18 july 2018
“BDS should not be defined as anti-Semitic.” This is the message from 39 Jewish groups who oppose equating antisemitism with criticism of Israel.
On Tuesday, South African Jewish Voices for a Just Peace (SAJVP) and South African Jews for a Free Palestine (SAJFP) joined Jews from the United States, Germany, England, Argentina, New Zealand and other corners of the world in a statement condemning the targeting of organizations that support Palestinian rights in general, and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, in particular.
Attacks on pro-Palestine groups and the BDS Movement “often take the form of cynical and false accusations of antisemitism that dangerously conflate anti-Jewish racism with opposition to Israel’s policies and system of occupation and apartheid,” the groups said. (In February, the BDS Movement was officially nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for its ongoing commitment to fighting antisemitism and all forms of racism and bigotry).
“This conflation undermines both the Palestinian struggle for freedom, justice and equality and the global struggle against antisemitism. It also serves to shield Israel from being held accountable to universal standards of human rights and international law.”
The groups stressed that it is more important than ever to distinguish between hostility or prejudice against Jews on the one hand, and legitimate critiques of Israeli policies and systems of injustice on the other.
The Jewish groups also found the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, which is increasingly being adopted or considered by western governments, problematic, as it is worded in such a way that equates legitimate criticisms of Israel and advocacy for Palestinian rights with antisemitism. This is intended to stifle criticism of Israel.
They urged governments to reject the IHRA definition of antisemitism and instead take effective measures to end the international community’s complicity in Israel’s human rights violations against Palestinians.
Source: Afro-Palestine News Wire Service
On Tuesday, South African Jewish Voices for a Just Peace (SAJVP) and South African Jews for a Free Palestine (SAJFP) joined Jews from the United States, Germany, England, Argentina, New Zealand and other corners of the world in a statement condemning the targeting of organizations that support Palestinian rights in general, and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, in particular.
Attacks on pro-Palestine groups and the BDS Movement “often take the form of cynical and false accusations of antisemitism that dangerously conflate anti-Jewish racism with opposition to Israel’s policies and system of occupation and apartheid,” the groups said. (In February, the BDS Movement was officially nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for its ongoing commitment to fighting antisemitism and all forms of racism and bigotry).
“This conflation undermines both the Palestinian struggle for freedom, justice and equality and the global struggle against antisemitism. It also serves to shield Israel from being held accountable to universal standards of human rights and international law.”
The groups stressed that it is more important than ever to distinguish between hostility or prejudice against Jews on the one hand, and legitimate critiques of Israeli policies and systems of injustice on the other.
The Jewish groups also found the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, which is increasingly being adopted or considered by western governments, problematic, as it is worded in such a way that equates legitimate criticisms of Israel and advocacy for Palestinian rights with antisemitism. This is intended to stifle criticism of Israel.
They urged governments to reject the IHRA definition of antisemitism and instead take effective measures to end the international community’s complicity in Israel’s human rights violations against Palestinians.
Source: Afro-Palestine News Wire Service
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Yonatan Shapira says Israel’s ‘democracy’ is, in fact, an apartheid state led by fascist Jewish supremacists.
TRNN video & transcript: DIMITRI LASCARIS: This is Dimitri Lascaris, reporting for The Real News Network from the port of Naples, Italy. We are seated in front of the ships of the Gaza flotilla, the Freedom Flotilla, which have been docked here for a couple of days, and I’m pleased to be joined today by Yonatan Shapira. Yonatan is a former rescue pilot in the Israeli Air Force. He’s also a founding member and prominent activist of the Israeli movement Boycott From Within. And I’d like to thank you very much for joining us today, Yonatan. YONATAN SHAPIRA: Thank you. Thank you for coming. |
DIMITRI LASCARIS: So I’d like to start by talking about your experiences within the Israeli Air Force, and your decision ultimately to become a dissenter from military service. Could you tell us about that?
YONATAN SHAPIRA: Well, there is a long story to tell here, but I’ll just try to say in a few words that in 2003, after more than 10 years of service in the Israeli Air Force, I was a Blackhawk helicopter pilot doing rescues and flying soldiers, and doing everything that I was asked. I realized together with other friends in the air force that we are fighting for the wrong side, and we are part of an organization that commits a crime against innocent Palestinians, and we do not want to be part of it anymore. So together with a group of about 27 pilots from all different squadrons of the Israeli air force, attack pilots, rescue pilots like me and others, veterans and active, we send this letter to our commander and the whole society in Israel telling them that we are no longer willing to obey the orders and be part of this illegal and criminal, immoral, occupation. That’s what started my life as an activist fifteen years ago, on the eve of the Jewish year, Rosh Hashanah.
DIMITRI LASCARIS: And subsequently you became a prominent member, as I mentioned, at the outset of this movement, Boycott From Within. Can you tell us, what is it like being an Israeli citizen advocating for the imposition of a boycott given the attitude of the Israeli government towards the whole boycott movement?
YONATAN SHAPIRA: As a human being, I’m very proud of it. I feel super confident about what we, we are many activists. We are still a minority of a minority. But there are activists in Israel who are calling for boycott, divestment, and sanctions because we believe it’s for the benefit of all people; Palestinian people, and Jewish people, and everyone living there and everyone in the world. Of course, the Zionist society in Israel doesn’t like it. So you pay the [little] price of being a dissenter in an apartheid. So you get some benefit, some of your privilege away. But overall I’m still able to be there when I’m there, and lead a relatively comfortable life.
And slowly, slowly, the apartheid system is trying to make it harder and harder and more difficult on us. But again, when I look and compare my life to the life of a Palestinian or a refugee in Israel, or even a non-white Ashkenazi Israeli man in Israel, I’m still able to live quite comfortable. As we speak there are many trying in Parliament to make the apartheid in Israel more official. So different laws that are trying to constitute, that will make it even harder for us to still be free to still act.
And it’s just important to remember that Israel claims to be a democracy. It is not. It’s, it’s an apartheid. It’s led by a group of fascist Jewish supremacy people, and prime minister, and ministers. But if you’re a Zionist Jew, you can feel great democracy. If you are not a Zionist, and if you’re not a Jew, you’re living in apartheid.
DIMITRI LASCARIS: Now, you’ve participated in prior missions of the Freedom Flotilla. Could you tell me why, and also how you were received by your former colleagues within the Israeli military when the vessels were intercepted on those occasions?
YONATAN SHAPIRA: The first time I tried to break the blockade with a group of activists was 2010. About three months after what happened on the Mavi Marmara, where Israeli, the Israeli army shot and killed about 10 activists from Turkey, most of them. The helicopter that landed, the soldiers that killed and massacred people on the Mavi Marmara, were helicopters from the squadron I used to fly in, this Blackhawk squadron in the Israeli air force. And therefore I decided that I must participate in the second boat that will try to break the blockade. It happened in September 2010. We were very small, and we were intercepted by many warships, small and big.
And if we were Palestinians or Turks I guess they would shoot us and kill us, maybe, but I got the better treatment of a Taser gun in my heart. So maybe they thought that they will resuscitate my Zionist behavior. My Zionist heart will start beating again.
But instead it just made me more clear about my decision, and confident about the need to struggle against apartheid and against this illegal crime of ghettoization and that concentration of two million people. The second attempt was 2011, a year, about a year later. I was on a crew of The Audacity of Hope. It was a big American boat, and we were part of the second flotilla trying to leave from the port of Piraeus in Greece. Unfortunately, the Greek government was coopted by Israel and the U.S., and with different pressure, I guess, they obeyed Bibi Netanyahu. And we had a big sign saying, who’s your commander, Netanyahu or Poseidon? Who is the god of the sea. Is it Israel, or the Greek Poseidon?
Unfortunately, it was Netanyahu and on a gun show on a gunpoint. We were stopped by the Greek coast guard just a few minutes after leaving the port of Priaeus, and we had to go back, and were detained by the, by the Greeks. And the third attempt was 2012, with the Ship to Gaza, the Swedish group that was with many international organizations, and the Finnish flagged boat. We had other Israelis on board. And we were also stopped about 40 miles from, from shore, from Gaza. This time it was a big operation. I guess they used it as a maneuver for training their forces, because they know that we are not posing any threat, like military threat, on them. So they were hundreds, maybe thousands of soldiers participating.
About 15 warships, big and small. And also one Blackhawk helicopter that came in circled above us. And when I looked at it on the tail I could see that the number on the tail is 852, which is the same helicopter, tthe same piece of metal that I used to fly some years before. They again arrested us, tasered us, and took us to the Navy base of Ashdod, and we spent a few days arrested.
DIMITRI LASCARIS: I’d like, I’d like to talk to you about the future, to conclude. And you know, those of us in the West watching with trepidation what’s happening seem, it seems to be that every day the predicament of the Palestinian people is worse, and that the Israeli government’s sense of impunity is on the increase, if anything. Do you, are you feeling hopeful, based upon what you see, for the cause of Palestinian justice, justice for the Palestinian people? Do you see signs that this is a battle that is being won, ultimately, and that this is something that may actually be won within your lifetime?
YONATAN SHAPIRA: Well gives me hope is nothing about the governments and the system that controls us in your country, in my country. I see a lot of hypocrisy all over Europe and elsewhere, and also Canada. What gives me hope is to see the popular struggle of Palestinians that are showing incredible bravery. That reminds me what I grew up on, you know, the struggle in the ghettos, in the Warsaw Ghetto, in other ghettos. With the, with all the courage to walk into the fence, towards the fence of this biggest prison in the world, without bearing any arms. Walking and trying to protest this siege. It gives me a lot of hope, because I think that’s where the mighty power of the Israeli military collapses, when we have thousands and thousands of Palestinians that are uniting, holding hands and standing in front of the Israeli snipers.
That gives me hope. That means that it’s not going to be able to last forever. And things like that gives me hope to be together with the Spanish, Italians, Americans, Canadians, Norwegians, Swedish, everyone. It means that somewhere on a deep nerve of many people around the world, it’s quite clear that this symbolic struggle of the Palestinians for freedom will be won at some point. And our job is to not be deterred, and not be, not lose our hope when we see the hypocritical governments in one hand saying something against Israel’s crimes, and on the other hand still doing arms trade with them and giving them all the impunity and all the actual support to continue with this massacre and this illegality.
But it’s important to to say to everyone who listens to us that we need you. We need the person that now maybe sits in Canada, or in the U.S., or in elsewhere in Europe, or somewhere else. We need you to join this struggle. And this struggle is not just about freedom for Palestinians. It’s about the struggle against what Europe and the U.S. and other countries are doing to refugees that are trying to escape the horrors in Africa. It’s the same struggle. It’s the struggle of the people who have less to be recognized and to get their basic human right. So if you want to be part of the struggle, wherever you are, you don’t have to come all the way and join us in this flotilla. You can be active on your, in your local community, for justice for, for everyone. And then you are part of the struggle for justice for Palestine.
DIMITRI LASCARIS: I’d like to thank you very much for speaking with The Real News today, Yonatan. It’s been a pleasure.
YONATAN SHAPIRA: Thank you for coming here. And good luck with your health.
DIMITRI LASCARIS: Thank you very much. And this is Dimitri Lascaris, reporting for The Real News from Naples, Italy.
IMEMC Interview 06/26/18: Jewish American Explains Why She Supports Palestine and BDS
YONATAN SHAPIRA: Well, there is a long story to tell here, but I’ll just try to say in a few words that in 2003, after more than 10 years of service in the Israeli Air Force, I was a Blackhawk helicopter pilot doing rescues and flying soldiers, and doing everything that I was asked. I realized together with other friends in the air force that we are fighting for the wrong side, and we are part of an organization that commits a crime against innocent Palestinians, and we do not want to be part of it anymore. So together with a group of about 27 pilots from all different squadrons of the Israeli air force, attack pilots, rescue pilots like me and others, veterans and active, we send this letter to our commander and the whole society in Israel telling them that we are no longer willing to obey the orders and be part of this illegal and criminal, immoral, occupation. That’s what started my life as an activist fifteen years ago, on the eve of the Jewish year, Rosh Hashanah.
DIMITRI LASCARIS: And subsequently you became a prominent member, as I mentioned, at the outset of this movement, Boycott From Within. Can you tell us, what is it like being an Israeli citizen advocating for the imposition of a boycott given the attitude of the Israeli government towards the whole boycott movement?
YONATAN SHAPIRA: As a human being, I’m very proud of it. I feel super confident about what we, we are many activists. We are still a minority of a minority. But there are activists in Israel who are calling for boycott, divestment, and sanctions because we believe it’s for the benefit of all people; Palestinian people, and Jewish people, and everyone living there and everyone in the world. Of course, the Zionist society in Israel doesn’t like it. So you pay the [little] price of being a dissenter in an apartheid. So you get some benefit, some of your privilege away. But overall I’m still able to be there when I’m there, and lead a relatively comfortable life.
And slowly, slowly, the apartheid system is trying to make it harder and harder and more difficult on us. But again, when I look and compare my life to the life of a Palestinian or a refugee in Israel, or even a non-white Ashkenazi Israeli man in Israel, I’m still able to live quite comfortable. As we speak there are many trying in Parliament to make the apartheid in Israel more official. So different laws that are trying to constitute, that will make it even harder for us to still be free to still act.
And it’s just important to remember that Israel claims to be a democracy. It is not. It’s, it’s an apartheid. It’s led by a group of fascist Jewish supremacy people, and prime minister, and ministers. But if you’re a Zionist Jew, you can feel great democracy. If you are not a Zionist, and if you’re not a Jew, you’re living in apartheid.
DIMITRI LASCARIS: Now, you’ve participated in prior missions of the Freedom Flotilla. Could you tell me why, and also how you were received by your former colleagues within the Israeli military when the vessels were intercepted on those occasions?
YONATAN SHAPIRA: The first time I tried to break the blockade with a group of activists was 2010. About three months after what happened on the Mavi Marmara, where Israeli, the Israeli army shot and killed about 10 activists from Turkey, most of them. The helicopter that landed, the soldiers that killed and massacred people on the Mavi Marmara, were helicopters from the squadron I used to fly in, this Blackhawk squadron in the Israeli air force. And therefore I decided that I must participate in the second boat that will try to break the blockade. It happened in September 2010. We were very small, and we were intercepted by many warships, small and big.
And if we were Palestinians or Turks I guess they would shoot us and kill us, maybe, but I got the better treatment of a Taser gun in my heart. So maybe they thought that they will resuscitate my Zionist behavior. My Zionist heart will start beating again.
But instead it just made me more clear about my decision, and confident about the need to struggle against apartheid and against this illegal crime of ghettoization and that concentration of two million people. The second attempt was 2011, a year, about a year later. I was on a crew of The Audacity of Hope. It was a big American boat, and we were part of the second flotilla trying to leave from the port of Piraeus in Greece. Unfortunately, the Greek government was coopted by Israel and the U.S., and with different pressure, I guess, they obeyed Bibi Netanyahu. And we had a big sign saying, who’s your commander, Netanyahu or Poseidon? Who is the god of the sea. Is it Israel, or the Greek Poseidon?
Unfortunately, it was Netanyahu and on a gun show on a gunpoint. We were stopped by the Greek coast guard just a few minutes after leaving the port of Priaeus, and we had to go back, and were detained by the, by the Greeks. And the third attempt was 2012, with the Ship to Gaza, the Swedish group that was with many international organizations, and the Finnish flagged boat. We had other Israelis on board. And we were also stopped about 40 miles from, from shore, from Gaza. This time it was a big operation. I guess they used it as a maneuver for training their forces, because they know that we are not posing any threat, like military threat, on them. So they were hundreds, maybe thousands of soldiers participating.
About 15 warships, big and small. And also one Blackhawk helicopter that came in circled above us. And when I looked at it on the tail I could see that the number on the tail is 852, which is the same helicopter, tthe same piece of metal that I used to fly some years before. They again arrested us, tasered us, and took us to the Navy base of Ashdod, and we spent a few days arrested.
DIMITRI LASCARIS: I’d like, I’d like to talk to you about the future, to conclude. And you know, those of us in the West watching with trepidation what’s happening seem, it seems to be that every day the predicament of the Palestinian people is worse, and that the Israeli government’s sense of impunity is on the increase, if anything. Do you, are you feeling hopeful, based upon what you see, for the cause of Palestinian justice, justice for the Palestinian people? Do you see signs that this is a battle that is being won, ultimately, and that this is something that may actually be won within your lifetime?
YONATAN SHAPIRA: Well gives me hope is nothing about the governments and the system that controls us in your country, in my country. I see a lot of hypocrisy all over Europe and elsewhere, and also Canada. What gives me hope is to see the popular struggle of Palestinians that are showing incredible bravery. That reminds me what I grew up on, you know, the struggle in the ghettos, in the Warsaw Ghetto, in other ghettos. With the, with all the courage to walk into the fence, towards the fence of this biggest prison in the world, without bearing any arms. Walking and trying to protest this siege. It gives me a lot of hope, because I think that’s where the mighty power of the Israeli military collapses, when we have thousands and thousands of Palestinians that are uniting, holding hands and standing in front of the Israeli snipers.
That gives me hope. That means that it’s not going to be able to last forever. And things like that gives me hope to be together with the Spanish, Italians, Americans, Canadians, Norwegians, Swedish, everyone. It means that somewhere on a deep nerve of many people around the world, it’s quite clear that this symbolic struggle of the Palestinians for freedom will be won at some point. And our job is to not be deterred, and not be, not lose our hope when we see the hypocritical governments in one hand saying something against Israel’s crimes, and on the other hand still doing arms trade with them and giving them all the impunity and all the actual support to continue with this massacre and this illegality.
But it’s important to to say to everyone who listens to us that we need you. We need the person that now maybe sits in Canada, or in the U.S., or in elsewhere in Europe, or somewhere else. We need you to join this struggle. And this struggle is not just about freedom for Palestinians. It’s about the struggle against what Europe and the U.S. and other countries are doing to refugees that are trying to escape the horrors in Africa. It’s the same struggle. It’s the struggle of the people who have less to be recognized and to get their basic human right. So if you want to be part of the struggle, wherever you are, you don’t have to come all the way and join us in this flotilla. You can be active on your, in your local community, for justice for, for everyone. And then you are part of the struggle for justice for Palestine.
DIMITRI LASCARIS: I’d like to thank you very much for speaking with The Real News today, Yonatan. It’s been a pleasure.
YONATAN SHAPIRA: Thank you for coming here. And good luck with your health.
DIMITRI LASCARIS: Thank you very much. And this is Dimitri Lascaris, reporting for The Real News from Naples, Italy.
IMEMC Interview 06/26/18: Jewish American Explains Why She Supports Palestine and BDS
17 july 2018
Celebrated South African author, Zakes Mda, will not be using any music from DJ Black Coffee (real name Nkosinathi Maphumulo) for his upcoming movie as a result of the musician's performances in Israel.
“There are some great Black Coffee sounds that would be ideal for one of the films I’m involved in making. But now, damn, there’s this Israel thing!...” Mda tweeted.
While Mda admits that Maphumulo’s music would have been ideal for the movie that he is involved in making, he preferred to work with an “untainted DJ”. The author has indicated that he has already received several offers from other musicians to use their music in the project.
One of South Africa's and Africa's most successful artists, DJ Black Coffee was subject to widespread criticism after he played a show in April in Tel Aviv, just as Israeli army snipers killed dozens of unarmed Palestinian protesters in the Gaza Strip during the Great Return March. Israel’s violent response to peaceful Palestinian protests in Gaza prompted the South African government to recall its ambassador from Israel.
In 2014, the South African branch of the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement appealed to DJ Black Coffee to cancel his show in Israel and respect the cultural boycott that is being imposed on Israel as a result of its illegal occupation of Palestine. The artist ignored the plea and went on to play in Israel on two other occasions since then.
The multi award-winning Mda - a liberation struggle veteran who was conferred South Africa’s Order of Ikhamanga in 2014 for his contribution in the field of literature - is a staunch supporter of the boycott movement against Israel, and has previously declined invitations to book fairs in Israel.
Mda’s refusal to work with Maphumulo as a result of his multiple performances in Israel is an indication of the strength and growth of the cultural boycott of Israel, particularly in South Africa. Soon after Maphumulo’s April show, South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) called for a cultural boycott of Israel.
“We call on all artists to have an appreciation of the role played by the international anti-apartheid solidarity movement in the successful international isolation of apartheid South Africa… The people of Palestine are in a just cause for self-determination and we urge our artists not to form part of the normalization of Israel’s suppression of the Palestinian people in their quest for self-determination and statehood that mirrors our very own struggle,” said Lindiwe Zulu, the chairperson of the ANC’s International Relations Committee.
“There are some great Black Coffee sounds that would be ideal for one of the films I’m involved in making. But now, damn, there’s this Israel thing!...” Mda tweeted.
While Mda admits that Maphumulo’s music would have been ideal for the movie that he is involved in making, he preferred to work with an “untainted DJ”. The author has indicated that he has already received several offers from other musicians to use their music in the project.
One of South Africa's and Africa's most successful artists, DJ Black Coffee was subject to widespread criticism after he played a show in April in Tel Aviv, just as Israeli army snipers killed dozens of unarmed Palestinian protesters in the Gaza Strip during the Great Return March. Israel’s violent response to peaceful Palestinian protests in Gaza prompted the South African government to recall its ambassador from Israel.
In 2014, the South African branch of the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement appealed to DJ Black Coffee to cancel his show in Israel and respect the cultural boycott that is being imposed on Israel as a result of its illegal occupation of Palestine. The artist ignored the plea and went on to play in Israel on two other occasions since then.
The multi award-winning Mda - a liberation struggle veteran who was conferred South Africa’s Order of Ikhamanga in 2014 for his contribution in the field of literature - is a staunch supporter of the boycott movement against Israel, and has previously declined invitations to book fairs in Israel.
Mda’s refusal to work with Maphumulo as a result of his multiple performances in Israel is an indication of the strength and growth of the cultural boycott of Israel, particularly in South Africa. Soon after Maphumulo’s April show, South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) called for a cultural boycott of Israel.
“We call on all artists to have an appreciation of the role played by the international anti-apartheid solidarity movement in the successful international isolation of apartheid South Africa… The people of Palestine are in a just cause for self-determination and we urge our artists not to form part of the normalization of Israel’s suppression of the Palestinian people in their quest for self-determination and statehood that mirrors our very own struggle,” said Lindiwe Zulu, the chairperson of the ANC’s International Relations Committee.
14 july 2018
The European Union (EU) on Friday renewed its refusal to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967.
Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, said during a press conference Friday evening in Brussels, "We do not recognize Israel's sovereignty over the territories occupied since 1967 and we do not consider them to be part of Israeli territory."
On the diplomatic row between Israel and Ireland following a bill banning imports to the latter from Israeli settlements, Kocijancic said, "We are of course following the legislative path of this proposal," adding that she is in no position to comment on a draft law that is pending.
The Irish Senate Wednesday voted for a bill banning the import of goods made in Israeli settlements.
The draft law will be presented to the House of Representatives for final approval. Ireland's ruling part opposes the proposal.
Israel's Foreign Ministry on Thursday summoned the Irish ambassador in Israel to protest the bill and threatened to close the Irish Embassy in Tel Aviv.
Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, said during a press conference Friday evening in Brussels, "We do not recognize Israel's sovereignty over the territories occupied since 1967 and we do not consider them to be part of Israeli territory."
On the diplomatic row between Israel and Ireland following a bill banning imports to the latter from Israeli settlements, Kocijancic said, "We are of course following the legislative path of this proposal," adding that she is in no position to comment on a draft law that is pending.
The Irish Senate Wednesday voted for a bill banning the import of goods made in Israeli settlements.
The draft law will be presented to the House of Representatives for final approval. Ireland's ruling part opposes the proposal.
Israel's Foreign Ministry on Thursday summoned the Irish ambassador in Israel to protest the bill and threatened to close the Irish Embassy in Tel Aviv.
13 july 2018
The General Convention of the Episcopal Church, with more than 3 million members, has voted to divest from companies involved in Israel’s violations of Palestinian human rights.
The Episcopal Peace Fellowship Palestine Israel Network (EPF PIN) put in amazing work over many years to get to make the Episcopal Church the 10th Christian denomination in the US to take economic action for justice in Palestine. Thanks in large part to their mobilization, the church also passed ground-breaking resolutions:
USCPR was proud to have Anna Baltzer, Director of Organizing & Advocacy, on the ground at the General Convention supporting EPF PIN. Many other Palestine solidarity groups were there, as well.
All the groups were working together to organize powerful testimonies (like this one from FOSNA’s Tarek Abuata) from Palestinian refugees, students, elders, clergy, and others, strategize outreach, and share why the church taking economic action is so important.
We’ve come a long way. In 2014, the Presbyterian Church (USA) became the first mainline church to divest from companies profiting from the occupation and just last month, they voted in ten pro-Palestine resolutions.
06/23/18 Presbyterian Church Confronts US Legislation Targeting BDS
Now, divesting from Israel’s abuses of Palestinians’ rights is the norm – even in institutions like the Episcopal Church, which had previously voted down such measures more than once.
As icing on the cake, USCPR recently learned that the Quaker Friends Fiduciary Corporation – which has more than $400 million in holdings and has already divested from Hewlett Packard, Veolia, and Caterpillar – will now screen out all companies contributing to the occupation of Palestine and other occupations around the world.
These institutional shifts are a sign of changing times, and confirmation that years of hard work are producing results. The movement’s strategy to mainstream the struggle for Palestinian rights is paying off. Folks are understanding that being progressive means standing with Palestine!
USCPR puts a lot into supporting church divestment efforts for justice in Palestine, including sending staff to big annual meetings like this year’s Presbyterian and Episcopalian ones, sharing lessons learned from one annual assembly to another, supporting church groups, and putting together delegations of Palestinians and allies to give powerful testimony at assemblies.
As we celebrate, we are mindful of the reason these milestones matter: Israel’s continued violence, oppression, discrimination, and exile of the Palestinian people everywhere, every day. This win reminds us of our power, and the necessity to continue working until the Palestinian people achieve full freedom, justice, and equality.
Source: US Campaign for Palestinian Rights
07/08/18 Ten Days in Spain, Ten Days of Hard Work for Palestine
The Episcopal Peace Fellowship Palestine Israel Network (EPF PIN) put in amazing work over many years to get to make the Episcopal Church the 10th Christian denomination in the US to take economic action for justice in Palestine. Thanks in large part to their mobilization, the church also passed ground-breaking resolutions:
- Asserting the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination
- Condemning Israel’s violence against protesters in Gaza
- Calling on the US government to reinstate funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA)
- Supporting the rights of Palestinian children
- Demanding equal access to Jerusalem and opposing Trump’s move of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem
USCPR was proud to have Anna Baltzer, Director of Organizing & Advocacy, on the ground at the General Convention supporting EPF PIN. Many other Palestine solidarity groups were there, as well.
All the groups were working together to organize powerful testimonies (like this one from FOSNA’s Tarek Abuata) from Palestinian refugees, students, elders, clergy, and others, strategize outreach, and share why the church taking economic action is so important.
We’ve come a long way. In 2014, the Presbyterian Church (USA) became the first mainline church to divest from companies profiting from the occupation and just last month, they voted in ten pro-Palestine resolutions.
06/23/18 Presbyterian Church Confronts US Legislation Targeting BDS
Now, divesting from Israel’s abuses of Palestinians’ rights is the norm – even in institutions like the Episcopal Church, which had previously voted down such measures more than once.
As icing on the cake, USCPR recently learned that the Quaker Friends Fiduciary Corporation – which has more than $400 million in holdings and has already divested from Hewlett Packard, Veolia, and Caterpillar – will now screen out all companies contributing to the occupation of Palestine and other occupations around the world.
These institutional shifts are a sign of changing times, and confirmation that years of hard work are producing results. The movement’s strategy to mainstream the struggle for Palestinian rights is paying off. Folks are understanding that being progressive means standing with Palestine!
USCPR puts a lot into supporting church divestment efforts for justice in Palestine, including sending staff to big annual meetings like this year’s Presbyterian and Episcopalian ones, sharing lessons learned from one annual assembly to another, supporting church groups, and putting together delegations of Palestinians and allies to give powerful testimony at assemblies.
As we celebrate, we are mindful of the reason these milestones matter: Israel’s continued violence, oppression, discrimination, and exile of the Palestinian people everywhere, every day. This win reminds us of our power, and the necessity to continue working until the Palestinian people achieve full freedom, justice, and equality.
Source: US Campaign for Palestinian Rights
07/08/18 Ten Days in Spain, Ten Days of Hard Work for Palestine
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman called on Thursday for Israel to shut down the Israeli Embassy in Dublin in response to the Irish Senate voting overwhelmingly to approve a proposal to boycott companies and imports of goods from the West Bank settlements, a move that Israel warned Dublin not to implement in January.
"There is no point in summoning the Irish ambassador to Israel for a reprimand … We will not engage with Israel's oppressors. Israel should close immediately its embassy in Dublin," Lieberman tweeted. "We won't turn the other cheek to a country which boycotts us."
As a result of the vote, which passed with a majority of 25 to 20 on Wednesday, the Irish ambassador was summoned to a meeting at the Israeli Foreign Ministry's office.
If Ireland advances legislation and officially approves the proposal it will become the first country in the European Union to officially criminalize import of goods from the settlements.
According to the proposal, all imports from "illegal settlements", including the Golan Heights and the West Bank, could result in fines. The proposal's initiator, Senator Frances Black, slammed Israeli settlements as "war crimes" and compared her initiative to Ireland's anti-apartheid actions against South Africa.
Though these settlements are repeatedly condemned as illegal by the European Union, United Nations and Irish Government, they continue to extract valuable natural resources and agricultural produce," she said in an article written in the Irish Times entitled "Ireland must act against Israel’s war crimes."
"There is no point in summoning the Irish ambassador to Israel for a reprimand … We will not engage with Israel's oppressors. Israel should close immediately its embassy in Dublin," Lieberman tweeted. "We won't turn the other cheek to a country which boycotts us."
As a result of the vote, which passed with a majority of 25 to 20 on Wednesday, the Irish ambassador was summoned to a meeting at the Israeli Foreign Ministry's office.
If Ireland advances legislation and officially approves the proposal it will become the first country in the European Union to officially criminalize import of goods from the settlements.
According to the proposal, all imports from "illegal settlements", including the Golan Heights and the West Bank, could result in fines. The proposal's initiator, Senator Frances Black, slammed Israeli settlements as "war crimes" and compared her initiative to Ireland's anti-apartheid actions against South Africa.
Though these settlements are repeatedly condemned as illegal by the European Union, United Nations and Irish Government, they continue to extract valuable natural resources and agricultural produce," she said in an article written in the Irish Times entitled "Ireland must act against Israel’s war crimes."
