Transcript From South Africa to Israel/Palestine: Using Boycott to

From South Africa to
Israel/Palestine:
Using Boycott to End
Apartheid
- Rania Masri
www.greenresistance.wordpress.com
August 19, 2009
Co-sponsored by Balance and Accuracy in
Journalism, Elders for Peace, and the Coalition for
Peace with Justice
What is Apartheid?
“…similar policies and practices of racial segregation
and discrimination as practiced in southern Africa”
which have “the purpose of establishing and
maintaining domination by one racial group of
persons over any other racial group of persons and
systematically oppressing them, in particular by
means such as segregation, expropriation of land,
and denial of the right to leave and return to their
country, the right to a nationality and the right to
freedom of movement and residence” (Article II,
International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime
of Apartheid, UN General Assembly Resolution 3068, 30 Nov 1973).
Who says Israel enforces
Apartheid?
“Through its army, the
government of Israel
practices a brutal form
of Apartheid in the
territory it occupies.”
•
Former Education Minister of
Israel, Shulamit Aloni.
“We do not limit ourselves to
denying the [Palestinian] people
human rights. We not only rob of
them of their freedom, land and
water.
We
apply
collective
punishment to millions of people
and even, in revenge-driven
frenzy, destroy the electricity
supply for one and half million
civilians. Let them "sit in the
darkness" and "starve".”
Former Education Minister of Israel,
Shulamit Aloni.
"We enthusiastically chose to become a
colonial society, ignoring international treaties,
expropriating lands, transferring settlers from
Israel to the occupied territories, engaging in
theft and finding justification for all these
activities. …
Who says Israel enforces
Apartheid?
“We established an
apartheid regime in the
occupied territories….”
•
Israeli Attorney General,
Michael Ben-Yair (2002)
Who else says Israel enforces
Apartheid?
Archibishop Desmond Tuto
US President Jimmy Carter
former UN Special Rapporteur for
human rights, Prof. John Dugard
UN General Assembly President Fr.
Miguel Brockman
Human Sciences Research Council
of South Africa (HSRC) (2 June
2009)
former South African prime minister
Hendrik Verwoerd, considered the
architect of apartheid said, “Israel,
like South Africa, is an apartheid
state.” (2006)
Naomi Klein …
Israel’s oppression takes 3
forms
1. The prolonged occupation and
colonization of Gaza and the West Bank,
including east Jerusalem, and other Arab
territories;
2. The system of racial discrimination against
Palestinian citizens of Israel; and
3. The persistent denial of the UN-sanctioned
rights of the Palestinian refugees, paramount
among which is their right to reparations and
to return to their homes of origin, in
accordance with UNGA Res. 194.
LAND THEFT AND EXPULSIONS CONTINUE
[Legal] Land Theft and Expulsions Continue
“On 2 August 2009, after
cordoning off part of the Arab
neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah
in east Jerusalem, Israeli police
evicted two Palestinian families
(more than 50 people) from
their homes; Jewish settlers
immediately moved into the
emptied houses. Although
Israeli police cited a ruling by
the country's supreme court, the
evicted Arab families had been
living there for more than 50
years.”
(Guardian. 18 August 2009)
Outside his home, Maher Hanoun hung this banner. his two brothers
and their wives and children and the Gawis, 54 persons all together,
are now sleeping under trees 50 feet from their former homes
Seeing the ‘other’ as nonexistent
“The dream underlying Israel's
plans is encapsulated by a wall
that separates a settler's town
from the Palestinian town on a
nearby West Bank hill. The
Israeli side of the wall is
painted with the image of the
countryside beyond the wall –
but without the Palestinian
town, depicting just nature,
grass and trees. Is this not
ethnic cleansing at its purest,
imagining the outside beyond
the wall as empty, virginal and
waiting to be settled?”
(Guardian. 18 August 2009)
Duplicating the Prison of Gaza
Israel has begun barring movement between
Israel and the West Bank for those holding a
foreign passport, including humanitarian aid
workers and thousands of Palestinian
residents. (August 18, 2009, http://electronicintifada.net)
BUT ISRAELI APARTHEID IS NOT LIMITED
TO THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN
TERRITORIES
Israel’s oppression takes 3
forms
1. The prolonged occupation and colonization of
Gaza and the West Bank, including east
Jerusalem, and other Arab territories;
2. The system of racial discrimination
against Palestinian citizens of Israel; and
3. The persistent denial of the UN-sanctioned
rights of the Palestinian refugees, paramount
among which is their right to reparations and
to return to their homes of origin, in
accordance with UNGA Res. 194.
Discrimination within Israel
1. The 1950 Law of Return
2. The 1952 Citizenship
Law
3. The Israeli Status Law of
1952
Discrimination within Israel
Racial discrimination against
Palestinian citizens of Israel
in every vital aspect of life
has been the norm.
From land ownership to
education to health to jobs to
housing…
Discrimination within Israel: ongoing
“Material discrimination against
Israel’s Arab citizens is
pervasive and well
documented. It manifests itself
in almost every sphere of life:
welfare and development
budgets, funding for education,
land allocation and more.
…Israel must be a state based
on justice and equality, not on
various forms of discrimination
toward Arabs.”
- Ron Gerlitz, co-executive director of
Sikkuy: The Association for the
Advancement of Civic Equality in
Israel, Haaretz, 16 August 2009
Israel’s oppression takes 3
forms
1. The prolonged occupation and colonization of
Gaza and the West Bank, including east
Jerusalem, and other Arab territories;
2. The system of racial discrimination against
Palestinian citizens of Israel; and
3. The persistent denial of the UN-sanctioned
rights of the Palestinian refugees,
paramount among which is their right to
reparations and to return to their homes of
origin, in accordance with UNGA Res. 194.
Continued Theft of Palestinian Land –
Within Israel
Last week, in violation of
international law and the
refugees’ property rights,
Benjamin Netanyahu
imposed a revolutionary land
reform: privatization of much
of the developed land –
including refugee property –
within Israel. … Land can be
sold only to Jews
SO – WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE US? WHAT
CAN WE DO?
What worked in Apartheid
South Africa?
Boycott/Divestment/Sanctions (BDS)
• Boycott: Form of pressure through noncooperation.
• Divestment: The selling of stocks or bonds
from a company profiting from unjust practices.
• Sanctions: Economic and diplomatic
restrictions imposed by governments against
other governments.
Critical Elements for Change, from the
South African example
1. Sustainability
2. Careful research
3. Linking of struggles
4. Support of Palestinian grassroots
organizations
… and
… The Key
BDS applies pressure on a target
government to change its unjust policies
by consistently and systematically
isolating it internationally.
So what does that mean for our
actions…?
Boycott/Divestment/Sanctions (BDS)
• Boycott: Form of pressure through noncooperation. Consumer actions include
product (economic boycott), academic,
cultural, and sports boycott.
• Divestment: The selling of stocks or bonds
from a company profiting from unjust practices.
This is done by institutional investors like
churches and universities.
• Sanctions: Economic and diplomatic
restrictions imposed by governments against
other governments.
Which Companies to
Boycott?
• Companies that invest in Israel/OPT
• Companies that invest in Israeli firms
• Companies that make gifts to Zionist
Charities
• Companies that support Zionism
• Companies that open research enters in
Israel
(recent)
Supporters of BDS
•
Canadian Union of Public Employees Ontario’s
University Workers Coordinating Committee
•
Fédération autonome du collégial (FAC), Quebec
College Federation
•
Scottish Trade Union Congress
•
An Australian dock workers union
•
British fire fighter union (Fire Brigades Union) – calls for
complete boycott of Israel (August 2009)
•
Academics from England, Scotland, France, Lebanon,
…and
…Academics in the U.S. …
http://usacbi.wordpress.com/
And Academics in Israel:
Boycott Us
“We, as Israeli citizens, raise our voices to call on EU
leaders: use sanctions against Israel's brutal policies
and join the active protests of Bolivia and Venezuela.
We appeal to the citizens of Europe: please attend to
the Palestinian Human Rights Organisation's call,
supported by more than 540 Israeli citizens
(www.freegaza.org/en/home/):
•
boycott Israeli goods and Israeli institutions;
•
follow resolutions such as those made by the cities of
Athens, Birmingham and Cambridge (US).
This is the only road left. Help us all, please!”
– [January 17 2009]
Victories thus far?
•
In Massachusetts, Hampshire College set a historic
precedent by announcing its divestment from six
companies profiting from the Israeli occupation.
Significantly, Hampshire was also the first college in the
US to divest from apartheid South Africa in the 1970s.
•
In Wales, Cardiff University acceded to demands by
students and decided to divest from companies
supporting the occupation.
•
In South Africa, dock workers refused to off-load a ship
full of products from Israel – after a decision by the
South African Trade Unions Congress to engage in
boycott and sanctions against apartheid in Israel.
More Victories
• The French company Veolia
withdrew from operating the
rail project to connect the city
center of Jerusalem with
settlements in the West Bank
(June 2009)
• Observers claim this is the
achievement of the Global
Boycott Divestment and
Sanctions (BDS) Campaign
…and more Victories
•
Motorola Israel Ltd sold its
Government Electronics
Department – which made
several products to enable
Israel’s military occupation
•
The protests had called on
Motorola and its fully owned
subsidiary, Motorola Israel
Ltd., to end their sales of
bomb fuses, communication
devices, and surveillance
equipment to the Israeli
military.
Still more victories …
• “There is a shift in the effectiveness of the BDS
movement against Israel and that if the
momentum is maintained and strengthened,
Israeli businessmen may decide to move their
headquarters away from Israel or to begin to put
pressure on the Israeli government to begin
respecting international law and ending the
occupation.” (March 2009)
And 2 days ago…
Amnesty International
Withdraws from
Leonard Cohen’s
Israel Concert Fund
In London Tesco Supermarkets
Avocados, pomellos, cherry
tomatoes, herbs and dates
grown in Israel and on
illegal settlements in the
occupied Palestinian West
Bank were trapped in
baskets and trolleys to
disrupt the sale of such
produce and symbolise the
need for clear international
action against illegal Israeli
settlements and Israeli war
crimes in the region
Ahava: Stolen Beauty
& the start of a victory...
Let’s Push It Over
• “… what prevented South Africa’s white supremacist
government from escalating their own violence to Israeli levels
of cruelty and audacity was not that they had greater scruples
than the Zionist regime. It was recognition that they alone
could not stand against a global anti-apartheid movement
that was in solidarity with the internal resistance.
•
“Israel’s ‘military deterrent’ has now been repeatedly
discredited as a means to force Palestinians and other Arabs
to accept Zionist supremacy as inevitable and permanent.
Now, the other pillar of Israeli power — Western support and
complicity — is starting to crack. We must do all we can to
push it over.” – Ali Abunimah, 2009
Resources
• Global BDS Movement: http://www.bdsmovement.net/
• Palestinian Campaign for the Academic & Cultural
Boycott of Israel: http://www.pacbi.org/
• Stop the Wall: http://stopthewall.org/
• Palestine Remembered: http://palestineremembered.com/
• Body on the Line: http://bodyontheline.wordpress.com
• Electronic Intifada: http://electronicintifada.net