Philly BDS offers, “Recycle, Hack, Destroy”- a light video at a dark time
As yet another horrific Israeli military offensive escalates in Gaza, human rights activists advocating for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) of Israel stay the course. It is not only the Israeli airstrikes on Gaza that are killing Palestinians. Routinely the unjust, indiscriminate, and systemic Israeli policies of military occupation and apartheid destroy Palestinian lives. The lure of jobs in illegal Israeli industrial zones, intended to support the economic base of Israeli settlements, is a case in point. Palestinians provide a captive workforce with few employment alternatives to the factory jobs such as in the settlement Ma’aleh Adumim where Sodastream products are made. Low wages and the absence of worker’s rights eviscerate any possibility for the development of a viable Palestinian economy and a just peace.
Today’s release of “Recycle, Hack, Destroy” by The Philadelphia Coalition for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (Philly BDS) is part of the planned national week of actions by “We Divest” and supports the local Philadelphia chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP-Philly).
In the tradition of Code Pink’s mock weddings and the US Campaign to End the Occupation’s petitions, demonstrations, and spoof ads, “Recycle, Hack, Destroy” is the latest in an alternative stream – creative protests staged by BDS activists to “burst the (Sodastream) bubble.”
Black clouds have no silver linings. The Palestinian call in 2005 to the international community to develop campaigns of boycott, divestment, and sanctions until Israel complies with international law offers a nonviolent response to egregious Israeli crimes against humanity. Because the Israeli government provides economic incentives, including tax deductions, for businesses operating in West Bank settlements, BDS activists have made Sodastream a target of an international consumer boycott.
Once again Israel claims “All options are on the table,” including the call up of 40,000 reserve troops. Take Sodastream off the table and consider a nonviolent option, BDS. The BDS movement too is prepared for a “long, continuous, and strong campaign.”
Totally awesome!
I didn’t understand how the Hack option worked. It looked like they were still making “conflict free bubbles” using S.S. equipment.
I cringe daily as I go into my office kitchen. A workmate brought in their SodaStream machine and left it in there. Since I don’t want to have a conversation with HR, I have to restrain myself from slapping an “Occupation Bubbles” sticker on it.
LOL! Give that girl a sledgehammer – a heckalotta faster and more satisfying than a small hammer.
I suggest a short film competition open to the public under the title: 100 Ways To Destroy A Sodastream.
And the prize for the winning video? A potato lunch with Mahane in Jerusalm’s mahane yehuda market.
I read last week that a key Sodastream operation in England was closed down for good.