‘This Ends Now’: Boston-area SJPs call for BDS in response to Israel’s obstruction of Freedom Flotilla

The following statement was issued by Boston Students for Justice in Palestine, a coalition comprised of SJPs from a number of different colleges and universities in the Boston area.

In response to Israel’s obstruction of the Swedish vessel Marianne of Gothenburg’s humanitarian mission on June 28, we, Boston area Students for Justice in Palestine demand that our government officials hold the state accountable for its ongoing violations of international law.

This is the third time the Israeli government has forcibly prohibited the Freedom Flotilla Coalition from delivering aid to Palestine since its imposition of the naval blockade in 2007. The siege on Gaza not only places severe limitations on the vital resources allowed into Palestine—such as medicine, construction materials, foods and school supplies—it also prohibits the export of goods in an effort to isolate the occupied territories from the rest of the world. This latest offense by the Israeli government demonstrates yet another deliberate attempt to inflict suffering on Palestinian lives.

We stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people on the one year anniversary of Operation Protective Edge, Israel’s bloody assault on Gaza last summer. We affirm our support for the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS) in response to recent news of presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton’s vow to make countering the movement a priority of her campaign. Nearly every presidential candidate has thus far failed to raise concern about our nation’s unwavering and unconditional political and financial support of the Israeli government, despite its incessant crimes against a vulnerable and innocent civilian population. We refuse to allow our national leaders to continue propagating Israel’s right to self-defense as a viable excuse to avoid addressing the state’s brutal military campaigns and well-documented human rights abuses. We will not allow those with power to stifle our efforts to attain freedom, justice and equality for Palestinian refugees, Palestinians living under occupation and Palestinians facing discrimination in Israel.

We call on all people of conscience to take direct action in their respective communities against these abuses by joining the grassroots BDS movement, which was established in 2005 when Palestinian civil society members, including students, teachers unions, farmer associations, trade unions and NGOs, issued a call for global support. We urge you to join us: boycott and divest from corporations that profit from the occupation, and urge your government officials to impose sanctions against Israel until it complies with international law.