- As the second Freedom Flotilla packs its humanitarian
aid and prepares to brave the wrath of the Israeli navy, boycott divestment
and sanctions (BDS) activities continue on the homefront, notes Eric Walberg
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- Earlier this month, 100 activists from 9 countries gathered
in Montpellier, France for the first European Forum Against Agrexco to
strengthen the boycott campaign against Israel's largest fresh produce
exporter, which exports under the brand Carmel primarily to European markets.
Up to 70 per cent of the fruit and vegetables grown in the illegal Israeli
settlements in the West Bank are marketed by Agrexco, making it a prime
strategic target for BDS.
-
- The Palestinian BDS National Committee's Rafeef Ziadah
explains that the campaign includes all three components of BDS: in the
first place, the boycott of Agrexco products, but also divestment via suspension
of commercial agreements, and sanctions through court actions directed
at Agrexco's violations of international law, especially false labelling
of produce. According to Stephanie Westbrook, "Its complicity in a
broad range of human rights violations, profiting from crops grown on stolen
land, irrigated with stolen water and worked with child labour also provides
the campaign with ample opportunities to reach out beyond the Palestine
solidarity networks to find allies in other social justice movements."
-
- Companies such as Agrexco not only turn a profit, but
also provide a direct economic incentive to maintain the occupation and
continue Israeli apartheid policies. Activists in Montpellier focussed
on lobbying retail chains and food co-ops, protest actions such as "flash
mobs" at supermarkets and trade fairs, and airport and transport terminal
blockades. In France, there are ongoing demonstrations at the new Agrexco
terminal at the port of Sète. "BDS action!" campaigns
are under way in Sweden and Norway. The French campaign involves Confédération
Paysanne and Via Campesina. The first step of the newly formed European-wide
network will be a Global Day of Action Against Agrexco set for 26 November.
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- French transportation and urban systems company Veolia
continues to lose more garbage pickup contracts, this time in London, due
to public pressure by BDS activists on local government councils. Veolia
is a French-owned transportation and urban planning corporation that has
contracts with the Israeli government to provide services to West Bank
settlements. Recently Veolia lost contracts in Edinburgh, Richmond, Portsmouth,
Winchester and now a £1 billion bid in South London.
-
- Taking a cue from Bishop Desmond Tutu, British cosmetics
firm LUSH, known for its organic hand-made cosmetics, with stores and factories
in over 40 countries, endorsed OneWorld's "Freedom for Palestine",
an unofficial rock anthem recalling "Free Nelson Mandela" (1984),
a song which helped inform youth about the struggle against apartheid in
South Africa in the 1980s. The move by LUSH marks a significant shift toward
mainstreaming the Palestinian struggle, and comes as the Israeli cosmetics
firm Ahava closes its London store after the successful "Stolen Beauty"
campaign against it.
-
- On 29 May British Prime Minister David Cameron resigned
as an Honorary Patron of the Jewish National Fund (JNF). For many years
leaders of all three main political parties became Honorary Patrons of
the JNF by convention. According to Stop the JNF Campaign spokesman Dick
Pitt, "Cameron was the only leader of the three major parties remaining
as a JNF Patron. This decline in political support for the JNF at the highest
levels of the political tree may be a sign of the increasing awareness
in official quarters that a robust defense of the activities of the JNF
may not be sustainable."
-
- "Even Israeli courts have criticised the JNF as
an organisation that discriminates against non-Jews. It is not acceptable
that such an organisation is allowed to operate in the UK, much less to
enjoy charity status," says Michael Kalmanovitz, UK co-ordinator of
the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network. Already its fundraising
events face regular protests. In 2007, the American JNF application for
consultative status on a key UN committee was rejected because delegates
were unable to distinguish between the activities of the US branch and
those of the JNF in Israel which the UN Committee on the Elimination of
Racial Discrimination has criticised.
-
- French-Belgian bank Dexia is divesting from its 65 per
cent stake in Dexia-Israel even though it faces a loss. For two years,
BDS activists in Belgium and the Netherlands, France , Turkey and Luxembourg
campaigned against Dexia after it was revealed that the bank provided long-term
loans to more than 50 illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West
Bank. The divestment organisers congratulated the 69 groups that organised
demonstrations, petitions, posters, and parliamentary questions for what
they called a "partial victory" against the colonisation of the
West Bank.
-
- Israel continues to face sanctions by the international
community; in particular, Turkey, which has yet to re-establish its diplomatic
presence in Tel Aviv after more than a year. Kerim Uras was to become the
new Turkish ambassador, but his appointment was suspended after the Israeli
attack on the Mavi Marmara last May which resulted in the death of nine
Turkish citizens. The process was never renewed, as Israel refused even
to apologise. "The crime against humanity committed last year [by
Israel ] still has not been accounted for," Turkish Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu said recently. This could push Israel to leave its ambassadorial
post in Turkey empty when Ambassador Gaby Levy departs end this autumn.
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- The sanctions aspect of BDS is complex. Not only does
it involve trying to control Israel 's rogue behaviour using international
laws, but also the struggle to prevent anti-discrimination laws from being
used by Zionists to silence criticism of Israel on the pretext that such
criticism is a manifestation of anti-Jewish prejudice. Toronto City Council
members defied their loudly pro-Israeli mayor, Rob Ford, by voting to accept
the City Manager's Report that the phrase "Israeli Apartheid"
does not violate Toronto 's Anti-Discrimination Policy, Ontario's Human
Rights Code, or Canada's Criminal Code regarding hate speech. This vote
will allow anti-Zionists demonstrators to continue to join Toronto city-funded
parades and for students at Toronto universities to continue to hold Israeli
Apartheid Week, despite attempts by the Canadian Jewish Congress and other
Zionist groups to prevent open discussion of Israel's ongoing violations
of international law.
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- Yet another aspect of the sanction of Israel is the attempt
to counter Israel's own "sanction" of Gazans. As Al-Ahram Weekly
goes to press, the world awaits new from the latest Freedom Flotilla
the world's attempt to break the siege of Gaza. Gazans gather at the new
memorial bearing the names of who died in last year's flotilla, and flanked
by flags representing citizens who have sailed to Gaza in past attempts
to break the siege.
-
- Five boats successfully docked in Gaza in the past five
years, with another four violently turned back by the Israeli navy. In
May, Israeli soldiers fired on the latest, a Malaysian aid ship carrying
piping for a sanitation project in Gaza, forcing it to dock in Egyptian
waters. Despite intense pressure from even the UN not to challenge Israel's
violation of international law, Free Gaza's attorney Audrey Bomse says,
"The flotilla violates no international laws or laws of the sea, and
so an outright ban on our sailing to Gaza is essentially a statement against
the rights of the Palestinian people to control their own ports and lives."
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- Only Turkey provides grudging support, with Davutoglu
asking flotilla organisers to "wait and see" if Egypt's Rafah
crossing will provide an end to the siege, but warning, "Turkey will
give the necessary response to any repeated act of provocation by Israel
on the high seas." Under Turkish government pressure, the Turkish
NGO Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) has cancelled the participation
of the Mavi Marmara. The 21 other vessels from different countries are
expected to sail to Gaza after meeting in international waters in the eastern
Mediterranean on 27 June. This year, boats from Canada and the US will
take part. Canadian Boat to Gaza 's David Heap says the Freedom Flotilla
participants are not intimidated. "Where our governments have failed
the Palestinians of Gaza, civil society must act instead."
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- ***
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- Eric Walberg writes for Al-Ahram Weekly http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/
You can reach him at http://ericwalberg.com/ Postmodern Imperialism:
Geopolitics and the Great Games can be ordered at http://www.claritypress.com/Walberg.htm
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