16 aug 2019
Democratic Socialists of America / United States
On August 3, at the 2019 national convention of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) – the largest and fastest growing socialist organization in the U.S., with two members in Congress, DSA approved a resolution establishing a national working group dedicated to organizing for BDS and Palestine Solidarity. DSA had endorsed the BDS movement at its 2017 national convention. The text of the approved 2019 DSA resolution #35, Establish a National BDS and Palestine Solidarity Working Group, follows below.
Be it resolved that the Democratic Socialists of America establish a national working group dedicated to BDS and Palestine Solidarity;
Be it resolved that the National will allow autonomous leadership and membership of said working group;
Be it resolved that the National will reaffirm BDS and Palestine solidarity as a priority for the national organization and further commit itself to organizing in solidarity with the BDS movement, which urges nonviolent pressure on Israel until it meets three demands:
ending its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the Wall; recognizing the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN Resolution 194.
Whereas, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) endorsed the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement at its 2017 national convention;
Whereas, the DSA Internationalism Committee is a closed, application-based committee with a limited number of spots and thus cannot facilitate the kind of open collaboration among rank-and-file members that is necessary to advance BDS and Palestine solidarity work;
Whereas, DSA working groups help link DSA to critical social movements and provide an importantmechanism through which DSA members can mobilize around particular issues within the organization, and which anyone can become a member;
Whereas, a number of local DSA chapters are already involved in local and national level Palestine solidarity and BDS campaign organizing, in coordination with local and national Palestine solidarity organizations, and consolidation and coordination of these efforts would further develop and expand this work in DSA chapters.
On August 3, at the 2019 national convention of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) – the largest and fastest growing socialist organization in the U.S., with two members in Congress, DSA approved a resolution establishing a national working group dedicated to organizing for BDS and Palestine Solidarity. DSA had endorsed the BDS movement at its 2017 national convention. The text of the approved 2019 DSA resolution #35, Establish a National BDS and Palestine Solidarity Working Group, follows below.
Be it resolved that the Democratic Socialists of America establish a national working group dedicated to BDS and Palestine Solidarity;
Be it resolved that the National will allow autonomous leadership and membership of said working group;
Be it resolved that the National will reaffirm BDS and Palestine solidarity as a priority for the national organization and further commit itself to organizing in solidarity with the BDS movement, which urges nonviolent pressure on Israel until it meets three demands:
ending its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the Wall; recognizing the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN Resolution 194.
Whereas, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) endorsed the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement at its 2017 national convention;
Whereas, the DSA Internationalism Committee is a closed, application-based committee with a limited number of spots and thus cannot facilitate the kind of open collaboration among rank-and-file members that is necessary to advance BDS and Palestine solidarity work;
Whereas, DSA working groups help link DSA to critical social movements and provide an importantmechanism through which DSA members can mobilize around particular issues within the organization, and which anyone can become a member;
Whereas, a number of local DSA chapters are already involved in local and national level Palestine solidarity and BDS campaign organizing, in coordination with local and national Palestine solidarity organizations, and consolidation and coordination of these efforts would further develop and expand this work in DSA chapters.
Israeli occupation authorities announced, today, that they will allow US congresswoman Rashida Tlaib to visit her family in the occupied West Bank on “humanitarian” grounds, hours after the Israeli government said it would ban her from entering Palestine for a planned political trip.
Israel said, earlier. that it would block Tlaib and another US Democratic lawmaker, Ilhan Omar, from entering Palestine, under the pretext of their support for the Boycott, Divestments and Sanctions Movement (BDS).
Israel’s decision to bar their entry was encouraged by President Donald Trump in a remarkable step both by the US President and his ally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to punish political opponents.
After the announcement, Tlaib made a personal plea in a letter addressed to Israel’s interior minister, Aryeh Deri, which was approved on Friday morning, according to WAFA.
Tlaib asked Deri for access to visit her family, “and specifically my grandmother, who is in her 90s and lives in Beit Ur al-Fouqa. This could be my last opportunity to see her.”
“I will respect any restrictions and will not promote boycotts against Israel during my visit,” Tlaib promised, in the letter.
The boycott movement, formally known as the Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, aims to end international support for Israel because of its policies toward Palestinians, as well as its continued construction of West Bank settlements, considered a violation of international law.
Israel said, earlier. that it would block Tlaib and another US Democratic lawmaker, Ilhan Omar, from entering Palestine, under the pretext of their support for the Boycott, Divestments and Sanctions Movement (BDS).
Israel’s decision to bar their entry was encouraged by President Donald Trump in a remarkable step both by the US President and his ally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to punish political opponents.
After the announcement, Tlaib made a personal plea in a letter addressed to Israel’s interior minister, Aryeh Deri, which was approved on Friday morning, according to WAFA.
Tlaib asked Deri for access to visit her family, “and specifically my grandmother, who is in her 90s and lives in Beit Ur al-Fouqa. This could be my last opportunity to see her.”
“I will respect any restrictions and will not promote boycotts against Israel during my visit,” Tlaib promised, in the letter.
The boycott movement, formally known as the Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, aims to end international support for Israel because of its policies toward Palestinians, as well as its continued construction of West Bank settlements, considered a violation of international law.
15 aug 2019
Players from the Khadamat Rafah, the Gaza football team
The Palestinian Football Association is struggling to survive. Combined US-Israeli pressure on Palestinian organisations that provide aid and support to the Palestinian people is now felt in the field of sports as well. In recent months, the association’s budget has been slashed by more than half, and the new football season may be cancelled entirely.
In Palestine, football in particular, represents more than just a game. It provides respite, continuity, hope, and unity.
The Palestine Football Association has been in existence since 1928, that is 20 years before Israel was founded on destroyed Palestinian cities, towns and villages. But, not even the tragic Nakba would end the sport in Palestine. When Palestine was admitted as a full member of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) in 1998, a rare moment of triumph prevailed over the sense of political stagnation.
The Palestinian national team became a representation of a collective sense of pride and defiance. It meant that despite Israeli military restrictions, the targeting of Palestinian athletes and the bombing of stadiums and sports facilities, Palestinians continue to embrace life and thrive.
Even after the factional clash between Fatah and Hamas and the subsequent political disconnect between Gaza and the West Bank, sports continued to provide a critical outlet for unity. While Gaza and the West Bank have their own football leagues, they still competed in a final match to determine the winner of the Palestine Cup.
Alas, last month, Israel prevented the Rafah football team from reaching the West Bank, to meet its Balata Youth Centre rivals in the Cup’s final match.
Israel’s restrictions on Palestinian sports is relentless and is part of a long record of making it nearly impossible for Palestinians to pursue activities that should have no bearing on “Israel’s security”.
The Palestine national team is possibly the most beleaguered football team in the world today.
“Due to Israeli restrictions, the Palestinian national team has been banned from playing their home games in Palestinian stadiums for many years and is forced to host them in nearby Arab countries,” wrote Hazem Balousha in Arab News. Effectively, this means that all Palestinian football training camps have to be held outside Palestine, often with the team’s Gaza squad unable to join their peers. Meanwhile, no foreign trainers are allowed to enter besieged Gaza.
Moreover, the occasional news of a Palestinian footballer being shot, beaten or imprisoned, though tragic, is routine news for Palestinians.
Israel has, however, hardly received any serious reprimand for its unlawful actions. Despite Tel Aviv’s constant violations of Palestinian sports rights, FIFA and other international sports federations continue to treat Israel with kid gloves. Worse, instead of being punished for violating international law regarding sports, Israel is often rewarded.
The fact that Israel’s Football Association includes six teams from illegal Jewish settlements (colonies that are built on stolen Palestinian land) seems to be of no consequence to FIFA’s bosses.
Recently, the sports brand, Puma has replaced Adidas as the sponsor of Israel’s national football teams. The decision indicates that the company is completely oblivious to sports apartheid in Israel. Puma’s lack of sportsmanship is now the subject of a major international boycott campaign led by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
Over 200 Palestinian sports clubs support the call on Puma to end its dealings with Israel, in an attempt to pressure Israel to put an end to its violations of Palestinian human rights.
In fact, Israel should be boycotted in every possible way until it relents and respects international law regarding the rights and freedom of the Palestinian people. Often, however, we overlook the centrality of sports boycott in the overall boycott strategy.
Sports boycott engages, not only politicians and intellectuals but also ordinary people around the world. “The case for football boycott of Israel is just as compelling as that of football boycott of South Africa,” BDS wrote on its homepage. For one, “boycott would spread awareness of Israeli racism and abuse of Palestinian human rights across the football community worldwide.”
Moreover, boycotting Israeli sports, especially football, will deny Israel an important tool aimed at normalising its military occupation, apartheid, and racism. It will force ordinary Israelis to think about the consequences of their support of right-wing racist governments. It could, in fact, it will espouse a serious debate in Israel.
This same logic worked in Apartheid South Africa and was a powerful tool in the international support for the anti-Apartheid movement in that country.
But with FIFA and others turning a blind eye to Israeli violations, Palestinians continue to suffer while Israel continues to sell itself as a sports-loving member of FIFA and other sports organizations.
“Divestment and boycotts are familiar tactics from the international anti-apartheid movement, but they didn’t match the psychological power of the sports boycott,” wrote Tony Karon in the National.
“Rugby was an essential part of the identity of the South African regime’s base, and denying their ability to compete on an international stage was one of the most painful sanctions in the minds of many apartheid supporters.”
As for FIFA, it suspended the membership of the Football Association of South Africa in 1961, followed by a decision, in 1968 by the United Nations General Assembly that called for boycotting all sports bodies in South Africa that practiced apartheid. The pressure continued to mount, uniting international solidarity around clear and achievable objectives.
Many organisations have taken the lead in their respective countries to create a similar movement for Palestine. Israel must not be allowed to participate in international sports while simultaneously cementing its apartheid, racist regime in Palestine.
The Palestinian Football Association is struggling to survive. Combined US-Israeli pressure on Palestinian organisations that provide aid and support to the Palestinian people is now felt in the field of sports as well. In recent months, the association’s budget has been slashed by more than half, and the new football season may be cancelled entirely.
In Palestine, football in particular, represents more than just a game. It provides respite, continuity, hope, and unity.
The Palestine Football Association has been in existence since 1928, that is 20 years before Israel was founded on destroyed Palestinian cities, towns and villages. But, not even the tragic Nakba would end the sport in Palestine. When Palestine was admitted as a full member of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) in 1998, a rare moment of triumph prevailed over the sense of political stagnation.
The Palestinian national team became a representation of a collective sense of pride and defiance. It meant that despite Israeli military restrictions, the targeting of Palestinian athletes and the bombing of stadiums and sports facilities, Palestinians continue to embrace life and thrive.
Even after the factional clash between Fatah and Hamas and the subsequent political disconnect between Gaza and the West Bank, sports continued to provide a critical outlet for unity. While Gaza and the West Bank have their own football leagues, they still competed in a final match to determine the winner of the Palestine Cup.
Alas, last month, Israel prevented the Rafah football team from reaching the West Bank, to meet its Balata Youth Centre rivals in the Cup’s final match.
Israel’s restrictions on Palestinian sports is relentless and is part of a long record of making it nearly impossible for Palestinians to pursue activities that should have no bearing on “Israel’s security”.
The Palestine national team is possibly the most beleaguered football team in the world today.
“Due to Israeli restrictions, the Palestinian national team has been banned from playing their home games in Palestinian stadiums for many years and is forced to host them in nearby Arab countries,” wrote Hazem Balousha in Arab News. Effectively, this means that all Palestinian football training camps have to be held outside Palestine, often with the team’s Gaza squad unable to join their peers. Meanwhile, no foreign trainers are allowed to enter besieged Gaza.
Moreover, the occasional news of a Palestinian footballer being shot, beaten or imprisoned, though tragic, is routine news for Palestinians.
Israel has, however, hardly received any serious reprimand for its unlawful actions. Despite Tel Aviv’s constant violations of Palestinian sports rights, FIFA and other international sports federations continue to treat Israel with kid gloves. Worse, instead of being punished for violating international law regarding sports, Israel is often rewarded.
The fact that Israel’s Football Association includes six teams from illegal Jewish settlements (colonies that are built on stolen Palestinian land) seems to be of no consequence to FIFA’s bosses.
Recently, the sports brand, Puma has replaced Adidas as the sponsor of Israel’s national football teams. The decision indicates that the company is completely oblivious to sports apartheid in Israel. Puma’s lack of sportsmanship is now the subject of a major international boycott campaign led by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
Over 200 Palestinian sports clubs support the call on Puma to end its dealings with Israel, in an attempt to pressure Israel to put an end to its violations of Palestinian human rights.
In fact, Israel should be boycotted in every possible way until it relents and respects international law regarding the rights and freedom of the Palestinian people. Often, however, we overlook the centrality of sports boycott in the overall boycott strategy.
Sports boycott engages, not only politicians and intellectuals but also ordinary people around the world. “The case for football boycott of Israel is just as compelling as that of football boycott of South Africa,” BDS wrote on its homepage. For one, “boycott would spread awareness of Israeli racism and abuse of Palestinian human rights across the football community worldwide.”
Moreover, boycotting Israeli sports, especially football, will deny Israel an important tool aimed at normalising its military occupation, apartheid, and racism. It will force ordinary Israelis to think about the consequences of their support of right-wing racist governments. It could, in fact, it will espouse a serious debate in Israel.
This same logic worked in Apartheid South Africa and was a powerful tool in the international support for the anti-Apartheid movement in that country.
But with FIFA and others turning a blind eye to Israeli violations, Palestinians continue to suffer while Israel continues to sell itself as a sports-loving member of FIFA and other sports organizations.
“Divestment and boycotts are familiar tactics from the international anti-apartheid movement, but they didn’t match the psychological power of the sports boycott,” wrote Tony Karon in the National.
“Rugby was an essential part of the identity of the South African regime’s base, and denying their ability to compete on an international stage was one of the most painful sanctions in the minds of many apartheid supporters.”
As for FIFA, it suspended the membership of the Football Association of South Africa in 1961, followed by a decision, in 1968 by the United Nations General Assembly that called for boycotting all sports bodies in South Africa that practiced apartheid. The pressure continued to mount, uniting international solidarity around clear and achievable objectives.
Many organisations have taken the lead in their respective countries to create a similar movement for Palestine. Israel must not be allowed to participate in international sports while simultaneously cementing its apartheid, racist regime in Palestine.
Israel has decided to deny entry to Democratic congresswomen, Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, ahead of a planned trip to Jerusalem and the West Bank.
"The decision has been made, the decision is not to allow them to enter," Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely told Israel's Reshet Radio.
An Israeli TV channel earlier claimed that Tlaib and Omar had refused to coordinate their itinerary with Israeli concerned officials.
Two US congresswomen barred from visiting Israel for backing BDS
Israel has decided to prevent two American congresswomen from traveling to the occupied territories over their support for a boycott of the Tel Aviv regime.
Ilhan Omar, a representative for Minnesota’s 5th congressional district, and Rashida Tlaib, a representative for Michigan’s 13th congressional district, are expected to visit Israel and the Palestinian territories at the weekend.
Omar, with a Somali origin and Tlaib, with Palestinian roots, have openly supported the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel and been outspoken in their criticism of the Israeli crimes against Palestinians.
The movement was initiated in 2005 by over 170 Palestinian organizations and later became international.
Israeli deputy foreign minister Tzipi Hotovely said on Thursday Tel Aviv had decided not to allow the members of US Congress to enter Israel.
“We won’t allow those who deny our right to exist in this world to enter Israel. In principle this is a very justified decision,” she told the Kan public broadcaster.
Earlier in the day, AFP quoted an Israel official as saying that prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu held consultations on the visit on Wednesday and a final decision was being weighed.
“There is a possibility that Israel will not allow the visit in its current proposed format,” the official said, adding, “Professional teams and legal counsel in various government ministries are continuing to examine the decision.”
The official further said that according to Israeli law, the interior minister who is now Aryeh Deri has the authority to decide on the issue.
Deri, 60, is the chairman of Shas, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish political party in Israel. Back in 1999, he was convicted of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, and received a three-year prison sentence.
“If Congresswoman Tlaib makes a humanitarian request to visit her family, the decision on her matter will be considered favorably,” the official noted.
Israel’s Knesset in 2017 passed a law banning entry to foreigners who support BDS, which is meant to initiate “various forms of boycott against Israel until it meets its obligations under international law” and ends its occupation of Palestinian lands.
Omar has accused the Tel Aviv regime of discrimination against Palestinians similar to apartheid.
In January, she enraged the large pro-Israel contingent in Congress, particularly the largely Democratic US Jewish community, by mocking America’s branding of Israel as a democracy.
Additionally on Thursday, American President Donald Trump urged Tel Aviv not to show “weakness” and firmly prevent the pair from visiting Israel. tweet
Israeli decision on US congresswomen 'outrageous': Palestinian official
Meanwhile, a senior Palestinian official described Israel's decision to bar two US congresswomen from visiting the Palestinian territories as "an outrageous act of hostility."
"The Israeli decision to ban Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar from visiting Palestine is an outrageous act of hostility against the American people and their representatives," Hanan Ashrawi, a senior member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said in a statement.
"This is a dangerous precedent that defies all diplomatic norms and an assault on the Palestinian people's right to engage with the rest of the world," she said.
Both women, who became the first Muslim members of the House of Representatives in January, have faced accusations of anti-Semitism, which they firmly deny.
Israeli ambassador to the US Ron Dermer had previously signaled that the pair would be allowed to visit out of respect for Washington.
Omar and Tlaib’s support for BDS comes at a time when Trump has stepped up ties with Tel Aviv and stopped Palestinian aid.
Israel and its allies in Washington have long railed against calls for people and groups across the world to cut economic, cultural and academic ties to the occupying regime.
"The decision has been made, the decision is not to allow them to enter," Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely told Israel's Reshet Radio.
An Israeli TV channel earlier claimed that Tlaib and Omar had refused to coordinate their itinerary with Israeli concerned officials.
Two US congresswomen barred from visiting Israel for backing BDS
Israel has decided to prevent two American congresswomen from traveling to the occupied territories over their support for a boycott of the Tel Aviv regime.
Ilhan Omar, a representative for Minnesota’s 5th congressional district, and Rashida Tlaib, a representative for Michigan’s 13th congressional district, are expected to visit Israel and the Palestinian territories at the weekend.
Omar, with a Somali origin and Tlaib, with Palestinian roots, have openly supported the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel and been outspoken in their criticism of the Israeli crimes against Palestinians.
The movement was initiated in 2005 by over 170 Palestinian organizations and later became international.
Israeli deputy foreign minister Tzipi Hotovely said on Thursday Tel Aviv had decided not to allow the members of US Congress to enter Israel.
“We won’t allow those who deny our right to exist in this world to enter Israel. In principle this is a very justified decision,” she told the Kan public broadcaster.
Earlier in the day, AFP quoted an Israel official as saying that prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu held consultations on the visit on Wednesday and a final decision was being weighed.
“There is a possibility that Israel will not allow the visit in its current proposed format,” the official said, adding, “Professional teams and legal counsel in various government ministries are continuing to examine the decision.”
The official further said that according to Israeli law, the interior minister who is now Aryeh Deri has the authority to decide on the issue.
Deri, 60, is the chairman of Shas, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish political party in Israel. Back in 1999, he was convicted of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, and received a three-year prison sentence.
“If Congresswoman Tlaib makes a humanitarian request to visit her family, the decision on her matter will be considered favorably,” the official noted.
Israel’s Knesset in 2017 passed a law banning entry to foreigners who support BDS, which is meant to initiate “various forms of boycott against Israel until it meets its obligations under international law” and ends its occupation of Palestinian lands.
Omar has accused the Tel Aviv regime of discrimination against Palestinians similar to apartheid.
In January, she enraged the large pro-Israel contingent in Congress, particularly the largely Democratic US Jewish community, by mocking America’s branding of Israel as a democracy.
Additionally on Thursday, American President Donald Trump urged Tel Aviv not to show “weakness” and firmly prevent the pair from visiting Israel. tweet
Israeli decision on US congresswomen 'outrageous': Palestinian official
Meanwhile, a senior Palestinian official described Israel's decision to bar two US congresswomen from visiting the Palestinian territories as "an outrageous act of hostility."
"The Israeli decision to ban Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar from visiting Palestine is an outrageous act of hostility against the American people and their representatives," Hanan Ashrawi, a senior member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said in a statement.
"This is a dangerous precedent that defies all diplomatic norms and an assault on the Palestinian people's right to engage with the rest of the world," she said.
Both women, who became the first Muslim members of the House of Representatives in January, have faced accusations of anti-Semitism, which they firmly deny.
Israeli ambassador to the US Ron Dermer had previously signaled that the pair would be allowed to visit out of respect for Washington.
Omar and Tlaib’s support for BDS comes at a time when Trump has stepped up ties with Tel Aviv and stopped Palestinian aid.
Israel and its allies in Washington have long railed against calls for people and groups across the world to cut economic, cultural and academic ties to the occupying regime.
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