Editor’s Note: The following is a statement from Palästina Spricht – Palestine Speaks. Mondoweiss occasionally publishes press releases and statements from organizations in an effort to draw attention to overlooked issues.
On May 17th, 2019 the German Parliament (Bundestag) has passed a resolution against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS) condemning it as anti-Semitic. All parties from across the political spectrum participated in a parliamentary attack on a human-rights based non-violent campaign for equality, freedom and justice in Palestine-Israel. BDS is a global campaign that is supported by millions of people including civil society and human rights organizations, trade unions and others.
This resolution marks the moral failure of the German government to address the real and pressing issue of ongoing Israeli violations against the Palestinian people. The ongoing criminal siege of Gaza, the mass killing of peaceful protesters, the systemic home demolitions, the imprisonment and torture of children, and the ethnic-based policies which are enshrined in more than 65 racist laws, are but a few of the ongoing violations which have been well-documented by legal scholars and notable human rights organizations.
In violation of international conventions and European law, the German parliament had not only turned a blind eye on Israeli crimes but chose to launch an assault on those who oppose these crimes, based on falsehoods which are aimed at shielding Israel from accountability. What message does Germany send when it protects a violent military power that in the past year alone had indiscriminately killed over 450 Palestinians, while at the same time condemning a non-violent movement that merely demands that Israel abides by its obligations under international law?
The Bundestag had ignored the public outcry against the resolution, including a statement signed by more than 60 Jewish and Israeli scholars, among them prominent researchers of anti-Semitism and the History of the Holocaust, who implored on the Bundestag not to falsely conflate BDS with anti-Semitism. This motion has nothing to do with countering anti-Semitism. On the contrary, it harms this struggle, by trivializing the meaning of anti-Semitism and instrumentalizing the Holocaust for narrow political caprices.
We reject the baseless allegations of this resolution. Through its principles and actions, the BDS movement rejects all forms of racism and discrimination, including anti-Semitism. The BDS consistently addresses institutions and individuals complicit with Israeli violations of international law regardless of their identity, faith or political affiliation.
Treating those who demand the respect of international law as people who promote hate speech and racism is unacceptable. Furthermore, any type of conflation between Zionism and Judaism is fundamentally flawed and disregards the century-long Jewish opposition to Zionism, as well as ignoring the numerous Jewish individuals and organizations who either support BDS explicitly or defend its legitimacy.
If German parliamentarians had learned from history, as they claim, they must now actively protect the constitutional right to freedom of expression and conscience. They should act to end Israeli military occupation of Palestinian territory and realize the Palestinian right to self-determination and right of return.
On June 28th, 2019, we will be protesting against the shameful Bundestag resolution and against delegitimizing the BDS movement as a Palestinian non-violent, civil based struggle against Israel’s occupation and apartheid.
Join us in supporting freedom, peace, justice and equality.
Where’s the German stand-up comedian joking about German guilt? No Catskills resort in all those German forests?
→ the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS) condemning it as anti-Semitic
Why on earth is this bit of nonsense so widely credited? It’s easily refuted, but I’m tired of hearing it every damn day. When we have to refute such nonsense all the time, there may be very little hope for overcoming the bigotry and outright idiocy that underlie—that are—Zionism.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190612-240-israel-and-jewish-professional-urge-germany-not-to-enforce-anti-bds-law/
“240 Israel and Jewish professionals urge Germany not to enforce anti-BDS law” Middle East Monitor, June 12/19
“Some 240 Israeli and Jewish academics and intellectuals have sent a letter to the Germany government urging it not to enact in to law a bill that would define the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement as ‘anti-Semitic.’
“If it is passed in to law, the currently non-binding motion, which was passed by the Bundestag – parliament – in May, would be the first official law in Europe to classify BDS activity as anti-Semitic.
“Despite winning huge support among vast sections of the major parties, including the Social Democrats, the Free Democratic Party, and Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, the law has also drawn a significant amount of criticism and condemnation.
“Some 240 Israeli and Jewish academics and intellectuals have sent a letter to the German government urging it to oppose the motion and ‘not to endorse’ it, due to it being ‘based on the false allegation that BDS as such equals anti-Semitism.’
“The letter, which was published in both English and German on BDS Germany’s website, stated that ‘we all reject the deceitful allegation that BDS as such is anti-Semitic and maintain that boycotts are a legitimate and non-violent tool of resistance.’
“They also called on the German government ‘to maintain its direct and indirect funding of Israeli and Palestinian non-governmental organizations that peacefully challenge the Israeli occupation.’
“The professors and signatories of the letter included 24 academics from the Hebrew University, 24 from Tel Aviv University, 11 from Ben Gurion University, nine from Haifa University, five from the Weizmann Institute of Science and five from the Open University of Israel.
“The opposition did not come without a backlash, however. In response, CEO of the Zionist NGO Im Tirtzu, Matan Peleg, slammed the signatories and accused them of ‘hypocrisy and ungratefulness,’ stating that they ‘earn their living at the expense of the Israeli taxpayer yet at the same time work to boycott and slander them.’
“The BDS movement, which works to discourage the purchasing of products manufactured, grown and exploited from the occupied Palestinian territories, has faced widespread global opposition since its inception in 2007. The suppression of it has been most extensive in the US where 24 states have passed laws against individuals and businesses engaging in BDS activity.”
Oppressive anti-BDS legislation is actually a good sign. If BDS were weak and ineffective, noöne would bother to legislate against it. It is precisely because BDS strikes real blows against the Zionist entity that legislators in a number of imperialist jurisdictions have felt the need to suppress it.
I observe the boycott and am not shy about making that fact known. I intend to defy any legislation that would insulate the Zionist entity from criticism, boycotts, and other forms of political opposition. If necessary, I shall mount a legal challenge.
“If an Israeli wishes to sit at your lunch counter you have to serve her.” “Jon s”
And now I know why the 1964 Civil Rights Act was passed. The sight of lunchless Israelis moved the American people to action.