BDS Campaign Update (June – December 2010)
Glasgow shops join boycott of all Israeli
produce
30 August 2010 – Following a campaign by Friends of Al Aqsa and the
Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Asian shops in a key area
of Glasgow declare themselves free of Israeli produce. A number of
shopkeepers were unaware that they were even stocking Israeli goods
and thanked campaigners for helping them to correctly identify
Israeli goods.
Israeli actors call for a boycott of cultural center in the Israeli colony of Ariel
31 August 2010 – A group of 200 Israeli artists have vowed not
to play in the new cultural center in the illegal Israeli colony of
Ariel or any of the Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The boycotting artists were supported by over 150 Israeli academics
and a protest of over 300 activists outside a Tel Aviv theater
company that had agreed to perform in Ariel. Palestinian groups
welcome the boycott but insist on a morally consistent boycott on
all Israeli state-funded cultural institutions in line with the
2005 Palestinian BDS call.
Pro-Israeli media sources and think tanks report an
acceleration of the BDS movement
5 September 2010 – Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports on the growing
economic and political effects of the global BDS movement. Reports
by Israeli think tank, the REUT institute and pro-Israeli lobbies
such as AIPAC and J-Street call for the formation of an
anti-boycott strategy to counter the growing effectiveness of the
BDS campaign.
Palestine conference in India endorses the Palestinian BDS
Campaign
22nd-23rd September 2010 – With the support of the Palestinian
National Committee for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, Indian
intellectuals and activists organized the “Just Peace for
Palestine” conference in New Delhi, India. The conference concluded
with a resolution which called upon “the Indian government to end
its military ties with Israel and return to its earlier commitment
to the cause of the Palestinian people.” The conference also
affirmed that “the world must declare that Israel is an apartheid
state. It must call for global boycott and sanctions on Israel as
long as it continues its illegal occupation of Palestine and its
apartheid policies.” The resolution appealed to “people in India to
join the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign as a show
of solidarity with the Palestinian people and their just struggle.”
A plan of action was announced, in which several steps to show
solidarity with Palestinians were outlined, particularly the
launching of BDS campaigns and other measures by people’s action
groups in the Asian region. More information on the conference can
be found on the PACBI website: http://www.pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=1376
University of Johannesburg cancels long-term academic links
with Ben-Gurion University
30 September 2010 - The Senate of the University of Johannesburg
votes "not to continue a long-standing relationship with Ben Gurion
University (BGU) in Israel in its present form" and to set
conditions "for the relationship to continue." The UJ Senate set an
ultimatum of six months for BGU to end its complicity with the
Israeli occupation army and to end policies of racial
discrimination against Palestinians. The decision came after a
campaign endorsed by over 250 South African academics including the
heads of the four South African universities and prominent leaders
such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Breyten Breytenbach, John Dugard,
Antjie Krog, Barney Pityana, and Kader Asmal.
Irish government scraps 'Israeli bullets’ deal
11 October 2010 – The Irish government refused to grant Israel
Military Industries the contract to supply 10 million bullets to
the Irish Defence Forces. The contract for the 5.56 x 45mm rounds,
to be bought over a five-year period, has instead gone to Belgian
and Brazilian arms manufacturers. The announcement came after a
seven month campaign by the Irish PSC against the granting of the
contract to any Israeli company. The campaign involved a lobby of
the government, a letter writing campaign and protested outside the
Defence Minister Tony Killeen’s constituency office.
Norwegian campaign for Academic and Cultural Boycott
launched with over 100 Signatures
13 October 2010 - A Norwegian petition calling for an institutional
cultural and academic boycott of Israel (in line with the PACBI
guidelines) has gathered 100 impressive signatories -- academics,
writers, musicians, other cultural workers, and sports celebrities,
including Egil "Drillo" Olsen, the coach of the Norwegian national
soccer team, who is a huge celebrity in Norway.
Five countries boycott tourism conference in
Jerusalem
15 October 2010 - An OECD ‘High Level Roundtable’ on tourism due to
take place in West Jerusalem was thrown into chaos by the decision
of five countries not to attend and the disclosure by several
others that only low-level delegations will take part. Following
attempts by Israel to use the conference to further its territorial
claims on Jerusalem and concerns raised by Palestinian civil
society and its international supporters that the conference serves
to whitewash Israeli violations of international law, the UK,
Sweden, Ireland, Turkey and South Africa announced that they would
be not be taking part. Although the UK denied that its refusal to
attend was politically motivated, Sweden and Turkey openly stated
that their withdrawals are political in nature. In a further blow
to the credibility of the ‘high level’ conference at which ‘senior
government officials’ were expected to discuss tourism policy, a
number of countries will not send tourism ministers and instead
low-ranking officials will represent member country
governments.
Veolia and Alstrom attempt to sell shares in Jerusalem
Light Railway - BNC Calls for an intensification of
Campaign
15 October 2010 - Veolia and Alstom, the two French companies
involved in the construction and management of a tramway linking
west Jerusalem with illegal Israeli colonial settlements in
Occupied Palestinian Territory, are both reported to be selling
their shares in the consortium that manages the project after a
long and determined BDS campaign against the companies. The
campaign contributed to the exclusion of both companies from major
pension funds in the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark as well as the
loss of nearly a staggering €5bn internationally, including the
loss by Veolia of a €3.5bn contract to operate subways in Stockholm
County, a contract it had held for ten years. While the sale of the
shares does constitute a success for the BDS campaign, the
continuation of the companies' complicity and profiteering from the
project, and in other illegal projects in Palestine and their
refusal to pay compensation to the Palestinian victims means that
they should continue to be the targets of concerted BDS action.
Coalition of Women for Peace release report on Complicity
of Israeli Bank in the Occupation
19 October 2010 - Who Profits from the Occupation, the research
project of The Coalition of Women for Peace, initiated in response
to the Palestinian call for Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS)
against Israel, released a report on the direct involvement
of Israeli banks in illegal settlements. The report entitled
'Financing the Occupation: the Direct Involvement of Israelis Banks
in Illegal Settlement Activity and Control Over the Palestinian
Banking Market' identifies six categories of the involvement of
Israeli banks and is a useful resource for activists campaigning
against financial institutions responsible for maintaining the
financial framework of the occupation. A full copy of the report is
available on the Who Profits website at: http://www.whoprofits.org/articlefiles/WhoProfits-IsraeliBanks2010.pdf
City Council of Cigales removes Eden Springs water from its
buildings
21st October 2010 – The Spanish town of Cigales became the second
town in the province of Valladolid to join to the international BDS
movement by removing the Israeli bottled water Eden Springs Ltd.
from all its municipal buildings. The move came after a strong
mobilization of the towns inhabitants, including demonstrations,
petitions and public awareness campaigns and comes in the wake of a
similar decision by the City Council of Villanueva de Duero and the
teachers and workers of the Nursing School of the University of
Valladolid who requested the removal of Eden Springs from the
bottled water vending machines. Eden Springs is an Israeli-owned
company and is sourced from the illegally occupied Golan
Heights.
War on Want release new report on BDS
November 2010 – British anti-poverty charity War on Want published
a new report exposing companies profiting from the occupation. The
report highlights the need for the global community to take action
to support the Palestinian people in the struggle for their right
and explains the logic and success of the growing BDS movement. A
full copy of the report is available on the War on Want website:
http://www.waronwant.org/attachments/Boycott,%20Divestment,%20Sanctions.pdf
South African Artists Against Apartheid
Launched
1 November 2010 – After Cape Town Opera (CTO) announce their
intention to perform “Porgy and Bess” in Tel Aviv, hundreds of
South Africans including Desmond Tutu and the South African Civil
Society Conference (comprising over 300 delegates from 56
mass-based civil society organisations) join a letter by Israeli
BDS activists calling on the CTO to cancel its tour. Whilst the
tour did go ahead, Israeli BDS activists performed a mock
performance outside the theater in protest
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wElyrFOnKPk&feature=related)
and as a result of the mass mobilization against CTO performing,
activists announce the launch of South African Artists Against
Apartheid to implement a sustained campaign of cultural boycott
against Israel (http://www.southafricanartistsagainstapartheid.com/2010/11/declaration.html)
Africa Israel says no plans to build more
settlements
3 November 2010 - Africa Israel, the flagship company of Israeli
billionaire Lev Leviev, announced that it is no longer involved in
Israeli settlement projects and that it has no plans for future
settlement activities. Africa Israel subsequently denied that this
was a political decision. However, in the last few years numerous
organizations, firms, governments and celebrities have exerted
pressure and severed their relationships with Leviev and his
companies over their involvement in settlement construction and
other human rights abuses, in response to a boycott campaign
initiated by Adalah-NY.
BDS moves forward in Australia after landmark
Conference
4 November 2010 – Over 150 Palestine solidarity activists gathered
in Melbourne, Australia for a two-day conference in support of the
Palestinian BDS call. In addition to the conference, the Electrical
Trades Union, the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, the
Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union, the Queensland
branch of the Rail Tram and Bus Union and the Finance Sector Union
have all passed resolutions supporting the international boycott,
divestment and sanctions campaign against Israel.
Major Dutch pension fund divests from Israeli
occupation
12 November 2010 - The major Dutch pension fund Pensioenfonds Zorg
en Welzijn (PFZW), which has investments totaling €97bn has
divested from almost all the Israeli companies in its portfolio.
PGGM, the manager of the major Dutch pension fund PFZW, has adopted
a new guideline for socially responsible investment in companies
which operate in conflict zones. In addition, PFZM has also entered
into discussions with Motorola, Veolia and Alstom to raise its
concerns about human rights issues.
De Paul University suspends sales of Israeli
Humous
19 November 2010 – De Paul University in Chicago has agreed to
suspend the sale of Israeli hummus brand Sabra. Upon discovering
that Chartwells, the provider of dining services at the university
had introduced of the brand to the campus, student activists
compiled information on the company's vocal and material support
for the Israeli Army and had the product removed in less than two
weeks. The campaign to ban Sabra has already spread to a number of
the other 156 college and university campuses in the United States
for whom Chartwells provides catering services.
Montreal hosts successful BDS Conference against Israeli
Apartheid
22nd-24th November 2010 – A conference organized by BDS activists
in Canada brought together over 600 hundred people concerned with
social justice and the rights of Palestinians. The conference
included 2 days of workshops, a hiphop concert and speaker
plenaries and concluded with resolutions to strengthen Canadian BDS
networks by agreeing to organize for the BDS international day of
action on 30th March, expand Israeli Apartheid Week and commit to
spread the cultural boycott of Israel.
Tindersticks Cancel Tel Aviv Show
23 November 2010 – English indie rock band the Tindersticks cancel
their show in Tel Aviv following a concerted campaign by the
Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of
Israel (PACBI). In a press release Tindersticks cited their reason
as being their wish not to “defy a rapidly growing movement with
whose aims we agree”.
Palestinian civil society reaffirms support for persecuted
French activists
23 November 2010 – In response to attempts by the French government
to prosecute activists involved in the global BDS campaign, the
Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee
(BNC) urged the French government to immediately cease all
undemocratic, repressive measures against its own conscientious
citizens who promote or engage in non-violent boycotts, divestment
and sanctions (BDS) campaigns against Israel until it complies with
international law. The BNC also called upon the State of France to
respect its own legal obligations under international law, cease
its role as the EU's largest supplier of military equipment to
Israel, and undertake further measures, including sanctions, in
order to bring to an end Israel's unlawful regime of occupation,
colonialism and apartheid over the Palestinian people.
BDS Dabka flashmob in 5 cities video
29 November 2010 – In recognition of the International Day of
Solidarity with the Palestinian People, activists in the 5 cities
of Geneva, Toronto, Utrecht, Paris and Geel organized Dabka
flashmobs to raise awareness of the campaign for BDS against Israel
until it complies with international law. The full video is
available online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oyprxqz3P1E
Argentinian workers' movements and community radios take up
BDS
November 2010 - November saw a flurry of BDS activities in
Argentina, where workers from the recovered factories movement,
along with the global umbrella organization for community radio,
committed to active support of the Palestinian BDS call. Workers in
205 factories reclaimed since the 2001 financial crisis pledged to
"ensure that our work sites, our businesses and factories, [...]
will be spaces free of Israeli apartheid. We resolve to ensure we
do not have contracts and business between our recovered companies
and Israeli companies, the State of Israel or companies that
support the State of Israel." In addition to committing to raise
awareness in Argentina about the Palestinian struggle, workers will
be encouraged to "participate in and support global and national
BDS initiatives [and] require the State of Argentina to cut
relations with the State of Israel until such time as the end of
apartheid and freedom of the Palestinian people is achieved." In
the city of La Plata, Argentina, the World Association of Community
Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) bringing together 4,000 community radios
across 115 countries also broke new ground when they issued a
statement supporting the BDS movement at the tenth Global
Conference of Community Radio broadcasters.
IWW supports Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement in
support of Palestinian rights
2 December 2010 – The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW or
Wobblies) has officially voted to support the Boycott, Divestment
and Sanctions (BDS) movement in support of Palestinian rights. The
“Resolution in Support of the Workers of Palestine/Israel” was
adopted in an overwhelming vote both at the IWW’s convention in
Minneapolis and by the membership via referendum. This vote makes
the IWW the first union in the US and the third union in Canada to
officially support the Palestinian United Call for Boycott,
Divestment and Sanctions.
Human Rights Watch calls for US and EU Sanctions against
Israel over Illegal Settlements
19 December 2010 – In a 166-page report into Israeli practices in
the Occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, Human Rights Watch
concluded that Palestinians face severe systematic discrimination
due to their racial, ethnic and national origins. The report also
focused on the role of settlements and called for a suspension by
the EU and US of any support which would facilitate the maintenance
and continued growth of the settlements, in order that they not be
implicated in Israel's grave breaches of international law. The
report can be found in full on the HRW website: http://www.hrw.org/node/95061