Targeting Israel with Boycotts, Divestment, Sanctions, and Prosecutions

[ProgressiveMuslim]

by Stephen Lendman

Enough is enough. After 61 years of Palestinian slaughter, displacement, occupation, oppression, and international dismissiveness and complicity, global action is essential. Israel must be held accountable. World leaders won't do it, so grassroots movements must lead the way.

In 2004, Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote:

"The end of apartheid stands as one of the crowning accomplishments of the past century, but we would not have succeeded without the help of international pressure - in particular the divestment movement of the 1980s. Over the past six months, a similar movement has taken shape, this time aiming at an end to the Israeli occupation."

In July 2008, 21 South African activists, including ANC members, visited Israel and Occupied Palestine. Their conclusion was unanimous. Israel is far worse than apartheid as former Deputy Minister of Health and current MP Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge explained:

"What I see here is worse than what we experienced - the absolute control of people's lives, the lack of freedom of movement, the army presence everywhere, the total separation and the extensive destruction we saw....racist ideology is also reinforced by religion, which was not the case in South Africa."

Sunday Times editor, Mondli Makhanya, went further: "When you observe from afar you know that things are bad, but you do not know how bad. Nothing can prepare you for the evil we have seen here. It is worse, worse, worse than everything we endured. The level of apartheid, the racism and the brutality are worse than the worst period of apartheid."

Activist Opposition to a Fundamentally Evil Occupation

In July 2005, a coalition of 171 Palestinian Civil Society organizations created the global BDS movement - for "Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel Until it Complies with International Law and Universal Principles of Human Rights" for Occupied Palestinians, Israeli Arabs, and Palestinian diaspora refugees.

Since 1948, hundreds of UN resolutions condemned Israel's colonial occupation, its decades of discriminatory policies, illegal land seizures and settlements, international law violations, and oppression of a civilian population, and called for remedial action.

Nothing so far has worked. Palestine remains occupied. Its people continue to suffer. Their human rights are denied. These abuses no longer can be tolerated. In solidarity, people of conscience demand justice and "call upon international civil society organizations and (supporters everywhere) to impose broad boycotts and implement divestment initiatives against Israel similar to those applied to (apartheid) South Africa." Pressure is needed for "embargoes and sanctions....for the sake of justice and genuine peace."

Nonviolent punitive measures should continue until Israel:

-- recognizes Palestinian rights to self-determination;

-- respects international law;

-- ends its illegal occupation;

-- dismantles its Separation Wall;

-- grants Israeli Arabs equal rights as Jews; and

-- complies with UN resolution 194 affirming the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and property or be fully compensated for loss or damage if they prefer.


read on...
http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/

[cali]

1. the author is conflating

Israel and the Occupied territories. In any case, this is from a blog not a recognized news source.

[ProgressiveMuslim]

2. He's a pretty serious journalist.

Check out his profile.

[iconicgnom]

9. The problem is that he's a progressive with a social conscience.

So for some his words must be handwaved away.

Never mind what he says. Never mind the evident urgency of the situation. Never mind that the very idea of the siege and the settlements, the separation wall and the checkpoints, and so on, requires supporters of these methods to stonewall reason itself with denial and the most exquisite play with semantics -- requires them perform a holding tactic while the dirty deed is done.

Except it isn't in the nature of this particular deed to ever be finished.

[shira]

10. let's say BDS happen, Israel makes unilateral moves in response

and Palestinian terror only escalates against Israel. What purpose then would BDS serve?

[iconicgnom]

12. What "unilateral moves" are you talking about?

I know, you're going to say something totally saccharin. What else can you say, with a description like "unilateral moves" in a situation where Israel's "unilateral moves" are exactly THE PROBLEM.

God forbid that Israel's politicians sit down with Jews and Arabs, Christians and atheists, and generally all the peoples who've inhabited this land once called "Palestine", to work out a constitution which guarantees equal rights for all.

God forbid THAT.

And God forbid I say that of all contributers to this forum, you seem the least inclined to "peace" and a common good.

[Vegasaurus]

3. Intellectual boycotts will backfire

as will those boycotting products or technology that the world relies upon.

I am all for nonviolent protest, but this won't be effective since the world relies on Israel's intellectual/technological expertise.

[Name removed]

4. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[azurnoir]

8. Are you once again claiming that Israel

somehow has a lock on technology? Much of the R&D in that field was done under American licensing Motorola comes to mind.

[iconicgnom]

11. Nevertheless, Vegasaurus is "all for nonviolent protest",

and I too agree with all those who think it necessarily MUST be done.

To be sure, Vegasaurus is laughing/taunting/mocking about it. But, lacking reason, that's the only response someone with her convictions has.

[pelsar]

5. why do these writers always ignore facts?....or just make up stuff?

Nothing so far has worked

and then he goes on and says Nonviolent punitive measures should continue until Israel:

well i guess its not obvious to the writer, but it is to the israelis...double standards are not a good idea.

he might try advocating "nonviolence' for the Palestinians as well.....particulary for those in gaza, the local govt. It might actually make their lives better and show a method that works
___


nah..i'm just kidding, those little firecrackers that destroy houses, classrooms etc arent really harmful and would never be launched from the westbank....because, they just wouldnt, i guess he "believes it (sounds like a religious belief to me.....) any ways they arent violent are they?

[Mosby]

6. This essay is a good example of why the apartheid analogy

is such a poor comparison when applied to the Israelis and Palestinians.

No serious student of the IP conflict believes that Israeli unilateral action is any kind of solution to the problem, both sides need to resolve a myriad of issues before Israel does anything.

A reliance on this notion that the Palestinians are just helpless victims of the Israelis also explains why there is no mention of UNSC res 242 in this piece, because if it were to be addressed, that would mean that the Palestinians would have to actually do something to reach an agreement with the Israelis, instead of just staying passive "victims" where everything is just done to them.

[Vegasaurus]

7. But that is exactly the point

many who claim to want Palestinian 'justice' are guilty of leaving the Palestinian people as perpetual victims, unable to make decisions, or to do anything to better their lives.

They don't know how to find unity, to work to build a state, to use the billions in aid money for something other than weapons and terrorism,

Until the Palestinians take a part in the mess that is I/P, there will be no improvement in the situation.

There cannot be one side only held accountable.

Both sides must be held accountable and compromise.

Until the Palestinians do, their lives will continue to be miserable.