Ha’aretz is reporting that French company Veolia is pulling out of a controversial project to build a light rail system in Jerusalem. The rail is planned to connect West Jerusalem to Israeli settlements in the West Bank, making life in the settlements more viable and sustainable.
The rail project has been targeted by activists in Europe and inside Israel/Palestine, and increasing has become a media story (as seen the Al Jazeera story we posted last week). The Ha’aretz article shows this pressure had a direct role in Veolia’s decision:
Veolia has had to contend not only with the delays and difficulties in building the light rail project itself, but with political pressure at home as well. Two months ago a French court heard a lawsuit by a pro-Palestinian group, demanding that the light rail project be halted.
The organization based itself on an article in French law that allows the court to void business agreements, signed by French companies, that violate international law.
The political pressure on Veolia has been mounting in another direction. According to various reports abroad, the French firm had been losing major projects in Europe because of its involvement in the Jerusalem job. Observers claim that’s the real reason Veolia opted out.
This is a important victory showing that nonviolent grassroots action can help challenge and impede the infrastructure of occupation. The movement to boycott, divest from and sanction Israel will continue to grow until Israeli expansionism ends and Palestinian rights are honored. Talk of cutting off or reducing US aid to Israel is even entering the mainstream media in the US as it becomes more clear that Israeli will not be willing to begin to end the occupation otherwise. As much as we hope that the Obama administration will apply pressure on Israel to force a change, the Veolia victory is a sign that there is no need to wait for others to act.
The US-Israel Free Trade Area could be canceled on Israeli violations of intellectual property rights alone. The US Trade Representative is currently dealing with a call to cancel it—one of the justifications is documented cases of Israeli cut diamond sales to the US financing illegal settlements construction. AIPAC's illicitly obtaining the secret US negotiating position is another justification. http://www.irmep.org/uifta
I agree strongly with this course of action. Israeli citizens must be made to realize that the rest of the world does not approve of creeping ethnic cleansing and colonization, and nothing strikes home like actions that directly influence one's life.
I agree with both comments. If you add up all the foreign aid and special deals the USA has given only to Israel, it's truly amazing–even more amazing most USA citizens are not aware of it.
dear philip: this is Mohammad from Vancouver. why do you guys use the term Israel/Palestine, when in fact Palestine existed hundreds of years before Israel did? why offer a rasist country a priority spot? Politically correct? It's annoying as hell.
RE: "Ha'aretz is reporting that French company Veolia is pulling out of a controversial project to build a light rail system in Jerusalem…" *** HELP STOP THE SALE OF CATERPILLAR BULLDOZERS TO ISRAEL *** FROM: Jewish Voice for Peace (info@jewishvoiceforpeace.org) This coming June 10, we will be at the Caterpillar annual shareholder meeting for the sixth time. We will remind the Board of Directors that stopping the company's sales of bulldozers to Israel is not only ethical but affordable for Caterpillar. We will remind them that not changing course will be increasingly more costly to Caterpillar: Hampshire College has already divested from CAT, and so has the Church of England; other churches are considering similar steps. Twenty Israeli peace and justice organizations have come in support of divestment from Caterpillar. We want you to be with us at the meeting. Please sign a petition to Caterpillar by June 9th, and we will hand-deliver it to the Board of Directors the next day. *TO SIGN – http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/301/petition...
MOhammed Lies. Tell us some things about "Palestine". Where was it's capital? Who was it's first King and when did he live? Where were it's borders and who were it's neighbors? Jerusalem was the capital of a Jewish state nearly 2 millenia before Prophet Mohammed was toilet trained. Jews had their own state with their own judges, laws and borders long before any ARABS called themselves "Palestineans". Perhaps even before anyone spoke a language called "Arabic". See? Mohammed lies…