We Will Not be Silent: Statement in Regard to Israeli Anti-Boycott Law
BDS Campaign Endorses TIAA-Cref Campaign
Alternative Information Center: We Will Not be Silent: Statement in Regard to Israeli Anti-Boycott Law
Wednesday, 13 July 2011
"We’re going to arrest you, but it’s difficult with you because all you do is talk.”
- Israeli soldier to Palestinian organizer Mohammad Othman, 2009 [1]
We, Israeli citizens, members of Boycott![2],
hereby reiterate our support and promotion of the Palestinian Call for
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel, until it complies with
international law and universal principles of human rights[3].
We declare this in spite of the new legislation by the Israeli Knesset,
which aims to penalize our and our partners' activities, curbing
freedom of speech and political organizing and most importantly –
banning Israeli citizens from acting according to their conscience when
it conflicts with the deplorable policies of the state.
The
anti-BDS law is not the first attempt at silencing the BDS campaign.
Throughout the years, Israel has detained Palestinian leaders,
activists, speakers and organizers under administrative detention and
without charges, or at times under various draconian charges such as
'incitement' and the organizing of 'illegal demonstrations'. On
September 22nd 2009, Mohammad Othman, 34, was detained at the
Allenby Crossing upon his return to the occupied West Bank following a
meeting with Norwegian finance minister Halvorsen. Earlier that month,
minister Halvorsen had announced Norway’s divestment from the Israeli
company Elbit due to “ethical concerns”[4].
Othman was arrested and held without charges or trial, under an
unlawful administrative detention order and had spent much of the 113
days in detention under solitary confinement. Imprisonment of political
activists is an almost routine practice against Palestinian human rights
defenders.
Like
such repressive practices, the newly approved Israeli law, which
specifies fines and the payment of 'compensation' by Israeli citizens or
residents, who initiate or encourage a boycott of Israel – is also
bound to fail. We hereby support and promote the recent Palestinian call
for an immediate and comprehensive military embargo on Israel[5]
due to its consistent resort to violence and deadly attacks on
Palestinians and Arab civilians; we stand with Jewish Voice for Peace in
their campaign to bring TIAA-CREF to divest from the Israeli occupation[6];
and, we support and encourage all other BDS-related divestment
campaigns, such as the campaign to Derail Israel’s Unlawful A1 Train
Project[7].
Lastly,
we urge artists scheduled to perform in Israel to send a clear message
that the Israeli occupation, the institutionalized discrimination of
Israel's own Palestinian citizens and Israel's denial of the right of
return and compensation of the Palestinian refugees - are neither okay
nor normal, as Maxi Jazz from Faithless once put it[8].
Roxette, Ziggy Marley, Dream Theater, George Benson, Nino Katamadze,
Paul Simon and John Cale – we may risk persecution for saying this –
heed the Palestinian call for BDS and cancel your shows in Israel!
Signed,
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Yonah Adelman Uri Agnon Daniel Atai Oshra Bar Yoav Bar Ronnie Barkan Elisha Baskin Roi Basha Ofra Ben Artzi Eitan Bronstein Alona Cohen Alex Cohn Silan Dallal Yossi David Eran Efrati Hamutal Erato Naama Farjoun Tamar Freed Amir Gafner Amaya Galili Elyakim Genazzani Angela Godfree-Goldstein Rebekah Gomez Ohal Grietzer Shir Hever Connie Hackbarth |
Nir Harel Lihi Joffe Yonatan Kahn Yael Kahn Liad Kantorowicz Amani Khalefa Assaf Kintzer Yana Knopova (Ziferblat) Abir Kopty Micha Kurtz Noam Lekach Roi Livne Gal Lugassi Emelia Marcovich Anat Matar Haggai Matar Eilat Maoz Edo Medicks Dorothy Naor Irene Nasser Ofer Neiman David Nir Noa Olchovsky Jonathan Pollak Leiser Peles Yaar Peretz |
Alison Ramer Renen Raz Maya Rotem Leehee Rothschild Aia Safadi Lizi Sagie Emily Schaeffer Ayala Shani Tal Shapira Yonatan Shapira Yuval Shtrool Stavit Sinai Kobi Snitz Sonya Soloviov Jonatan Stanczak Tirtza Tauber Eran Torbiner Tamara Traubmann Sahar Vardi Itamar Weitzman Maya Wind Sergio Yahni Oren Yermiah Michal Zak Amal Ziada Adi Zlotogora
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On behalf of
Boycott! Supporting the Palestinian BDS Call from Within
[1] http://www.bdsmovement.net/2009/it-will-take-more-than-a-wall-to-silence-us-577
[2] Our full name is: "Boycott! Supporting the Palestinian BDS Call from Within". Aka: "Boycott from Within".
[3] http://www.bdsmovement.net/call
[4] http://electronicintifada.net/content/israel-targeting-boycott-movement/8524
[5] http://www.bdsmovement.net/2011/military-embargo-call-7497
[6] http://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/blog/jvp-demand-tiaa-cref-divest-israeli-occupation-0
[7] http://www.bdsmovement.net/2010/derail-a1-statement-4494