The Israeli organization Who Profits sent out the following update on the Israeli law passed in 2011 that sanctions individuals and organizations that advocate for the boycott, divestment and sanction movement:
The Supreme Court Hearing on the petition against the Israeli anti-boycott law on December 5th 2012
Calling on international and Israeli civil society to raise their voice
On Wednesday, December 5th 2012, the Israeli Supreme Court will conduct a hearing on the petition filed by the Coalition of Women for Peace against the anti-boycott law, which was passed by the Knesset in July 2011. This anti-democratic law is a blunt violation of political and civil liberties and is clearly a political attempt to violently crush civil protest and legitimate criticism against Israel’s policy in the occupied territories. The petition was filed alongside with Adalah, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, the Public Committee against Torture in Israel, HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual, Yesh Din and other organizations.
The law refers to economic, cultural or academic boycott based on the specifics of its “linkage to the state of Israel, one of its institutions or an area under its control”. Individuals, bodies or corporations can prosecute anyone who knowingly publishes a public call for boycott or publicly participates in a call for boycott, without proving damages. Therefore, this law actually imposes sanctions and financial penalties on individuals who chose a non-violent political protest which includes boycott.
The Coalition of Women for Peace, who initiated Who Profits project several years ago, with the aim of exposing the economic aspects of Israel’s occupation, sees the anti-boycott law, first and foremost, as an attempt to silence this discourse. The law suppresses the protest against the occupation economy and silences the discussion on the financial interests of companies and state actors in the continuing Israeli control over Palestinian and Syrian land, resources and labor force.
Moreover, the law is unconstitutional, as its clear aim is to pose political censorship against organizations and civilians employing universally acceptable, legitimate and non-violent means of protest, such as boycott, in order to motivate the Israeli government and corporations to respect International and Israeli law and to cease from their violations of human rights.
The anti-boycott law received harsh criticism from the Israeli civil society and from the Knesset Members from the Left and from the Center. In February 2011, over 50 Israeli civil society organizations have signed an appeal to halt the legislative proceedings of the anti-boycott bill. European Parliament Members expressed decisive objection to the law. Yet, to no avail. This law, which interferes in personal moral decisions of every person, and violates the freedom of speech and political expression, the freedom of opinion, and the right to organize – came into force on July 11, 2011.
As the day of the Supreme Court Hearing approaches, we call on our allies and supporters, civil society organizations and individuals of conscience, to raise a clear voice of objection to the law.
We will not be silenced.
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For further details please contact us:
whoprofits@gmail.com | cwp@coalitionofwomen.org
We wish them good luck. We wish the Israeli S/C to find its backbone, because soon there may be Israeli prosecutions of Israeli (former) PMs, DMs, and generals for war-crimes. These prosecutions — if they occur — will be undertaken by Israel’s A/G in order to forestall prosecutions of the same folks for the same crimes in the ICC. And, of course, I have no idea whether Israeli law actually makes punishable crimes of the war-crimes whose punishment the ICC supervises. what I do know is that Israel has a miserable record on prosecuting soldiers and others for violating the rights of Palestinians. so the Israeli S/C would need some back-bone in order to require honest, real, genuine (and not genuine imitation) prosecutions of these bellicose individuals.