Category Archives: BDS

Forget SodaStream, help Palestinian workers by boycotting settlements and ending the occupation

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Pamela Olson

I’ve heard this already a couple times on my book tour: “Hey, we shouldn’t boycott settlement goods. It’ll hurt job prospects for Palestinians!” An excellent article in the Electronic Intifada picked up this theme and thoroughly demolished this ridiculous argument.

Posted in Activism, BDS, Israel/Palestine, Occupation | 28 Comments

Teachers’ Union of Ireland endorses academic boycott of Israel in unanimous vote

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Adam Horowitz

From an Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign press release: At its Annual Congress on Thursday 4th April 2013, the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) became the first academic union in Europe to endorse the Palestinian call for an academic boycott of … Continue reading →

Posted in Activism, BDS, Israel/Palestine, Occupation | 62 Comments

Products from the colonies: Labeling or prohibition?

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Christophe Perrin

The Netherlands are about to ask Dutch commercial distributors to implement labelling measures for the identification of products from Israeli colonies. England and Denmark have already taken similar measures. These measures to label products from the colonies have stirred up a debate. For some, they are a step in the right direction. They tend to show that European institutions and governments, considering the Israeli colonies to be illegal and an obstacle to peace, have finally taken the decision to act by implementing the law, others see simply labelling products a diversion, the consequences of which would be disastrous for the Palestinians. In order to form an opinion, it is certainly necessary to listen to the primary interested party: the Palestinians. It is they who are confronted with the colonial businesses, the production and marketing of whose products represents major harm.

Posted in Activism, BDS, Israel/Palestine, Israeli Government, Occupation | 17 Comments

UC Riverside student government rescinds divestment measure aimed at Israeli occupation profiteers

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Alex Kane

The student government at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) rescinded a measure calling for divestment from companies linked to the Israeli military. Last night’s vote came nearly a month after the original pro-divestment measure overwhelmingly passed at UC Riverside. Opponents of divestment claimed they were kept in the dark and had little time to muster any opposition to the original bill.

Posted in Activism, American Jewish Community, BDS, Israel Lobby, US Politics | 22 Comments

‘Do not stand silent. Do not retreat. Do not back down’: Desmond Tutu and Roger Waters call on UC Riverside to stand behind divestment vote

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Adam Horowitz

Tonight the University of California Riverside Associated Students will vote on whether to rescind a March 6th vote in favor of divestment from Caterpillar and Hewlett Packard for their involvement in the Israeli occupation. This move comes after a month of intense pressure from pro-Israel activists and organizations. Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Roger Waters have issued statements in support of the divestment vote.

Posted in Activism, BDS, Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine, Occupation, US Politics | 8 Comments

Using Twitter to spread the word about #AhavaCrimes

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Suraya Dadoo

South African activists wanting to highlight Ahava’s illegal use of Palestinian land and resources and to send a clear message to South African businesses working with the brand partnered with the U.S-based Stolen Beauty campaign. Inspired by Stolen Beauty-led online actions, including a culture jamming campaign that turned a Birchbox and Ahava marketing contest into a social media fail, South African activists organized a Twitter storm.

Posted in Activism, BDS, Israel/Palestine, Occupation | 4 Comments

Debating BDS in midair

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Dalit Baum

Dalit Baum writes about being stuck next to a Reut Institute activist Eran Shayshon on a long flight to Israel. They debate BDS. Baum writes, “If I have ever thought I could withstand an interrogation, I just learned that all it took was a boring flight, outrageous statements by the person sitting next to me, and off I go into dogged arguments and fiery speeches.”

Posted in Activism, BDS, Israel/Palestine, Israeli Government, Occupation | 29 Comments

BDS activists protest the Jewish National Fund in Philadelphia

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Susan Landau

“Ethnic cleansing is a crime – justice now in Palestine!” Chanting with great energy and exuberance, the Philadelphia Coalition for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions against Israel (Philly BDS) was once again a colorful and vocal presence in protest at the annual local fundraiser for The Jewish National Fund.

Posted in Activism, BDS, Israel/Palestine | 18 Comments

Israel denies visas to 5 artists seeking to perform with Freedom Theatre

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Felice Gelman

Why cultural boycott matters. Bernard-Henri Levy says boycott is ‘crap,’ but Israel won’t let artists from Arab world come to Palestine to participate in Walk for Water Justice

Posted in BDS, Israel/Palestine | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

San Diego students pass divestment measure targeting companies that do business with Israeli military

Posted on March 16, 2013 by Alex Kane

The student government at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) overwhelmingly passed a nonbinding resolution that recommended divestment from companies implicated in Israeli rule over the Palestinians. The measure passed by a 20-12 margin, and was successful despite pressure from elected officials on students to vote against the bill. San Diego’s measure followed similarly successful resolutions that were passed at the Irvine and Riverside campuses.

Posted in Activism, BDS, Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine, Occupation, US Politics | 7 Comments

NYC coalition calls on elected officials to stop fueling Islamophobia and suppressing criticism of Israel

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Adam Horowitz

A historic coalition of LGBT, Muslim, Jewish, Arab, Iranian, South Asian and university groups today delivered a letter to New York City elected officials, calling on them to stop impeding their constituents’ free speech on Israel’s apartheid policies, the “Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions” (BDS) movement and the movement against Israeli government “pinkwashing.”

Posted in Activism, BDS, Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine, Occupation, US Policy in the Middle East, US Politics | 11 Comments

NYC ‘Israeli Apartheid Week’ kicks off: Queer scholar Sarah Schulman advocates BDS at LGBT Center

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Alex Kane

For the first time in two years, a discussion focused on Israel took place at New York City’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center. Last night, queer scholar and activist Sarah Schulman read from her recently released book, Israel/Palestine and the Queer International. Schulman spoke about her personal upbringing and relationship to Israel, her support for the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement and why Israeli “pinkwashing” to cover up human rights abuses was real.

Posted in Activism, American Jewish Community, BDS, Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine, US Politics | 5 Comments

South African groups launch ‘Israeli Apartheid Week’ at Jo’burg memorial to apartheid

Posted on March 10, 2013 by Annie Robbins

This week, South Africa will host the 9th international Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) campaign that takes places annually during February and March around the globe in over 250 cities

Posted in Activism, BDS, Israel/Palestine, Israeli Government, Nakba, Occupation, US Policy in the Middle East | 15 Comments

New cross-Canada student coalition looks to build on BDS victories

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Charlotte Kates

As Canada’s Minister of Immigration and Citizenship, Jason Kenney, castigated Palestine solidarity activists for organizing Israeli Apartheid Weeks across the country, students on campuses across Canada have come together to build The Canadian Student Coalition for Palestine, a new alliance to educate, inform and organize for Palestine.

Posted in Activism, BDS, Israel/Palestine | 15 Comments

California BDS debate heats up: Riverside campus passes divestment measure as Stanford rejects the same

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Alex Kane

California was the focal point of the BDS debate this week. While a pro-divestment measure failed to pass at Stanford University, a call to divest won out last night at the University of California (UC), Riverside. The win at UC Riverside is the second recent divestment victory for BDS advocates in California. And UC San Diego has been the site of continued debate over BDS, with two Congressional members coming down against the divestment bill at the school.

Posted in Activism, BDS, Israel/Palestine | 15 Comments

Colonizer as lender: How Liberty Square and Bab al-Shams spring from similar roots

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Members of Strike Debt and Occupy Wall Street

An examination into how debt analysis could be an important strategic link between the Palestinian freedom struggle and those directly confronting the powers of Wall Street.

Posted in Activism, BDS, Israel/Palestine, US Policy in the Middle East, US Politics | 9 Comments

In pictures: Hundreds join ‘Expose AIPAC’ to protest AIPAC Policy Conference

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Sasha Gelzin

Yesterday more than 200 people gathered to protest in front of the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington DC.

Posted in Activism, American Jewish Community, BDS, Gaza, Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine, Israeli Government, Occupation, US Policy in the Middle East, US Politics | 10 Comments

It’s delicious to see very uncool people fall for ‘Rolling Stones’ anti-BDS hoax

Posted on March 3, 2013 by Phan Nguyen

Pamela Geller and other Israel supporters rejoiced when it was announced that, in an affront to BDS, the Rolling Stones would perform in Israel—except it was a hoax.

Posted in BDS, Israel/Palestine, Media | 23 Comments

The false equivalence of liberal Zionists

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Annie Robbins

One of the most well worn tricks of the PR trade is establishing a false equivalence between supposed extremes in order to position yourself in the middle as the pragmatic, moderate viewpoint. In his article “Zero Dark Zero” Roger Cohen does this very thing in an attempt to position liberal Zionism between two extremes.

Posted in BDS, Israel/Palestine, Media, US Politics | 210 Comments

Israel lobby group gears up early to counter church divestment initiatives in 2014

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Alex Kane

A key Israel lobby group has already begun to organize against any potential divestment resolutions related to Israel that may come up at church assemblies, which won’t take place until 2014. From February 26-27, the Jewish Community Relations Council held an invitation-only anti-divestment conference in Burlingame, California. The JCRC event is an indication of how important countering the BDS movement is to Israel lobby groups. Above, Jewish & Christian advocates for divestment from the Israeli occupation at the Methodist General Conference, April, 2012.

Posted in Activism, American Jewish Community, BDS, Israel Lobby, Israel/Palestine, US Politics | Tagged | 8 Comments

Anatomy of a Falsehood: Roger Cohen recycles pro-Israel attack against Omar Barghouti

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Adam Horowitz

Roger Cohen has an International Herald Tribune column today titled “Zero Dark Zero” that outlines the dire state of the two-state solution. In the process of making his case Cohen recycles an out-of-context quote from Omar Barghouti that has become popular among Israel supporters looking to smear the BDS movement. Cohen and the ‘New York Times’ are standing by the quote, further discrediting the paper of record when it comes to honestly discerning fact from simple propaganda.

Posted in BDS, Israel/Palestine, Media, US Politics | 38 Comments

Tomorrow: UC San Diego students to vote on endorsing divestment from ‘companies that profit off the military occupation of and violence inflicted upon the Palestinian people’

Posted on February 26, 2013 by Adam Horowitz

The UC-San Diego chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine has announced that tomorrow the UC San Diego Associated Students will vote on a resolution calling on the University of California system to divest from “companies that profit off the military occupation of and violence inflicted upon the Palestinian people.”

Posted in Activism, BDS, Israel/Palestine | 4 Comments

In solidarity with Hebron, London shops get a taste of the occupation

Posted on February 25, 2013 by Nancy Kiousi

On Saturday, February 23rd activists in London staged a multiple boycott action and protest at the Israeli Embassy, in support of the Palestinians in Al-Khalil (Hebron).

Posted in Activism, BDS, Israel/Palestine, Occupation, Reports/Video | 6 Comments

BDS activists: Alicia Keys ‘stand on the side of justice and cancel your gig in Tel Aviv’

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Annie Robbins

Multi Grammy award-winning artist Alicia Keys has booked a gig in Tel Aviv as part of her ‘Set the World On Fire’ tour on our Independence Day, 4th of July. The US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (USACBI) has asked Keys to “Cancel Apartheid Israel Show”

Posted in Activism, BDS, Israel/Palestine | 92 Comments

Caught on tape: California university lecturer smears student activists as anti-Semites with ties to terrorists

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Alex Kane

Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, a Hebrew lecturer at the University of California, Santa Cruz, unleashed vitriolic comments smearing student activists who work for Palestinian rights as anti-Semites with ties to terrorist organizations. The remarks, made last year in Massachusetts, were recently exposed by student activists. Students have started a petition calling on the University of California President to condemn the statements made by Rossman-Benjamin, who is the head of an Israel lobby group called the AMCHA Initiative.

Posted in Activism, BDS, Israel/Palestine | 33 Comments