18 mar 2019
Al-Haq Human Rights organization launched an action alert urging the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Human Rights Council and Member States to abide by their commitments and publish the UN Database on companies involved in Israel’s illegal settlements.
The campaign mentions that, in 2016, the UN Human Rights Council voted in favor of establishing a Database of companies involved in business activities with Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt).
Israeli settlements are illegal under international law; a Database of businesses with activities or relationships in settlements would provide transparency for states, businesses and the public, and could be used to ensure that companies are not complicit in human rights violations and grave breaches of international humanitarian law.
Almost three years since the resolution calling for the Database, the UN has yet to publish the result of its work; this is reportedly due to political pressure from Israel, the United States and some European states. On 4 March 2019, the High Commissioner issued a letter stating that “further consideration is necessary” to fulfil the mandate, and that her Office will continue to finalize the “mandate in the coming months.”
Last week, PNN further reports, Al-Haq sent letters to United Nations (UN) Member States with diplomatic representatives in the oPt, calling on them to urge the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Madam Michelle Bachelet, to publicly release the UN Database of businesses engaged in activities with Israeli settlements. Al-Haq’s letters came following a communication issued by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, indicating a delay in the release of the UN Database.
Al-Haq said that these delays allow international and Israeli businesses to continue to exploit Palestinian natural resources, and contribute to and profit from Israel’s impunity for its expanding colonial settlement enterprise and human rights violations.
The campaign is using the hashtags #UNGiveUsTheNamesAlready, #StandUp4HumanRights and #BizHumanRights, and suggesting that participation could be by making a banner with the hashtag, uploading personal or group photos holding the sign; and posting it on social media using the hashtag #UNGiveUsTheNamesAlready tagging @MBachelet and @UNHumanRights.
The campaign mentions that, in 2016, the UN Human Rights Council voted in favor of establishing a Database of companies involved in business activities with Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt).
Israeli settlements are illegal under international law; a Database of businesses with activities or relationships in settlements would provide transparency for states, businesses and the public, and could be used to ensure that companies are not complicit in human rights violations and grave breaches of international humanitarian law.
Almost three years since the resolution calling for the Database, the UN has yet to publish the result of its work; this is reportedly due to political pressure from Israel, the United States and some European states. On 4 March 2019, the High Commissioner issued a letter stating that “further consideration is necessary” to fulfil the mandate, and that her Office will continue to finalize the “mandate in the coming months.”
Last week, PNN further reports, Al-Haq sent letters to United Nations (UN) Member States with diplomatic representatives in the oPt, calling on them to urge the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Madam Michelle Bachelet, to publicly release the UN Database of businesses engaged in activities with Israeli settlements. Al-Haq’s letters came following a communication issued by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, indicating a delay in the release of the UN Database.
Al-Haq said that these delays allow international and Israeli businesses to continue to exploit Palestinian natural resources, and contribute to and profit from Israel’s impunity for its expanding colonial settlement enterprise and human rights violations.
The campaign is using the hashtags #UNGiveUsTheNamesAlready, #StandUp4HumanRights and #BizHumanRights, and suggesting that participation could be by making a banner with the hashtag, uploading personal or group photos holding the sign; and posting it on social media using the hashtag #UNGiveUsTheNamesAlready tagging @MBachelet and @UNHumanRights.
15 mar 2019
Palestinian ambassador to Athens, Marwan Toubassi, expressed deep concern, on Friday, over Greek firms planning to participate in a tender to expand a section of the railway in occupied East Jerusalem.
Toubassi said in a statement that if it is true that Greek firms will participate in Jerusalem’s second light rail tender, this would constitute a “flagrant violation of international law, the United Nations and its Security Council resolutions, particularly UNSC Resolution 2334 of December 2016.”
According to a Greek news outlet, an Athens urban rail transport company STASY is part of one of the six major consortiums to be short-listed for the second stage of the tender for the operation and maintenance of Jerusalem’s light rail line.
Sources pointed out that STASY will take over the operation of the $2 billion railway network for 15-20 years and its maintenance for 25 years.
Toubassi slammed the Greek firms plans to participate in the project as “a service for the Israeli settler-colonialist project and an encroachment upon the territorial integrity of the State of Palestine.”
He noted that such the participation runs counter to Greece’s official and popular positions calling for ending the Israeli occupation and establishing the Palestinian state based on the borders of 4 June 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Toubassi also stressed that it would harm Palestine’s historically friendly ties with Greece, make participating firms liable to penalties and financial compensation and have them blacklisted for doing business with Israeli settlements.
Toubassi submitted an inquiry to the Greek Foreign Ministry and met several Greek officials to brief them about the consequences of such participation, urging them to pressure the firms to withdraw from the tender before March 18th.
Following Toubassi’s request, 20 Greek parliamentarians submitted a request to the Greek Infrastructure and Transport Minister, Christos Spirtzis, urging him to open an inquiry into the issue.
Jerusalem’s light rail line project includes extending the existing Red Line and developing a second Line, the “Green Line.”
The proposed Green Line, a project that could cost as much as 5 billion shekels ($1.4 billion) and stretch along 22 kilometers, proved to be problematic as it reaches Mount Scopus and Gilo, which are parts of the city occupied by Israel during the Six-Day War in 1967.
In early February, Spanish rail equipment manufacturer CAF announced that it had refused to participate in the tender to build the railway as it violates international law.
CAF, which is one of the most important Spanish companies in the field of railways, said it “refuses to build a section of the railway in Jerusalem because the Israeli government included in the section a Palestinian land that will be confiscated in violation of the resolutions of international legitimacy.”
Toubassi said in a statement that if it is true that Greek firms will participate in Jerusalem’s second light rail tender, this would constitute a “flagrant violation of international law, the United Nations and its Security Council resolutions, particularly UNSC Resolution 2334 of December 2016.”
According to a Greek news outlet, an Athens urban rail transport company STASY is part of one of the six major consortiums to be short-listed for the second stage of the tender for the operation and maintenance of Jerusalem’s light rail line.
Sources pointed out that STASY will take over the operation of the $2 billion railway network for 15-20 years and its maintenance for 25 years.
Toubassi slammed the Greek firms plans to participate in the project as “a service for the Israeli settler-colonialist project and an encroachment upon the territorial integrity of the State of Palestine.”
He noted that such the participation runs counter to Greece’s official and popular positions calling for ending the Israeli occupation and establishing the Palestinian state based on the borders of 4 June 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Toubassi also stressed that it would harm Palestine’s historically friendly ties with Greece, make participating firms liable to penalties and financial compensation and have them blacklisted for doing business with Israeli settlements.
Toubassi submitted an inquiry to the Greek Foreign Ministry and met several Greek officials to brief them about the consequences of such participation, urging them to pressure the firms to withdraw from the tender before March 18th.
Following Toubassi’s request, 20 Greek parliamentarians submitted a request to the Greek Infrastructure and Transport Minister, Christos Spirtzis, urging him to open an inquiry into the issue.
Jerusalem’s light rail line project includes extending the existing Red Line and developing a second Line, the “Green Line.”
The proposed Green Line, a project that could cost as much as 5 billion shekels ($1.4 billion) and stretch along 22 kilometers, proved to be problematic as it reaches Mount Scopus and Gilo, which are parts of the city occupied by Israel during the Six-Day War in 1967.
In early February, Spanish rail equipment manufacturer CAF announced that it had refused to participate in the tender to build the railway as it violates international law.
CAF, which is one of the most important Spanish companies in the field of railways, said it “refuses to build a section of the railway in Jerusalem because the Israeli government included in the section a Palestinian land that will be confiscated in violation of the resolutions of international legitimacy.”
10 mar 2019
Shurat HaDin organization asks Israeli goverment to prevent Hatari band from entering the country over intention to use stage as political platform
An Israeli organization has asked the government to prevent the Icelandic entrant into the Eurovision Song Contest being allowed in the country over alleged claims that the BDSM techno band Hatari intended to use its time on stage to criticize Israel's settlement policy and express support for the Palestinians.
Israel is hosting the competition this year after its 2018 entrant Netta Barzilai claimed the trophy with her song "Toy." The live final of the contest is set to take place in Tel Aviv on May 18.
The Shurat HaDin organization, which has spent more than two decades representing terror victims against terrorist organizations and terror-sponsoring countries, is demanding that Interior Minister Aryeh Deri prevent the group from entering the country, arguing that its members will take advantage of the stage to protest against Israel. In Iceland, there have been calls in recent months to boycott the Eurovision Song Contest this year.
Hatari band members also expressed their solidarity with the Palestinians during media interviews, and criticized Iceland for not boycotting competition in Tel Aviv. They hinted that they intended to use the international stage at the Eurovision to protest "Israeli violation of human rights" - and to identify with the Palestinians.
"We received information that the band representing Iceland supports a boycott of Israel," said Shurat HaDin head Nitsana Darshan-Leitner.
An Israeli organization has asked the government to prevent the Icelandic entrant into the Eurovision Song Contest being allowed in the country over alleged claims that the BDSM techno band Hatari intended to use its time on stage to criticize Israel's settlement policy and express support for the Palestinians.
Israel is hosting the competition this year after its 2018 entrant Netta Barzilai claimed the trophy with her song "Toy." The live final of the contest is set to take place in Tel Aviv on May 18.
The Shurat HaDin organization, which has spent more than two decades representing terror victims against terrorist organizations and terror-sponsoring countries, is demanding that Interior Minister Aryeh Deri prevent the group from entering the country, arguing that its members will take advantage of the stage to protest against Israel. In Iceland, there have been calls in recent months to boycott the Eurovision Song Contest this year.
Hatari band members also expressed their solidarity with the Palestinians during media interviews, and criticized Iceland for not boycotting competition in Tel Aviv. They hinted that they intended to use the international stage at the Eurovision to protest "Israeli violation of human rights" - and to identify with the Palestinians.
"We received information that the band representing Iceland supports a boycott of Israel," said Shurat HaDin head Nitsana Darshan-Leitner.
Nitsana Darshan-Leitner
"Last summer, the band signed a petition distributed in Iceland calling for the boycott of the Eurovision Song Contest," she said. "After being selected, Hatari announced that it intended to protest against Israel on stage at the Eurovision Song Contest, despite the fact that it would violate the rules of competition.
"According to the amendment to the Entry into Israel Law, a person who is not an Israeli citizen or in possession of a permanent residence permit in Israel will not be granted a visa or residency permit, if he or the organization or body he is working for has knowingly issued a public call to boycott Israel, as defined in the Law for Prevention of Damage to State of Israel through Boycott. The Icelandic band publicly and explicitly called for and supported a boycott of Israel. They must be prohibited from entering the country."
A spokesperson for Interior Minister Aryeh Deri said that the request by Shurat HaDin would be considered upon receipt, in conjunction with other relevant authorities.
"The matter will be examined when the letter arrives," the spokesperson said. "In line with the amended law, the interior minister will receive a recommendation from the authorized body, the Ministry of Strategic Affairs, and only then make a decision."
This is not the first controversy involving the Icelandic band and the Israeli governement. Upon reaching the 2019 semifinals, Hatari, which describes themselves as “an anti-capitalist techno performance art group,” published a petition inviting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to a Glima, a Nordic folk wrestling match.
Glima, the national sport of Iceland, is where the wrestlers try to catch their opponent by the pants and knock him down. It is an ancient sport that comes from the Vikings and it emphasizes technique, rather than physical strength.
In a statement released to the media, the band invited Netanyahu to a friendly wrestling match on May 19, the day after the Eurovision Song Contest, at Magen David Square in Tel Aviv, at the entrance to Carmel Market. According to the band, if their delegate triumphs, they will be allowed to establish "the first BDSM colony under the auspices of Hatari on the Mediterranean coast." If the prime minister wins, he will get a small archipelago in southern Iceland called Vestmannaeyjar.
"Last summer, the band signed a petition distributed in Iceland calling for the boycott of the Eurovision Song Contest," she said. "After being selected, Hatari announced that it intended to protest against Israel on stage at the Eurovision Song Contest, despite the fact that it would violate the rules of competition.
"According to the amendment to the Entry into Israel Law, a person who is not an Israeli citizen or in possession of a permanent residence permit in Israel will not be granted a visa or residency permit, if he or the organization or body he is working for has knowingly issued a public call to boycott Israel, as defined in the Law for Prevention of Damage to State of Israel through Boycott. The Icelandic band publicly and explicitly called for and supported a boycott of Israel. They must be prohibited from entering the country."
A spokesperson for Interior Minister Aryeh Deri said that the request by Shurat HaDin would be considered upon receipt, in conjunction with other relevant authorities.
"The matter will be examined when the letter arrives," the spokesperson said. "In line with the amended law, the interior minister will receive a recommendation from the authorized body, the Ministry of Strategic Affairs, and only then make a decision."
This is not the first controversy involving the Icelandic band and the Israeli governement. Upon reaching the 2019 semifinals, Hatari, which describes themselves as “an anti-capitalist techno performance art group,” published a petition inviting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to a Glima, a Nordic folk wrestling match.
Glima, the national sport of Iceland, is where the wrestlers try to catch their opponent by the pants and knock him down. It is an ancient sport that comes from the Vikings and it emphasizes technique, rather than physical strength.
In a statement released to the media, the band invited Netanyahu to a friendly wrestling match on May 19, the day after the Eurovision Song Contest, at Magen David Square in Tel Aviv, at the entrance to Carmel Market. According to the band, if their delegate triumphs, they will be allowed to establish "the first BDSM colony under the auspices of Hatari on the Mediterranean coast." If the prime minister wins, he will get a small archipelago in southern Iceland called Vestmannaeyjar.
6 mar 2019
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights delayed the publication of the report and database of firms linked to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, causing outrage among activists who have campaigned for three years.
According to Reuters news outlet, the issue is highly sensitive as firms appearing in such a database could be targeted for boycotts or divestment aimed at pressuring Israel over its illegal settlements in the West Bank, which 196 governments and the United Nations recognize as illegal.
Goods produced in Israeli settlements include fruits, vegetables, and wine.
Israel has criticized the database, whose creation was agreed by the UN Human Rights Council in March 2016, as a "blacklist."
Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that despite progress made since launching the study, further work was needed due to the "novelty of the mandate and its legal, methodological and factual complexity."
In a letter to the Human Rights Council, Bachelet said that her office aimed to finalize and issue the study "in coming months.”
Many activists were outraged, noting that Bachelet's predecessor, Zeid Raad al-Hussein, already delayed its publication in 2017 before stepping down in August 2018.
Bruno Stagno Ugarte of Human Rights Watch, said in a statement, "Each delay further entrenches corporate involvement in the systematic rights abuses stemming from illegal settlements," calling for Bachelet to commit to a clear publication date.
In late February, Palestinian rights groups and trade unions urged Bachelet to publish the database, saying that further delays would undermine her office and foster what they called an "existing culture of impunity for human rights abuses and internationally recognized crimes in the Occupied Palestinian Territory."
Additionally, the World Jewish Congress, Robert Singer, welcomed the delay of the publication, saying the report should be “put off” for good as it would financially hurt thousands of employees, both Israeli and Palestinian, of targeted companies.
It is noteworthy that in November, home-renting company, Airbnb, decided to remove its listings in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Palestinians believed that by contributing to the Israeli settlement economy, Airbnb, like many other companies doing business in the West Bank, helps maintain Israel's settlement enterprise.
According to settlement watchdog Peace Now, in the year and a half since President Trump took office some 14,454 units in the West Bank has been approved, which is more than three times the amount that was approved in the year and half before his inauguration (4,476 units).
Since the occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in 1967, between 500,000 and 600,000 Israelis have moved into Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory, in violation of international law.
According to Reuters news outlet, the issue is highly sensitive as firms appearing in such a database could be targeted for boycotts or divestment aimed at pressuring Israel over its illegal settlements in the West Bank, which 196 governments and the United Nations recognize as illegal.
Goods produced in Israeli settlements include fruits, vegetables, and wine.
Israel has criticized the database, whose creation was agreed by the UN Human Rights Council in March 2016, as a "blacklist."
Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that despite progress made since launching the study, further work was needed due to the "novelty of the mandate and its legal, methodological and factual complexity."
In a letter to the Human Rights Council, Bachelet said that her office aimed to finalize and issue the study "in coming months.”
Many activists were outraged, noting that Bachelet's predecessor, Zeid Raad al-Hussein, already delayed its publication in 2017 before stepping down in August 2018.
Bruno Stagno Ugarte of Human Rights Watch, said in a statement, "Each delay further entrenches corporate involvement in the systematic rights abuses stemming from illegal settlements," calling for Bachelet to commit to a clear publication date.
In late February, Palestinian rights groups and trade unions urged Bachelet to publish the database, saying that further delays would undermine her office and foster what they called an "existing culture of impunity for human rights abuses and internationally recognized crimes in the Occupied Palestinian Territory."
Additionally, the World Jewish Congress, Robert Singer, welcomed the delay of the publication, saying the report should be “put off” for good as it would financially hurt thousands of employees, both Israeli and Palestinian, of targeted companies.
It is noteworthy that in November, home-renting company, Airbnb, decided to remove its listings in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Palestinians believed that by contributing to the Israeli settlement economy, Airbnb, like many other companies doing business in the West Bank, helps maintain Israel's settlement enterprise.
According to settlement watchdog Peace Now, in the year and a half since President Trump took office some 14,454 units in the West Bank has been approved, which is more than three times the amount that was approved in the year and half before his inauguration (4,476 units).
Since the occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in 1967, between 500,000 and 600,000 Israelis have moved into Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory, in violation of international law.
4 mar 2019
The state of Texas has blacklisted Airbnb over its decision to remove listings of rooms and homes for rent in West Bank Jewish settlements.
Airbnb, on Friday, was placed on the state’s “List of Companies that Boycott Israel” by Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts Glenn Hegar.
Texas, in 2017, passed a law prohibiting government contractors from engaging in boycotts of Israel, in a move meant to counter the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel, or BDS.
Under the law, Airbnb has 90 days to prove that it does not boycott Israel nor has taken action against it. Otherwise, the State of Texas “shall sell, redeem, divest, or withdraw all publicly traded securities of the company.”
According to the PNN, the ACLU has filed a lawsuit in Texas,against the law, calling it an unwarranted violation of Americans’ right to free speech.
Airbnb announced, in November, that it would remove the listings of some 200 apartments and homes for rent, in the settlements.
The company said that it consulted with experts to learn about the historical disputes in the region, to decide whether it should be doing business in “the occupied territories.”
bdsmovement.net
Airbnb, on Friday, was placed on the state’s “List of Companies that Boycott Israel” by Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts Glenn Hegar.
Texas, in 2017, passed a law prohibiting government contractors from engaging in boycotts of Israel, in a move meant to counter the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel, or BDS.
Under the law, Airbnb has 90 days to prove that it does not boycott Israel nor has taken action against it. Otherwise, the State of Texas “shall sell, redeem, divest, or withdraw all publicly traded securities of the company.”
According to the PNN, the ACLU has filed a lawsuit in Texas,against the law, calling it an unwarranted violation of Americans’ right to free speech.
Airbnb announced, in November, that it would remove the listings of some 200 apartments and homes for rent, in the settlements.
The company said that it consulted with experts to learn about the historical disputes in the region, to decide whether it should be doing business in “the occupied territories.”
bdsmovement.net
28 feb 2019
February 28, 2019 / By Israeli Apartheid Week / Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America
The 15th Annual Israeli Apartheid Week of actions will take place all around the world between March 18th and April 8th 2019 under the theme “Stop Arming Colonialism”
Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) is an international series of events that seeks to raise awareness about Israel’s apartheid regime over the Palestinian people and build support for the growing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. It now takes place in over 200 cities across the world, where events such as lectures, film screenings, direct action, cultural performances, postering, among many more help in grassroots organizing for effective solidarity with the Palestinian liberation struggle.
Israel is able to maintain its illegal occupation and apartheid regime over Palestinians partly due to its arms sales and the military support it receives from governments across the world. The United States alone is the single largest supplier of arms and military aid to Israel, followed by European states.
These directly sustain Israel’s oppression and human rights violations.
In the Global South, Israel has been known to supply weapons to genocidal regimes [pdf] in Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and elsewhere. Presently, Israel is a major arms exporter to right-wing, authoritarian regimes from Brazil [pdf] to India, the Philippines and beyond.
These weapons are promoted as ‘field-tested’, which means they have been used to kill or injure Palestinians. In fact, Israel is already promoting the technology it has used to repress the Great March of Return in Gaza calling for the right of refugees to return home and an end to the siege.
These arms deals finance Israel’s apartheid regime and its illegal occupation while simultaneously deepening militarization and persecution of people’s movements and oppressed communities in countries where they are bought.
The Palestinian-led BDS movement has reiterated the demand for a military embargo on Israel in the light of Israel’s violent repression of the Great March of Return. International human rights organizations such as Amnesty International have also responded to the Israeli massacre in Gaza with this demand. The UK Labour Party, in its conference in September 2018, passed a motion condemning Israel’s killing of Palestinian protesters in Gaza and called for a freeze of arms sales to Israel.
Ending arms trade, military aid and cooperation with Israel will undercut financial and military support for its regime of apartheid, settler-colonialism and illegal occupation. It will also end the flow of Israeli weapons and security technology and techniques to governments that suppress resistance of their own citizens, people’s movements and communities against policies that deprive them of fundamental rights, including the right to the natural resources of their country.
A military embargo on Israel is a measure for freedom and justice of Palestinians and oppressed peoples in many parts of the world. It can successfully be achieved with massive grassroots efforts, similar to the sustained global mobilization that eventually compelled the United Nations to impose a binding international military embargo against South Africa’s apartheid regime.
For more info, plus action links, see original article.
The 15th Annual Israeli Apartheid Week of actions will take place all around the world between March 18th and April 8th 2019 under the theme “Stop Arming Colonialism”
Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) is an international series of events that seeks to raise awareness about Israel’s apartheid regime over the Palestinian people and build support for the growing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. It now takes place in over 200 cities across the world, where events such as lectures, film screenings, direct action, cultural performances, postering, among many more help in grassroots organizing for effective solidarity with the Palestinian liberation struggle.
Israel is able to maintain its illegal occupation and apartheid regime over Palestinians partly due to its arms sales and the military support it receives from governments across the world. The United States alone is the single largest supplier of arms and military aid to Israel, followed by European states.
These directly sustain Israel’s oppression and human rights violations.
In the Global South, Israel has been known to supply weapons to genocidal regimes [pdf] in Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and elsewhere. Presently, Israel is a major arms exporter to right-wing, authoritarian regimes from Brazil [pdf] to India, the Philippines and beyond.
These weapons are promoted as ‘field-tested’, which means they have been used to kill or injure Palestinians. In fact, Israel is already promoting the technology it has used to repress the Great March of Return in Gaza calling for the right of refugees to return home and an end to the siege.
These arms deals finance Israel’s apartheid regime and its illegal occupation while simultaneously deepening militarization and persecution of people’s movements and oppressed communities in countries where they are bought.
The Palestinian-led BDS movement has reiterated the demand for a military embargo on Israel in the light of Israel’s violent repression of the Great March of Return. International human rights organizations such as Amnesty International have also responded to the Israeli massacre in Gaza with this demand. The UK Labour Party, in its conference in September 2018, passed a motion condemning Israel’s killing of Palestinian protesters in Gaza and called for a freeze of arms sales to Israel.
Ending arms trade, military aid and cooperation with Israel will undercut financial and military support for its regime of apartheid, settler-colonialism and illegal occupation. It will also end the flow of Israeli weapons and security technology and techniques to governments that suppress resistance of their own citizens, people’s movements and communities against policies that deprive them of fundamental rights, including the right to the natural resources of their country.
A military embargo on Israel is a measure for freedom and justice of Palestinians and oppressed peoples in many parts of the world. It can successfully be achieved with massive grassroots efforts, similar to the sustained global mobilization that eventually compelled the United Nations to impose a binding international military embargo against South Africa’s apartheid regime.
For more info, plus action links, see original article.
25 feb 2019
The Irish Campaign to Boycott Eurovision 2019 in Israel has learned the shocking news that the Israeli state broadcaster KAN, which is hosting the Eurovision song contest in May, will reserve 500 rehearsal tickets for Israeli soldiers — this despite the competition being billed by the EBU and RTÉ as “a non-political music event”.
Furthermore, in an example showing just how political and propagandized Israel’s hosting of Eurovision is, it was revealed that the locations on the “visual postcards” which RTÉ will broadcast between acts will feature the occupied Golan Heights among other places, likely including the Old City in Palestinian East Jerusalem, thus using the event to portray occupied and illegally annexed land as part of the Israeli state.
By participating in this contest RTÉ will be complicit in entertaining an occupying army guilty of decades of war crimes, in the ‘culturewashing’ of these crimes and in the presenting of illegally annexed territories as part of Israel.
Spokesperson for the Irish Campaign to Boycott the Eurovision in Israel, Zoë Lawlor said: “The revelation that all Eurovision performers, including the Irish act, will be forced to perform for members of the Israeli occupation forces, a military that routinely kills Palestinian civilians, including children, should shock anyone who care about human rights. Similarly the fact that RTÉ will be broadcasting Israel state propaganda open laying claim to occupied and illegally annexed territories is astounding. It flies in the face of everything the Irish national broadcaster RTÉ has been claiming about the Eurovision when it says that it is ‘not political’ and ‘a non-political music event’.”
“In addition KAN has increased the ticket prices ensuring that all Eurovision ticket buyers are involuntarily subsidising the cultural privileges of the Israeli military. There is no way that this can be dressed up as non-political. Indeed, it proves what our campaign has been saying all along – the Eurovision in Israel is absolutely political and is being used by the Israeli government as a ‘culturewashing’ opportunity to cover up its crimes against the Palestinian people,” she said.
“It would be morally reprehensible for any act to perform for members of the Israeli military while just down the road Palestinian refugees in Gaza demonstrating for their UN mandated Right of Return to the homes they were ethnically cleansed from in 1948 are being shot down on a weekly basis,” Lawlor said.
Lawlor continued, “In 2018 alone a total of 295 Palestinians were killed and over 29,000 were injured by Israeli forces. Indeed last year set a record-high for child fatalities, exceeding the number of Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces in any single year within the past decade outside of large scale military offensives. Thousands of people have also been injured, many of them with life-changing injuries resulting in amputations or other permanent disabilities.”
Lawlor stated that “it is clear that there is little public appetite for our national broadcaster and artists to lend their names and reputations to Israel’s ‘culturewashing’ exercise in Eurovision 2019. More than 15,000 people in Ireland have signed a petition calling on RTÉ and any potential participants not to go to the Eurovision in apartheid Israel, with thousands more signing similar petitions all over Europe. Artists, human rights activists and public figures including former Eurovision winners, commentators and presenters have joined the call to boycott, as have the Musicians’ Union of Ireland (MUI) and Irish Equity. One hundred LGBTQIA groups have also endorsed the campaign and there will be alternative events hosted all over Europe in solidarity with the Palestinian people.”
Lawlor concluded by affirming the Irish Campaign’s insistence that “there is still time for RTÉ and the Irish performers to pull out of this propaganda fest for apartheid Israel, to be on the right side of history, to respect the Palestinian picket line and to stand with the oppressed and not to perform for the soldiers who oppress them. It’s the only moral option.”
Furthermore, in an example showing just how political and propagandized Israel’s hosting of Eurovision is, it was revealed that the locations on the “visual postcards” which RTÉ will broadcast between acts will feature the occupied Golan Heights among other places, likely including the Old City in Palestinian East Jerusalem, thus using the event to portray occupied and illegally annexed land as part of the Israeli state.
By participating in this contest RTÉ will be complicit in entertaining an occupying army guilty of decades of war crimes, in the ‘culturewashing’ of these crimes and in the presenting of illegally annexed territories as part of Israel.
Spokesperson for the Irish Campaign to Boycott the Eurovision in Israel, Zoë Lawlor said: “The revelation that all Eurovision performers, including the Irish act, will be forced to perform for members of the Israeli occupation forces, a military that routinely kills Palestinian civilians, including children, should shock anyone who care about human rights. Similarly the fact that RTÉ will be broadcasting Israel state propaganda open laying claim to occupied and illegally annexed territories is astounding. It flies in the face of everything the Irish national broadcaster RTÉ has been claiming about the Eurovision when it says that it is ‘not political’ and ‘a non-political music event’.”
“In addition KAN has increased the ticket prices ensuring that all Eurovision ticket buyers are involuntarily subsidising the cultural privileges of the Israeli military. There is no way that this can be dressed up as non-political. Indeed, it proves what our campaign has been saying all along – the Eurovision in Israel is absolutely political and is being used by the Israeli government as a ‘culturewashing’ opportunity to cover up its crimes against the Palestinian people,” she said.
“It would be morally reprehensible for any act to perform for members of the Israeli military while just down the road Palestinian refugees in Gaza demonstrating for their UN mandated Right of Return to the homes they were ethnically cleansed from in 1948 are being shot down on a weekly basis,” Lawlor said.
Lawlor continued, “In 2018 alone a total of 295 Palestinians were killed and over 29,000 were injured by Israeli forces. Indeed last year set a record-high for child fatalities, exceeding the number of Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces in any single year within the past decade outside of large scale military offensives. Thousands of people have also been injured, many of them with life-changing injuries resulting in amputations or other permanent disabilities.”
Lawlor stated that “it is clear that there is little public appetite for our national broadcaster and artists to lend their names and reputations to Israel’s ‘culturewashing’ exercise in Eurovision 2019. More than 15,000 people in Ireland have signed a petition calling on RTÉ and any potential participants not to go to the Eurovision in apartheid Israel, with thousands more signing similar petitions all over Europe. Artists, human rights activists and public figures including former Eurovision winners, commentators and presenters have joined the call to boycott, as have the Musicians’ Union of Ireland (MUI) and Irish Equity. One hundred LGBTQIA groups have also endorsed the campaign and there will be alternative events hosted all over Europe in solidarity with the Palestinian people.”
Lawlor concluded by affirming the Irish Campaign’s insistence that “there is still time for RTÉ and the Irish performers to pull out of this propaganda fest for apartheid Israel, to be on the right side of history, to respect the Palestinian picket line and to stand with the oppressed and not to perform for the soldiers who oppress them. It’s the only moral option.”
