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November 2015

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The past few months have been a headache for a select group of Israel’s political echelon. International solidarity activists and their legal advocates have begun to gain traction in a series of petitions alleging war crimes in a variety of international judicial forums. The development of this legal strategy has not received much recognition, but the implications are real; a game-changer in the fight for justice and accountability in Palestine.

All-expenses-paid junkets to Israel organized for elected officials and community leaders by a lobbying group, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, have generally attracted little public comment. But that is changing. Boston Alliance for Water Justice is pressuring ten state senators who are due to travel to Israel early December and asking them to reconsider their participation in a delegation designed to present Israel in a positive light and mute international condemnation of its treatment of Palestinians.

Bay Area activists pulled off an awesome action yesterday at Haaretz’s Zionism 3.0: Israel’s Place in Tomorrow’s World conference in Palo Alto, California. As Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely was introduced and stepped up to the podium a clear voice rung out: “Tzipi Hotovely this is a citizens’ arrest! We charge you with inciting colonial violence.”