Boycott, Divest, Sanctions

Flash Mob at a grocery store. I'm not sure if this was Boycott, divest, Sanctions, but they do have a handy dandy flash mob toolkit :) Ok, the link is for US Campaign to End Israeli Occupation, not BDS!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r114HojWQC0

I don't think I see this many people who know a lot about the conflict in my area, let alone that would come out and do THAT! I figure, you've got to have thousands of people talking and caring about the issue to get anywhere near that many people to come out and plan and execute a flash mob.

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Barghouti's book on the BDS campaign:

http://www.amazon.com/Boycott-Divestment-Sanctions-Struggle-Palestinian/dp/1608461149

I haven't read it, but it's on the list.

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In thinking about lists I've seen of companies to boycott, I have a few thoughts...

I am familiar with the Ahava campaign, Stolen Beauty, and others. Or Caterpillar. Yes, I've written them. If you're making the claim of social responsibility and your products are famous for bulldozing homes, sorry, you've asked for it. I would guess there are also certain companies you shouldn't buy feta, hummus, dates, olives, falaffel mix and other Middle Eastern foods from, like Sabra, Tribe, Carmel (Agrexco), etc.

Blog post about Sabra "caving"... I think the ardent Sabra supporter author is still justified in promoting Sabra... but whatever...

There is a 729 campaign for the barcode (1st 3 numbers), but not everything made there has these numbers. I think it matters in which country items made in the Occupied Territories are being sold as to what barcode it has, among other factors, so this hasn't proven terribly reliable. If I see "made in Israel" I'll take that as my hint. I won't buy it. I've never seen 729 on these items, by the way. Yes, I check. I'm curious.

As for boycotting Nestle or McDonald's for doing business over there, I think that is an issue to be taken up by letters, protests, getting prominent people to speak up in ads and other public ways.

This flier lists a few companies, mostly in NY to boycott:

http://adalahny.org/images/image/consumer_boycott_flyer.pdf

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A UK initiative to twin cities with Palestinian ones;

they also have info on buying Palestinian goods:

http://www.twinningwithpalestine.net/shop.html

Another academic hindered anti-Israel views

And by anti-Israel we mean calling attention to Israel's human rights abuses and violations of law or stubbornness without either justifiying Israel's actions in some way or slandering Palestinians.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/04/cuny-rescinds-tony-kushne_n_857711.html

I have flirted with the idea of supporting an economic and cultural boycott on Israel. Not that that would mean anything if I made a big announcement or anything. OK, more than flirted, but I’ve had reservations about it- though I can't really say why.

What I’m saying is that an economic boycott is what people expect for countries behaving badly. It is the go-to punishment. It has been argued- and I tend to agree- that boycotting them in academics, music, sports, etc in addition to economics would be more effective. This is rather controversial and seems to generate more cries of anti-Semitism than your average criticism or action. I also am a bit wary of supporting this all out boycott- I don’t want it to be about hatred for the Jewish culture or traditions. On the other hand, I don’t want the US to have an “unbreakable bond” with a country that is blatantly and brutally oppressing an entire population of people either! These seem like desperate times when you look at what Palestinians are up against.

Then you hear about these sorts of things. Israel banning Norman Finkelstein or Noam Chomsky from entering the country because of something they wrote said in a speech that mentions Israel’s human rights abuses without justifying them.

In the US, a professor is fired for mentioning the same sorts of concerns about human rights in Israel. This time, specifically, a man is nominated for an honor, has it shelved due to his political views on Israel, then reinstated.

I wonder why we can’t discuss cultural boycotts (without feeling a twinge of guilt that perhaps they are right-you are an anti-Semite) for vast human rights abuses (a la S. Africa), but it’s perfectly ok for Universities to fire professors and revoke honors if they aren’t sufficiently supportive of Israel and apparently all the crimes it commits?

Maybe some people use academic freedom as a reason not to support a cultural boycott. If that’s valid, then more people should be up in arms when people are fired for expressing concern for the way Israel treats Palestinians.

Maybe it’s not about academic freedom.

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/5/10/exclusive_playwright_tony_kushner_speaks_out

CUNY was going to give Kushner, a playwright, an honorary degree. They tabled it after a long diatribe by Wiesenfled. Then they reinstated him when people balked at the disregard for academic freedom.

http://politicalcorrection.org/fpmatters/201105060009

I don’t know why Wiesenfeld was listened to. His diatribe took things Kushner said out of context (which even then didn’t reveal anything worthy of the horror Wiesenfeld portrayed; and his actual position is actually pretty mildly critical) and referred a lot to Norman Finklestein (whom he also demonized for his criticism of Israel) instead of to the subject matter for which Kushner was being honored- his work as a playwright.

http://frontpagemag.com/2011/05/12/cuny-caves-to-leftist-pressure-on-tony-kushner/

“…heinous anti-Israel views, including his belief that the Jewish State was responsible for “ethnic cleansing.”

The second page, if you dare go there, is a heroic attempt to show the real victim to be the guy who got up to oppose the Kushner degree with a pretty wild speech. People who called for the guy to resign were called Marxist and Communist- don’t know if they are and I know it doesn’t matter for the question at hand. An effort (criticism of Weisenfeld) to “chill potential criticism of Israel demonization in the future” is mentioned with horror and indignation.

It ends with a report of a letter in which alumni are threatening to pull their donations to CUNY if it doesn’t address the “assault on Jews” disguised as anti-Israelism (???) and make CUNY friendly to supporters of Israel again.

This turned in to quite a list and I'm sure it's not even comprehensive. Wow.

Just for kicks I decided to write down a few others (off the top of my head and web search) who have suffered the same sort of thing- some more, some less than the current victim:

Early 2000s project by Daniel Pipes (still ongoing?) urging students to report on any professor they deem anti-Israel that usually results in some sort of pressure by groups (ADL, etc) and individuals (Dershowitz, among others) to get them fired or silenced.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campus_Watch

Sami AL-Arian

http://www.counterpunch.org/cockburn03032007.html

Helen Thomas

http://mycatbirdseat.com/2010/06/paul-findley-helen-thomas-deserves-praise/

2003 cartoonist Malcolm Evans

http://www.rense.com/general40/asni.htm

2006 surprisingly a Christian radio host

http://www.rense.com/general69/shh.htm

Octavia Nasr CNN, She expressed empathy on the death of Sheikh Sayyed Mohammad Fadlallah, a man who was considered the founder of Hezbollah

Norman Finkelstein denied tenure at DePaul

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/11/arts/11depa.html

2/2009 Joel Kovel  Bard College

3/31/2009 Ottawa College, Denis Rancourt

http://www.zcommunications.org/statement-by-denis-rancourt-regarding-his-dismissal-by-the-university-of-ottawa-by-denis-rancourt

1/31/2011 Kristofer Petersen-Overton, adjunct professor, Brooklyn College

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/01/31/brooklyn_college_professor_rehired

3 offers to speak rescinded over “anti-Israel comments”, Harvard, 2002 and 2007

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2008/6/5/what-do-critics-of-israel-have/

NYU historian Tony Judt

Harvard University professor Stephen Walt and University of Chicago professor John Mearsheimer

Jimmy Carter Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid

2005 Joseph A. Massad- urged Columbia to fire by Anthony Wiener, a Democratic member of Congress

Rashid Khalidi- Columbia

http://www.monabaker.com/pMachine/more.php?id=A2649_0_1_0_M

2004 prof targeted by ADL

ADC campaign to help

http://www.webshells.com/adlwatch/news38.htm

And there's Odeh's murder if we move away from academics and into the more blatant silencing...

http://www.arabdetroit.com/news.php?id=2131

Aid to Bahrain/Israel; Read Omar Barghouti's book about protest in protest!

The Monday, February 22, 2011 Democracy Now show had a few items of interest on Israel/Palestine

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/2/21/headlines#3

The first also has more to do with Bahrain, though it made me think of the Palestinian- Israeli issue. :)

The so-called Leahy Law – which requires the cut-off of U.S. military aid to forces determined to have perpetrated human rights abuses -- “does apply to Bahrain,” since "the U.S. Government provides support to the [Bahraini] Army," Carle said.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/laurarozen/0211/US_urges_restraint_on_Bahrain_after_overnight_attack_on_protesters.html

OK, we give a ton of all kinds of aid to Israel. We train them, they train us. Due to certain breaches of human rights and international law, shouldn't we also be reconsidering aid to Israel??

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Action Alert: US delays visa for BDS leader Barghouti on eve of tour 

The second directly has to do with Israel/Palestine. 

Since we were the only veto on the recent UN resolution on illegal Israeli settlements brought by cosponsors Germany, France and Britain, this piece of news shouldn't surprise us. But it is still shocking if you are one of those people who still believe America is free and just and fair. 

One of the founders of the Boycott, Divest, Sanctions movement wrote a book and wants to tour. He faces a problem many Palestinians face. Travel. If he were a "self-hating Jew" like Noam Chomsky or Norman Finklestein, he might get hassled and detained, but he'd still get to tour. We will see how this unfolds. I wonder if he's famous enough to get through. I hope more people read his book because of this! :)

Since the topic is rather sensitive in the US, this adds another dimension to the travel hardships. The US government doesn't really want people talking about peaceful ways to protest its complicity in Israel's crimes. Violence is easy. We will not negotiate with terrorists. This is more delicate. We'd like to just sweep it under the rug as quietly as possible so we can get on with protecting Israel's right to defend itself, steal land, murder, kidnap, and collectively punish all for the crimes of a few (or the general feeling of discomfort that future demographics brings...). At the top, I think disagreeing or denying Israel anything is seen as anti-Semitic- though here at the bottom many are beginning to see the nuance through that fog. Or maybe we're just afraid they will detonate a nuke like they threatened to do before- they are trigger happy and they had or have something called the Samson Option. This policy being not inspired by God, it appears as though they care more about killing others than saving their own peoples' lives. Like my post about the NPR: Fresh Air about torture a few posts ago.  It sounds like they have learned quite a bit from their corrupt Arab dictator neighbors. But, you still  have to call Israel a democracy or people will not take you seriously. Until all those people come to the realization that Israel is not in fact the kind of democracy we give them credit for... With Wikileaks, the Palestine Papers, all of these protests, I think it could happen.

More info:

Omar Barghouti kept from entering the U.S. for BDS speaking tour

http://mondoweiss.net/2011/02/omar-barghouti-kept-from-entering-the-u-s-for-bds-speaking-tour.html

Omar Barghouti, Leading Spokesperson of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanction (BDS) Campaign Against Israel, Kept from Entering U.S. for Book Release Tour

 http://www.muzzlewatch.com/2011/02/18/palestinian-bds-proponent-omar-barghouti-unable-to-enter-us-for-book-tour/

Act:

Barghouti tour sponsors are calling on supporters to contact the US Consulate in Jerusalem and the Department of State to ask them to fulfill the promise from the Obama Administration of "promoting the global marketplace of ideas" and grant Barghouti's visa immediately.

US Consulate:
Consul General Daniel Rubinstein
US Consulate General, Jerusalem
18 Agron Road, Jerusalem 94190
Tel.: +972 2 622 7230, Fax: +972 2 625 9270

Email: jerusalemvisa@state.gov and UsConGenJerusalem@state.gov

Department of State:
Visa Services
Public Inquiries Division
202-663-1225
usvisa@state.gov

On Facebook: Join the group "Let Omar Barghouti Be Heard" and invite your friends.

 

Palestinian non-violent resistance: Renewed boycott effort

May 24, 2010 - Mosaic on LinkTV
'Palestinians intensify settlement boycott campaign'
(New TV, Lebanon)
http://www.linktv.org/mosaic/20100524/mosaic-news-5-24-10-world-news-from-the-middle-east

This latest effort has purportedly caused some 17 or so businesses in the settlements to close their doors. I really hope this continues, there and abroad. They are encouraging Palestinians to buy Palestinian. That in an of itself is probably going to improve the Palestinian economic situation.

Could Palestinian leaders be getting a spine, a conscience? Given the US position, I doubt we knew about it or gave any sort of ok. I hope they can withstand any US pressure. This doesn't exactly make up for years of bad leadership and bowing to outside interests instead of sticking to the goal of returning home and getting basic rights back, but it seems like a welcome step in the right direction.

I first wanted to call attention to this because so many say Palestinians are terrorists or cheerleaders for terrorists; they don't peacefully protest. Wrong in the first place, but here's further proof. Peaceful protest doesn't make good news- that's why you don't hear about it, not because it doesn't happen. This time, we are sitting up and noticing probably only because Israel is upset, crying foul, victim, terrorism, hostile act, etc.

Another reason to look at this is the ridiculous reaction by the settlers. They are complaining of being victims of economic terrorism! Really? When Palestinians embrace non-violence and choose a boycott rather than strapping bombs to their bodies, this is objectionable??? So when Israelis and others in the wake of a suicide bombing said Palestinians will never get anywhere with violence, they should "try" peaceful means (as though they don't or haven't)-- what exactly did they mean? Rolling over and dying, or at the very least, lining up voluntarily for wholesale incarceration of the entire population??? Will peaceful protest get Palestinians statehood and rights like everyone claims? Or will Israel react the same as if the boycott was a suicide bombing? If they try and counter boycott, they will be in violation of international law. But what's one more, right? What law? We will see.

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Funny line from this blog...

Settler groups, who you can imagine may see a Palestinian sneezing and call it germ warfare, have decided that this boycott amounts to "economic terror".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/may/26/palestinian-boycott-jewish-settlement-goods

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MIFTAH, a great site. Here's an article on this boycott:

http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=22132&CategoryId=5


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A more pro-Israel look:

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3892107,00.html


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More on boycott:

http://bdsmovement.net/
http://www.inminds.co.uk/boycott-israel.php
http://www.bigcampaign.org/

boycotts

Ok. Bush and others discouraged an Olympic boycott of China because its not fair to the athletes to bring politics into the sports competitions. Great. Human rights, sweat shops, Tibet, and a bunch of other stuff. We'll ignore it.

An Iranian wants to sign with the NBA now. Guess what? It's ok to punish athletes in this case.

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/basketball/news?slug=aw-nbairan081608&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

A flow chart of Bush policy would be a total web of confusion and contradiction, except if you map presidential power. That one's very simple, ballooning from 2000-2008.