Activism

BDS activists are targeting Puma in Boston

Puma is moving its corporate headquarters to Boston and BDS activists there are planning on targeting the shoe maker over its sponsorship of Israel's football league.

In recent months supporters of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS) have been showing up outside a Puma store in the Boston suburb of Somerville to picket and hand out literature.

Puma became a target of the BDS movement in 2018 after the company signed a four-year deal to sponsor the Israel Football Association (IFA), which has multiple teams based in illegal West Bank settlements.

The IFA is an affiliate of the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) and, beyond the obvious violations of international law, the teams that play on occupied land shouldn’t technically exist under FIFA’s rules. Leagues under the FIFA umbrella aren’t allowed to play games on the territory of another member association and the Palestinian Football Association is part of the federation. As Human Rights Watch has pointed out, FIFA acted swiftly in 2014 when the Russian Football Union tried to play games Crimea, but there’s been no action when it comes to the IFA.

The IFA isn’t the only way in which Israeli apartheid impacts local football. The country’s many restrictions on Palestinian movement make it extremely difficult for athletes to compete. A recent report put out by BDS Boston quotes a 2020 piece by Palestinian footballer Mahmoud Sarsak:

Eight years ago, my life changed forever. I was 22 and living my footballing dream. I was on the national team, had represented my country at the Olympics, and had just signed to a professional club in the West Bank. But on my way to meet my new team [from Gaza], I was seized by Israeli security forces. No charges were ever brought against me, nor was I brought to trial, and yet I was imprisoned for three years and brutally tortured. It was only after a 96-day hunger strike that international pressure forced the Israeli regime to release me.

Local connection

Puma is set to have a much bigger presence in the Boston area as it’s about to move its corporate headquarters there.

“When the BDS movement here in Boston found out that Puma was building its headquarters in Somerville we thought it was a unique opportunity to raise awareness about Puma sponsoring the IFA,” Sanjay D’Souza, a scientist and Scientist and BDS Boston activist since 2019. told Mondoweiss. “We felt this could be really strategic for us because it’s happening in our own backyard and it could be a lot more visible. We wanted to start to put pressure on Puma locally.”

“The first action we are trying to focus on is talking to people who are trying to enter the store,” D’Souza explained. “We tell them what Puma is doing, we hand out flyers that give them more information about the IFA. Eventually we want to draw more attention to the headquarters so that senior management might pay attention. We’ve sent them a few emails in recent months. Sometimes they reply, sometimes they don’t. But the main goal at the moment is to educate people on why we are targeting Puma and to discourage people from shopping there.”

Ragini Shah, a law professor and BDS Boston member since 2019, told Mondoweiss that the popularity of sports in the city provides an intriguing angle worth targeting. In addition to hosting the Boston Marathon every year, the local professional teams have enjoyed immense success over the last two decades. Marcus Smart, the dynamic Boston Celtics guard, is sponsored by Puma.

“Boston is such a big sports town,” Shah told Mondoweiss. “We haven’t really reached this phase of the campaign yet, but we thought we might be able to get some local athletes interested in this issue and interested in helping to call Puma out for what we see as hypocrisy.”

Black Lives Matter hypocrisy

In recent months Puma has publicly embraced social justice causes. Puma certainly isn’t the only company to embrace brand activism in response to the George Floyd protests but, as Shah points out, many find their pivot particularly egregious given the Israel connection.

“Puma is really branding itself as a company that supports Black Lives Matter, black athletes have been chosen as spokespeople for them, and yet they’re sponsoring the IFA and engaging the oppression of Palestinians,” she said. “So we thought that could be a compelling angle and hopefully that will come to fruition.”

These sentiments were echoed by Mahmoud Sarsak. “Today, I see the sports world being forced to confront racism and hate by Black Lives Matter – and yet the prejudice which destroyed my career is largely ignored,” he explained. Sportswear giant Puma has taken a public stance against hate, putting out ads and hosting ‘honest conversations’ on racism. And yet it continues to be complicit in the subjugation of my people.”

Lea Kayali is a Palestinian community organizer and member of BDS Boston. She says it’s telling that Puma management sent four cop cars full of police to question protestors during a recent action. “Any profit seeking corporation that is touting issues of racial justice deserves a level of scrutiny,” she told Mondoweiss. “What’s really clear in this case is that it’s a hollow attempt to rebrand and seem like an ethical company. It’s a trend we’ve seen since last summer. Every company wants to cash in on the BLM brand. As a Palestinian highlighting their complicity is a way to talk about how that branding is very surface level. If they’re planning on sending the cops on peaceful protestors, that puts people of color in our group at risk. We’ve certainly seen terrible things happen over far less. It’s important to highlight the irony in all this.”

Global campaign

The BDS campaign against Puma has already notched some major victories in other parts of the world. Malaysia’s largest university dropped its sponsorship deal with the company over its support for illegal settlements. UK clubs have also been pressured to act. Luton Town FC dropped their sponsorship with Puma and Forest Green Rovers FC pledged to not sign a contract with them. Additionally, over 200 Palestinian teams and athletes have called for a boycott.

Puma will hold its annual shareholders on May 5th and worldwide protests are planned to draw attention to the BDS efforts.

“The goal of any BDS campaign is to force people to confront their relationship with Zionism,” Kayali told Mondoweiss. “Its the same goal locally, the campaign is a vehicle to do that. It’s not just about sneakers and jerseys, it’s about confronting the ties we have as taxpayers in this country.”

3 Comments
Most Voted
Newest Oldest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Puma is in bed with Zionist fascists and racists and must be treated accordingly:

Israeli apartheid in Palestine devastatingly exposed by senior Palestinian – YouTube
Video, April 3/21″Israeli apartheid in Palestine devastatingly exposed by senior Palestinian, Hanan Ashrawi””As Human Rights Watch condemn Israel’s occupation of Palestine as apartheid, I speak to Hanan Ashrawi – one of Palestine’s most prominent figures. She explains the brutality the Palestinian people are subjected to by an Israeli occupation which is in violation of international law; about a recent attack by extremists chanting ‘death to Arabs’ against Palestinians in Jerusalem; about whether there is any hope for Palestine now Joe Biden is President – and whether the two state solution is dead.”

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/5/4/violence-is-a-permanent-feature-of-palestinian-lives-in-jerusalem
“Israel is trying hard to erase Jerusalem’s Palestinians”
“And it has made colonial violence a permanent feature of Palestinian lives in the holy city.”
By Jalal Abukhater, Al Jazeera, May 4/21
Excerpt:
“For us Jerusalemites, it is frankly nauseating to hear commentators throw around cliches of ‘cycle of violence’, call for a ‘return to calm’, and generally engage in bothsidesism, whenever violence erupts. And in the past few weeks, we have heard them yet again. There are no two equal sides in Jerusalem.
“The problem with these statements is that they whitewash the fact that Jerusalem is a city under violent occupation and its occupier, Israel, has made its intent to slowly uproot the native population quite public.
“In this sense, violence is a permanent feature of the lives of Jerusalem residents, even when outside observers perceive the streets to be ‘quiet’. And it is not a matter of ‘both sides’ de-escalating.
“This past year had been particularly violent for Palestinian Jerusalemites. The impact of COVID-19 on our community is dwarfed by the effects of relentless harassment, arrests, home demolition and displacement by the Israeli authorities, ultimately aimed at the ethnic cleansing of the city.
“No one should be surprised at the amount of anger Palestinians hold towards the Israeli occupation authorities in the city. Their encroachments on the rights of our community are endless and are directly responsible for any uptick in violence.
“Such is the case with this latest violent episode which began in the first days of the holy month of Ramadan.”

They have come down to risking their credibility all to cover for a rogue nation that keeps breaking international laws. This company is stupidly mistaken in thinking they will never be found out, which makes them liars. They deserve to be boycotted.