The Boycott

The boycott of Israel.. means the cultural, economic, and political campaigns, seeking to cut the ties with the state of Israel.

These campaigns are managed by the opponents of Israel’slegitimacy, and its occupation of the Palestinian territories, andIsrael’s policy towards thePalestinians over the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The Arab boycott of the Jewish Zionist institutions and companies began before the establishment of the State of Israel.

The Arab League’s formal boycott of Israel have started immediatelyafter it establishment in 1948,although not fully implemented.

Several agencies, organiza-tions and celebrities of scientists,intellectuals, and artists of the world have recently called for boycotting Israel. In the next lines, we will come to know the types of boycott, purpose, and participants.

"I refuse to finance the occupation – Boycott Israel".

A poster for a Swedish party calls for a boycott of Israel

First: Political Boycott

The political boycott began in June 2010 when the Norwegian Port Workers’ Union decided to boycott Israeli ships docking in the ports of Norway in protest against the Israeli practices against theFreedom Flotilla.

It is a group of six ships;including two ships following the Humanitarian relief Foundation of Turkey; one of the two ships was “Mavi Marmara”, the other ship was Kuwaiti and Algerian funded, and three other ships belonged to the European Campaign to lift the Siege on Gaza, the Swedishcampaign, the Greek Campaign, and the Organization of Free Gaza.

The ships were carrying reliefsupplies and humanitarian aids, as well as about 750 humanrights and political activists,

including journalists representing international media.

At the dawn of May 31, 2010, afterfour o’clock in the morning, the Freedom Flotilla ships wereattacked in international waters by Israeli forces, resulted in killing 9 and wounding more than 26 of the activists.

The event was described byseveral sources as “massacre”, “crime”, and “state terrorism”. The attack on the flotilla wascarried out by Israeli SpecialForces, as these forces used live bullets and gas.

Second: Academic Boycott

In 2006, members of the nation-al Association of Teachers and the Association of UniversityProfessors in Britain, decided to boycott Israeli on the academic

level.In 2009, the Spanish government decided to prevent the Israeliuniversity of “Ariel” fromparticipation in their final stage ofthe International Competitionbetween the faculties of architecture, because the universityis located in the settlement of “Ariel”, established on the WestBank.

Third: Economic Boycott

Several bodies released a list of companies supporting Israel.

The lists describe the names of the companies and the nature of their supportive relationship with Israel.

These bodies called for boycott-ing those companies as a kind ofeconomic pressure to stop itssupport for Israel.

Fourth: Cultural Boycott

American actress “Meg Ryan” pulled out from the film festival which was held in Jerusalem in July 2010, because of the raids on the Freedom Flotilla.

Also, a number of famouscelebrities supported the culturalboycott of Israel, such as themusician “Roger Waters”, and the writers “Arondhati Roy”, “Eduardo Galeano”, and thedirectors “Ken Loach”, and “Jean-Luc Godard”.

We will mention for example but not limited to, the opinions of a group of these intellectuals and artists about their boycott of Israel.

The ship "Mavi Marmara" of the flotilla before leaving Istanbul on May 22.

In Britain, for instance, there are many of these models which have called and have already taken measures in boycottingIsrael, such as Roger Waters, theformer frontman of Pink Floyd, who has called on fellow rock stars toboycott Israel in an open letter.

According to the “DailyTelegraph” on 21/8/2013, theletter – said musicians must tackleIsrael over its “crimes” of“apartheid” and “ethniccleansing” because of an allegedunwillingness of Westerngovernment and the UN SecurityCouncil to do so.

The newspaper quoted Waters as saying in the letter:“I write to you now, my brothersand sisters in the family of Rock and Roll, to ask you to join with me, and thousands of otherartists around the world, todeclare a cultural boycott onIsrael.” he wrote.

“Please join me and all ourbrothers and sisters in global civil society in proclaiming ourrejection of apartheid in Israel and occupied Palestine, by pledgingnot to perform or exhibit inIsrael or accept any award orfunding from any institutionlinked to the government ofIsrael, until such time as Israelcomplies with international law and universal principles of human rights.” He added.

However, in preamble to his letter, he indicates that he was encouraged after hearing that Nigel Kennedy, the violinist, had accused Israel of apartheid in a recent Promenade concert at the Royal Albert Hall in central London.

The newspaper reported that the dormer frontman of the “Pink Floyd” band, has repeatedlycriticized Israel in the past, and has been active for several years in the movement of boycott, sanctions, and divestment, campaigningagainst the normalization ofrelations with the Jewish State.

The newspaper mentioned that Water’s call comes as anincreasing number of musicians are refusing to perform there.

Elvis Costello and Annie Lennox are among the British musicians reported to have said they will no longer play concerts in Israel.

The renowned British Physicist “Stephen Hawking” announced that he will not attend a majorconference sponsored by Israeli president “Shimon Peres” that

British singer “Roger Waters”

The renowned physicist “Stephen Hawking”

will be held in Israel in June of this year, which raised criticism from Israeli officials who believe he has joined a boycott campaign toprotest against Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians.

The British Committee for theUniversities of Palestine has hailed the decision of Hawking (71 years) describing it as supporting its campaign to boycott Israel.

“This is an independent decision to respect the boycott, based on knowledge of Palestine, and a collective advice of academics he knew there”. The committeementioned in its website.

“Stevie Wonder” shifted from supporting the Israeli

army to boycott

In the United States, a Jewish American news agency “JTA” announced that the renownedAfrican-American celebr i ty

“Stevie Wonder” has canceled hisparticipation in a ceremony in Los Angeles whose proceeds will beallocated to support the Israeli army.

The cancellation came after a wide cultural boycott campaign byactivists in several countries in coordination with the Palestinian Campaign for the Academics and Cultural Boycott of Israel, and the U.S. Campaign against the Israeli occupation.

After the success of the PalestinianCampaign Specifically toconvince the South Africanpatriarch “Desmond Tutu”, the famous British singer “RogerWaters” and others of writingpersonal letters demanding“Wonder” to withdraw from this obnoxious ceremony.

This is recorded as one of the most prominent victories of the campaign of the cultural boycottof Israel in the United States.

The American Philosopher Judith Butler: Israel does not represent the Jews of

the world, and colonialism must be ended

The American PhilosopherJudith Butler

When the American Jewishphilosopher “Judith Butler” was awarded the “Adorno” prestigiousprize of philosophy, granted by Germany to the owners of the great achievements in philosophy and music, great controversy erupted against the philosopher known by her positions of criticizing Israel.

Some called to withdraw the awardfrom her so as not to be anintellectual legality to criticizeIsrael in international forums,especially because Butler is known by her support of the rights of the Palestinian people,and her call for the boycott ofIsrael declared long ago.

In an interview with thephilosopher, working in severalareas, the most important of which

The American celebrity “Stevie Wonder”

are comparative literature,feminism, and human rights, published in many newspapers and Arab and Israeli websiteson October 6, 2012:• How do you read the Israeli

reaction to your wining the “Adorno” philosophicalaward, and whether the fact that the award is German has sparkedanger against you?

• I think it is difficult for anyGerman groups to grantlegitimacy to positions critical of Zionism, or even of Israeli policy.For many Germans, the only way to show that they arenot still anti-Semitic which belongs to the past, is to show their support for Israel.This is a type of autonomicreaction that needs to be studiedand mediated upon in a critical way.I’m also sure that some Israelissee that it is not the right of Germans to criticize Israel or legitimize those who do.

It is an awesome complicated relationship.But if one could separatebetween anti-Semitism and criticism of Israel, and show the objective basis to oppose the occupation and supportthe right of Palestinians toself-determination, he will havethe opportunity to be heard. However, it is very difficultto be heard, as you knowundoubtedly.There is not a single Jewishvision.The Jews are divided on thisissue.Some of them are Zionists while others are not.Some of them are like metaking only a partial stand in a Jewish framework.I see that we have to put aside the Jewish framework if we want to understand thecomplexity of the regionalsituation in the Middle East, and begin to ask questions about what justice means to all the people who live on this earth.

• Some people consider thereaction to the award as acontinuation of the complex of the Nazi and the Holo-caust.Why does the massacre still have a strong presence in the Jewish conscience?

• On one hand, it remains ahistoric tragedy for manypeople, on the other hand, it can be – and it is – used to consolidate Israel’s need to use every possible military force to secure itself.The Palestinians have been wrongly obliged to bear the consequences of this historical tragedy.My personal opinion is that the Nazi massacre should be kept in memory and be respected.But it is not of respect to this terrible period of history to use the Nazi massacre to build a military force launching its severe violence against peopledeprived of the right ofresistance, and the right ofpolitical self-determination. These things have to be sepa-rated.

• Why do the Jews insist on living as victims all the time? And why was the Holocaust commodificated?

• I think that some Jews areconvinced that that persecutionalways awaits them, but some of them clearly see that as much as any group may feel weak and vulnerable, they bear the responsibility for theirunfair treatment of others.I am confident that the

Holocaust has been employed, but I am more worried about the way of exploiting it to grant legitimacy to the growingIsraeli militarism and to justify its wars.I think remembering isimportant for any peopleendured mass death.However, this cannot become a pretext for political or social aggression, or practicing new forms of state violence against another people.

• One of the reasons behind the Israelis’ rejection of you is that you always call for boycotting Israel, is it a prac-tical idea?

• I’m not sure about the success of the campaign of boycottingIsrael, but it is clear that this movement has becomestronger over the last five years, and this is a problemfor manufacturers, and for Israeli cultural and politicalinstitutions.The boycott movement calls on Israel to abide by international law, and it creates a global popular opposition to threeelements of the Israeli regime: the occupation, discrimination against Palestinians in Israel, and rejecting the right of return for Palestinians in Diaspora.

• How did your relationship with the Palestinian cause start?

• I’ve been studying the issue for twenty years, and I found that I have to be stripped of theZionist lessons that I have

learned in my childhood.It seems to me that the Jews have the responsibility toconfirm to the world that Israel does not represent them.It is equally important that we, regardless of our backgrounds, support the struggle for radical democracy for Palestine.

• Why are you insistingon differentiating betweenJudaism and Israel, although Israel is a Jewish state?

• I think that we have to respect the sanctity of life which is only achieved by coexistence with non-Jews, which believesin a universal concept of justice.Israel does not represent any of this, Judaism and Zionism are not one thing. While defending yourself you said that your philosophy is based on Jewish moral values

as represented by the Jewish philosophers “Martin Buber”and “Hanna Arendt”.

• Is there a connection now b e t w e e n r e l i g i o n a n dphilosophy, or they areintellectually separated,between questions ofphilosophy and answers ofreligion?

• I think that even the mostsecular philosophies tend to lean on religious views of one kind or another.The Jewish heritage is onetributary of other richertributaries.I am indulged in the heritage of the socialist democracy and anti-colonial struggle.I think there is not a singlephilosophy either Jewish or Christian.A great philosophy such

as “Espinoza” cannot bepresented as a Jewishphilosopher, as he belongs to a complicated group traditions and ideas of his time. On the other hand, mostreligions have their way of dealing with disputes,controversies, and criticisms. Some secular trends tend to the absolute. So the division cannot besimple.

• Why did you pointedspecifically to “Buber” and“Arendt” in your defense as representatives of Jewishethics?

• In 1948, the great philosopher “Martin Buber” explained:“The idea of the establish-ment of Israel as a Jewish nation with sovereignty was a mistake, and there must be a federal government on that land that includes the two peoples”.And so did the renownedphilosopher “Hanna Arendt”, when adopted the sameargument against Ben-Gurion,she wanted a federalgovernment “there are valuesfor coexistence belong to theJewish Diaspora which arequite different from thosevalues nourishing the Jewishnationalism”.

There was a controversy till 1948 about whether Zionism must be seeking a state for the Jewishpeople, or a spiritual renewal movement.Buber believed that seeking to find a state would contradict the

spiritual meaning of Zionism.I do not like to introduce myself as a Jew; first because I believe that anyone who holds the principles of political justice can take the same position I’m trying to take.However, I know that in Germany,we have to explain that Israeldoes not represent all Jewsof the world, and that thereare internal divisions in the Jewishcommunities.But the Jewish framework is not enough for me; it has governed the Israeli-Palestinian issue for a very long time.So as much as I want to separatethe Jewish moral values and the state of Israel, I also insist that any struggle against colonialismmust move beyond such attitudesrelated to identity.

• Religion is strongly present in the complicated scene in the region, and almost sum-marizes the Arab-Israeli con-flict?

• It is not a religious conflict, as we know, the struggle against settler colonialism can take religious forms, but this is not necessarily always the case. There are secular, Christian,and Islamic views byPalestinians who agree that the right of self-determination is a priority.

For Israel, Judaism as areligion is less important than as a culture and historicalidentity.

It is a wonder that this is one of the reasons why Israel can call herself a secular state.

• In the framework of theproposed solutions, how do you read what the latePalestinian intellectual Edward Saeed said about the idea of a two-state solution?

• As you know, Edward Saeed believed in the two-state solution, then just before the end of his life, he began to think about the possibility of one-state solution.I think that this is a matter, the Palestinians should take adecision about, including the Palestinians in the Diaspora. I can imagine a bilateralnation in one or two states.The main question is what do the Palestinians choose as apolitical future? However, none of those options can be put intoconsideration until the settler colonialism comes to an end. I am impressed by the works of Edward Saeed, I read his books and articles and I reallyappreciate his smooth methodin presenting history, his views on coexistence, and his efforts in presenting thePalestinian struggle as a form ofhuman dignity and maintainingprinciples.

“Disney” embarrasses the western governments by joining the campaign of

boycotting Israel

The decision of “Abigail Disney”, the granddaughter of Walt Disney,the founder of the “Disneyland” and famous filmmaker, to join the campaign of commercial and economic boycott of Israel,attracted the attention of bothpolitical and business circles in the west, because of the economicand cultural weight of thisinstitution in the whole world.

The move gave a strong impetus for the boycott campaign by the Palestinian people and their friends all over the world, which hasrecently achieved unprecedentedsuccess, putting the governments of the western countries in acritical position, and reveals theirsufficiency of only verbalopposition to the Israeli policy,without taking any actual stepharassing Israel as Disney did.

Disney’s heiress said in astatement on 18/7/2013:

“I decided to disclaim the family’sshares of the Israeli company forcosmetics “Ahava”, because thecompany exploits naturalresources occupied by force”, in reference to “Ahava” thatdepends on the mineral-rich

Dead Sea in manufacturing itsproducts.

The statement added that:“The Disney family decided todonatetheprofitsofthiscompany,until the shares are permanentlywithdrawn, in favor of theboycott campaign, which isworking to end this illegalexploitation of the “occupiednatural resources”.

The decision comes as theculmination of the campaign launched by the boycott campaignagainst the “Ahava” companyin recent years, which has organizeda series of demonstrations in front of its stores scattered in thecapitals of several countries,including the store situated in thefamous neighborhood “Covent Garden” in central London, where there were confrontations between protesters and members of theZionist lobby in Britain, who were defending this Israeli company.

The company tried to camouflage the boycott campaign by claimingthat its headquarters is located in Tel Aviv and not in the occupiedterritories.

But everyone knows that the factoryproducing the marketed cosmeticsis located in the settlement of “Mitzpe Shalem” established on the lands of the West Bank,particularly on the western shore of the Dead Sea whose mineral water is exploited by the company.

The Disney family owns in “Ahava” a small stake of 12million dollars registered on the name of a subsidiary company

of the family called “Shamrock Holdings”.

Abigail Disney said in herstatement that the activity of the company “Ahava” contradicts with the Hague Convention of 1907, and the Geneva conventionof 1956, in relation to theexploi ta t ion of the natura lresources of the lands occupied by force.

In addition, the Israeli settlements,including “Mitzpe Shalem” are allillegal settlements contrary tointernational law.

A Jewish Americanorganization is activeto impose a boycotton Israel and for the

return of refugees

A special report of the “NGO” Research Institute published on Tuesday, 7/9/2013, said that aJewish American organization called “JVP – Jewish voice for Peace” is the central Jewishorganization which is active toimpose a boycott on Israel.

According to the report, theorganization is active mainly inuniversities in the United States,and is trying to make a crack inthe relationship between Israeland American Jews.

The Israeli newspaper “Maariv” reported the news and stated that the organization “is trying tocreate an impression as if there is apolarization on Israel among American Jews”, noting that thereport explains in detail the goals,

tactics, and funding of theorganization.

The report, citing Yitzhak Santis,director of programs in the “NGO”,and author of the report, points out that the working methods of the “Jewish Voice for Peace” organization include boycott,divestment, sanctions (BDS), as sustained campaign against Israel,and support of the right of returnfor Palestinian refugees.

The report also noted that the American organization organizeswide activities in many universitiesin the United States, and alsosupports churches active in the boycott campaigns against Israel, and in collaboration with other bodies, rehabilitates activistsstudents in special camps of the movement of boycotting Israel.

“Maariv” mentioned that the strategy of the “Jewish Voice for Peace” organization as stated by

the director of the organization,Rebecca Vilkomerson, is in line with the “Durban” strategyin the framework of the politicalwar against Israel, which was developed in the DurbanConference in 2001, which was attended at the time by more than 1500 organizations support theabsolute international isolation of Israel as an apartheid state.

It mentioned that the “BDS”movement emerged from the conference and is considered themost prominent in the globalanti-Israel activity.

The newspaper added that thereport indicates that the “JVP” organization considers itself the “Jewish wing” in the movement of solidarity with the Palestinian people.It is active among anti-Israelorganizations in the UnitedStates and other locations,including the “Electronic Intifada”

and “American Muslims forPalestine”.The newspaper also indicated that the activists of the organization took part in the Freedom Flotilla to break the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip in 2011.

The report claimed that that theorganization’s sources of funding are non-transparent.

According to Santis, it has been shown that there are several funds among those that support the “JVP” also supports organi-zations that call for a boycott ofIsrael, divestment (BDS) anddelegitimize it. The report also claims that the majority of their funding isunexposed.

The “JVP” organization replied by saying that what is described by the “NGO”, which is consideredby the first an extreme right-wingorganization, as an attempt

to divide the Jews in theUnited States, is actually anaccurate reflection of the split among the Jews on the Israelioccupation that still exists, andthe discrimination against thePalestinians.

The organization added that itbelieves that imposing boycott and divestment from Israel is one of the successful strategies to achieve this goal, and that it is proud of supporting the efforts of thestudents and churches indivestment from companies thatprofit from the continuation ofthe occupation.

Activists againstnormalization win..

backtrack from the opening of “Fox” in Ramallah

The Israeli newspaper “Jerusalempost” mentioned on 1/8/2013 that the opening of the branch of theIsraeli company “Fox” in Ramallahwas backtracked following a wave of protests in Ramallah.

The newspaper learned that two businessmen who were planning toopen “Fox” clothing store in

Ramallah have backtrackedfollowing a wave of protestsby “anti-normalization” activists and Palestinian journalists.

The activists and journalists said that the opening of an Israeliclothing store in a Palestiniancity was a form of “normalization” with Israel.

According to the journal, FadiArouri, a photojournalist with China’s Xinhua News Agency, told Wattan TV that the openingof a Fox store in Ramallahwas a “stain of disgrace”.

A group of Palestinian activistsdemonstrated in the center ofRamallah in protest against theintention to open a Fox store in the city.

The activists called on thePalestinian Authority to ban Israelifirms from opening businessesin Palestinian cities.

The journal added that following the protests, the two businessmendecided this week to cancel the project, although renovation workat the new clothing store had reached an advanced stage.

The fourth NationalConference for the boycott

of Israel

On 6/3/2013, the NationalCommittee for the Boycott ofIsrael, divestment and Sanctions(BDS) circulated an invitation to actively participate in the “Fourth National Conference for theBoycott of Israel”, which wasorganized Saturday, the eighth of June, at the University ofBethlehem from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The commit tee’s invi ta t ionincluded a reference to theconference to expand the circle of actual adoption and initiation by the Palestinian community toboycott Israel and divestment as an effective and popular civilresistance strategy, rooted in the depth of experience of thePalestinian struggle.

According to the committee,the conference is aimed specificallyto contribute practically to theprocess of publishing andpromoting the culture of boycott and anti-normalization accordingto the definition adopted byPalestinian civil society, especially in terms of disengagement with the state of occupation in all areas,

and calling on the internationalinstitutions and bodies to stop complicity in perpetuating theoccupation and the Israeli apartheid against our people, with the consolidation of the role of the Boycott National Committee asthe Palestinian reference of theInternational Boycott Movement (BDS).

The conference includes:

• Solidarity words recorded by the Bishop “Desmond Tutu”, the international celebrity “Roger waters”, and the prestigious artist “Marcel Khalifeh”.

• Words by writers,academics, unionists, and activistsin the field of women’s rights, youth, and representatives ofPalestinian civil society.

• Workshops for thecoronation of the preparatory workshops held in various sectors to develop strategies for effective boycott campaigns in each sector.

The invitation included that “the conferenceembodiestheunifiedPalestinian will, designed to gain our legitimate rights, first andforemost liberation, return, and self-determination. It expresses our gratitude to the nobles of the world who have lined up to the right side in the face of Israeli occupation and apartheid”.

Teachers Union of Ireland announces the boycott of

Israel

On Thursday, April 4, the Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) endorsed a proposal to impose a boycott on Israel, according to the newspaper “Maariv”, citing British media.

“Maariv” noted that “TUI” which

includes 14000 teachers decidedoverwhelmingly in its annual meeting (with voting) the boycott of Israel.

According to the decision ofboycott, “all relations between educational institutions in Ireland with their Israeli counterparts should be cut.The decision called on the teachersand members of the organizationto terminate their work with theIsraelis, and stop any jointcooperation with Israel in thecultural and Academic fields;including the stop of exchanginginformation, students, or any othercooperation in the field of academicresearch.

The motion further calls on the Irish Congress of Trade Unions to “step up its campaign for boycott,divestment and sanctions (BDS) against the apartheid state ofIsrael until it lifts its illegal siege of Gaza and its illegal occupation of the West bank, and agrees to abide by international law and all UN Resolutions against it”.

According to the press, thismove makes “TUI” the firstorganization in the European Union,which announces comprehensiveacademic boycott of Israel.Jim Roche, who presented this proposal to “TUI” expresses his pleasure that this motion that passed with majority support by TUI members, especially coming two days after Israeli occupation forces shot and killed twoPalestinian teenagers in the West Bank, and there is no question that Israel is implementing apartheid policies against the Palestinians.

Academic boycott of Israel: the Danish achievement

It is not just trading with Denmark, but also Danish universities that have connections to illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine.

However, it was a pleasant surprisethat the “Technical University of Denmark” announced two days ago ending its partnership withthe Israeli “University of Ariel”located in a settlement with the same name, after a cooperationrelationship started in the nineties.

This “divorce” came after theuniversity received information from the “Dan Watch” organization concerned with “investigative journalism in corporate ethics” stating that the university is locatedwithin “illegal territories”.

The president of the DTUuniversity “Anders Bjarklev”announced that the decision to stop dealing with the Israeli university has just been taken, explaining that “the money that was devotedto analyses in the laboratoriesof Ariel University has beensuspended and will be paid back to the fund that supplied thefinances.”

According to DTU’s president, it is problematic for DTU to be

associated with illegal settlements: “If you fund analyses inlaboratories at Ariel university, it can be seen as supporting a settlement, something we will not,” says Anders Bjarklev.

That decision is Foreign Minister Villy Søvndal satisfied with: “We donotwanttheDanishscientificinstitutions participating inactivities that may help to maintain the illegal settlements” said Søvndal, stressing their firm position in this context.

However, this statement did not deter the Danish “RoskildeUniversity” from proceeding with

another project.It is part of a research project where Dead Sea Laboratoriesparticipate.

Dead Sea Laboratories is locatedin the settlement of Mitzpe Shalemand use natural resources from Palestinian territory according to the Israeli army. But this did not lead the university to withdraw.

According to Roskilde Universitypresident, one does not need assess the ethics, if the research project is approved by the EU:“According to regulation of EU research projects by EU, including the EU’s approval of the projects, it is sufficient guarantee of theproject’s legality for Danishparticipation”.

However, the initiative of the “Technical University ofDenmark”, is a pleasant surprise and a further step in consolidating the cultural and academic boycott campaign against Israel andincreasing international pressures.

Foreign Minister Villy Søvndal

The largest pension fund in Europe divests from an

Israeli company

The Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG) in Norwayannounced divesting from theIsraeli company “Shikun & Binui”because of its projects in thesettlements.It is noteworthy that this is the largest pension fund in Europe.

Announcing this latest divestment on June 15, 2012, the ministry of finance stated: “Shikun & Binuiis a construction companyinvolved in the building ofsettlements in breach ofinternational humanitarian law in East-Jerusalem”.

In recent years, the fund divested from two additional companies; “Africa Israel Investments” and “Danya Cebus” for theirinvolvement in occupation.

Czech Radio VI: A global boycott of Israel increased

in the recent period

The Czech radio VI confirmed on June 18, 2013 that the boycottof Israel increased globally in the recent period at the economic,educational, and cultural levels,noting that hostility to Israelis also shown in European andAmerican universities.

The editor Gita Zbavitelováexplained that the boycott of Israelreappeared in many westerncountries pointing out that the Arab boycott which costed the Israelientity a loss of about 45 billiondollars, began to fade away silently.

She explained that the Westernboycott of the Israeli entity isconcentrated now in the economicfield, especially for those productsmade in the West bank to force the Israeli government to change

its settlement policies, pointingout that the British chain stores “Cooperative Group” recently banned the sale of all productsoriginating from Israeli settlements. While Norway rejected sellingthe cosmetics of “Ahava” preparedin the Dead Sea.

Zbavitelová pointed out that the German area “Jena” banned the sale of all Israeli products, while the South African governmentannounced that it would not allow the sale of any product of Israeli settlements on which it is written “Made in Israel”. Also Denmark and Ireland want to apply the same.

Zbavitelová confirmed that theefforts are growing in the world to boycott Israel culturally andacademically, and that a lot ofmusicians refuse to organize concerts for the Israeli entity, while the number of academicswho are demanding to boycottthis entity is increasing.

Finally, “Palestine in a month” callsfor boycotting Israel, divestment, and imposing sanctions, as a strategyof civil resistance.

Human history through the ages has been rich with examples where the weapon of economic boycott was used as a means of pressure, to subdue the other party, and there are many examples in which theboycott weapon was used andachieved the best results ever,among them:• In the late nineteenth century,

during the Irish liberation movement against English domination, the Irish peasants refused to deal with an agent of a British lord of agricultural feudalism in Ireland.

• In 1921, the Egyptian Wafd Party, after the arrest of its president Sa’d Zaghloul, issueda decision of total boycott against the British.The boycott decision included urging Egyptians to withdraw their deposits from British banks, and urging Egyptian traders to oblige their clients abroad not to ship their goods on British ships.The decision also obliged

traders to boycott the British totally.

• After the Second World War (1939-1945), a lot of people in Europe declined to buy goods manufactured in Germany,because of its occupation of their country.

• The Indian leader Gandhi called for boycotting foreigngoods by burning thempublicly in Bombay in a series of protest actions against the British colonization of India.

• The blacks in the city ofMontgomery, State of Alabama, boycotted the system of the buses in the city, whicheliminated the policy of social discrimination in the buses since the sixties.

• The economic boycott includedthe refusal of customers in many countries since the early sixties until the early ninetiesof the 20th century, to buy goods from South Africa, in protest against the policy ofracial segregation.

And finally, the call for a boycott is deep rooted into the Palestinian struggle experience over the past century, embodying the Palestinian

will designed to achieve their rights, and expressing thewillingness of people around the world to line up in the face ofsettlement, oppressive, and racistpractices of the Israeli occupiers, and their continuous violation of human rights and international law.

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