BDS UPDATE

Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel

 Group of British doctors call for a boycott of the Israel Medical Association

April 28, 2007 - A group of British doctors has called for a boycott of the Israeli Medical Association (IMA) and its expulsion from the World Medical Association (WMA). The petition, signed by 130 doctors, argues that by refusing to criticise Israeli policies in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel, the IMA is failing to uphold international medical ethical standards.

 “We, the undersigned, Palestinian Medical and Health institutions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, call on world medical and health institutions to: 1. Immediately end cooperation with, and refrain from participation in, any form of collaboration or joint activities with the IMA. 2. Advocate for the condemnation of the IMA. 3. Support Palestinian medical and health institutions directly without requiring them to partner with Israeli counterparts as a condition for such support.”.

Jews for Boycotting Israel

April 2, 2007 - In order to challenge the stronghold Israel has on Palestine and its fledgling economy, a group of Jewish and Israeli residents in Britain was set up as a subsection of the campaign undertaken by Boycott Israeli Goods BIG (www.bigcampaign.org.uk). The new group, J-BIG, is an outcome of the deep frustration Jewish peace activists feel towards the inaction displayed by the Jewish community and its liberal wing with regard to Israel’s repressive occupation of Palestinian land.

UK Journalist Union: Support boycott of Israeli goods

April 24, 2007 - The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) issued this statement on 17 April 2007 following a vote at the 2007 Annual Delegate Meeting in Birmingham, UK.

“The NUJ’s Centenary Annual Conference debated more than 200 motions. [...] Among the motions passed in the international debate was one calling among other things for the NUJ to support a “boycott of Israeli goods... led by trade unions and the TUC” in response to the situation in Palestine and last year’s conflict in Lebanon. The decision made by elected representatives at our conference was a decision of NUJ members...to try to help put pressure on the Israeli government to reverse its block of these payments, its refusal to recognise Palestinian journalists carrying the international press card and the general damage being done by the continued occupation.”

Norwegian Socialist Left Party renews support for BDS

April 2007 - The Socialist Left Party (SV), one of three parties in the Norwegian Government, has renewed its support for sanctions against Israel. The Party’s Congress adopted 25th of March unanimously a resolution named “Sanctions against the Occupier - not the occupied.”

Cosatu calls for boycott of Israel

May 25, 2007 - Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) president Willy Madisha called for the government to cease all diplomatic relations with Israel after its attacks on the Palestinian leadership. Madisha said the best way to have Israel comply with United Nations resolutions on Palestine was to step up pressure by a global diplomatic boycott such as the one imposed on apartheid SA.

UK architects petition against Israel

May 26, 2007 - A petition by the Architects and Planners for Justice in Palestine (APJP) denounced the Israeli architects for their complicity in “unjust action” such as illegal settlements, which “couldn’t have been realized without their help.”

UCU boycott resolutions

May 2007 - On May 30th 2007 the UK University and College Union (UCU) meeting at its firstAnnual Congress in Bournemouth passed Resolution 30 - Boycott of Israeli academic institutions notes that Israel’s 40-year occupation has seriously damaged the fabric of Palestinian society through annexation, illegal settlement, collective punishment and restriction of movement. The motion condemned Israel for its “denial of educational rights” for the Palestinian people. British academics were urged to back calls for a boycott of Israeli universities and were asked to consider the “moral implications” of links with Israeli universities. According to the BBC, delegates backed the motion in a card vote by 158 votes to 99, with 17 abstentions. This launches the union into a year-long debate into backing “a comprehensive and consistent boycott” of all Israeli academic institutions, to be voted upon at next year’s conference.

UK trade union backs total boycott of Israel

June 20, 2007 - The UK’s largest trade union, UNISON, advocated on Wednesday a total boycott of Israel over its continued occupation of Palestinian territories. A statement issued by delegates meeting in Brighton read: “The conference believes that ending the occupation demands concerted and sustained pressure upon Israel including an economic, cultural, academic and sporting boycott”. In addition, delegates called on the British government to press for an arms embargo against Israel.

Methodist divestment task force issues divestment recommendations

June 21, 2007 - The Divestment Task Force of the New England Conference of The United Methodist Church has issued a report including recommendations for divestment from twenty companies identified as supporting the Israeli occupation in Palestine. The Divestment Task Force was created to implement Resolution 204, which was passed during the 2005 New England Annual Conference session (RS-204: Resolution on Divesting from Companies that are Supporting in a Significant Way the Israeli Occupation of Palestinian Territories). Formore, visit: www.neumc.org/divest

Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance passes boycott and divestment motions

June 27, 2007 - Northern Ireland’s biggest trade union, the Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance, unanimously passed all five motions on Palestinian solidarity discussed at the 2007 annual delegate conference. These motions contained # Severe condemnation of Israel, # A commitment to boycott and divestment and # Support for Trade Union Friends of Palestine and the Enough campaign against Israeli Occupation. Up-to-date database of the U.S. phone numbers (both landline and cell) at spamnumbers.net is among the largest legal public bases. Use telephone number lookup to find out who called you from the spoofed number.

Transport and General Workers’ Union joins moves to boycott Israel

July 8, 2007 - Britain’s Transport and General Workers’ Union has called upon its 800,000 members to boycott Israeli-made products based on what they term Israel’s “criminal policies in Palestinian territories.”

Dutch government warns company to stop work on Wall

July 9, 2007 - The Dutch foreign minister, Maxime Verhagen, recently warned a construction company from the Rotterdam area to terminate its involvement in work on the separation fence in the West Bank. “I expect Riwal to stop providing cranes for the wall. I hope this will be the last we hear of it,” Verhagen said in a media statement late last month, adding that “the government will keep a close watch” on the company’s actions. The Dutch foreign ministry called the company’s work on the barrier “undesirable,” citing the 2004 ruling by the Hague-based International Court of Justice that the Wall was illegal.

Irish Congress of Trade Unions Calls for Boycott and Divestment

July 9, 2007 - The Irish Congress of Trade Unions - representing trade unions and trades councils from the whole island of Ireland - have today passed two motions on Palestine that are critical of the actions of the Israeli government in its oppression of the Palestinian people. The two motions condemn Israel for its human rights abuses, its policy of ethnic cleansing and its war crimes

This updated was compiled for the Acting Steering Committee, Palestinian BDS Campaign: www.bds-palestine.net For regular updates about global BDS initiatives, see, for example: www.pacbi.org