Palestine, Photography)
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The Israeli Philharmonic concert goers were met with a street concert this week in New York…
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Photos © by Bud Korotzer
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ISRAELI PIRACY ~~ EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT AND PHOTOS
October 23, 2012 at 08:44 (Activism, Eyewitness Report, Gaza, Humanitarian Aid Flotilla, International Solidarity, Israel, Palestine, zionist harassment)
Image by Oliphant
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After being released by the Israeli kidnappers, Marco Ramazzotti Stockel tells what has happened since yesterday morning, when at 10 am he was abducted from the ship Estelle, attacked by Israeli Navy ships.
He confirms the reasons behind his choice to take part in this peace mission, aimed at breaking the severe blockade of Gaza.
Stockel, is very important for him.. “Write it, please, so they understand I am Jewish and that if I fight against the occupation it is for the Jews themselves, because the occupation harms them and not only the Palestinians”
Marco Ramazzotti has over 35 years of experience in development aid, as a legal anthropologist and socio-economist, and project manager and NGO representative. He has worked in twenty-six developing countries for Italian and international NGOs, international consulting companies, the EU and several UN agencies (FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP), and Italian Development Cooperation. He has been advisor to an African government and, most recently, has organised and taught in security courses for NGOs, religious missions and companies working abroad. He holds a degree in international law and is a Fellow of Churchill College Cambridge, UK.
He has a political past in the Italian Communist Party and was a member of the major Italian trade-union, CGIL. Since the year 2000, he has been a member of ECO (Ebrei contro l’Ocupazione, Jews against Occupation) and of EJSP, European Jews for a Just Peace. He joined the Freedom Flottilla for Gaza in Athens in 2010, with the French group.
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EXCLUSIVE: Photos from the Gaza aid boat intercepted by the IDF
Mouse over photos for description
The following are exclusive photos taken on board the Estelle, as the ship was sailing toward the Gaza Strip in an attempt to break Israel’s siege on the coastal territory. The Israeli navy took over the ship before it reached its destination, and arrested some twenty activists, among them three Israeli citizens.
Huge efforts were made by the IDF Spokesperson’s Office to curtail media coverage of the story. The ship was brought into the Ashdod Port after dark, more than ten hours after the Israeli forces took it over. Later that night, the Israeli citizens under arrest were brought to a police station through a back door, to prevent media from covering their arrival. The IDF spokesman told Israeli media there was no humanitarian aid on the boat, as claimed by activists, but refused to release documentation to support his claims.
The photos below shows the hours before the ship was intercepted, and minutes before the IDF takeover. The activists are seen releasing pigeons towards the Israeli forces. The last photo shows Israeli naval commandos advancing towards the ship, and we can assume that it was not possible to continue shooting afterwards. According to testimonies given by the arrested activists, IDF used taser guns during the takeover. All international activists were transferred to the custody of Israel immigration authorities.
The three Israeli aboard the boat were brought before an Ashkelon court on Sunday. The judge extended their custody until Tuesday, despite them not posing a threat. According to witnesses at the courthouse, the activists were charged with violating a legal order, violating the Disengagement Law, aiding the enemy and incitement and sedition. After appealing the ruling, the activists will be summoned to a Be’er Sheva court on Monday at 8:30 a.m.
UPDATE: Most charges against the Israeli Estelle passengers have been unofficially dismissed by a Be’er Sheva judge. They were released earlier today to house arrest until Tuesday, and are barred from approaching the border with Gaza.
LET FREEDOM RING THROUGHOUT THE WEST BANK
October 10, 2012 at 09:26 (Activism, International Solidarity, Israel, Occupied West Bank, Palestine)
THE FREEDOM BUS – A HISTORIC FREEDOM RIDE
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The Freedom Bus project has just completed its first Freedom Ride, bringing together Palestinians and internationals on a tour to communities all over the West Bank of occupied Palestine.
During the ride, The Freedom Bus visited some of the most besieged areas in the West Bank. Palestinian actors and musicians enacted personal accounts of community members, touching on issues such as home demolitions, land confiscation, army invasions, arbitrary arrests, settler violence, water shortage, the effects of the Wall and much more. Interactive theatre and music performances were complemented by university seminars, community tours, hip hop concerts, giant puppet shows and marches.
The Freedom Bus made its first stop in Faquaa, where although the village’s name means spring water bubbles, the villagers are struggling to get access to clean water due to Israel’s separation barrier and land confiscation. The performance was watched, from a distance, by Israeli soldiers looking through binoculars and photographing and filming the crowd over the barbed wire.
The bus continued to Nabi Saleh, a small village surrounded by settlements, where we heard several stories from women in the village who are very involved in the non-violent resistance. A newly released prisoner also joined the performance, and as the villagers joyfully crowded around him to welcome him home he told the audience about his experiences of being held in Israeli prison.
In Aida Camp, close to Betlehem, the Freedom Bus actors had the opportunity to perform in a beautiful purpose-built outdoor theatre directly next to the Separation Wall. As we performed in the shadow of the wall the lights of our show lit up the resistance graffiti. It was a truly astonishing setting. An elderly man began his story with a joke: “When people come into your house, they usually choose to enter through the front door. But in the Second Intifada our visitors [the Israelis] came through the walls.” He was referring to the Israeli practice of bombing the walls of neighbouring houses to move through the camp internally. His house was entered in this way and occupied by a group of soldiers for seventeen days before the army set off a bomb that exploded through the walls of five adjacent houses.
Another stop was made in Ramallah, where in the unlikely setting of a corporate conference room, we heard stories from Gazans who lived through the war on Gaza of December 2008 to January 2009. The performance was beamed to the people in Gaza and as the Freedom Bus actors introduced themselves they said they dreamed of one day being able to perform in Gaza without the need of wires and cables. A woman from the Gazan group summed up what many were feeling when she said: “I am happy to see you, but unhappy about the borders between us.”
In Al-Walajah, a village facing impending strangulation by the Separation Wall, the Freedom Bus joined community members in a creative march to protest the attacks on their land and homes. The villagers of Walaja have owned the land for generations, but only inhabit one side of the valley after they were expelled from the location of their original village in 1948. Soon, the valley will also be lost and the wall will essentially imprison the village.
The Freedom Bus also headed to Hebron or Al-Khalil, one of the biggest cities in the West Bank and historically a trading centre. These days, however, the central market places of Hebron are silent. The shops are closed and Palestinians are constantly threatened with attack by the extremely hard-line settlers that have taken up residence in the top stories of Palestinian homes. Many of the houses in the Old City have been vacated. “Welcome to the ghost town,” one little boy said to us.
In a desert valley overlooked by hilltop settlements near Jerusalem, we found the tiny village of Khan al-Ahmar, a Bedouin encampment of ramshackle hand-built shacks of tin, plastic and wood. The Freedom Bus purposefully chose to visit Khan al-Ahmar in order to highlight the conditions of the often-forgotten Palestinian Bedouin population in Israel-Palestine. These people are prevented from pursuing their traditional way of life and their homes are constantly under threat. Nonetheless, an older Bedouin man described the Bedouin as “fierce and resilient people” who will resist as long as they can. As one young Bedouin man put it: “The singer may die, but the song will live.”
It is hard to do justice to the experiences of this Freedom Ride. In short, the international participants left occupied Palestine with memories for life. The perhaps strongest impression was the steadfastness and creativity of people living under occupation. The stories, brought to life by the Freedom Bus actors, acted as a remarkable testimony of a collective struggle to live with dignity in the face of oppression.
This historic Freedom Ride would not have been possible without your support. As we look ahead towards what we hope to be many more rides, we invite you to join us on our continued journey.
Read more:
The Freedom Bus blog
Freedom Bus photo essay
The Freedom Bus on Facebook
Stay tuned for upcoming Freedom Bus videos on The Freedom Theatre’s YouTube channel!
A REMINDER THAT RACHEL CORRIE WAS NOT ALONE
August 30, 2012 at 12:32 (Palestine, Israel, Gaza, International Solidarity, Associate Post, Rachel Corrie, Activism, Soldier Brutality, Hasbara, Cover Up, Hate crimes)
They died so Palestine can live!
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Image ‘Copyleft’ by Carlos Latuff
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Such occasions make us cry but also because we start to remember others: the first three that came to my mind were Vittorio Arrigoni, Bassem and Jawaher Aburahma, then to be followed by a flood of faces and names. When will this injustice end and the murders stop?
Rachel Corrie
Prepared by Mazin Qumsiyeh PhD
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It is hard to believe that we lost Rachel Corrie in March 2003. Our pain makes it feel like only yesterday especially when this week a consistently biased lying Israeli judge justified his unjust verdict exonerating her killers by vilifying the International Solidarity Movement (see links below). As a Palestinian who happens to also hold a US passport and most importantly as a human being, I found the silence of the Obama administration on the murder of a US citizen particularly revealing. Such occasions make us cry but also because we start to remember others: the first three that came to my mind were Vittorio Arrigoni, Bassem and Jawaher Aburahma, then to be followed by a flood of faces and names. When will this injustice end and the murders stop?
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As for hundreds of years, colossal injustices must be and are answered by people. Not just in the case of Rachel but the tens of thousands of civilians murdered since the beginning of the Zionist invasion of Palestine. In a short while we commemorate the massacres of Sabra and Shatila where over 1300 Palestinian refugees and Lebanese were brutally murdered by mercenaries of the Israeli state in 1982 (see). In the subsequent 30 years, with US direct and indirect support, the killing spree continues and the ethnic cleansing continues. 7 million of us are now refugees or displaced people. In the middle of this darkness always come bright lights like Rachel and thousands of others.Rachel lived her ideals and taught us to live based on these ideals. In our last fleeting thought before we die, we never consider that we should have worked for more money or more power but we do think that the good that we do in life must have meant something. Rachel reminded us of this. Rachel’s good deeds and memory will live long after her killers and the Israeli judge die in obscurity. Her memory will live long after apartheid ends in Palestine and we have return and freedom. In that future, Muslims, Christians, Jews and others will join hands and hearts to remember this young girl and all the other martyrs along the way to equality and justice.
A poem I wrote March 16, 2008
Of humanity
People get shot, Rachel spoke
I am afraid, she wrote
Want to Dance
I can’t believe
and so many of her remain
in the world
in her words
in our hearts
But today, with a lump in my throat
what paces in my thought
That strange phrase from a holy book
“they plan but God is the best of planners”
Nervously I ask it to slow down
explain yourself to a refugee spirit
what do you plan for the wretched souls
Why Rachel
Or Hurndall
Why Hiam and Marwa?
Why Faris and Al-Durra?
And who is this divine?
In us all?
Do I learn something on this fifth anniversary
of death of another innocent
Is it misery and pain?
Love and action?
Questions or answers?
Or will all I am left with is that smell of the air of Palestine
and the soil, that soaked soil
that Rachel’s last breath took in
to give us the Spring
of our understanding.
Rachel’s mother: Clearing the Israeli army in this murder is a bad day for :my family, for human rights, and for humanity”
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Video shows it was cold blooded murder
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Jewish Voices for Peace deplores verdict
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Worthewhile rereading Rachel’s letters
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What has become of our nation? Netanyahu regime has destroyed our livelihood, dreams, values and future; turned Israel into racist, violent state by Yael Gvirtz
What has become of our nation? Netanyahu regime has destroyed our livelihood, dreams, values and future; turned Israel into racist, violent state by Yael Gvirtz
OCCUPIED PALESTINE DECLARED A ‘NO ENTRY ZONE’
August 27, 2012 at 11:44 (Activism, International Solidarity, Israel, Occupy Wall Street, Oppression, Palestine, zionist harassment)
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Since Friday, around 100 activists have arrived in Jordan, with the intention of crossing the Israeli-controlled border with the West Bank on Sunday.
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‘Welcome to Palestine’ group denied entry into West Bank
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| Activists pictured during a protest at Brussels national airport in April. Some 1,200 people throughout Europe had bought plane tickets for an April 15 visit to the West Bank as part of a campaign called “Welcome to Palestine”. (Reuters/Sebastien Pirlet) |
BETHLEHEM — Dozens of foreign peace activists were denied entry into the West Bank by Israeli authorities at the Allenby Bridge crossing on Sunday evening, organizers of the third ‘Welcome to Palestine’ initiative said.“The Welcome to Palestine Campaign decries the Israeli denial of entry via the Allenby Bridge to over 100 internationals who wanted to visit us in the occupied Palestinian Territories,” organizers said in a statement.
The group of around 100 activists had finished passport checks at the Jordanian side of the Allenby crossing but were denied entry at the first Israeli checkpoint and told to return to where they had come from, a spokesman for WTP told Ma’an.
No explanation was provided by Israeli crossing authorities as to why the group was denied entry, but the delegation will try to enter the West Bank again on Monday, the spokesman added.
“The denial of entry today at the Allenby Bridge border crossing from Jordan shows that the previous policies of siege and isolation continue,” organizers said.
“We thus will continue to initiate more Welcome to Palestine campaigns. We insist on the freedom of entry. As Israel persists in these unjust policies, it is only fair to ask all countries to reciprocate by denying Israelis entry to these countries.”
Since Friday, around 100 activists have arrived in Jordan, with the intention of crossing the Israeli-controlled border with the West Bank on Sunday.
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| Pro-Palestinian international activists smile in Amman, as they head towards King Hussein Bridge at the border between Jordan and Israel, August 26, 2012.(Reuters/Ali Jarekji) |
The group included French, British, German and American supporters, campaigners told Ma’an.
Political figures were due to greet the delegation in Bethlehem and the group was then scheduled to spend five days visiting Jerusalem, refugee camps, the Negev and villages in Hebron that are struggling against Israel’s separation wall.
Welcome to Palestine had previously organized two “flytillas,” when foreigners stated their intention to visit Palestine on entry to Israeli airport Ben Gurion, drawing Israel to deny entry to many of the passengers and distribute blacklists to airlines.
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| Pro-Palestinian international activists wave a Palestinian flag and perform a dance in Amman, before heading to King Hussein Bridge at the border between Jordan and Israel, August 26, 2012. (Reuters/Ali Jarekji) |
WHAT AND WHEN TO TWEET FOR PALESTINE
August 25, 2012 at 10:52 (Action Alert, Activism, International Solidarity, Occupied West Bank, Oppression, Palestine, Twitter)
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Let’s TREND tonight! Welcome to Palestine 3 Mission
Dear tweeps,
The Welcome to Palestine Mission 3 will start its activities in Palestine (the West Bank) tomorrow, Sunday. In case the activists will be denied access to West Bank (as might actually happen), they will have extensive visits to the Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan.
In this respect, these are few themes to tweet about on twitter:
1) the freedom of movement for Palestinian in/outside the occupied west bank.
2) the right of Palestinian people to receive international visitors without any constraints (even prisoners have the right to receive visitors).
3) One of the core objectives of welcome to Palestine mission is to assist schoolchildren to peruse their new schooling year.
4) the daily life of Palestinian under the Israel system of injustice which suffocates their daily life.
5) in case the activists will be denied entering the west bank (as might actually happen), they will conduct intensive visit to the Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan. Therefore, we need to underpin the issue of the Palestinian refugees in our twitter campaign.
For more details, check this the campaign’s website:
Www.airflotilla2.Wordpress.com (English)
http://palestinejn.org/ (English & Arabic)
http://bienvenuepalestine.com/
(Needed information:
Timing: 10 pm Palestine time. (3 P.M. EST)
Trending Palestine Team
Welcome to Palestine 3 Mission
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Yesterday’s post about the arrivals …
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FLOTILLA 3 ACTIVISTS ARRIVE IN AMMAN
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Welcome to Palestine: Delegates arrive in Amman
The delegates of the International Welcome to Palestine Mission began arriving in Amman, Jordan today. The activists are arriving from several European countries and North America.
More than a hundred activists, aged 9 to 82 years, are participating in the Welcome to Palestine International Mission. The volunteers are determined to arrive to the West Bank (Occupied Palestinian Territories) through Allenby Bridge – which connects Jordan and the West Bank – to reach their final destination in Bethlehem.
The Welcome to Palestine Mission emphasizes the importance of the right of passage to and the right of movement within Palestine and to express solidarity with the Palestinian schoolchildren as they are set to begin the new school year.
Meanwhile, our friends are getting acquainted with Jordan, a country with a large number of Palestinian refugees driven from their homes by Israel since 1948.
Welcome to Palestine Mission
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Follow the activists on Twitter…
Tweet your messages of support.
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My personal message to the activists:
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#Airflotilla3 / A Message of Support from Occupied Jerusalem to Welcome to
Palestine Mission
Humanitarian Israelis welcome the initiatives of the activists planning to come to the Occupied West Bank (Palestine). Only by constant struggle against the Israeli government will all of Palestine be free one day. On that day, Israelis will also become free of being the occupiers.
International Solidarity helped to destroy the apartheid system in South Africa … it will certainly help in Israel/Palestine as well.
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The best way to open the doors to Democracy and Freedom in Palestine is to get your own governments to recognise the evils of Apartheid. The West Bank MUST be liberated from the evil yoke of zionism.
Thanks to all of you for doing your part.
Shalom-Saalam to all the participants.
Steve Amsel, Occupied Jerusalem
FLOTILLA 3 ACTIVISTS ARRIVE IN AMMAN
August 24, 2012 at 13:12 (Activism, International Solidarity, Israel, Palestine)
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Welcome to Palestine: Delegates arrive in Amman
The delegates of the International Welcome to Palestine Mission began arriving in Amman, Jordan today. The activists are arriving from several European countries and North America.
More than a hundred activists, aged 9 to 82 years, are participating in the Welcome to Palestine International Mission. The volunteers are determined to arrive to the West Bank (Occupied Palestinian Territories) through Allenby Bridge – which connects Jordan and the West Bank – to reach their final destination in Bethlehem.
The Welcome to Palestine Mission emphasizes the importance of the right of passage to and the right of movement within Palestine and to express solidarity with the Palestinian schoolchildren as they are set to begin the new school year.
Meanwhile, our friends are getting acquainted with Jordan, a country with a large number of Palestinian refugees driven from their homes by Israel since 1948.
Welcome to Palestine Mission
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Follow the activists on Twitter…
Tweet your messages of support.
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My personal message to the activists:
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#Airflotilla3 / A Message of Support from Occupied Jerusalem to Welcome to Palestine Mission
Humanitarian Israelis welcome the initiatives of the activists planning to come to the Occupied West Bank (Palestine). Only by constant struggle against the Israeli government will all of Palestine be free one day. On that day, Israelis will also become free of being the occupiers.
International Solidarity helped to destroy the apartheid system in South Africa … it will certainly help in Israel/Palestine as well.
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The best way to open the doors to Democracy and Freedom in Palestine is to get your own governments to recognise the evils of Apartheid. The West Bank MUST be liberated from the evil yoke of zionism.
Thanks to all of you for doing your part.
Shalom-Saalam to all the participants.
Steve Amsel, Occupied Jerusalem
