BDS. Boycott, also by Universities (old version) Reageer (0) 29-1-2010
As of today there has been made a new section for BDS and Universities. hier . ---------------------------------------------------------------
pagina over dit onderwerp ---------------------------------------------------------------
Ha'aretz Jordanian protesters burning an Israeli flag at an anti-Israel protest in Amman last year. (Reuters) By Barak Ravid 12-2-2010
Israel
is facing a global campaign of delegitimization, according to a report
by the Reut Institute, made available to the cabinet on Thursday. The
Tel Aviv-based security and socioeconomic think tank called on
ministers to treat the matter as a strategic threat. The
report cites anti-Israel demonstrations on campuses, protests when
Israeli athletes compete abroad, moves in Europe to boycott Israeli
products, and threats of arrest warrants for Israeli leaders visiting
London.
Reut says the campaign is the work of a worldwide
network of private individuals and organizations. They have no
hierarchy or overall commander, but work together based on a joint
ideology - portraying Israel as a pariah state and denying its right to
exist.
Reut lists the network's major hubs - London, Brussels,
Madrid, Toronto, San Francisco and the University of California,
Berkeley. The network's activists - "delegitimizers" the report dubs
them - are relatively marginal: young people, anarchists, migrants and
radical political activists. Although they are not many, they raise
their profile using public campaigns and media coverage, the report
says.
The "delegitimizers" cooperate with organizations engaging
in legitimate criticism of Israel's policy in the territories such as
Amnesty and Human Rights Watch, blurring the line between legitimate
censure and delegitimization. They also promote pro-Palestinian
activities in Europe as "trendy," the report says.
The network's
activists are not mostly Palestinian, Arab or Muslim. Many of them are
European and North American left-wing activists. The Western left has
changed its approach to Israel and now sees it as an occupation state,
the report says. To those left-wing groups, if in the 1960s Israel was
seen as a model for an egalitarian, socialist society, today it
epitomizes Western evil.
The delegitimization network sees the
fight against the former regime in South Africa as a success model. It
believes that like the apartheid regime, the Zionist-Israeli model can
be toppled and a one-state model can be established.
The Reut
team says the network's groups share symbols and heroes such as the
Palestinian boy Mohammed al-Dura, American peace activist Rachel Corrie
and joint events like the Durban Conference.
Israel's diplomats
overseas, meanwhile, must counter the attempts to delegitimize the
country. "The combination of a large Muslim community, a radical left,
influential, English-language media and an international university
center make London fertile ground for Israel's delegitimization," says
Ron Prosor, Israel's ambassador in London.
Prosor gives many
interviews to the British media and lectures at university campuses
throughout the country. Although he says he has encountered anti-Israel
demonstrations on almost every campus, Prosor has told his people to
increase their campus activity.
"What is now happening in London
universities will happen, at most, in five years at all the large
universities in the United States," he says.
The Reut report
says Israel is not prepared at all to deal with the threat of
delegitimization. The cabinet has not defined the issue as a threat and
sees the diplomatic arena as marginal compared to the military one.
"The
Foreign Ministry is built for the challenges of the '60s, not the
2000s," the report says. "There are no budgets, not enough diplomats
and no appropriate diplomatic doctrine."
Reut recommends setting
up a counter-network, in which Israel's embassies in centers of
delegitimization activity would serve as "front positions."
The
report says the intelligence service should monitor the organizations'
activities and study their methods. The cabinet should also confront
groups trying to delegitimize Israel but embrace those engaged in
legitimate criticism.
The report adds that Israel should not
boycott these groups, as Israel's embassy in Washington does with the
left-wing lobby J Street. Boycotting critics merely pushes them toward
joining the delegitimizers, Reut says.
Source ---------------------------------------------------------------
Mondoweiss by Alex Kane See also
here 11-2-2010
The student protests at Oxford University and the University of California, Irvine that interrupted Israeli officialsâ speeches are continuing to make waves in a variety of ways. An apparent anti-Semitic
remark in Arabic was hurled at Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister
Danny Ayalon
during the interruptions to his speech. Various media outlets are
reporting that a protester yelled, âkill the Jewsâ at Ayalon, a former
Israeli ambassador to the United States and a member of the far-right
Yisrael Beiteinu party.
Ayalon is now considering pressing charges against the student who yelled at him. According to the
Independent (UK) ,
he said the move against the student demonstrated âour new policy on
hatred and racism. We will have zero tolerance for anti-Semitism,
something that should have happened a long time ago.â
The local police and the Oxford Union have launched investigations into the matter.
Of
course, what these media reports donât mention is the irony that as
Ayalon is denouncing âhatred and racism,â he is a member of a political
party whose leader,
Avigdor Lieberman , is on record saying numerous racist remarks against Palestinians. For instance, Lieberman called for the
execution of Arab members of the Knesset who met with Hamas, and ran a
campaign
centered around the slogan, âno citizenship without loyalty,â wanting
Palestinians living inside Israel to be forced to sign a âloyaltyâ oath
to the Jewish State. And Yisrael Beiteinu has introduced legislation
that would ban commemoration of the Nakba.
Then thereâs
J Street U , the student branch of
J Street ,
which released a statement seemingly painting the disruptions of
Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren and Ayalonâs speeches as anti-Semitic
and racist. The
statement reads, in part:
J
Street U is deeply concerned about recent incidents on college campuses
aimed at obstructing civil and open debate around the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The
statement comes as Oren said that the rift between Oren and J Streetâ a
result of Orenâs refusal to attend a J Street conference last
Octoberâis healing. Oren
told
the Los Angeles Jewish Journal that, âJ Street has now come and
supported Congressman [Howard] Bermanâs Iran sanction bill; it has
condemned the Goldstone report; it has denounced the British courtâs
decision to try Tzipi Livni for war crimes, which puts J Street much
more into the mainstream.â
During Orenâs speech at the University of California, Irvine, 11 students were arrested for interrupting his speech. The
Muslim Public Affairs Council has demanded an investigation over the arrests in a letter to school officials, saying:
University police had every right to escort the individuals out of the
room, and bar them from re-entering. However, it is unclear what law
they broke that would allow for them to be arrested for their actions.
For this reason, we are calling on your office and that of the UCI
Police Department to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation
into the arrest of these students. ---------------------------------------------------------------
Mondoweiss Oxford students: Our protest of Ayalon was a massive success by Philip Weiss 10-2-2010
The
official report of Oxford Universityâs Palestine Society on last
nightâs demonstrations against the speech by Israeli Deputy Foreign
Minister Danny Ayalon: Danny Ayalon, Israelâs Deputy
Foreign Minister and member of the far-right Yisrael Beitenu party,
came to the Oxford Union on 8 February, on a desperate PR mission to
resuscitate Israelâs image after global public condemnation for its war
crimes in Gaza last year. The Oxford Studentsâ Palestine Society,
together with other student groups and members of the public, organised
a protest, both on the street outside the Union and within the debating
chamber itself.
It is our belief that Yisrael Beitenu, Danny
Ayalonâs party, is a racist party which advocates apartheid policies.
Ayalon himself refuses to recognise the West Bank and Jerusalem as
Occupied Territory and is attempting to introduce legislation which
would criminalise Palestinians who celebrate their national day of
remembrance, Nakba Day. The fact that such a figure was invited to the
Oxford Union unopposed is a disgrace. As such, we, the Oxford Studentsâ
Palestine Society, felt it necessary to present our own challenge, and
demonstrate the continuing resistance to apartheid, to occupation, to
the crippling blockade on Gaza, to house demolitions and to settlement
building.
The protest was a massive success. Outside, over a
hundred people joined together to chant slogans in support of
Palestine, carrying banners condemning Israeli policy and waving the
Palestinian flag. Inside, numerous individual students interrupted the
talk, challenging Ayalonâs assertions that the West Bank and East
Jerusalem were not Occupied Territory, and that Israel had âgiven upâ a
third of its country in its peace deal with Egypt. Before long, Ayalon
was not able to continue his rehearsed speech, and was forced to
contend with a gathering storm of intelligent questions and statements
contradicting his evasions and outright lies. At one point a member of
the Palestine Society read out a full page of the Goldstone Report
dealing with Israelâs deliberate killing of civilians, to thunderous
applause from the audience. Another student raised a Palestinian flag
and called out a list of Israelâs war crimes, including the use of
chemical weapons during the war on Gaza in January 2009. Israelâs
ambassador to the UK, Ron Prosor, sitting in the front row, looked
bewildered and embarrassed by his colleagueâs feeble performance.
Beyond
the hosting of Ayalon, and his outrageous remarks, the real scandal of
the evening was the thuggery of Ayalonâs security staff. After the
talk, as one protestor photographed their car, the security staff drove
straight into him. This sort of violence is commonplace in the Occupied
Territories, but rarely exposed outside them, seeming particularly
surreal in Oxford. The protestor was carried on the car bonnet a
hundred yards down New Inn Hall Street, clinging on as the security
staff sped up. When he managed to fling himself clear, the protestor
was badly bruised, but luckily escaped serious injury. Two other Oxford
students had been forced to jump for cover as the car accelerated.
After the car swiftly disappeared, the three lodged an official
complaint. Thames Valley Police are now investigating the incident,
having been provided with photographic evidence.
Nevertheless,
despite the violence, the incident could not detract from the success
of the protest, nor distract from the clear message that students sent
to Ayalon and his state: until Israel ends its illegal occupation and
the Palestinians receive the justice they have been denied for the last
six decades, Israelâs representatives and propagandists will not be
welcome at Oxford University. This is the same message which British
students sent to President Shimon Peres in November 2008, and which
American students sent to former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in October
2009. It was sent again to Ambassador Michael Oren by students in
California, on the same day as our protest at Ayalonâs appearance in
Oxford. The call for justice continues.
Source ---------------------------------------------------------------
Boycott "Ariel" and the Rest! All Israeli Academic Institutions are Complicit in Occupation and Apartheid
10-2-2010
In
response to the recent decision by the Israeli government to upgrade
the status of the so-called Ariel University Center of Samaria (AUCS)
to a full university, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and
Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) reiterates its call for a boycott of
AUCS and all other Israeli academic institutions due to their
complicity in maintaining Israelâs occupation, colonization and
apartheid against the Palestinian people. While PACBI welcomes
the recent protests against the decision to recognize AUCS--located in
the fourth largest Jewish colony in the occupied Palestinian
territoriesâ-as a university, it cautions against attempts to divert
the boycott movement away from its basis in the comprehensive,
UN-sanctioned rights embodied in the Palestinian call for boycotting
Israel to a selective focus on a subset of these rights.
Academics,
journalists and others on the Zionist "left" who have opposed the
academic boycott for years are now enthusiastically advocating a
boycott that solely targets Ariel College because it is illegally built
on occupied Palestinian territory. This, however, reduces the scope of
the academic boycott to one against settlement institutions, while
exonerating the Israeli academy at large, which is just as complicit,
if not more, than Ariel in maintaining and justifying the Israeli
colonial and apartheid apparatus. But even if the boycott were to apply
only to universities built on occupied Palestinian territory, why
hasnât the fact that the Hebrew Universityâs Mount Scopus campus sits
on occupied Palestinian land in East Jerusalem provoked any Ariel-like
condemnation?
All Israeli universities are deeply linked to the
military-security establishment, playing indispensable -- direct and
indirect -- roles in perpetuating Israelâs decades-old violations of
international law and fundamental Palestinian rights. No Israeli
university or academic union has ever taken a public position against
the occupation, let alone against Israelâs system of apartheid or the
denial of Palestinian refugee rights. Israeli universities are
profoundly complicit in developing weapon systems and military
doctrines deployed in Israelâs recent war crimes in Gaza [1];
justifying the ongoing colonization of Palestinian land and gradual
ethnic cleansing of the indigenous Palestinians [2]; providing moral
justification for extra-judicial killings and indiscriminate attacks
against civilians [3]; systematically discriminating against
"non-Jewish" students in admissions, dormitory room eligibility,
financial aid, etc.; and many other implicit and explicit violations of
human rights and international law. [4]
As BDS gains momentum
globally, an increasing number of Israeli voices are emerging in
support of this strategy as the most effective, non-violent route to
bring about change towards justice and durable peace. The endorsement
by Israeli artists and academics of specific boycott actions in the
past few years is welcome and well known. After Israelâs war of
aggression on Gaza, several Israeli academic and cultural figures came
out in support of BDS. [5] Long before the Gaza massacre, though,
staunch Israeli supporters of Palestinian rights such as Rachel Giora,
Ilan Pappe, Haim Bresheeth, Oren Ben-Dor, Anat Matar and the late Tanya
Reinhart had embraced BDS and defended it against Israeli critics,
particularly so-called "leftists" in the academy. [6] The recently
formed group,
Boycott! Supporting the Palestinian BDS Call from Within
[7], is particularly praiseworthy, as it unconditionally accepts BDS as
defined and guided by the Palestinian BDS National Committee, and is
therefore regarded by the BNC as a reliable and principled partner in
the movement.
These emerging voices from inside Israeli society
point to the growing appeal of BDS and the recognition of its power to
effect real change towards just peace. It is nevertheless crucial to
emphasize that the BDS movement derives its principles from both the
demands of the Palestinian BDS Call, signed by over 170 Palestinian
civil society organizations in July 2005, [8] and, in the academic and
cultural fields, from the Palestinian Call for Academic and Cultural
Boycott of Israel, issued a year earlier in July 2004. [9] Together,
the BDS and PACBI Calls represent the most authoritative and widely
supported strategic statements to have emerged from Palestine in
decades; all political factions, labour, student and women
organizations, and refugee groups across the Arab world have supported
and endorsed these calls. Both calls underline the prevailing
Palestinian belief that the most effective form of solidarity with the
Palestinian people is direct action aimed at bringing an end to
Israelâs colonial and apartheid regime, just as the apartheid regime in
South Africa was abolished, by isolating Israel internationally through
boycotts and sanctions, forcing it to comply with international law and
respect Palestinian rights.
Since the formulation of these
calls, a great deal of emphasis has been placed on defining the
principles of the boycott movement. Rooted in universal values and
principles, the BDS Call categorically rejects all forms of racism,
racial discrimination and colonial oppression. PACBI has also
translated the principles enshrined in its Call into practical
guidelines for implementing the international academic and cultural
boycott of Israel. [10] All the while, the Palestinian boycott movement
has been clear as to what the focus and goals of the BDS movement are.
In
this respect, the importance of the 2005 BDS Call lies in its
comprehensive approach to the Israeli colonial and apartheid system as
a whole, and its subjugation of the Palestinian people, whether as
second-class citizens inside Israel, subjects under its military
occupation, or dispossessed refugees. This was summarized in the
concise demands outlined in the Palestinian BDS call that Israel
recognize the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self
determination and fully comply with international law by: respecting,
protecting and promoting the right of return of all Palestinian
refugees; ending the occupation of all Palestinian and Arab lands; and
recognizing full equality for the Palestinian citizens of Israel. In
this sense, the BDS Call effectively counters the systematic Israeli
fragmentation of the Palestinian people and the reduction of the
struggle for freedom and self-determination to an endless bargaining
game over land in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Central
to the Palestinian BDS movementâs three demands is an understanding of
Israel as an apartheid state. Israel fits the UN definition of
apartheid not just in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; it defines itself
as a Jewish state, not a state of all its citizens. Most importantly,
Israeli laws, policies, and practices discriminate openly against
Palestinian--i.e., "non-Jewish"-- citizens of the state. The pervasive
and institutionalized racism and discrimination are particularly
evident in the vital domains of land ownership and use, education,
employment, access to public services, and urban planning. The
apartheid character has been part of the design of Israel since its
inception. [11]
The state of Israel was established in 1948 by
forcibly displacing the overwhelming majority of Palestineâs indigenous
Arab population from their homeland. Today, these Palestinian refugees
are prevented from returning to their homes and lands from which they
were expelled. In contrast, any person who claims Jewish descent from
anywhere in the world may become an Israeli citizen and national under
the so-called Law of Return. Moreover, Israelâs brutal war on Gaza was
not an anomaly; rather, it represents the most recent example of the
systematic policies of ethnic cleansing and colonial oppression that
Israel has carried out against the Palestinian people for more than six
decades. During this recent military onslaught, Israel killed over
1,440 Palestinians, of whom 431 were children, and injured another
5380. [12] Israel subjected the besieged population of Gaza to three
weeks of unrelenting state terror.
Despite the clarity with
which the Palestinian BDS movement has enunciated the goals of the
Palestinian struggle, some Israeli and other advocates of boycott have
tried to limit its scope. They have attempted to limit the goals of
the BDS movement by restricting it geo-politically and confining it to
a call to end the Israeli occupation over the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
This "interpretation" of BDS is most dangerous as it attempts to
appropriate the right to redefine the terms of the struggle in
Palestine and to impose an ideologically suspect political agenda that
lets Israel off the hook on the charges of apartheid and practicing the
most pernicious form of racism and discrimination in all the territory
under its control.
Some Israelis also base their support for BDS
on a purely utilitarian rationale, that of âsaving Israel from itself,â
rather than principled solidarity with the Palestinians. This
Israel-centered, âpragmaticâ perspective, however, reproduces a
colonial attitude of superiority where the indigenous population and
their inalienable rights and struggle for freedom are not even
recognized. What matter, according to this perspective, are Israelâs
own self-interest, international image, and future. Yet if some are
committed to preserving Israelâs character into the future without
challenging its colonial and apartheid laws and policies, how can they
be counted on as true allies in the Palestinian-led, global BDS
movement?
As for the targets chosen for BDS actions, the
strength of the BDS movement lies in the fact that it does not impose
specific targets or tactics on solidarity groups around the world.
Based on the principle of context-sensitivity and respect for the
autonomy and integrity of democratic international groups supporting
Palestinian rights, the Palestinian BDS collective leadership has
always believed that people of conscience and organizations advocating
human rights know their respective situation best and are the most
capable of deciding the appropriate ways and pace to build the BDS
movement in their contexts. Sometimes the tactical targeting of
settlement-only products may be the best way for a campaign to
progress. At other times, it may be resolutions at local unions
endorsing BDS, or cultural boycott targets, etc. But even if one were
concerned only about Israelâs occupation, not its denial of refugee
rights or its apartheid system, this cannot justify a principled focus
on boycotting âsettlement productsâ only, as if Israelâs colonies
themselves were the party guilty of colonialism, not the state that
established them and sustains their growth. In no other boycott context
in the world does anyone call for boycotting a manifestation of a
stateâs violations of international law, rather than the state itself.
After all, under international law states are the legal entities that
are supposed to be held accountable for crimes and violations that they
commit.
Regardless, it is never up to Israeli academics or
activists, no matter what their principles are, to set out the
reference parameters and priorities of the movement, particularly for
activists worldwide. More often than not, members of the Zionist left
have refused to recognize the BDS Call issued by the overwhelming
majority of Palestinian civil society organizations, and its anchor and
leadership, the Palestinian BDS National Committee, BNC. [13] In so
doing they fail to respect the aspirations of the Palestinian people
and our right to define the goals of our struggle. Moreover, in
response to the Zionist leftâs insistence on focusing on the symptoms
of the Israeli system of colonial oppression, by calling only for an
end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, it is
worth emphasizing that in apartheid South Africa it would have been
ludicrous to focus solely on the Bantustans. The struggle against the
Bantustans was an intrinsic part of the struggle to end the apartheid
system as a structure of dominance whereby the white minority
subjugated and oppressed the Black South African population.
As
a people living under Israeli apartheid and exiled from their land, it
is up to the Palestinians and their mass organizations to set their
priorities, objectives and strategies to attain our rights under
international law. Israeli support is a welcome and necessary part of
this movement. But it must be extended in the spirit of real
solidarity, as in the case of Boycott From Within, respecting the
wishes and aspirations of the Palestinian people themselves.
[1]
See, for example, the following incriminating evidence against Tel Aviv
Universityâs partnership with the Israeli army and weapons industries:
http://www.electronicintifada.net/downloads/pdf/090708-soas-palestine-society.pdf [2]
http://www.pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=63 [3]
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1062127.html and Reuven Pedatzur, The Israeli Army House Philosopher, Haaretz, 24 February 2004.
[4]
http://www.alternativenews.org/images/stories/downloads/Economy_of_the_occupation_23-24.pdf [5] See, for example, Neve Gordonâs BDS article at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-gordon20-2009aug20,0,1126906.story and Udi Aloniâs at:
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=37582 [6] See, for example, Tanya Reinhartâs letter to Israeli academic Baruch Kimmerling at:
http://www.mediamonitors.net/tanya13.html [7] http://
www.boycottisrael.info [8]
http://bdsmovement.net/?q=node/52 [9]
http://www.pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=869 [10]
http://www.pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=1047 and
http://www.pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=1107 [11] For more on Israelâs regime of occupation, colonization and apartheid see this important BNC strategic position paper:
http://bdsmovement.net/files/English-BNC_Position_Paper-Durban_Review.pdf [12]
http://www.ochaopt.org/gazacrisis/index.php?section=3 [13] For example Uri Avneryâs sweeping dismissal of the Palestinian BDS Call and the Palestinian BDS National Committee:
http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/avnery/1252168050 Source ---------------------------------------------------------------
Ha'aretz British academics urge Elton John to cancel Israel concert 9-2-2010
A group of British academics have called on singer Elton John to cancel his scheduled performance in Israel this June.
"Political
or not political, when you stand up on that stage in Tel Aviv, you line
yourself up with a racist state," the British Committee for
Universities of Palestine wrote in an open letter to John on Monday.
"Do you want to give them the satisfaction? Please don't go." In
the letter, the group urged John to read the Goldstone Commission's
report on Israel's conduct during the war in Gaza last year in order to
understand why his performance carried an inherently political
undertone.
"You may say you're not a political person, but does
an army dropping white phosphorus on a school building full of children
demand a political response? Does walling a million and a half people
up in a ghetto and then pounding that ghetto to rubble require a
political response from us, or a human one?
"You're behaving as
if playing in Israel is morally neutral - but how can it be? How can
the cruelties Israel practices against the Palestinians - fundamentally
because the Palestinians are there, on Palestinian land, and Israel
wants them to go - be morally neutral?"
"Okay, you turn up in
Ramat Gan, and it gets to that 'Candle in the Wind? moment, and
thousands of lighters flicker - but there won't be any Palestinians
from the Occupied Territories swaying along with the Israelis - the
army won't let them leave their ghettoes.
"Please read what
Judge Goldstone said about the onslaught on Gaza; what Amnesty
International and Human Rights Watch have been saying for decades about
the crimes committed against the Palestinians. Of course the Israeli
state denies it has a case to answer, though it's knee-deep in ethnic
cleansing and land-theft and the endless daily suffocating of
Palestinian lives and hopes."
Israel boycotters succeeded just
weeks ago in convincing Santana to cancel his own performance. Similar
attempts to get Leonard Cohen and Paul McCartney to stay away, however,
failed
Source ---------------------------------------------------------------
Ha'aretz What is the reason to start the header of this article with " Muslim students"Muslims ? How do you know that? Or is it just spinning and polarisation? You can see it yourself below on the Video found on the internet Note the difference in reporting by al Jazeera just below this article (H.) . Raucous protesters disrupt Israeli ambassador speech at UCI here Source Israel's Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren. (Muslim ? ) students scream 'killer' during Israel envoy speech in L.A. By Natasha Mozgovaya California
police reportedly made 12 arrests on Monday after a speech by Israel's
U.S. Ambassador Michael Oren descended into chaos. Hecklers
interrupted Oren's lecture at University of California, Irvine, over 10
times, shouting "killers" and "how many Palestinians did you kill?" apparently ( ?- H.) members of the university's Muslim Student Union, which had publicly condemned Oren's visit earlier in the day.Source al Jazeera Israeli diplomats 'hazed' on campus By Clayton Swisher Pro-Palestinian
university students appear to be growing more vocal and organized with
their frustrations. And it's a phenomena that seems to have caught the
Israelis off guard. former academic
had nary a minute to get into his talking points when he himself was
taken to school by angry students, at least one of whom shouted
"propagating murder is not an expression of free speech!"threats by audience members and promises of arrest by the rattled college rector.under heavy strain by UN officials
and international rights organizations to be held accountable for
crimes of war during the 17-day Israeli assault on Gaza. Some from
academia have defended Israel from the charges, including Harvard's Alan Dershowitz , who went so far as to attack UN Investigator Richard Goldstone with a provocative Hebrew word that translates as "traitor to the Jewish people".Off guard? Oxford Union on that same day, it was not exactly going swimmingly for Deputy Foreign Minister Dann Ayalon , trying also to lay down a rote defense of Israel.Saudi Arabia's Prince Turki , these students were more interested in shaking fists at Ayalon than afterwards shaking hands.Aside from threatened legal action by Ayalon ,
stiffer heckling penalties will likely be imposed, but can only go so
far. These guys are professional and, in Ayalon's case, should know
from experience how to handle themselves .tough crowd despite steps taken by the university.Source It's
good news to see that boycott and divestment campaigns against
companies profiting from Israeli occupation and apartheid are becoming
increasingly mainstream. National Catholic Reporter ran a great article about the Kairos Document produced by the Palestinian Christian community ,
calling for churches around the world to intervene for justice and
peace in Israel/Palestine via boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS)
campaigns: "The leaders of the
thirteen Christian communities serving in the Palestinian territories
-- including Latin and Orthodox patriarchs -- have declared the Israeli
occupation of the Palestinian Territories a âsin against God and
humanityâ and urged Christians everywhere to nonviolently intervene to
end its injustices....Such a response, the authors wrote, includes
civil disobedience, boycotts, and divestment campaigns. âResistance is
a right and duty for Christians. But it is resistance with love as its
logic,â they said....The national committee for the Palestinian Boycott and Divestment and Sanctions campaign
said it âsaluted the moral clarity, courage, and principled position
conveyed in this new document which emphasizes that resisting injustice
should âconcern the church.â " The article quotes US Campaign National Media Coordinator David Hosey in regards to U.S. church involvement with divestment campaigns:
"David Hosey, media coordinator for the U.S. Campaign to End the
Israeli Occupation and a missionary with the United Methodist Church,
said members of the New England conference of that church are in
correspondence with the targeted companies, the first step in âphased
divestment.â The Methodists adopted a resolution in 2004 opposing the
Israeli occupation of Palestinian Territories. Various regional
conferences are now debating whether or not to express that opposition
with divestment campaigns.... The University of Arizona Daily Wildcat now includes a weekly column on corporate involvement in the Israeli occupation. This week's column
notes the connections between corporate accountability work against
sweat shops, the BDS campaign against South African apartheid, and the
BDS movement against Israeli occupation, as well as highlighting the
University's investments in human rights abusers Caterpillar and
Motorola: "After an intensive
anti-sweatshop campaign last spring led by students in the
Sweatshop-Free Coalition and University Community for Human Rights,
President Robert Shelton had the UA divest our financial holdings in
the Russell Corporation due to the companyâs singularly cruel labor
abuses in its factories in Honduras. Now, while all eyes are on Shelton
as he continues to sit on the UAâs illegal business contracts with
Caterpillar and Motorola, itâs worth noting that divestment activism on
campus stretches back far beyond Sheltonâs tenure and probably beyond
everything else on campus except for the oldest of UAâs
buildings........Motorola and Caterpillar, two companies perpetuating
grisly crimes upon mostly Palestinian civilians in the occupied West
Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, are so unspeakable as to have prompted
Jewish South African politician Ronnie Kasrils, who was quoted in the
United Kingdomâs Guardian in a 2006 article, to denounce the
U.S.-backed Israeli occupation as âmuch worse than apartheidâ of the
sort under which Kasrils and others survived for so many long, bloody
years. A rich history has proven that UA students have risen to the
occasion of doing everything they can to disassociate themselves and
their universities from such atrocities. One doesnât have to look far
to see that such a time has come again." boycott and divestment campaign on campus and/or organizing against Caterpillar and Motorola in your community. Source the Heathlander Donât mean no trouble⌠Cambridge Tab :âThe
Cambridge University Israel Society have cancelled a talk by former
Cambridge student Benny Morris after pressure from students. campaign on Facebook
to have the talk cancelled. The group, which today had 40 members,
described the invitation extended to Morris as âoffensive and
appallingâ and questioned why âan official student society would want
to invite such an individualâ.Source Electronic Intifada Carleton University students launch campus divestment campaign For
the past several months, Students Against Israeli Apartheid - Carleton
(SAIA), a student group at Carleton University in Ottawa that is
committed to supporting the Palestinian struggle for freedom, has been
conducting research on Carleton's investments in Israeli apartheid. full report :
Carleton University Pension Fund: Complicity in Violations of Human
Rights and International Law in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
[PDF]Source SAIA Carleton launches pension divestment campaign > > > here
"It reminded me so much of what happened to us black people in South Africa. I have seen the humiliation of the Palestinians here REPRESSION BY CARLETON ADMINISTRATION All In A Day (18 February 2009) [Local MP3 ] Campus Repression page for additional information.available here . yet another act of repression by the Allan Rock administration, the University of Ottawa has joined Carleton's high administration in banning Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) use of the official Israeli Apartheid Week 2009 poster.Report by CBC News . Source
Gaza stranded students losing hope Yousef al-Helou, Press TV, Gaza
Tue, 26 Jan 2010 02:01:59 GMT
the National By Jonathan Cook NAZARETH,
ISRAEL // Ehud Barak, Israelâs defence minister, approved last week the
upgrading to university status of a college in a settlement located
deep inside the West Bank, a move certain to further undermine
Palestinian confidence in the peace process. Source YNet NORWAY: Twelve points!!! Norway university plans Israel boycott Yaheli Moran Zelikovich University
of Bergen, among Norway's largest academic institutions, intends to
impose an official academic boycott against Israel over what it claims
is its apartheid-like conduct, Ynet has learned. Source ISM Bradford Palestine Solidarity Group hosts Palestine Awareness Week Bradford Palestine Solidarity Group As
Palestinians continue to suffer in occupied Palestine, actions and
events are being held in the UK and Europe. The University of Bradford
Union (UBU), Palestine Return Centre and Let Palestinians Study are
organizing Palestine Awareness Week (PAW) and remembrance in Bradford
city. The week of actions coincides with the 1st Anniversary of Gaza
War which has been commemorated worldwide. Events will run from 1st
February to 5th February. Occupation 101 open to students and members of public.Source YNet niversity Center. H. ).Leftist
members of Knesset and Arab parties protest defense minister's decision
first published in Ynet to recognize Ariel College as university.
Meretz chairman: Hard to find differences between Barak and Netanyahu.
Initiative also advocates establishing university in Nazareth Yisrael Beiteinu praised the defense minister's decision to recognize Ariel College as a university , Ehud Barak's decision is sharply criticized among the Left. Meretz Chairman Chaim Oron said that the move is wrought with conceptual and moral bankruptcy.United Arab List-Ta'al )
said, "Barak continues to permit the infestation of settlements and
surrender to Lieberman and Yisrael Beiteinu. Barak's decision will only spur the academic boycott of Israel in the world. (bold H.) The Labor Party proves once again that that it is a barrier to reconciliation between the two nations."Hadash )
added: "This is a purely political decision that amounts to supporting
the settlements under the guise of higher education. It is best for the
government, if it wishes to support higher education, to support
existing universities and to decide on starting a university in
Nazareth."Amnon Meranda, Yaheli Moran Zelikovich, Sharon Roffe-Ofir, and Efrat Weiss contributed to this report Source Abu Pessoptimist First illegal university in the world officially acknowledged Eerste illegale universiteit ter wereld wordt officieel erkend Het Ariel University Center of Samaria De
IsraĂŤlische minister van Defensie Ehud Barak heeft toegezegd dat hij
een beslissing zal erkennen waarbij het College in de nederzetting
AriĂŤl officieel universiteit wordt. bericht Haaretz .Ynet
wordt het instituut in eerste instantie erkend als Ăniversiteits
Centrum, en zal in een paar jaar de beslissing vallen dat het IsraĂŤls
achtste universiteit wordt.website :
As a demonstratively Zionist institution, the University Center has two
key requirements: every student must study one course per semester on
some aspect of Judaism, Jewish heritage or Land of Israel studies, and
the Israeli flag must be displayed in every classroom, laboratory and
auditorium on campus. Bron Electronic Intifada BDS. Uphill battle for academic freedom in US universities Reageer (0) By Nora Barrows-Friedman
University students demonstrate at Hampshire college. (Hampshire SJP )
University students demonstrate at Hampshire college. (Hampshire SJP) Denied tenure at Ithaca College Hostile climate Fight for academic freedom the controversy surrounding Professor William Robinson at UC Santa Barbara ,
who, after emailing his students with a sharp critique of Israel's
attack on the Gaza Strip last winter, was accused by pro-Zionist
student groups (backed by the Anti-Defamation League and the Simon
Wiesenthal Center) of faculty misconduct; but the case was thrown out
by university officials in June of 2009.Source PNN Gaza student holds graduation party at church Palestinian
student Berlanty Azzam has never thought that her graduation ceremony
would take place in a small church far away from her university and
friends. Source CAUT Basic Academic Freedoms and Rights Violated in Israel and Palestinian Territories Ottawa
and Brussels â The academic freedom and professional rights of higher
education teaching personnel in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza are
increasingly under assault as a result of the continuing political
conflict in the region, according to a report released today by Education International and the Canadian Association of University Teachers. The Status of Higher Education Teaching Personnel in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza ,
found that the strong polarization of opinions within Israel over the
political conflict between Israelis and Palestinians has generated
several prominent academic freedom controversies in recent years. In
addition, proposed changes to the governance of Israeli universities
threaten to weaken institutional autonomy and academic freedom.Source Electronic Intifada Press release 27
December 2009 marks the one-year anniversary of the beginning of
"Operation Cast Lead," Israel's 22-day assault on the captive
population of Gaza, which killed 1,400 people, one third of them
children, and injured more than 5,300. Source www.gazafreedommarch.org Source Sabah blog Berlanty Azzam, 21,was handcuffed and blindfolded
Poor Berlanty. What did she do to deserve this crushing blow to her hopes and life chances? Indeed.
Since 2000 Israel has implemented a sweeping ban preventing youngsters
from Gaza from studying at Palestinian universities in the West Bank. A
2007 High Court decision determined that students from Gaza wishing to
study in the West Bank should be allowed to do so "in cases that would
have positive humanitarian implications". (bold H.) How
does the Berlanty case and the thousands like it sit with the great and
the good who piously reject the idea of an academic boycott against
Israel? (bold H.) Source Electronic Intifada Sussex University students vote to boycott Israeli goods Students
at the University of Sussex, England have voted to boycott Israeli
goods. The decision follows the Palestinian call for boycott,
divestment and sanctions against Israel, which calls upon the Israeli
state to respect international law and end the occupation of Palestine. Source Palestine Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel
Since
its founding in 2004, PACBI has advocated a boycott of Israeli academic
and cultural institutions, based on the premise that these institutions
are complicit in the system of oppression that has denied Palestinians
their basic rights guaranteed by international law. âto comprehensively and consistently boycott all Israeli academic and cultural institutions as a contribution to the struggle to end Israelâs occupation, colonization and system of apartheid, by applying the following:Based
on the above, PACBI urges academics, academicsâ associations/unions and
academic institutions around the world, where possible and as relevant,
to boycott and/or work towards the cancellation or annulment of events,
activities, agreements, or projects that promote the normalization of
Israel in the global academy, whitewash Israelâs violations of
international law and Palestinians rights, or violate the boycott.
Specifically, the Palestinian academic boycott against Israel applies
to the following events, activities, or situations: PACBI@PACBI.org http://www.mohe.gov.ps/ENG/news/index.html#7 www.BRICUP.org.uk http://www.pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=1045 http://www.pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=869 See http://ec.europa.eu/education/external-relation-programmes/doc70_en.htm and http://ec.europa.eu/education/external-relation-programmes/doc72_en.htm http://www.bdsmovement.net/?q=node/179 http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2002/jul/08/highereducation.israel )Source AIC The Economy of the Occupation 23-24: Academic Boycott of Israel
s The
idea of an academic boycott of Israel first emerged in 2002 as part of
the growing boycott and divestment campaign against Israel, itself a
part of the struggle against the Israeli occupation of Palestinian
territories and the violation of Palestinian human and national rights. To read the whole booklet, click here *.pdf. Source Electronic Intifada The
following open letter to the Norwegian University of Science and
Technology in Trondheim was issued on 9 November 2009 by Arab students
at Israeli universities. The university's board is due to consider a
measure supporting the academic boycott of Israel: Source Occupation Magazine Israelis to Trondheim: Boycott the Israeli Academy Now! http://www.boycottisrael.info/ Links to the latest articles in this section British activists kick off week-long boycott against Israeli settlement products Israelis to Trondheim: Boycott the Israeli Academy Now! Petition - talk to Hamas! Source Jews sans frontieres Students "bully" Israel's plucky ambassador to the UK Since
I've been working, quick JSF has made my blogging a lot easier. See
this Ynet report on how students in the UK wanted to place Israel's
ambassador to the UK, Ron Prossor, under citizen's arrest. It's headed
Students bully Britain envoy:
Protestors at the University of Nottingham prepared a rude welcome for
Israel's Ambassador to England, Ron Prosor, welcoming him with
anti-Israel signs and interrupting his speech. Source Ha'aretz Norwegian official: Schools considering Israel boycott By Cnaan Liphshiz A Norwegian university's controversial vote on boycotting Israel is part Source PIC Stranded students in Gaza appeal for solution GAZA
-- Palestinian students stranded in the Gaza Strip who could not travel
via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt to follow up their studies
abroad have called on the media to shed light on their plight. Source here 21 year old Berlanty Azzam was detained at a military checkpoint, blindfolded and then deported to Gaza on Monday 2nd November. PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY R2E Fact Sheet (30 April 2009)Open letter to international academic institutions from the R2E Campaign (17 January 2009) Report on Israeli police/ Military Escort of school children to and from At-Tuwani ( 4 November 2009)Urgent Call for Action: Gazan Student Deported. Support Right to Study (31 October 2009)Palestinian Elected as Honorary President of LSE Students' Union (30 October 2009)Norway university to vote next month on boycott of Israel (30 October 2009)Petition filed to overturn student's Gaza deportation (30 October 2009)Source Al Arabiya Norway university to mull academic boycott of Israel The letter criticized Israel for its assault of Gaza that inflicted "immense human suffering" that shocked the world Mona Moussly DUBAI
- A group of professors in Norway have called for a boycott of Israeli
academics because of "systematic" discrimination against Palestinian
students and for altering history to develop the Zionist ideology, the
professors said in their proposal sent to Al Arabiya on Tuesday. "
Historians and archaeologists are important in the development of the
Zionist ideology and renouncement of Palestinian history and identity. " Academic freedom " Israeli universities and other institutions of higher education have played a key role in the policy of oppression. " Click Here Source UK student union boycotts Israeli goods Bethlehem
- Following a landmark referendum, students at the UK's Sussex
University in Brighton this week voted to boycott Israeli goods. Source PNN Sussex University Students' Union first in United Kingdom to boycott Israeli goods Following a landmark referendum, students at Sussex University have voted to boycott Israeli goods. Source Al Manar Source Anna in Palestine http://www.hsjp.org/2009/09/21/CampusBDS/ Students For Justice In Palestine a Hampshire student group Announcing the 2009 Campus Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Conference at Hampshire College National Campus Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions Conference What & Where:
This fall from November 20th through the 22nd, students, faculty, and
staff from around the country who are engaged in Palestine solidarity
activism will converge for a conference on campus Boycott, Divestment,
and Sanctions (BDS). This conference has three key goals:Why: In July of
2005, âa clear majority of Palestinian civil society called upon
international civil society organizations and people of conscience all
over the world to impose broad boycotts and implement divestment
initiatives against Israel, similar to those applied to South Africa in
the apartheid era, until Israel meets its obligation to recognize the
Palestinian people's inalienable right to self-determination and fully
complies with international law.â* In addition, BDS is a non-violent
means of protest and action that campuses in the United States can
directly engage in to effectively stand in solidarity with the
Palestinian people. A similar strategy was adopted in the struggle to
end apartheid in South Africa in the 1970âs and 1980âs, and campus
groups played a large role in helping spark and maintain that
successful movement.How to Participate:
Attend the National Campus BDS conference at Hampshire College in
Amherst, MA along with other members of your campus group. You will
have the opportunity to organize workshops and panels, engage in
discussions led by peers, listen to panels and lectures by influential
members of the movement, develop skills, share resources, explore
strategies, build networks, and more. Workshops at this conference will
have a particular focus on: education and campus outreach, movement
building strategies, and utilizing publicity and media for BDS. We
encourage both Palestine-solidarity and allied groups to attend and
contribute to this important conference through general participation,
the building of a larger organizing network, and the facilitation of
workshops. (In order to facilitate a workshop, please see the âWorkshop
Proposal Submission Formâ at the end of this post.)Dates and Times: Friday, November 20th at 6 PM through Sunday, November 22nd , at 9 PM.Hosted By:
Hampshire College Students for Justice in Palestine and allied groups,
and endorsed by various Palestine Solidarity organizations.www.hsjp.org hampshiresjp@gmail.com Workshop Proposal Submission Form BDSconference2009@gmail.com
by no later than October 12th, 2009. Please only complete this process
if you are certain you would like to organize and facilitate a
workshop. Following the approval of your workshop by October 19th, you
will be e-mailed a confirmation letter.Please note: This
conference is aimed at individuals and groups who already have an
understanding of the situation in Palestine. Therefore, such workshop
proposals as âPalestine 101â are discouraged. However, workshops that
could replace âPalestine 101â include â âTeaching Palestine 101â or
âPalestine 201: Organizing around Resource Politics in Palestine.â
(Primary emphasis should be related to campus organizing and BDS
strategies).Workshop/Panel Descriptions: For this
conference, panels are defined as educational presentations that are
led by two or more individuals, with time for follow up questions from
the audience. Workshops will be organized as interactive sessions,
including skill-shares, skill-building exercises, dialogue
opportunities, networking, debate spaces, educational activities, and
more.Workshop/Panel Proposal Questions - Other http://bdsmovement.net/?q=node/159 >.Source Al Jazeera By Teymoor Nabili in Photo by Getty Images When President Ahmadinejad of Iran spoke
to students at Columbia University in September 2007, the students, the
faculty and the media were all given front row seats to condemn and to
vilify. "âMr. President, you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictatorâ "Mr.
Bollinger praised himself and Columbia for showing they believed in
freedom of speech by inviting the Iranian president, then continued his
attack." "we appreciate your co-operation with our efforts to to ensure open discourse and freedom of expression." Electronic Intifada did, and even managed to sneak in a camera:Source Electronic Intifada EI exclusive video: Protesters shout down Ehud Olmert in Chicago Maureen Clare Murphy Approximately
30 activists -- mainly students from area universities -- disrupted a
lecture given in Chicago by former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
yesterday which was hosted by the University of Chicago's Harris School
of Public Policy. While Olmert's speech was disrupted inside the
lecture hall, approximately 150 activists protested outside the hall in
the freezing rain. Approximately
150 protesters demonstrated outside the University of Chicago hall
where former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was speaking. (Maureen
Clare Murphy) Chicago Maroon
earlier this week, in which third-year student Nadia Marie Ismail
decried the lack of protest by the university community towards the
Olmert speech. She contrasted this silence with the pressure the Center
for Middle Eastern Studies faced after a lecture earlier this year by
The Electronic Intifada's Ali Abunimah (who was the first to disrupt
Olmert's speech yesterday), University of Chicago professor John
Mearsheimer and Norman Finkelstein, whose lost bid for tenure at DePaul
University is attributed to outside pressure by Israel government
apologists. "[T]hat University center was put under unprecedented
pressure for weeks before and months after the event, with claims that
University centers and schools should not host 'one-sided' speakers,"
Ismail wrote.drowned out by protesters outside while students inside the hall disrupted his talk .Video shot and produced by The Electronic Intifada Source Norman Finkelstein Blog Source see also here and here Stop the Wall 10
bus shelter billboards advertising the University of Californiaâs
âStudy in Israelâ campaign were remade into âBoycott Israelâ ads and
placed around Berkeley and San Francisco in May. Above: Prior to modification. Above:
âI believe that governments must be held accountable for their actions!
Israel denies its responsibility for the waves of ethnic cleansing that
have made millions of Palestinians into refugees.â Above: Prior to modification. Above:
âI believe in speaking out against racism. Israelâs entrenched system
of racial discrimination & segregation against the Palestinian
citizens of Israel is frighteningly similar to the former apartheid
system in South Africa!â here . source Boycott Divestment and sanctions for Palestine "Gaza today has become the test of our indispensable morality and common humanity." 27 December 2008 Statement The
Palestinian Studentsâ Campaign for the Academic Boycott of Israel
(PSCABI) calls upon freedom-loving students all over the world to stand
in solidarity with us by boycotting Israeli academic institutions for
their complicity in perpetuating Israel's illegal military occupation
and apartheid system. We note the historic action taken by thousands of
courageous students of British and American universities in occupying
their campuses in a show of solidarity with the brutally oppressed
Palestinian people in Gaza. We also deeply appreciate the decision by
Hampshire College to divest from companies profiting from the Israeli
occupation. Such pressure on Israel is the most likely to contribute to
ending its denial of our rights, including the right to education. http://www.pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=869 http://www.bdsmovement.net/?q=node/52 http://www.odsg.org/co/index.php/component/content/article/1100-a-call-f... source Bernama.com KUALA
LUMPUR -- The board of trustees of the Islamic University of Gaza where
two buildings were destroyed in an aerial attack by the Zionist regime
last December has appealed for aid from Malaysians for reconstruction .source the Guardian Why Palestinians are calling for a boycott of Israeli universities By Amjad Barham Palestinian
academics have been heartened by the outpouring of solidarity with our
people on the part of British academics and students â the latter
attested to by the creative "student occupation movement" in the wake
of the brutal Israeli war against the Palestinian people in Gaza last
December and January. ⢠Dr Amjad Barham is president of the Palestinian Federation of Unions of University Professors and Employees (PFUUPE) source WSW Pro-Israel forces attempt to silence University of California Santa Barbara professor By Jack Cody On
January 19 University of California Santa Barbara sociology Professor
William Robinson sent an email to students on the roster of his Global
Affairs course in which he compared the Israeli occupation of Gaza to
the Warsaw Ghetto. He was subsequently brought up on disciplinary
charges by the Academic Senate of the university, as well as subjected
to harassment and persecution by pro-Israeli elements. http://sb4af.wordpress.com/ ).source Archive: 10 feb 2009 - 4 may 2009 Overzicht Reacties over dit Artikel
