20 june 2020
The ABP, the largest pension fund in the Netherlands, has decided to divest from Israeli banks, Hapoalim and Leumi, for their finance of construction projects in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, according to a statement attributed to the ABP’s spokesperson.
The spokesperson reportedly pointed out that the location where companies operate plays a role in investment appraisals and criteria, which include revenue, costs, risks, and sustainability.
“We expect companies operating in areas with high risk of human rights violations to have a human rights policy,” said the spokesperson.
In January 2014, PGGM, the country’s second largest pension administrator, announced the divestment from five Israeli banks, citing their activities in the illegal Israeli settlements built in the West Bank.
The Netherlands and the European Union consider Israeli settlements as illegal.
Last April, the European Union issued a warning against the Israeli government's intention to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, saying that such a move “would constitute a serious violation of international law.”
The EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said the 27-member bloc does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Palestinian territory and that it will “continue to closely monitor the situation and its broader implications, and will act accordingly.”
The spokesperson reportedly pointed out that the location where companies operate plays a role in investment appraisals and criteria, which include revenue, costs, risks, and sustainability.
“We expect companies operating in areas with high risk of human rights violations to have a human rights policy,” said the spokesperson.
In January 2014, PGGM, the country’s second largest pension administrator, announced the divestment from five Israeli banks, citing their activities in the illegal Israeli settlements built in the West Bank.
The Netherlands and the European Union consider Israeli settlements as illegal.
Last April, the European Union issued a warning against the Israeli government's intention to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, saying that such a move “would constitute a serious violation of international law.”
The EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said the 27-member bloc does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Palestinian territory and that it will “continue to closely monitor the situation and its broader implications, and will act accordingly.”
11 june 2020
In a major blow to Israel’s war on Palestine solidarity, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled unanimously today that the French highest court’s 2015 criminal conviction of activists with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement advocating nonviolent boycotts of Israeli goods violated article 10 (freedom of expression) of the European Convention on Human Rights, the Palestinian BDS National Committee said in a press release.
In 2009 and 2010, eleven activists in France had participated in peaceful protests inside supermarkets calling for a boycott of Israeli goods in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for freedom, justice and equality. They were convicted by French courts of “incitement to discrimination.”
Reacting to the ECHR ruling, Rita Ahmad from the Palestinian-led BDS movement said: “This momentous court ruling is a decisive victory for freedom of expression, for human rights defenders, and for the BDS movement for Palestinian freedom, justice and equality.
It confirms a 2016 European Union position defending the right to call for BDS against Israel to achieve Palestinian rights under international law.”
She added: “This is a major legal blow to Israel’s apartheid regime and its anti-BDS lawfare. At Israel’s behest, European governments, especially in France and Germany, have fostered an ominous environment of bullying and repression to silence Palestine solidarity activists.”
The ECHR decision comes at a time of widespread condemnations of Israel’s plans to formally annex large swathes of the occupied Palestinian territory.
In response to these plans and to Israel’s ongoing “apartheid regime” and “de facto annexation,” Palestinian civil society has reminded states of their obligations to adopt “lawful countermeasures,” including a ban on “arms trade and military-security cooperation with Israel” and on trade with Israel’s illegal settlements.
“At a time when European citizens, inspired by the Black Lives Matter uprising in the US, are challenging the ugly legacy of European colonialism, France, Germany and other EU countries must end their racist repression of human rights defenders campaigning for Palestinian human rights and for an end to Israeli apartheid,” said Ahmad.
“Europe is deeply complicit in Israel’s occupation, siege of Gaza and slow ethnic cleansing of Indigenous Palestinians in Jerusalem, the Jordan Valley and elsewhere. For as long as this complicity continues, BDS campaigns will too,” she added, saluting Palestine solidarity activists in France “who, despite the prevalent anti-Palestinian repression, have effectively campaigned against Israeli apartheid and against corporations that are complicit in its war crimes against Palestinians, including AXA, Veolia and Orange.”
European court rules against France in Israel boycott activist case
The human rights court rules the arrest of 12 BDS activists in 2010 over distribution of leaflets and wearing of shirts, calling for boycott of Israeli goods, 'lacked any relevant or sufficient grounds'; France ordered to pay 27,380 euros ($31,150) to each campaigner
The European Human Rights Court (EHCR) ruled on Thursday that a French criminal conviction against activists involved in a campaign to boycott products imported from Israel had no sufficient grounds and violated their freedom of expression.
France’s highest appeals’ court in 2015 upheld rulings that convicted campaigners on the basis of inciting racism and anti-Semitism.
Twelve people, who were part of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, were sentenced over the distribution of leaflets in supermarkets in eastern France and wearing T-shirts in 2009 and 2010 calling for the boycott of Israeli goods.
Their legal team argued that the call for a boycott was a fundamental principle of freedom of expression.
The EHCR said there was little scope in European conventions for restrictions on political speech and that its very nature was to be controversial and virulent as long as it did not cross the line and call for violence, hatred or intolerance.
“The Court considered that the applicants’ conviction had lacked any relevant or sufficient grounds,” the ruling said.
France was ordered to pay 27,380 euros ($31,150) to each campaigner.
Israel has said the BDS movement, sponsored by pro-Palestinian intellectuals and bloggers, is motivated by anti-Semitism and a desire to paint Israel as illegitimate.
The ruling comes at a time when Israel is considering annexing parts of the West Bank, drawing criticism in Europe. Some countries, including France, say measures could be imposed on Israel if it went ahead with its plans.
“It’s a victory for freedom of expression and civic action,” said Bertrand Heilbronn, president of the France Palestine Solidarity Association. “(We) will continue to develop it (the BDS campaign) as long as Israel does not respect international law and human rights.”
In 2009 and 2010, eleven activists in France had participated in peaceful protests inside supermarkets calling for a boycott of Israeli goods in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for freedom, justice and equality. They were convicted by French courts of “incitement to discrimination.”
Reacting to the ECHR ruling, Rita Ahmad from the Palestinian-led BDS movement said: “This momentous court ruling is a decisive victory for freedom of expression, for human rights defenders, and for the BDS movement for Palestinian freedom, justice and equality.
It confirms a 2016 European Union position defending the right to call for BDS against Israel to achieve Palestinian rights under international law.”
She added: “This is a major legal blow to Israel’s apartheid regime and its anti-BDS lawfare. At Israel’s behest, European governments, especially in France and Germany, have fostered an ominous environment of bullying and repression to silence Palestine solidarity activists.”
The ECHR decision comes at a time of widespread condemnations of Israel’s plans to formally annex large swathes of the occupied Palestinian territory.
In response to these plans and to Israel’s ongoing “apartheid regime” and “de facto annexation,” Palestinian civil society has reminded states of their obligations to adopt “lawful countermeasures,” including a ban on “arms trade and military-security cooperation with Israel” and on trade with Israel’s illegal settlements.
“At a time when European citizens, inspired by the Black Lives Matter uprising in the US, are challenging the ugly legacy of European colonialism, France, Germany and other EU countries must end their racist repression of human rights defenders campaigning for Palestinian human rights and for an end to Israeli apartheid,” said Ahmad.
“Europe is deeply complicit in Israel’s occupation, siege of Gaza and slow ethnic cleansing of Indigenous Palestinians in Jerusalem, the Jordan Valley and elsewhere. For as long as this complicity continues, BDS campaigns will too,” she added, saluting Palestine solidarity activists in France “who, despite the prevalent anti-Palestinian repression, have effectively campaigned against Israeli apartheid and against corporations that are complicit in its war crimes against Palestinians, including AXA, Veolia and Orange.”
European court rules against France in Israel boycott activist case
The human rights court rules the arrest of 12 BDS activists in 2010 over distribution of leaflets and wearing of shirts, calling for boycott of Israeli goods, 'lacked any relevant or sufficient grounds'; France ordered to pay 27,380 euros ($31,150) to each campaigner
The European Human Rights Court (EHCR) ruled on Thursday that a French criminal conviction against activists involved in a campaign to boycott products imported from Israel had no sufficient grounds and violated their freedom of expression.
France’s highest appeals’ court in 2015 upheld rulings that convicted campaigners on the basis of inciting racism and anti-Semitism.
Twelve people, who were part of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, were sentenced over the distribution of leaflets in supermarkets in eastern France and wearing T-shirts in 2009 and 2010 calling for the boycott of Israeli goods.
Their legal team argued that the call for a boycott was a fundamental principle of freedom of expression.
The EHCR said there was little scope in European conventions for restrictions on political speech and that its very nature was to be controversial and virulent as long as it did not cross the line and call for violence, hatred or intolerance.
“The Court considered that the applicants’ conviction had lacked any relevant or sufficient grounds,” the ruling said.
France was ordered to pay 27,380 euros ($31,150) to each campaigner.
Israel has said the BDS movement, sponsored by pro-Palestinian intellectuals and bloggers, is motivated by anti-Semitism and a desire to paint Israel as illegitimate.
The ruling comes at a time when Israel is considering annexing parts of the West Bank, drawing criticism in Europe. Some countries, including France, say measures could be imposed on Israel if it went ahead with its plans.
“It’s a victory for freedom of expression and civic action,” said Bertrand Heilbronn, president of the France Palestine Solidarity Association. “(We) will continue to develop it (the BDS campaign) as long as Israel does not respect international law and human rights.”
30 apr 2020
The London-based Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) has won a landmark legal victory against the British government, with the Supreme Court ruling that local pension schemes could divest from companies complicit in Israel’s military occupation of the Palestinian Territories.
Since 2017, PSC has been fighting the UK Government in the courts, protecting the right to undertake BDS campaigns in the UK.
"We won in the High Court, then lost in the Court of Appeal, but today the final verdict from the Supreme Court is in – and we have won," said PSC in a press release.
The campaign added, "With support via submissions from the Quakers, Campaign Against Arms Trade and War on Want and with a huge body of small donations from thousands of members and supports to fund the legal challenge, we have managed to defeat regulations that would have stopped Local Government Pension Schemes from divesting from companies complicit in Israel’s oppression of the Palestinian people, and additionally from divesting from the UK defense industry."
"The Supreme Court has ruled in our favour and the regulations the Government introduced in 2016 are now finally and definitively declared illegal and thrown out."
"The UK Government’s attempts to introduce these regulations must be understood within that context. The Government announced in the Queen’s Speech its intention to bring in further anti-BDS legislation.
Our victory in the Supreme Court today should act as a shot across their bows," PSC continued.
PSC said it was "building a campaign alongside a broad range of allies who are concerned about attempts to bring in laws that seek to prohibit public bodies from making their own decisions about not investing in companies that are complicit in violations of international law – whether in relation to Palestine or elsewhere."
"Today is a great victory from which we will draw strength for the battles ahead."
For years, Israel and its allies have been working to delegitimize activism for Palestinian rights and criminalize action in support of the Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS).
Since 2017, PSC has been fighting the UK Government in the courts, protecting the right to undertake BDS campaigns in the UK.
"We won in the High Court, then lost in the Court of Appeal, but today the final verdict from the Supreme Court is in – and we have won," said PSC in a press release.
The campaign added, "With support via submissions from the Quakers, Campaign Against Arms Trade and War on Want and with a huge body of small donations from thousands of members and supports to fund the legal challenge, we have managed to defeat regulations that would have stopped Local Government Pension Schemes from divesting from companies complicit in Israel’s oppression of the Palestinian people, and additionally from divesting from the UK defense industry."
"The Supreme Court has ruled in our favour and the regulations the Government introduced in 2016 are now finally and definitively declared illegal and thrown out."
"The UK Government’s attempts to introduce these regulations must be understood within that context. The Government announced in the Queen’s Speech its intention to bring in further anti-BDS legislation.
Our victory in the Supreme Court today should act as a shot across their bows," PSC continued.
PSC said it was "building a campaign alongside a broad range of allies who are concerned about attempts to bring in laws that seek to prohibit public bodies from making their own decisions about not investing in companies that are complicit in violations of international law – whether in relation to Palestine or elsewhere."
"Today is a great victory from which we will draw strength for the battles ahead."
For years, Israel and its allies have been working to delegitimize activism for Palestinian rights and criminalize action in support of the Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS).
