12 may 2015
A French-Palestinian solidarity group on Monday urged the head of the French football federation, Noel Le Graet, to put pressure on FIFA to suspend Israel from the sport's governing body.
"South Africa was banned from FIFA in 1976. What Israel is criticized for today is just as bad. This is why we are asking you, Mister President, to support the Palestinian Football Association's request to suspend the Israel Football Association from FIFA," Taoufiq Tahani, president of Association France Palestine Solidarite said in the open letter.
Abdul Majeed Hijeh, secretary-general of the Palestinian Football Association, in March sent a proposal to FIFA listing proposals to be presented at an upcoming congress of the sporting body on May 28-29 in Zurich.
The proposal called for FIFA to suspend the Israel Football Association and forbid Israeli clubs from participating in competitions organized by FIFA based on the argument that Palestinian football clubs, players and official are prevented from enjoying rights guaranteed by FIFA, such as the freedom of movement within and out of the occupied Palestinian territories.
Furthermore, five football clubs located in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank are affiliated with the Israel Football Association and participate in official competitions, a clear violation of international law, the letter added.
The clubs play in the third and fourth divisions.On Sunday, the Palestinian Football Association vowed to push ahead with efforts to have Israel suspended from FIFA following joint talks with the world football body's president Sepp Blatter in Zurich.
But both sides agreed to continue talking with Blatter, who announced plans to visit the region for top-level talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Mahmoud Abbas on the issue ahead of the upcoming FIFA Congress, in Zurich on May 29.
News of the visit was announced by Blatter on Sunday as he met with Israel Football Association chief Ofer Eini and his Palestinian counterpart Jibril Rajoub.FIFA said the main purpose of the meeting was to discuss the Palestinian FA's request to suspend their Israeli counterparts at the upcoming FIFA congress which starts on May 28.
The Palestinians want the matter put to a vote at the annual FIFA Congress where it will only pass if it gets the support three-quarters of the 209 member federations.
"South Africa was banned from FIFA in 1976. What Israel is criticized for today is just as bad. This is why we are asking you, Mister President, to support the Palestinian Football Association's request to suspend the Israel Football Association from FIFA," Taoufiq Tahani, president of Association France Palestine Solidarite said in the open letter.
Abdul Majeed Hijeh, secretary-general of the Palestinian Football Association, in March sent a proposal to FIFA listing proposals to be presented at an upcoming congress of the sporting body on May 28-29 in Zurich.
The proposal called for FIFA to suspend the Israel Football Association and forbid Israeli clubs from participating in competitions organized by FIFA based on the argument that Palestinian football clubs, players and official are prevented from enjoying rights guaranteed by FIFA, such as the freedom of movement within and out of the occupied Palestinian territories.
Furthermore, five football clubs located in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank are affiliated with the Israel Football Association and participate in official competitions, a clear violation of international law, the letter added.
The clubs play in the third and fourth divisions.On Sunday, the Palestinian Football Association vowed to push ahead with efforts to have Israel suspended from FIFA following joint talks with the world football body's president Sepp Blatter in Zurich.
But both sides agreed to continue talking with Blatter, who announced plans to visit the region for top-level talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Mahmoud Abbas on the issue ahead of the upcoming FIFA Congress, in Zurich on May 29.
News of the visit was announced by Blatter on Sunday as he met with Israel Football Association chief Ofer Eini and his Palestinian counterpart Jibril Rajoub.FIFA said the main purpose of the meeting was to discuss the Palestinian FA's request to suspend their Israeli counterparts at the upcoming FIFA congress which starts on May 28.
The Palestinians want the matter put to a vote at the annual FIFA Congress where it will only pass if it gets the support three-quarters of the 209 member federations.
Political bureau member of Hamas Ezzet al-Resheq called for mobilizing mass support for the boycott of Israeli campaigns across Europe and the U.S. in a move aimed at swelling the state of isolation rocking the Israeli occupation.
In statements posted on his Facebook page, al-Resheq hailed the calls recently launched by student representative councils at U.S. universities to boycott pro-Israel companies and abstain from striking economic deals with occupation-allies.
The move falls in line with the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement (BDS) mushrooming across Europe and the U.S. over the past few years.
Initiatives by student councils have also had their share in stepping up pressure on Israeli representatives and sponsors at universities and academic institutions.
Both Jews and Gentiles have been increasingly standing up for the campaign and backing it up particularly in the wake of Israel’s latest offensive on the blockaded Gaza Strip, which reportedly took away the lives of over 2,300 Palestinians.
The campaign aims at imposing sanctions on the Israeli occupation and penalizing it for its perpetual terrorism against the Palestinian people.
In statements posted on his Facebook page, al-Resheq hailed the calls recently launched by student representative councils at U.S. universities to boycott pro-Israel companies and abstain from striking economic deals with occupation-allies.
The move falls in line with the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement (BDS) mushrooming across Europe and the U.S. over the past few years.
Initiatives by student councils have also had their share in stepping up pressure on Israeli representatives and sponsors at universities and academic institutions.
Both Jews and Gentiles have been increasingly standing up for the campaign and backing it up particularly in the wake of Israel’s latest offensive on the blockaded Gaza Strip, which reportedly took away the lives of over 2,300 Palestinians.
The campaign aims at imposing sanctions on the Israeli occupation and penalizing it for its perpetual terrorism against the Palestinian people.
11 may 2015
Blaney's office cites 'comprehensive' hate laws for new zero tolerance plans
The Harper government is signalling its intention to use hate crime laws against Canadian advocacy groups that encourage boycotts of Israel.
If carried out, it would be a remarkably aggressive tactic, and another measure of the Conservative government's lockstep support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
While the federal government certainly has the authority to assign priorities, such as pursuing certain types of hate speech, to the RCMP, any resulting prosecution would require an assent from a provincial attorney general.
And it would almost certainly be challenged under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, civil liberties groups say.
The government's intention was made clear in a response to inquiries from CBC News about statements by federal ministers of a "zero tolerance" approach to groups participating in a loose coalition called Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS), which was begun in 2006 at the request of Palestinian non-governmental organizations.
Asked to explain what zero tolerance means, and what is being done to enforce it, a spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney replied, four days later, with a detailed list of Canada's updated hate laws, noting that Canada has one of the most comprehensive sets of such laws "anywhere in the world."
Successful tactic
The BDS tactic has been far more successful for the Palestinians than armed struggle. And it has caught on internationally, angering Israel, which reckons boycotts could cost its economy hundreds of millions of dollars.
Just last month, 16 European foreign ministers denounced the "expansion of Israeli illegal settlements in the Occupied Territories," demanding that any imported goods originating in the settlements be distinctly labeled.
But Canada, a country where the federal Liberal and NDP leaders also oppose BDS, appears to have lined up more strongly behind Israel than any other nation.
In January, Canada's then foreign affairs minister, John Baird, signed a "memorandum of understanding" with Israeli authorities in Jerusalem, pledging to combat BDS.
It described the movement as "the new face of anti-Semitism."
A few days later, at the UN, Canadian Public Security Minister Steven Blaney went much further.
He conflated boycotts of Israel with anti-Semitic hate speech and violence, including the deadly attacks that had just taken place in Paris on the Charlie Hebdo magazine and a kosher supermarket.
Blaney then said the government is taking a "zero tolerance" approach to BDS.
Coming as it did from the minister responsible for federal law enforcement, the speech alarmed groups that have, to varying degrees, supported boycotts, believing them an effective tool to bring about an end to Israel's occupation and colonization of the West Bank, and its tight grip on Gaza.
Some of these groups had noted that the government changed the Criminal Code definition of hate speech last year, adding the criterion of "national origin" to race and religion.
This change could, they feared, effectively lump people who speak against Israel in with those who speak against Jews.
Micheal Vonn, a lawyer for the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, says the expanded definition is clearly "a tool to go after critics of Israel."
Constitutionally protected
Canadian civil liberties groups maintain that boycotts are a long-recognized form of political expression, and therefore constitutionally protected.
In March, the Canadian Quakers wrote a letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Rob Nicholson, expressing concern about Blaney's speech and protesting the label of anti-Semitism.
Nicholson's response merely repeated the talking points first used by Blaney at the UN, and the government's vow not to tolerate boycotts.
But in response to specific questions about what "zero tolerance" of BDS means, and how it will be enforced, Blaney aide Josee Sirois gave CBC News a much clearer picture of the government's intent.
"I can tell you that Canada has one of the most comprehensive sets of laws against hate crime anywhere in the world," wrote Sirois.
She highlighted what she termed "hate propaganda" provisions in the Criminal Code criminalizing the promotion of hatred against an identifiable group, and further noted that "identifiable group" now includes any section of the public distinguished by "among other characteristics, religion or national or ethnic origin."
She also referred to Criminal Code provisions requiring that a judge consider hate, bias or prejudice when sentencing an offender.
"We will not allow hate crimes to undermine our way of life, which is based on diversity and inclusion," she concluded.
'Trying to scare people'
Tyler Levitan, a spokesman for Independent Jewish Voices, the principal organizing vehicle for BDS in Canada, said he believes he and his fellow organizers are already under surveillance: "This is about trying to scare people."
He said BDS is an "entirely passive movement. It is a decision not to take part in something. Not to be implicated, not to be complicit. It's entirely non-violent."
That's not always been the case elsewhere in the world, particularly France, where BDS rallies have resulted in confrontations with police.
But it is the non-violence of the boycott approach that attracted groups like the United Church of Canada.
Like the Canadian Quakers, the UCC restricts its boycott advocacy to products from Israel's settlements.
The Ontario chapter of CUPE, on the other hand, supports BDS fully, shunning any contact or commerce with Israel. So do a range of other Canadian groups, and student organizations at various universities.
"It is the right and duty of citizens in any free state to engage in constructive non-violent peaceful criticism of state actions and behaviours," says Patti Talbot, a senior staff member at the UCC.
The church sees itself as anti-racist and progressive, which is why it was horrified by the government's description of its advocacy as anti-Semitism, and worried by the declaration of zero tolerance.
"How is [zero tolerance] going to manifest itself?" asks Talbot. "It could be directed against the United Church, it could be directed at a gamut of individuals in Canadian civil society. People of goodwill."
Talbot said it is all the more troubling given the recent passage of Bill C-51, the government's new anti-terrorism measures, which would further empower the police and intelligence agencies that report to Blaney.
"It's not unrelated," she says, "to the clamping down on dissent."
'Political terror'
Long before signing the joint pledge with Canada, Israel passed a law making it an offence to participate in or encourage BDS.
And the Israeli high court recently upheld most of it, with one of the justices writing that boycotts can be considered "political terror."
At the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, Vonn says she is certain a prosecution of boycott advocates for hate speech would not survive a charter challenge.
But, she says, the government is certainly sowing "dread and chill," and that that appears to be its main intention in pronouncing zero tolerance.
"We've asked our lawyers. What does that mean?" says CUPE president Paul Moist. "Is it now a criminal offence to walk around with a sign saying close all the settlements, Israel out of occupied territories?"
In France, the law has for years criminalized hate speech based on national origin, and authorities there have in recent years been using it to prosecute BDS advocates. To date, more than 20 have been convicted.
According to the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz, pro-Israel activists in Belgium are pushing for a similar law there.
The Obama administration officially opposes boycotts of Israel, and a measure now before Congress would direct American trade negotiators to discourage boycotts of Israeli goods.
But America has no hate speech laws. The U.S. constitution guarantees free speech. So a zero tolerance policy, or the type of prosecutions Canada is considering, would be impossible.
Related Links Tories deny plan to use hate crime laws against Israel boycotters
Read email exchange between CBC's Neil Macdonald and Public Safety Canada
McMaster students vote to support BDS boycott campaign
John Baird shrugs off convoy's egg pelting in West Bank
Is Stephen Hawking's academic boycott of Israel ethical?
Stephen Harper vows loyalty to Israel in speech to Knesset
Argentine Jewish groups boycott government's Holocaust commemoration in protest
The Harper government is signalling its intention to use hate crime laws against Canadian advocacy groups that encourage boycotts of Israel.
- Read the email exchange between CBC's Neil Macdonald and Public Safety Canada
- Tories deny plan to use hate crime laws against Israel boycotters
If carried out, it would be a remarkably aggressive tactic, and another measure of the Conservative government's lockstep support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
While the federal government certainly has the authority to assign priorities, such as pursuing certain types of hate speech, to the RCMP, any resulting prosecution would require an assent from a provincial attorney general.
And it would almost certainly be challenged under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, civil liberties groups say.
The government's intention was made clear in a response to inquiries from CBC News about statements by federal ministers of a "zero tolerance" approach to groups participating in a loose coalition called Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS), which was begun in 2006 at the request of Palestinian non-governmental organizations.
Asked to explain what zero tolerance means, and what is being done to enforce it, a spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney replied, four days later, with a detailed list of Canada's updated hate laws, noting that Canada has one of the most comprehensive sets of such laws "anywhere in the world."
Successful tactic
The BDS tactic has been far more successful for the Palestinians than armed struggle. And it has caught on internationally, angering Israel, which reckons boycotts could cost its economy hundreds of millions of dollars.
Just last month, 16 European foreign ministers denounced the "expansion of Israeli illegal settlements in the Occupied Territories," demanding that any imported goods originating in the settlements be distinctly labeled.
But Canada, a country where the federal Liberal and NDP leaders also oppose BDS, appears to have lined up more strongly behind Israel than any other nation.
In January, Canada's then foreign affairs minister, John Baird, signed a "memorandum of understanding" with Israeli authorities in Jerusalem, pledging to combat BDS.
It described the movement as "the new face of anti-Semitism."
A few days later, at the UN, Canadian Public Security Minister Steven Blaney went much further.
He conflated boycotts of Israel with anti-Semitic hate speech and violence, including the deadly attacks that had just taken place in Paris on the Charlie Hebdo magazine and a kosher supermarket.
Blaney then said the government is taking a "zero tolerance" approach to BDS.
Coming as it did from the minister responsible for federal law enforcement, the speech alarmed groups that have, to varying degrees, supported boycotts, believing them an effective tool to bring about an end to Israel's occupation and colonization of the West Bank, and its tight grip on Gaza.
Some of these groups had noted that the government changed the Criminal Code definition of hate speech last year, adding the criterion of "national origin" to race and religion.
This change could, they feared, effectively lump people who speak against Israel in with those who speak against Jews.
Micheal Vonn, a lawyer for the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, says the expanded definition is clearly "a tool to go after critics of Israel."
Constitutionally protected
Canadian civil liberties groups maintain that boycotts are a long-recognized form of political expression, and therefore constitutionally protected.
In March, the Canadian Quakers wrote a letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Rob Nicholson, expressing concern about Blaney's speech and protesting the label of anti-Semitism.
Nicholson's response merely repeated the talking points first used by Blaney at the UN, and the government's vow not to tolerate boycotts.
But in response to specific questions about what "zero tolerance" of BDS means, and how it will be enforced, Blaney aide Josee Sirois gave CBC News a much clearer picture of the government's intent.
"I can tell you that Canada has one of the most comprehensive sets of laws against hate crime anywhere in the world," wrote Sirois.
She highlighted what she termed "hate propaganda" provisions in the Criminal Code criminalizing the promotion of hatred against an identifiable group, and further noted that "identifiable group" now includes any section of the public distinguished by "among other characteristics, religion or national or ethnic origin."
She also referred to Criminal Code provisions requiring that a judge consider hate, bias or prejudice when sentencing an offender.
"We will not allow hate crimes to undermine our way of life, which is based on diversity and inclusion," she concluded.
'Trying to scare people'
Tyler Levitan, a spokesman for Independent Jewish Voices, the principal organizing vehicle for BDS in Canada, said he believes he and his fellow organizers are already under surveillance: "This is about trying to scare people."
He said BDS is an "entirely passive movement. It is a decision not to take part in something. Not to be implicated, not to be complicit. It's entirely non-violent."
That's not always been the case elsewhere in the world, particularly France, where BDS rallies have resulted in confrontations with police.
But it is the non-violence of the boycott approach that attracted groups like the United Church of Canada.
Like the Canadian Quakers, the UCC restricts its boycott advocacy to products from Israel's settlements.
The Ontario chapter of CUPE, on the other hand, supports BDS fully, shunning any contact or commerce with Israel. So do a range of other Canadian groups, and student organizations at various universities.
"It is the right and duty of citizens in any free state to engage in constructive non-violent peaceful criticism of state actions and behaviours," says Patti Talbot, a senior staff member at the UCC.
The church sees itself as anti-racist and progressive, which is why it was horrified by the government's description of its advocacy as anti-Semitism, and worried by the declaration of zero tolerance.
"How is [zero tolerance] going to manifest itself?" asks Talbot. "It could be directed against the United Church, it could be directed at a gamut of individuals in Canadian civil society. People of goodwill."
Talbot said it is all the more troubling given the recent passage of Bill C-51, the government's new anti-terrorism measures, which would further empower the police and intelligence agencies that report to Blaney.
"It's not unrelated," she says, "to the clamping down on dissent."
'Political terror'
Long before signing the joint pledge with Canada, Israel passed a law making it an offence to participate in or encourage BDS.
And the Israeli high court recently upheld most of it, with one of the justices writing that boycotts can be considered "political terror."
At the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, Vonn says she is certain a prosecution of boycott advocates for hate speech would not survive a charter challenge.
But, she says, the government is certainly sowing "dread and chill," and that that appears to be its main intention in pronouncing zero tolerance.
"We've asked our lawyers. What does that mean?" says CUPE president Paul Moist. "Is it now a criminal offence to walk around with a sign saying close all the settlements, Israel out of occupied territories?"
In France, the law has for years criminalized hate speech based on national origin, and authorities there have in recent years been using it to prosecute BDS advocates. To date, more than 20 have been convicted.
According to the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz, pro-Israel activists in Belgium are pushing for a similar law there.
The Obama administration officially opposes boycotts of Israel, and a measure now before Congress would direct American trade negotiators to discourage boycotts of Israeli goods.
But America has no hate speech laws. The U.S. constitution guarantees free speech. So a zero tolerance policy, or the type of prosecutions Canada is considering, would be impossible.
Related Links Tories deny plan to use hate crime laws against Israel boycotters
Read email exchange between CBC's Neil Macdonald and Public Safety Canada
McMaster students vote to support BDS boycott campaign
John Baird shrugs off convoy's egg pelting in West Bank
Is Stephen Hawking's academic boycott of Israel ethical?
Stephen Harper vows loyalty to Israel in speech to Knesset
Argentine Jewish groups boycott government's Holocaust commemoration in protest
At dozens of college campuses across the US, student government councils are embracing resolutions calling on their administrations to divest from companies that enable Israel's violations on Palestinians, the New York Times reports.
While no university boards or administrators are heeding the students' demands, the effort to pressure Israel appears to be driving a wedge between many Jewish and minority students.
The movement is part of the Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions campaign (BDS), which has spread in recent years both in Europe and the United States. The issue has received intense attention on campus particularly since the Israeli attack on Gaza last summer, which killed more than 2,200 Palestinians, wounded about 11,000 and demolished more than 100,000 residential homes.
Related: Israeli Soldiers Describe 'Losing Their Sense of Morality' During the Gaza Conflict
DCI-Palestine: Israel Willfully Targeted & Murdered Gaza Children
According to the Palestinian News Network (PNN), there are now Israel-related divestment groups at hundreds of major colleges. The coalitions have caught many longtime Jewish leaders off guard, particularly because they belonged to such progressive coalitions less than a generation ago.
At one Northwestern University in Illinois year, the student government debated a divestment resolution for more than five hours, as students with clashing views sat on opposite sides of the room. Some of the talk was openly hostile, with charges of racism and colonialism.
"Discomfort is felt by every person of color on this campus. To those who say this divestment bill makes you uncomfortable, I say: Check your privilege," an Egyptian-American senior, Hagar Gomaa, told the New York Times.
A speaker who identified herself only as a Chicana student said she was there to support Palestinians on campus.
"We have seen the racism of people who get mad that so many empowered minorities are recognizing how their struggles are tied to the Palestinian struggle," she told the New York Times. "Students have accused us of conflating many cases of oppression. To these students, I have a couple of words for you: What you call conflation, we call solidarity."
A student who said she had family in Israel was among those who shot back for the other side. Voting for divestiture, she told the newspaper, is "pointing fingers, it's aggressive, it's misinformed, it's unjust, and — most important for this campus — it's totally one-sided."
When the vote was finally taken by secret ballot, the tally was close, with 24 in favor of asking Northwestern's administration to divest — which it did not do — and 22 against.
As the debates spill from undergraduate council to dorm room, students and college officials are grappling with where to draw the line between opposition to Israel's policies in the West Bank and Gaza — a position shared by many Jews — and hostility toward Jews. Opponents of divestment sometimes allude to the Holocaust.
Everywhere, the discussions are long and tense. At several schools where divestment proposals have been considered, swastikas have been painted on the doors of Jewish fraternities.
Anti-semitism and Israel's Moral Imperative
At Barnard College, which is one-third Jewish, a group called Students for Justice in Palestine put up a banner last year saying, "Stand for Justice, Stand for Palestine," showing a map of the area with no internal border demarcating Israel.
The banner was taken down the next morning after Jewish students complained that it made them feel threatened.
Jannine Salman, the member of Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine who made the banner, told the NYT that anti-Zionism, not anti-Semitism, was the motive — and that the recent formation of a campus chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace, which favors divestment, should drive home the point.
See also: US Senate Committee Approves Act Protecting Settlements
While no university boards or administrators are heeding the students' demands, the effort to pressure Israel appears to be driving a wedge between many Jewish and minority students.
The movement is part of the Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions campaign (BDS), which has spread in recent years both in Europe and the United States. The issue has received intense attention on campus particularly since the Israeli attack on Gaza last summer, which killed more than 2,200 Palestinians, wounded about 11,000 and demolished more than 100,000 residential homes.
Related: Israeli Soldiers Describe 'Losing Their Sense of Morality' During the Gaza Conflict
DCI-Palestine: Israel Willfully Targeted & Murdered Gaza Children
According to the Palestinian News Network (PNN), there are now Israel-related divestment groups at hundreds of major colleges. The coalitions have caught many longtime Jewish leaders off guard, particularly because they belonged to such progressive coalitions less than a generation ago.
At one Northwestern University in Illinois year, the student government debated a divestment resolution for more than five hours, as students with clashing views sat on opposite sides of the room. Some of the talk was openly hostile, with charges of racism and colonialism.
"Discomfort is felt by every person of color on this campus. To those who say this divestment bill makes you uncomfortable, I say: Check your privilege," an Egyptian-American senior, Hagar Gomaa, told the New York Times.
A speaker who identified herself only as a Chicana student said she was there to support Palestinians on campus.
"We have seen the racism of people who get mad that so many empowered minorities are recognizing how their struggles are tied to the Palestinian struggle," she told the New York Times. "Students have accused us of conflating many cases of oppression. To these students, I have a couple of words for you: What you call conflation, we call solidarity."
A student who said she had family in Israel was among those who shot back for the other side. Voting for divestiture, she told the newspaper, is "pointing fingers, it's aggressive, it's misinformed, it's unjust, and — most important for this campus — it's totally one-sided."
When the vote was finally taken by secret ballot, the tally was close, with 24 in favor of asking Northwestern's administration to divest — which it did not do — and 22 against.
As the debates spill from undergraduate council to dorm room, students and college officials are grappling with where to draw the line between opposition to Israel's policies in the West Bank and Gaza — a position shared by many Jews — and hostility toward Jews. Opponents of divestment sometimes allude to the Holocaust.
Everywhere, the discussions are long and tense. At several schools where divestment proposals have been considered, swastikas have been painted on the doors of Jewish fraternities.
Anti-semitism and Israel's Moral Imperative
At Barnard College, which is one-third Jewish, a group called Students for Justice in Palestine put up a banner last year saying, "Stand for Justice, Stand for Palestine," showing a map of the area with no internal border demarcating Israel.
The banner was taken down the next morning after Jewish students complained that it made them feel threatened.
Jannine Salman, the member of Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine who made the banner, told the NYT that anti-Zionism, not anti-Semitism, was the motive — and that the recent formation of a campus chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace, which favors divestment, should drive home the point.
See also: US Senate Committee Approves Act Protecting Settlements
Israeli military companies should be excluded from Horizon 2020, a new EU research and innovation programme to which Israel is a partner, say over 30 Palestinian coalitions, trade unions and civil society groups.
In a letter last week to EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, the groups state that “Considering the repeated and systematic acts of aggression, war crimes and violations of international law committed by Israel, the exclusion of Elbit Systems or other Israeli military and homeland security companies from the Horizon 2020 framework seems a necessary step towards an EU policy that effectively promotes human rights and international law in Palestine.”
Grounded in a report on EU funding for Elbit Systems, the letter notes that Elbit and other Israeli military and security companies are applying for participation in Horizon 2020.
“The EU’s relationship with Elbit Systems is a clear example of EU complicity with Israeli violations of human rights”, the groups write. “Elbit Systems is Israel’s largest military company and its drones, weapons and other technology is a key part of Israel’s military apparatus and participates with the construction of Israel’s Wall, which was ruled illegal by 2004. Elbit Systems technologies have been developed during the course of Israel’s military actions and the company markets its technology as “field tested”, by which it means its technology has been tested on Palestinian civilians. Any funding to or cooperation with Elbit Systems represents a form a support for activities and its contribution to Israeli violations of international law.”
“EU support for Elbit and other companies would further risk contradicting the standards and policies of the EU and its member states”, says the group, including “The EU's general commitment to upholding and promoting international law....and the EU's own commitment not to fund dual technology”.
“We therefore ask you to...stop any cooperation with Elbit Systems and other Israeli military and homeland security companies within Horizon 2020, as a necessary step towards an EU policy that effectively promotes human rights and international law in Palestine.”
Israel signed Horizon 2020 in June of last year, becoming the only non-European country to be a full partner in the programme.
The signature was made possible after the sides reached an agreement over guidelines which bar all funding for entities operating on land seized during the 1967 Middle East war.
Israeli university heads lobbied the Israeli government to reach an understanding with the EU, stating that "great harm" would come to Israeli universities and research should Israel not be a part of the Horizon 2020 programme.
Under terms of the agreement, Israel may add an appendix stating its non-recognition of the aforementioned guidelines.
In a letter last week to EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, the groups state that “Considering the repeated and systematic acts of aggression, war crimes and violations of international law committed by Israel, the exclusion of Elbit Systems or other Israeli military and homeland security companies from the Horizon 2020 framework seems a necessary step towards an EU policy that effectively promotes human rights and international law in Palestine.”
Grounded in a report on EU funding for Elbit Systems, the letter notes that Elbit and other Israeli military and security companies are applying for participation in Horizon 2020.
“The EU’s relationship with Elbit Systems is a clear example of EU complicity with Israeli violations of human rights”, the groups write. “Elbit Systems is Israel’s largest military company and its drones, weapons and other technology is a key part of Israel’s military apparatus and participates with the construction of Israel’s Wall, which was ruled illegal by 2004. Elbit Systems technologies have been developed during the course of Israel’s military actions and the company markets its technology as “field tested”, by which it means its technology has been tested on Palestinian civilians. Any funding to or cooperation with Elbit Systems represents a form a support for activities and its contribution to Israeli violations of international law.”
“EU support for Elbit and other companies would further risk contradicting the standards and policies of the EU and its member states”, says the group, including “The EU's general commitment to upholding and promoting international law....and the EU's own commitment not to fund dual technology”.
“We therefore ask you to...stop any cooperation with Elbit Systems and other Israeli military and homeland security companies within Horizon 2020, as a necessary step towards an EU policy that effectively promotes human rights and international law in Palestine.”
Israel signed Horizon 2020 in June of last year, becoming the only non-European country to be a full partner in the programme.
The signature was made possible after the sides reached an agreement over guidelines which bar all funding for entities operating on land seized during the 1967 Middle East war.
Israeli university heads lobbied the Israeli government to reach an understanding with the EU, stating that "great harm" would come to Israeli universities and research should Israel not be a part of the Horizon 2020 programme.
Under terms of the agreement, Israel may add an appendix stating its non-recognition of the aforementioned guidelines.
The Dutch decision to cut down stipends by 35% to Holocaust survivors that now live in colonial Israeli settlements, caused an Israeli wrath.
The move is seen as a European escalation in Brussels' continuing campaign to punish Israel for its continued settlement activity beyond the 1967 Green Line.
The head of the Center of Organizations for Holocaust Survivors and ex Israeli MK, an Israeli umbrella agency representing 52 different groups that seek to promote the welfare of those who survived the Nazi holocaust, told Israel Radio on Monday that the new policy was misplaced.
"European government can certainly take a position as it relates to Israel's policies in the territories, but the conclusions in this regard need to be taken up with those who make the decisions in Israel," Colette Avital said.
"It is surprising and outrageous that the Dutch government, of all countries, chooses to impose sanctions against civilians who endured the Holocaust on its territory and who subsequently chose to move in with their children at an old age," she said. "It is hard to accept such harassment of survivors, whose welfare needs to be sacrosanct in the eyes of the Dutch authoritiesm," Israeli Jpost said.
The move is seen as a European escalation in Brussels' continuing campaign to punish Israel for its continued settlement activity beyond the 1967 Green Line.
The head of the Center of Organizations for Holocaust Survivors and ex Israeli MK, an Israeli umbrella agency representing 52 different groups that seek to promote the welfare of those who survived the Nazi holocaust, told Israel Radio on Monday that the new policy was misplaced.
"European government can certainly take a position as it relates to Israel's policies in the territories, but the conclusions in this regard need to be taken up with those who make the decisions in Israel," Colette Avital said.
"It is surprising and outrageous that the Dutch government, of all countries, chooses to impose sanctions against civilians who endured the Holocaust on its territory and who subsequently chose to move in with their children at an old age," she said. "It is hard to accept such harassment of survivors, whose welfare needs to be sacrosanct in the eyes of the Dutch authoritiesm," Israeli Jpost said.
9 may 2015
Palestine Football Association's President Gen. Jibril Rajoub said in a statement regarding his meeting with FIFA President Mr. Sepp Blatter May 10 "We will make use of every possible venue in order to protect Palestinian footballers and their right to benefit from the rights and fulfill the obligations stipulated in the FIFA statutes."
He added :"Our call to suspend the Israeli Football Association from FIFA comes after nearly three years of a failed mechanism to secure meaningful and substantial commitments from the Israeli side, where oppression and discrimination against Palestinian sports in general, and football in particular, have remained unchanged.
Meanwhile, the Israeli Football Association has elected to rationalize away the crimes of the occupation. We are therefore determined to continue our path to suspend the Israeli Football Association during the next FIFA Congress, this May 29.
The Israeli Football Association (IFA) is part of the oppressive Israeli occupation and therefore, an accomplice in its Apartheid policies. Rather than solve the problem, the Israeli Association has tried every possible venue to justify Israel's Apartheid policies. FIFA has been made aware of these issues first hand through the three years of its attempts to find a solution which sadly reached a dead end.
Gen. Jibril Rajoub said that he accepted an invitation to meet with FIFA President, Mr. Sepp Blatter, to discuss these matters saying :" As head of the PFA, I will ensure we take every precaution to protect Palestinian footballers and do everything within our power to protect their rights under, and fulfill our obligations of, all FIFA statutes.
Among the main Israeli policies and practices that we are denouncing before FIFA is the participation of 5 teams from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied State of Palestine in the Israeli Football League, the unpunished racism against Palestinians and Muslims in Israeli football, the movement restrictions against Palestinian players, coaches, referees and other football related personnel and equipment, as well as attacks against our infrastructure, including a military raid against the Palestine Football Association which the Israeli Football Association has failed to condemn.
He added :"Our call to suspend the Israeli Football Association from FIFA comes after nearly three years of a failed mechanism to secure meaningful and substantial commitments from the Israeli side, where oppression and discrimination against Palestinian sports in general, and football in particular, have remained unchanged.
Meanwhile, the Israeli Football Association has elected to rationalize away the crimes of the occupation. We are therefore determined to continue our path to suspend the Israeli Football Association during the next FIFA Congress, this May 29.
The Israeli Football Association (IFA) is part of the oppressive Israeli occupation and therefore, an accomplice in its Apartheid policies. Rather than solve the problem, the Israeli Association has tried every possible venue to justify Israel's Apartheid policies. FIFA has been made aware of these issues first hand through the three years of its attempts to find a solution which sadly reached a dead end.
Gen. Jibril Rajoub said that he accepted an invitation to meet with FIFA President, Mr. Sepp Blatter, to discuss these matters saying :" As head of the PFA, I will ensure we take every precaution to protect Palestinian footballers and do everything within our power to protect their rights under, and fulfill our obligations of, all FIFA statutes.
Among the main Israeli policies and practices that we are denouncing before FIFA is the participation of 5 teams from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied State of Palestine in the Israeli Football League, the unpunished racism against Palestinians and Muslims in Israeli football, the movement restrictions against Palestinian players, coaches, referees and other football related personnel and equipment, as well as attacks against our infrastructure, including a military raid against the Palestine Football Association which the Israeli Football Association has failed to condemn.
EU Group Demands End to Economic Partnership with IsraelDue to ongoing aggression against Palestinians, the European United Left group of MEPs demanded, on Friday, the abolition of partnership deals with Israel.
One of at least 530 Israeli checkpoints in the occupied West Bank -- Days of Palestine
The demand was made in the wake of the acknowledgement by dozens of Israeli soldiers who took part in the last summer’s Israeli offensive on Gaza that they targeted civilians intentionally; some claimed that they targeted Palestinians “for fun”.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the EU group, Angel Vaina, demanded that Europe’s Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini answer several questions regarding Israeli human rights abuses.
In addition to witness statements regarding the actions of Israeli soldiers, he noted that there is a United Nations report which proves that Israel killed 44 civilians and wounded 227 others in UN shelters, during the 2014 Israeli war against Palestinian civilians.
Vaina said that the Geneva Conventions ban aggression against the offices of humanitarian organisations. “As such, we demand an end to economic preferences and dealing with this aggressive state.”
He pointed out that Israel signed an agreement, in 2000, which guarantees human rights, but that the state violates it repetitively.
As an example, he cited Israeli violations in respect of 26 foreign activists on 3 May, when police cracked down on a peaceful demonstration in Tel Aviv against institutional violence and racial discrimination targeting Ethiopian Jews.
One of at least 530 Israeli checkpoints in the occupied West Bank -- Days of Palestine
The demand was made in the wake of the acknowledgement by dozens of Israeli soldiers who took part in the last summer’s Israeli offensive on Gaza that they targeted civilians intentionally; some claimed that they targeted Palestinians “for fun”.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the EU group, Angel Vaina, demanded that Europe’s Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini answer several questions regarding Israeli human rights abuses.
In addition to witness statements regarding the actions of Israeli soldiers, he noted that there is a United Nations report which proves that Israel killed 44 civilians and wounded 227 others in UN shelters, during the 2014 Israeli war against Palestinian civilians.
Vaina said that the Geneva Conventions ban aggression against the offices of humanitarian organisations. “As such, we demand an end to economic preferences and dealing with this aggressive state.”
He pointed out that Israel signed an agreement, in 2000, which guarantees human rights, but that the state violates it repetitively.
As an example, he cited Israeli violations in respect of 26 foreign activists on 3 May, when police cracked down on a peaceful demonstration in Tel Aviv against institutional violence and racial discrimination targeting Ethiopian Jews.
8 may 2015
Ayelet Shaked
Western diplomats express concern of 'anti-democratic' legislation pushed by incoming justice minister Shaked, saying it 'looks designed to shut down criticism'.
Benjamin Netanyahu's formation of one of the most right-wing government in Israel's history has fuelled concerns in Europe and the United States about further settlement building and dimming prospects for peace.
But it also has diplomats on edge about wider policy proposals, particularly on social and judicial affairs, where the far-right Bayit Yehudi party, an influential member of Netanyahu's coalition, is determined to leave its mark.
Ultra nationalist Bayit Yehudi, led by former technology entrepreneur Naftali Bennett, has secured two important cabinet portfolios: the education and diaspora ministry for Bennett and the justice ministry for his number two, Ayelet Shaked.
Shaked, a 39-year-old former software engineer, is a divisive figure in Israeli politics, making outspoken comments against Palestinians while promoting a pro-settler agenda.
Since entering parliament in 2013, she has backed a number of controversial bills, including one that would enshrine Israel as the Jewish nation-state, to the anger of Israel's 20 percent Arab minority.
Shaked also wants to check the Supreme Court's power and restrict donations from foreign governments to non-governmental organizations in Israel. As justice minister, she will be in a position to push those legislative proposals more aggressively, with the NGO and judicial oversight bills expected to move ahead.
For foreign diplomats, that raises as many concerns about the direction Israel is moving in as the expansion of settlements on land the Palestinians seek for a state - a profound, long-standing bone of contention. "The red lines for us aren't just about settlements," said the ambassador of one EU member state. "When you look at some of the legislation being proposed, it is very worrying. It is anti-democratic and looks designed to shut down criticism. It's the sort of thing you normally see coming out of Russia."
Trigger for action
US diplomats have flagged their concerns too, while emphasising that they need to wait to see how the legislation pans out. With the narrowest of governing majorities - just 61 seats in the 120-seat parliament - it will be a challenge for Netanyahu to get new legislation approved. The nation-state bill, perhaps the most contested piece of law in Israel's recent history, looks unlikely to progress because one member of the coalition, Moshe Kahlon, the leader of the centrist Kulanu party, has an effective veto.
But the NGO and judicial oversight bills have a better chance of advancing, with Avigdor Lieberman, the leader of the far-right Yisrael Beytenu party, a former ally of Netanyahu's who is now in opposition, likely to support them.
The NGO bill would impose a heavy tax on foreign donations to non-governmental organizations operating in Israel, unless a special defense ministry committee decides otherwise. "It's part of a broader effort to limit the political space, to squeeze out opposing views," said Matt Duss, president of the Washington-based Foundation for Middle East Peace. "It has very negative connotations. It creates a hostile environment for those who express legitimate criticism and would put Israel in some very bad company."
In Europe, officials are discussing what steps may be taken against Israel if it continues to expand settlements, a process that continues apace, with tenders for 900 units in East Jerusalem issued this week. Israelis frequently fret that Europe is going to impose a trade boycott on them. No such action is likely.
The EU does restrict loans to Israeli research bodies based in the West Bank, however, and is moving ahead with plans to label Israeli products made in West Bank settlements. Other measures are quietly being debated. In the past, the trigger to move ahead with such steps was settlement-building, which the EU regards as illegal under international law. But now, Israel's legislative agenda may be as much of a danger.
"It is a deep concern for us," said the European ambassador. "It is the sort of thing that is a red line."
Western diplomats express concern of 'anti-democratic' legislation pushed by incoming justice minister Shaked, saying it 'looks designed to shut down criticism'.
Benjamin Netanyahu's formation of one of the most right-wing government in Israel's history has fuelled concerns in Europe and the United States about further settlement building and dimming prospects for peace.
But it also has diplomats on edge about wider policy proposals, particularly on social and judicial affairs, where the far-right Bayit Yehudi party, an influential member of Netanyahu's coalition, is determined to leave its mark.
Ultra nationalist Bayit Yehudi, led by former technology entrepreneur Naftali Bennett, has secured two important cabinet portfolios: the education and diaspora ministry for Bennett and the justice ministry for his number two, Ayelet Shaked.
Shaked, a 39-year-old former software engineer, is a divisive figure in Israeli politics, making outspoken comments against Palestinians while promoting a pro-settler agenda.
Since entering parliament in 2013, she has backed a number of controversial bills, including one that would enshrine Israel as the Jewish nation-state, to the anger of Israel's 20 percent Arab minority.
Shaked also wants to check the Supreme Court's power and restrict donations from foreign governments to non-governmental organizations in Israel. As justice minister, she will be in a position to push those legislative proposals more aggressively, with the NGO and judicial oversight bills expected to move ahead.
For foreign diplomats, that raises as many concerns about the direction Israel is moving in as the expansion of settlements on land the Palestinians seek for a state - a profound, long-standing bone of contention. "The red lines for us aren't just about settlements," said the ambassador of one EU member state. "When you look at some of the legislation being proposed, it is very worrying. It is anti-democratic and looks designed to shut down criticism. It's the sort of thing you normally see coming out of Russia."
Trigger for action
US diplomats have flagged their concerns too, while emphasising that they need to wait to see how the legislation pans out. With the narrowest of governing majorities - just 61 seats in the 120-seat parliament - it will be a challenge for Netanyahu to get new legislation approved. The nation-state bill, perhaps the most contested piece of law in Israel's recent history, looks unlikely to progress because one member of the coalition, Moshe Kahlon, the leader of the centrist Kulanu party, has an effective veto.
But the NGO and judicial oversight bills have a better chance of advancing, with Avigdor Lieberman, the leader of the far-right Yisrael Beytenu party, a former ally of Netanyahu's who is now in opposition, likely to support them.
The NGO bill would impose a heavy tax on foreign donations to non-governmental organizations operating in Israel, unless a special defense ministry committee decides otherwise. "It's part of a broader effort to limit the political space, to squeeze out opposing views," said Matt Duss, president of the Washington-based Foundation for Middle East Peace. "It has very negative connotations. It creates a hostile environment for those who express legitimate criticism and would put Israel in some very bad company."
In Europe, officials are discussing what steps may be taken against Israel if it continues to expand settlements, a process that continues apace, with tenders for 900 units in East Jerusalem issued this week. Israelis frequently fret that Europe is going to impose a trade boycott on them. No such action is likely.
The EU does restrict loans to Israeli research bodies based in the West Bank, however, and is moving ahead with plans to label Israeli products made in West Bank settlements. Other measures are quietly being debated. In the past, the trigger to move ahead with such steps was settlement-building, which the EU regards as illegal under international law. But now, Israel's legislative agenda may be as much of a danger.
"It is a deep concern for us," said the European ambassador. "It is the sort of thing that is a red line."
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Settlers harassed the head of the Palestinian National Union for Football and the South African head of an anti-racism group during a tour in Hebron's Old City this week.
Palestinian football chief, Jibril al-Rajoub, was heading a FIFA delegation tour in the city on Tuesday when the incident took place. The group included Tokyo Sexwale, an anti-apartheid activist imprisoned for 13 years on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela, and co-chair of Global Watch: Say No To Racism-Discrimination In Sport. The delegation was briefed on the difficult living conditions in the Old City by the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee and were shown videos documenting army and settler violence against Palestinians in the city. |
Israeli forces then prevented the delegation from entering several areas of the Old City, with settlers verbally insulting the group as they tried to continue the tour.
Sexwale said that life for Palestinians in the city is intolerable, saying he was proud of the Palestinians for their determination to remain on their land.
The South African official had to enter Ramallah via the King Hussein Bridge to avoid entry from Tel Aviv. The Palestinian Football Association (PFA) has called for a vote at the FIFA annual congress on May 29 calling for Israel's expulsion for blocking Palestinian football through its sanctions on the Palestinian territories.
In its draft resolution for the FIFA congress, the Palestinian protests over Israel's treatment of Arabs and acts such as setting up clubs in the occupied Palestinian territories. Israeli forces raided the PFA headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah in November.
Palestinian football chiefs have also condemned Israeli travel restrictions on Palestinian players and on importing equipment into the occupied territories.
Sexwale said that life for Palestinians in the city is intolerable, saying he was proud of the Palestinians for their determination to remain on their land.
The South African official had to enter Ramallah via the King Hussein Bridge to avoid entry from Tel Aviv. The Palestinian Football Association (PFA) has called for a vote at the FIFA annual congress on May 29 calling for Israel's expulsion for blocking Palestinian football through its sanctions on the Palestinian territories.
In its draft resolution for the FIFA congress, the Palestinian protests over Israel's treatment of Arabs and acts such as setting up clubs in the occupied Palestinian territories. Israeli forces raided the PFA headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah in November.
Palestinian football chiefs have also condemned Israeli travel restrictions on Palestinian players and on importing equipment into the occupied territories.
