BDS Campaign Update (January – June 2011)
Signatories to “Irish artists pledge to Boycott Israel”
reaches 200
13th January 2011 – Irish singer-songwriter Dylan Walsh has become
the landmark 200th signatory to the “Irish artists pledge to
Boycott Israel”. The pledge, launched in August 2010, commits
endorsers to not “avail of any invitation to perform or exhibit in
Israel, nor to accept any funding from any institution linked to
the government of Israel, until such time as Israel complies with
international law and universal principles of human rights”. It has
garnered the support of many high profile Irish creative and
performing artists such as Stephen Rea, Sinéad Cusack, Christy Moore,
Donal
Lunny,
Andy Irvine, Damien Dempsey, Neilí Conroy, Conor Kostick, Liam
Ó
Maonlaí,
Sharon Shannon, Robert Ballagh and Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill.
Boycott victories in campaign against Ahava
14th January 2011 – In a significant victory for the growing BDS campaign, leading British retail business John Lewis has ceased stocking Ahava products in its stores following an intensive campaign. The Ahava store in Covent Garden, London, has also been the location of regular fortnightly protests by BDS activists in London. Canadian retailer The Bay has also confirmed that it had also discontinued sales of Ahava products. Ahava Dead Sea Laboratories has its manufacturing plant and visitors’ centre based in the illegal Israeli settlement of Mitzpe Shalem in the West Bank. Ahava’s profits subsidise the illegal colonies of Mitzpe Shalem and another settlement, Kalia.
French pop star Vanessa Paradis cancels Israeli
concert
16th January 2011 - Vanessa Paradis has become the latest high
profile cultural star to cancel a performance in Israel following
calls to do so by fans and human rights campaigners. The French pop
star was set to visit Israel in February with her husband Johnny
Depp to sing at the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Centre and meet
President Shimon Peres. Israeli group ‘Boycott! Supporting the
Palestinian Boycott from Within’ was among those calling on
Paradis
to cancel her performance.
Israeli Academics call on Poland to boycott Israel-made
weapons
16th February 2011 – A group of Israeli academics have demanded
that Poland, the incoming President of the European union, cancel a
cooperation agreement with Israel over production of the Spike
missile, which Israel has been documented using against civilians.
The group members are also calling on the Polish government to
promote an “arms embargo” on Israel on behalf of the European Union
and to disallow the illegal activities of Israeli companies that
operate in the occupied territories, including Egged
buses and
Eden mineral water company.
New report by Who Profits exposes:
SodaStream misleads consumers by labeling settlement
products as ‘Made in Israel’
24th February 2011 – A report published by Who Profits from the
Occupation, a research project which investigates Israeli and
international corporate involvement in the Israeli occupation, has
found that Israeli settler company SodaStream misleadingly
markets its devices and bottles under the Made in Israel label. The
company manufactures its products in the Mishor Edomim Industrial Park, an
illegal settlement in the occupied West Bank.
SodaStream, like other settlement companies, recently
faced a ruling by the European Court of Justice, stating that goods
produced in settlements should not be considered as made in Israel
and enjoys the tax exempt of the EU-Israel Association
Agreement.
Folk music legend Pete Seeger endorses boycott of
Israel
28th February 2011 - Folk music legend Pete Seeger has come out in
support of the growing Palestinian movement for Boycott
Divesment and Sanctions against Israel as a program
for justice for Palestinians. Seeger, 92, participated in last
November’s online virtual rally “With Earth and Each Other,”
sponsored by the Arava institute which counts amongst its close
partners and major funders the Jewish National Fund. After being
informed of the role of the organization in dispossessing
Palestinians, Seeger has since fully endorsed the
BDS
call.
Portsmouth dumps Veolia
10th March 2011 – French multinational Veolia has lost out to another
company as the preferred bidder for Portsmouth City Council’s
rubbish collection contract after a long running campaign by
Portsmouth & South Downs PSC has exposed its complicity in Israel’s violations
of international law. In recent years Veolia has emerged as a major
target for BDS campaigns due to its involvement in the
construction and operating of the Jerusalem Light Rail Project,
which links illegal settlements in East Jerusalem with
neighborhoods of West Jerusalem. Veolia’s loss in Portsmouth comes on the
back of similar contrasts were lost in the London borough of
Richmond in February, Edinburgh in December 2010,
Sandwell in 2009 and as part of a campaign which has
cost the company billions internationally.
G4S ends some aspects of its complicity with Israeli
Apartheid
11th March 2011 – The Danish-British security firm
G4S has
announced its exit from some contracts in the West Bank. In their
statement, G4S announced that it will “aim to exit a number of
contracts which involve the servicing of security equipment at the
barrier checkpoints, prisons and police stations in the West
Bank.”
However, the company will continue to deliver security services to
illegal settlements in the West Bank and to prisons in Israel.
Moreover, the company states it “will aim to complete this exit as
soon as possible, but also recognize that we have contractual
obligations to our customers which we must take into consideration”
meaning that G4S will stay involved in the provision of security
services in the West Bank for years to come. As a result,
Palestinian groups are calling upon BDS activists to maintain pressure on
G4S until it
ends all involvement with the unlawful situation in Palestine and
fulfills its obligations under international law.
Edinburgh University students vote overwhelmingly for
boycott of Israeli goods
14th March 2011 - A motion to boycott Israel was overwhelmingly
passed at the Edinburgh University Students Association
(EUSA)
General Meeting. In what was described as a ‘landslide’, the
motion, ‘Boycott Israeli Goods in EUSA shops and supply chains’ received
over 270 votes in favor with only 20 against. Proposed by students
from Edinburgh University Students for Justice in Palestine, the
motion noted that Israel is an Apartheid state and resolved to
affiliate EUSA to the BDS movement, to boycott Israeli goods in
EUSA supply
chains and shops and to mandate the EUSA executive to lobby the University
to do the same.
Norwegian Union EL&IT adopts full Boycott of Israel,
Calls for Boycotting Histadrut
16th March 2011 - The Norwegian EL & IT union, representing over
30,000 energy and telecommunications workers, has adopted
BDS and
called for a boycott of the Histadrut. In a statement, the union has
announced it will take steps in support of a consumer boycott of
Israeli produce, a two-way arms embargo on Israel, a suspension of
Norwegian research cooperation with Israel and the imposition of
sanctions on Israel by the UN. The statement also calls on LO, the
Norwegian trade union federation, to cut ties with the the racist
Israeli labor federation, the Histadrut.
LSE Boycotts Eden Springs
19th March 2011 - Eden Springs, a major Israeli water company, will
not have its contract renewed by the London School of Economics.
This development came off the back of a lengthy and high profile
campaign launched by the LSE Students’ Union Palestine Society,
which drew attention to Eden Springs’ odious business dealings in
the illegally Occupied Golan Heights. The student campaign had been
supported by over 19 LSE academics who signed a joint letter
calling upon the School to terminate its links with Eden Springs.
The decision by all academic departments not to renew their
contracts with Eden Springs is the latest victory in the campaign
against the company which has lost contracts as far and wide as
Scotland and Spain.
University of Johannesburg ends Israeli links in
historic moment for BDS
23rd March 2011 - In a landmark victory for the international
BDS
campaign, Israel South Africa’s University of Johannesburg
(UJ) has
decided to sever ties with Israel’s Ben-Gurion University
(BGU) in
Israel. The decision sets a worldwide precedent for the academic
boycott of Israel. The UJ campaign managed to gain the unprecedented support
of over 400 South African academics, including 9 South African
Vice-Chancellors and Deputy Vice-Chancellors; 11 Deans and Vice
Deans; 19 Heads of Department; 175 University Professors and 125
Academic Doctorates. Included in the list of supporters are some of
South Africa’s leading voices and anti-apartheid stalwarts:
Professors Neville Alexander, Kader Asmal, Allan Boesak, Breyten Breytenbach, John
Dugard,
Antjie
Krog,
Rashida
Manjoo,
Barney Pityana and Sampie Terreblanche. A BNC
statement read “UJ has taken an important and historic step today
demonstrating its commitment to solidarity with the oppressed.
Setting the precedent of no “business as usual” with Israeli
institutions, other South African universities are expected to
follow this lead. Furthermore, this boycott decision, coming from a
South African institution, is of particular international
significance and must start a domino boycott effect.”
Swedish Pension Funds call on Alstom, Veolia, and Motorola to
withdraw from the occupied Palestinian territory
21st April 2011 - The Ethical Council of four Swedish pension funds
is calling on US communications giant Motorola Solutions to pull
out of the Israeli-occupied territories in the West Bank. The
Council wants the company to cease delivery and maintenance of a
custom-designed monitoring system for the settlements in the
Palestinian territories stating that the settlements are located on
occupied land and violate international humanitarian law. The
council is also calling on the Illinois-based firm to adopt a
policy to prevent any future support to human rights violations as
part of a policy also targeting other complicit firms including
Elbit
systems, Alstrom and Velolia.
The Scottish Trade Union Congress
(STUC)
condemns the Histadrut and declares its continued commitment to
the BDS
campaign
23rd April 2011 - There were blistering attacks on the Israeli
Histadrut from the floor of the
STUC annual
conference. The FBU Scotland has been a consistent supporter of
Palestinian calls for boycott and their organizer, Jim Malone,
expressed delegates’ disgust of Histadrut’s complicity with Israel’s
crimes.”The Histadrut through their collusion,
through their support of the illegal actions of the Israeli
government is an organization unworthy of the title trade union.
The trade union movement is a family, with the Israeli
Histadrut, as an even distant cousin, we are a
dysfunctional family”. Mike Kirby, for the STUC General Council, announced,
that the STUC “remains deeply committed” to
BDS and
pledged “to the continued promotion of BDS both to its affiliates, wider
Scottish society and our sister unions”. The General Council
recommended stopping short of a complete boycott of the
Histadrut, but said that a “review will be immediate
in the case of fresh developments in Israel/Palestine”.
Deutsche Bahn pulls out of illegal A1 rail project
9th May 2011 - Deutsche Bahn, the German railway operator, has pulled out of
an Israeli government project to build a railway between Jerusalem
and Tel Aviv which cuts through the occupied Palestinian West Bank
after pressure from activists in Berlin. In February, the German
transport minister wrote to Deutsche Bahn, a state owned company, to express
the view that the A1 train project “is a problematic venture and a
potentialviolation of international law”. The
ministry subsequently informed a member of parliament that Deutsche
Bahn had
ended its involvement in the project after the government raised
its concerns marking one of the first known government
interventions relating to corporate complicity with Israeli
violations of international law.
Canada Church Group Endorses BDS
13th June 2011 - The Holy Land Awareness and Action Task Group, of
the Social Justice and World Affairs Committee within South West
Presbytery of the United Church of Canada, has launched Occupied
with Peace in Palestine, a Boycott/Divestment Campaign. According
to a campaign spokesperson Rev. Brian McIntosh, the initiative
“encourages individuals and organizations, particularly
congregations of the United Church in its region, to use economic
leverage to persuade six companies operating in Canada –
Caterpillar, Motorola, Ahava, Veolia, Elbit Systems and Chapters/Indigo – currently
involved in illegal activities in the Palestinian Occupied
Territories – to stop supporting the Israeli occupation and uphold
international law.” The Campaign responds to calls from a broad
cross-section of Palestinian civil society, church leaders and
Israeli peace activists, and follows similar campaigns launched by
the Presbyterian Church – USA and the New England Conference of the
United Methodist Church, USA.
The Rotten Fruit of Israeli Apartheid Delivered to
Agrexco
Headquarters in Milan
18th June 2011 - Activists from the Stop Agrexco campaign, calling for
the boycott of Israel’s leading produce exporter, took part in an
action at the Italian headquarters in Milan. Entering the Italian
offices of the company, the activists delivered gift baskets of
rotten fruit and vegetables to symbolize the Palestinian
agricultural products rotting at Israeli checkpoints in the West
Bank while produce from the plantations of Israeli settlements
built illegally in the Occupied Palestinian Territories makes its
way to European markets via Agrexco the 50% state-owned company
exporting 70% of all agricultural products grown on
illegally-occupied land.