18 may 2019
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From DazedDigital.com: The Eurovision song contest is a gay institution, an international marquee event affectionately dubbed the ‘Gay Olympics’ – but with Israel hosting this year’s contest, a growing number of LGBTQ+ organisations, groups, journalists, and individuals are joining the call for a global boycott of the hosting state in solidarity with Palestine.
Almost 100 LGBTQ+ groups from around the world have signed an open letter stating their support of Palestine’s call for a boycott, divestment and sanction (BDS) movement against Israel over its historic occupation of Palestine. |
Among them is London Palestine Action, a network of people in the capital taking creative action against what they call Israeli apartheid.
“Rather than devoting our energy to lobbying MPs or the media, LPA uses creative tools and tactics to make an impact,” explains queer LPA member Laila White to Dazed. “We believe that direct action and civil disobedience are not only effective, but are also necessary to make the changes we want to see. We also believe that using a diversity of tactics makes our movement stronger. So we take action in a variety of ways: through subvertising, music, poetry, art, disruptive direct action and creative protests.”
“Our actions in the past have ranged from shutting down a drone engine factory owned by Israeli arms company Elbit Systems by scaling and occupying the roof for two days during Israel’s summer 2014 massacre of Palestinians in Gaza, to writing parody protest covers of musical acts who break the cultural boycott of Israel, like our series of Radiohead covers by spoof act Some F*cking People.”
LPA’s latest action is a DIY cover of Bucks Fizz’s 1981 Eurovision winning classic “Making Your Mind Up”, under the name Eurodivision. This kind of ‘artwashing’ is a direct response to the Israeli government’s long and storied use of ‘pinkwashing’, meaning, the exploitation of LGBTQ+ identities for public relations purposes. In the Israeli government’s case, this means attempting to shift the global public perception of Israel from one of “apartheid settler state”, engaged in the illegal occupation of Palestine, to that of LGBTQ+ tourist destination, “a harmless, liberal, gay-friendly playground,” according to Pink Watching Israel.
As pro-Palestine activists have pointed out, Israeli pinkwashing positions the country as the ‘only’ safe place for gay people in the Middle East, a kind of queer haven and paradise – or worse, a ‘mecca’, appropriated language that queer Palestinian liberation groups such as ASWAT and alQaws have roundly rebuked – while Palestinian and Arab socities are portrayed as repressive and intolerant in comparison. Global LGBTQ+ networks are used to export this image of inclusivity, while simultaneously quashing and intimidating queer allies of the Palestinian liberation. In 2017, for example, members of pinkwashing group A Wider Bridge disrupted Chicago’s Dyke March, harassing pro-Palestine attendees while donning rainbow star of David flags.
“Any kind of LGBTQ+ liberation supposedly offered by Israel is on the back of Palestinian oppression and is therefore not liberation at all” – Laila White, LPA
Hosting Eurovision in Tel Aviv may be interpreted as a coup for Brand Israel, helping to consolidate their image as a progressive, queer-friendly state. But the boycott has already gained ground, forcing the government to drop its initial condition of hosting the contest in Jerusalem. “This marks a striking failure in Israel’s PR efforts to assert its illegal claim over the city,” say BDS activists.
Across London, bold, queer alternatives to Eurovision are beginning to pop up. Kay Isgay, a long time Eurovision fan, will be co-hosting Pil and Galia Kollectiv’s Euronoize, a punk/DIY event modelled on Eurovision taking place at Scala on May 23. “The event will be livestreamed and with televoting, so you can join in even if you can’t make it on the night.”
Isgay, who identifies as a butch dyke and queer, is a long time fan of the contest. “One of the things I have enjoyed most about Eurovision is what it reveals about gender, sexuality, nation building and politics across the European Broadcasting Union countries. For example, although the rules state that political content in the song lyrics are not allowed, I have loved the way it has still sneaked through. The Ukrainian winner in 2016, Jamala, sang about the oppression of the Crimean Tartars at the height of the Russian annexation of Crimea. In 2015, Armenia was represented by a super group of artists from the Armenian diaspora singing a song about the Armenian genocide. All of this with added sparkle and camp. Amazing!” tweet
Winning last year’s contest may be a coup for the Israeli government, but it’s also galvanised the queer arm of the BDS movement, who rightly point out that queer and Palestinian liberation are inseparable. “Liberation for the Palestinian people is not an isolated cause,” says White. “Its part of a broader struggle against colonisation, capitalism, patriarchy, racism and white supremacy, state violence and borders, homophobia, transphobia… queer activists and allies in LPA recognise that any kind of LGBTQ+ liberation supposedly offered by Israel is on the back of Palestinian oppression and is therefore not liberation at all.”
LPA are committed to collective liberation, says White. “Firstly, we think the struggle for Palestinian liberation and queer liberation are intertwined.
Secondly, Israel’s regime of occupation and apartheid doesn’t discriminate – it bombs, imprisons without trial and dispossesses all Palestinians, regardless of their gender or sexuality. Thirdly, Israel’s narrative that it is an LGBTQ+ haven is not even true; there is homophobia and transphobia in Israeli society, just as there is elsewhere, and all its narrative does is risk making the lives of Palestinian queers – who are rendered virtually invisible by its PR – worse, making Palestinian queers’ struggle for gender and sexual liberation harder.”
For Isgay, and an increasing number of Eurovision fans, it’s no longer possible to reconcile Israel’s place in Eurovision. “I was celebrating along with all the other queers when (trans Israeli act) Dana International won in 1998. But as I began to learn more about the Palestinian cause I started to think about how I could remain true to my love of Eurovision and accommodate Israel’s presence in the competition.”
“My actions in this regard were very private and low key, just turning over the channel to avoid engaging with the Israeli song, but last year something changed for me as I noticed the hype surrounding Netta Barzilai’s entry and the strong possibility that Israel would win. I thought I was well placed as a queer who also supports BDS and has been learning for a while about hasbara (a complicated and fraught term employed by Brand Israel to describe their media campaigns) and pinkwashing to start speaking to my friends about these things in relation to Eurovision. And then when Netta won, I felt strongly that I should try and do something to help mobilise action around the 2019 contest. So I made a website so I could talk to my friends and give them something that they could share with their friends too, as a resource.”
“As I began to learn more about the Palestinian cause I started to think about how I could remain true to my love of Eurovision and accommodate Israel’s presence in the competition” – Kay Isgay, Euronoize
Wrong Contest is a diligently compiled primer on pinkwashing and hasbara, and lists the growing number of industrious queer alternatives to Eurovision. “As well as Euronoize, I’m pleased to point people to Eurovision of a Free Palestine, a queer dance party in Bristol where you can find lots of artists and cultural workers making art and music to enjoy instead of the contest this year.”
Globalvision, a recently announced Eurovison alternative featuring Palestinian drag artists and pop singers, will air simultaneously with the contest, live streaming from shows in Dublin, Haifa, London and Bethlehem, while White and their comrades will be out in force for Trash! The Alternative Eurovision Song Contest on May 18th, an LPA fundraiser in Dalston’s Arcola Bar featuring DIY bands and drag acts.
If partying for liberation isn’t your thing, LPA’s micro site lists 10 ways to get involved with the boycott. “For people – queer or otherwise – outside of Palestine, you can sum up the best way to show meaningful solidarity in three short words,” says White: boycott, divestment, sanctions.
“Queer Palestinians are forced to have other priorities than queer liberation by the realities of living under occupation,” points out Isgay. They lack the powerful lobbyists and global, political weight that Brand Israel enjoy. “I support BDS primarily because this is what Palestinians are asking us to do.
Economic and cultural boycotts are powerful and can bring about change. It is a non-violent form of pressure that anyone can do, in the face of enormous state power, just by making different choices. It is clear that Israel, like many countries, is moving further to the right. The passing of the controversial Nation State Law last year, Netanyahu’s recent electoral success, the continuation of occupation and illegal settlements all drive me to try and do my bit to protest.”
“Rather than devoting our energy to lobbying MPs or the media, LPA uses creative tools and tactics to make an impact,” explains queer LPA member Laila White to Dazed. “We believe that direct action and civil disobedience are not only effective, but are also necessary to make the changes we want to see. We also believe that using a diversity of tactics makes our movement stronger. So we take action in a variety of ways: through subvertising, music, poetry, art, disruptive direct action and creative protests.”
“Our actions in the past have ranged from shutting down a drone engine factory owned by Israeli arms company Elbit Systems by scaling and occupying the roof for two days during Israel’s summer 2014 massacre of Palestinians in Gaza, to writing parody protest covers of musical acts who break the cultural boycott of Israel, like our series of Radiohead covers by spoof act Some F*cking People.”
LPA’s latest action is a DIY cover of Bucks Fizz’s 1981 Eurovision winning classic “Making Your Mind Up”, under the name Eurodivision. This kind of ‘artwashing’ is a direct response to the Israeli government’s long and storied use of ‘pinkwashing’, meaning, the exploitation of LGBTQ+ identities for public relations purposes. In the Israeli government’s case, this means attempting to shift the global public perception of Israel from one of “apartheid settler state”, engaged in the illegal occupation of Palestine, to that of LGBTQ+ tourist destination, “a harmless, liberal, gay-friendly playground,” according to Pink Watching Israel.
As pro-Palestine activists have pointed out, Israeli pinkwashing positions the country as the ‘only’ safe place for gay people in the Middle East, a kind of queer haven and paradise – or worse, a ‘mecca’, appropriated language that queer Palestinian liberation groups such as ASWAT and alQaws have roundly rebuked – while Palestinian and Arab socities are portrayed as repressive and intolerant in comparison. Global LGBTQ+ networks are used to export this image of inclusivity, while simultaneously quashing and intimidating queer allies of the Palestinian liberation. In 2017, for example, members of pinkwashing group A Wider Bridge disrupted Chicago’s Dyke March, harassing pro-Palestine attendees while donning rainbow star of David flags.
“Any kind of LGBTQ+ liberation supposedly offered by Israel is on the back of Palestinian oppression and is therefore not liberation at all” – Laila White, LPA
Hosting Eurovision in Tel Aviv may be interpreted as a coup for Brand Israel, helping to consolidate their image as a progressive, queer-friendly state. But the boycott has already gained ground, forcing the government to drop its initial condition of hosting the contest in Jerusalem. “This marks a striking failure in Israel’s PR efforts to assert its illegal claim over the city,” say BDS activists.
Across London, bold, queer alternatives to Eurovision are beginning to pop up. Kay Isgay, a long time Eurovision fan, will be co-hosting Pil and Galia Kollectiv’s Euronoize, a punk/DIY event modelled on Eurovision taking place at Scala on May 23. “The event will be livestreamed and with televoting, so you can join in even if you can’t make it on the night.”
Isgay, who identifies as a butch dyke and queer, is a long time fan of the contest. “One of the things I have enjoyed most about Eurovision is what it reveals about gender, sexuality, nation building and politics across the European Broadcasting Union countries. For example, although the rules state that political content in the song lyrics are not allowed, I have loved the way it has still sneaked through. The Ukrainian winner in 2016, Jamala, sang about the oppression of the Crimean Tartars at the height of the Russian annexation of Crimea. In 2015, Armenia was represented by a super group of artists from the Armenian diaspora singing a song about the Armenian genocide. All of this with added sparkle and camp. Amazing!” tweet
Winning last year’s contest may be a coup for the Israeli government, but it’s also galvanised the queer arm of the BDS movement, who rightly point out that queer and Palestinian liberation are inseparable. “Liberation for the Palestinian people is not an isolated cause,” says White. “Its part of a broader struggle against colonisation, capitalism, patriarchy, racism and white supremacy, state violence and borders, homophobia, transphobia… queer activists and allies in LPA recognise that any kind of LGBTQ+ liberation supposedly offered by Israel is on the back of Palestinian oppression and is therefore not liberation at all.”
LPA are committed to collective liberation, says White. “Firstly, we think the struggle for Palestinian liberation and queer liberation are intertwined.
Secondly, Israel’s regime of occupation and apartheid doesn’t discriminate – it bombs, imprisons without trial and dispossesses all Palestinians, regardless of their gender or sexuality. Thirdly, Israel’s narrative that it is an LGBTQ+ haven is not even true; there is homophobia and transphobia in Israeli society, just as there is elsewhere, and all its narrative does is risk making the lives of Palestinian queers – who are rendered virtually invisible by its PR – worse, making Palestinian queers’ struggle for gender and sexual liberation harder.”
For Isgay, and an increasing number of Eurovision fans, it’s no longer possible to reconcile Israel’s place in Eurovision. “I was celebrating along with all the other queers when (trans Israeli act) Dana International won in 1998. But as I began to learn more about the Palestinian cause I started to think about how I could remain true to my love of Eurovision and accommodate Israel’s presence in the competition.”
“My actions in this regard were very private and low key, just turning over the channel to avoid engaging with the Israeli song, but last year something changed for me as I noticed the hype surrounding Netta Barzilai’s entry and the strong possibility that Israel would win. I thought I was well placed as a queer who also supports BDS and has been learning for a while about hasbara (a complicated and fraught term employed by Brand Israel to describe their media campaigns) and pinkwashing to start speaking to my friends about these things in relation to Eurovision. And then when Netta won, I felt strongly that I should try and do something to help mobilise action around the 2019 contest. So I made a website so I could talk to my friends and give them something that they could share with their friends too, as a resource.”
“As I began to learn more about the Palestinian cause I started to think about how I could remain true to my love of Eurovision and accommodate Israel’s presence in the competition” – Kay Isgay, Euronoize
Wrong Contest is a diligently compiled primer on pinkwashing and hasbara, and lists the growing number of industrious queer alternatives to Eurovision. “As well as Euronoize, I’m pleased to point people to Eurovision of a Free Palestine, a queer dance party in Bristol where you can find lots of artists and cultural workers making art and music to enjoy instead of the contest this year.”
Globalvision, a recently announced Eurovison alternative featuring Palestinian drag artists and pop singers, will air simultaneously with the contest, live streaming from shows in Dublin, Haifa, London and Bethlehem, while White and their comrades will be out in force for Trash! The Alternative Eurovision Song Contest on May 18th, an LPA fundraiser in Dalston’s Arcola Bar featuring DIY bands and drag acts.
If partying for liberation isn’t your thing, LPA’s micro site lists 10 ways to get involved with the boycott. “For people – queer or otherwise – outside of Palestine, you can sum up the best way to show meaningful solidarity in three short words,” says White: boycott, divestment, sanctions.
“Queer Palestinians are forced to have other priorities than queer liberation by the realities of living under occupation,” points out Isgay. They lack the powerful lobbyists and global, political weight that Brand Israel enjoy. “I support BDS primarily because this is what Palestinians are asking us to do.
Economic and cultural boycotts are powerful and can bring about change. It is a non-violent form of pressure that anyone can do, in the face of enormous state power, just by making different choices. It is clear that Israel, like many countries, is moving further to the right. The passing of the controversial Nation State Law last year, Netanyahu’s recent electoral success, the continuation of occupation and illegal settlements all drive me to try and do my bit to protest.”
17 may 2019
The German Bundestag (parliament) is set to pass a resolution, on Friday, condemning the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS) as anti-Semitic and urges the government not to fund groups or activities that question Israel’s right to exist and to defend itself.
The text of the resolution stated that “all-encompassing calls for boycotts in their radical nature lead to the stigmatization of Israeli citizens and citizens of Jewish faith as a whole. This is unacceptable and worthy of the sharpest condemnation.”
It added, “The arguments and methods of the BDS movement are anti-Semitic” and reminiscent of Germany’s Nazi past.
This non-binding resolution is sponsored jointly by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian-Democratic Union and the Social Democrats, which is one of three motions on the BDS movement that will be considered in the German parliament, on Friday.
German lawmakers will also vote on two other resolutions against BDS, proposed by two opposition parties, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the Die Linke.
The Die Linke text is the softest of the three, urging Germany to condemn “anti-Semitism within” the BDS movement, however, it does have a chance of passing.
The upcoming vote has caused public discourse in Germany, with many critics claiming that the proposed resolution is draconian, due to it suppressing pro-Palestinian groups’ freedom of expression.
As a response to the resolution, a 50-member group, made up of Jewish academics from Germany and from Israel, have published a petition opposing it.
The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement is a global campaign promoting various forms of boycott against Israel until it meets what the campaign describes as "Israel's obligations under international law," which include its withdrawal from the occupied territories, removal of the separation wall in the occupied West Bank, full equality for Arab-Palestinian citizens in Israel, and promotion of the right of return of Palestinian refugees to their homelands, now known as Israel.
Although the BDS movement has been opposed by many Jews around the world, the movement still gained numerous supporters, including celebrities, such as Roger Waters and Stephen Hawking.
In response to the movement, Israel passed a law in 2017 prohibiting the entry of foreigners who call for boycotts on Israel or its illegal settlements. The law truly banned several Americans who planned to visit Israel, including Ariel Elyse Gold, a Jewish American BDS activist and national co-director of CODEPINK, a women's peace organization.
The text of the resolution stated that “all-encompassing calls for boycotts in their radical nature lead to the stigmatization of Israeli citizens and citizens of Jewish faith as a whole. This is unacceptable and worthy of the sharpest condemnation.”
It added, “The arguments and methods of the BDS movement are anti-Semitic” and reminiscent of Germany’s Nazi past.
This non-binding resolution is sponsored jointly by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian-Democratic Union and the Social Democrats, which is one of three motions on the BDS movement that will be considered in the German parliament, on Friday.
German lawmakers will also vote on two other resolutions against BDS, proposed by two opposition parties, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the Die Linke.
The Die Linke text is the softest of the three, urging Germany to condemn “anti-Semitism within” the BDS movement, however, it does have a chance of passing.
The upcoming vote has caused public discourse in Germany, with many critics claiming that the proposed resolution is draconian, due to it suppressing pro-Palestinian groups’ freedom of expression.
As a response to the resolution, a 50-member group, made up of Jewish academics from Germany and from Israel, have published a petition opposing it.
The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement is a global campaign promoting various forms of boycott against Israel until it meets what the campaign describes as "Israel's obligations under international law," which include its withdrawal from the occupied territories, removal of the separation wall in the occupied West Bank, full equality for Arab-Palestinian citizens in Israel, and promotion of the right of return of Palestinian refugees to their homelands, now known as Israel.
Although the BDS movement has been opposed by many Jews around the world, the movement still gained numerous supporters, including celebrities, such as Roger Waters and Stephen Hawking.
In response to the movement, Israel passed a law in 2017 prohibiting the entry of foreigners who call for boycotts on Israel or its illegal settlements. The law truly banned several Americans who planned to visit Israel, including Ariel Elyse Gold, a Jewish American BDS activist and national co-director of CODEPINK, a women's peace organization.
16 may 2019
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The organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest are defending their use of an official logo which appears to represent all of historic Palestine – including the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip – as part of Israel.
In a letter to the Palestinian Authority foreign ministry on Wednesday, the European Broadcasting Union states that there was nothing intentional about the logo that depicts a stylized outline of historic Palestine – or “Greater Israel” as Zionists label it – including occupied territory that Israel is moving to annex in flagrant violation of international law. “This year’s logo, created by host broadcaster Kan, comprises three triangles which, when united, shine together to create a form complementing the slogan, ‘Dare to Dream,’” the European Broadcasting |
Union claims in its letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Electronic Intifada.
“It takes inspiration from the stage design which also involves triangles on and above the stage.”
Read the letter below.
Wiping Palestinians off the mapPACBI, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, has accused Eurovision of trying to “wipe Palestinians off the map with its logo.”
Yet the European Broadcasting Union’s dismissive response to the PA foreign ministry is accompanied by a similarly nonchalant reply regarding concerns over other promotional materials that depict occupied territories as part of Israel.
The PA foreign ministry had written to the European Broadcasting Union charging that “by accepting the occupation authorities’ contest propaganda material, which wipes off the State of Palestine from the map, the EBU is implicitly recognizing and supporting Israel’s illegal policies, which systematically violate international and human rights laws, including the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.”
The promotional materials include video “postcards” from Eurovision put out by Israeli state broadcaster Kan.
The video mashup of the postcards includes an overhead shot of East Jerusalem, and of Syria’s Golan Heights, both occupied and illegally annexed by Israel.
It also shows Israeli contestant Kobi Marimi dancing in occupied East Jerusalem with a view of the Dome of the Rock in the background.
The European Broadcasting Union concedes in its letter that “one postcard includes drone shots” over Jerusalem, which clearly extend to the eastern part of the city, but asserts that “there is no intent with this material at politicizing a strictly cultural entertainment event.”
This ignores how Israel has always used “culture” and “archaeology” as part of its overtly political efforts to legitimize its occupation and annexation of Palestinian land, especially in Jerusalem.
The European Broadcasting Union acknowledges that the “rules of the contest state that ‘no messages promoting any political cause shall be allowed in the shows and within any official Eurovision Song Contest premises (i.e. at the venue, during the opening ceremony, the Eurovision village, the press center, etc.).”
Yet the so-called Eurovision village built on top of the ruins of the ethnically cleansed Jaffa neighborhood of al-Manshiyya has been a venue for open political propaganda by Israeli leaders and European Union governments.
Eurovision village used to promote political agendaOn Wednesday, EU embassies hosted a “Europe Day” celebration there with Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin, using the Eurovision village to promote their agenda of ever-closer EU-Israel ties at the expense of Palestinians.
EU ambassador Emanuele Giaufret used the supposedly non-political venue to declare that “The EU will remain an important partner for Israel.” This means in effect that Giaufret and the European Union will continue to disregard Palestinian rights.
The Israeli president spoke about Israeli cooperation with the EU on “cyber-security” and the EU’s Horizon 2020 science program which funds Israel’s war industry.
As people danced the night away at an EU-sponsored rave, a few miles away two million Palestinians remained caged in the Gaza Strip, with dozens shot by Israeli snipers that very afternoon – Nakba Day.
Tweets
“It takes inspiration from the stage design which also involves triangles on and above the stage.”
Read the letter below.
Wiping Palestinians off the mapPACBI, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, has accused Eurovision of trying to “wipe Palestinians off the map with its logo.”
Yet the European Broadcasting Union’s dismissive response to the PA foreign ministry is accompanied by a similarly nonchalant reply regarding concerns over other promotional materials that depict occupied territories as part of Israel.
The PA foreign ministry had written to the European Broadcasting Union charging that “by accepting the occupation authorities’ contest propaganda material, which wipes off the State of Palestine from the map, the EBU is implicitly recognizing and supporting Israel’s illegal policies, which systematically violate international and human rights laws, including the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.”
The promotional materials include video “postcards” from Eurovision put out by Israeli state broadcaster Kan.
The video mashup of the postcards includes an overhead shot of East Jerusalem, and of Syria’s Golan Heights, both occupied and illegally annexed by Israel.
It also shows Israeli contestant Kobi Marimi dancing in occupied East Jerusalem with a view of the Dome of the Rock in the background.
The European Broadcasting Union concedes in its letter that “one postcard includes drone shots” over Jerusalem, which clearly extend to the eastern part of the city, but asserts that “there is no intent with this material at politicizing a strictly cultural entertainment event.”
This ignores how Israel has always used “culture” and “archaeology” as part of its overtly political efforts to legitimize its occupation and annexation of Palestinian land, especially in Jerusalem.
The European Broadcasting Union acknowledges that the “rules of the contest state that ‘no messages promoting any political cause shall be allowed in the shows and within any official Eurovision Song Contest premises (i.e. at the venue, during the opening ceremony, the Eurovision village, the press center, etc.).”
Yet the so-called Eurovision village built on top of the ruins of the ethnically cleansed Jaffa neighborhood of al-Manshiyya has been a venue for open political propaganda by Israeli leaders and European Union governments.
Eurovision village used to promote political agendaOn Wednesday, EU embassies hosted a “Europe Day” celebration there with Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin, using the Eurovision village to promote their agenda of ever-closer EU-Israel ties at the expense of Palestinians.
EU ambassador Emanuele Giaufret used the supposedly non-political venue to declare that “The EU will remain an important partner for Israel.” This means in effect that Giaufret and the European Union will continue to disregard Palestinian rights.
The Israeli president spoke about Israeli cooperation with the EU on “cyber-security” and the EU’s Horizon 2020 science program which funds Israel’s war industry.
As people danced the night away at an EU-sponsored rave, a few miles away two million Palestinians remained caged in the Gaza Strip, with dozens shot by Israeli snipers that very afternoon – Nakba Day.
Tweets
15 may 2019
22 Palestine student societies and groups in Britain have called for a boycott of the Eurovision song contest which is being held in Israel.
“The student Palestine societies and groups in the UK urge all students, academics and artists to boycott the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest, which will be held from 14 to 18 May 2019 in Tel Aviv, Israel,” a statement by the groups said.
The Israeli government is using Eurovision to whitewash its ongoing denial of Palestinian rights and continued illegal occupation of Palestinian land, according to the statement.
The statement highlighted that as Israel was declared winner of last year’s competition, 60 Palestinians were being killed as they participated in peaceful protests in Gaza.
“More than a century after they were first dispossessed by the British government’s Balfour Declaration, the Palestinian people are facing a new Nakba in form of Donald Trump’s ‘Deal of the Century’,” they warned.
“This plan seeks to destroy the Palestinian people and dismantle their collective rights. We must stand in unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian people as they face this latest assault.”
Among the signatories were the General Union of Palestinian Students in the UK (GUPS-UK), Oxford Students’ Palestine Society, Cambridge University Palestine Society, KCL Action Palestine Society, Imperial College Friends of Palestine, BDS Campaign – University of Manchester, University of London Palestinian Society and Northumbria University Friends of Palestine.
“The student Palestine societies and groups in the UK urge all students, academics and artists to boycott the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest, which will be held from 14 to 18 May 2019 in Tel Aviv, Israel,” a statement by the groups said.
The Israeli government is using Eurovision to whitewash its ongoing denial of Palestinian rights and continued illegal occupation of Palestinian land, according to the statement.
The statement highlighted that as Israel was declared winner of last year’s competition, 60 Palestinians were being killed as they participated in peaceful protests in Gaza.
“More than a century after they were first dispossessed by the British government’s Balfour Declaration, the Palestinian people are facing a new Nakba in form of Donald Trump’s ‘Deal of the Century’,” they warned.
“This plan seeks to destroy the Palestinian people and dismantle their collective rights. We must stand in unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian people as they face this latest assault.”
Among the signatories were the General Union of Palestinian Students in the UK (GUPS-UK), Oxford Students’ Palestine Society, Cambridge University Palestine Society, KCL Action Palestine Society, Imperial College Friends of Palestine, BDS Campaign – University of Manchester, University of London Palestinian Society and Northumbria University Friends of Palestine.
14 may 2019
A global coalition launched today a campaign against the international home-renting company, Airbnb, for reversing its decision to delist properties in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, according to a press release.
In April, Airbnb confirmed it would not implement a planned delisting of Israeli settlements, which are considered illegal under international law, in the occupied West Bank and would “donate proceeds from any of these bookings to international humanitarian aid organizations,” even though the listings are “at the core of the dispute between Israelis and Palestinians."
The global coalition is requesting that people worldwide should deactivate their Airbnb accounts on May 15th on Nakba Day or “catastrophe.” So far, thousands of people across the world, from Chile to Indonesia, have answered the coalition's call to action and have committed to #deactivateAirbnb.
The press release said that “Israeli settlements are considered war crimes under international law and are responsible for the displacement of Palestinians and the theft of their land. By doing business in these settlements, Airbnb and other international companies are contributing to the economic viability of settlements and are normalizing Israeli annexation of Palestinian land.”
Despite the intense documentation and scrutiny from prominent human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, Airbnb is choosing to directly promote discrimination, oppression, and injustice – and failing to uphold its corporate responsibility to respect human rights, the press release said.
Salem Barahmeh, executive director of the Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy, "It is time to end this culture of impunity that has allowed the occupation, oppression and dispossession of the Palestinian people to continue.”
Barahmeh added, "International companies are complicit in perpetuating this injustice and must be held accountable. Through the #deactivateAirbnb campaign, people can choose whether to be complicit in supporting war crimes or ending them.”
On May 15th, the 1948 Nakba or “catastrophe” will be commemorated for the 71st year, re-focusing the world’s attention on the 750,000 Palestinians displaced during and after the establishment of the state of Israel, and the more than five million Palestinians who remain refugees as they wait to return to their lands in Israel.
In April, Airbnb confirmed it would not implement a planned delisting of Israeli settlements, which are considered illegal under international law, in the occupied West Bank and would “donate proceeds from any of these bookings to international humanitarian aid organizations,” even though the listings are “at the core of the dispute between Israelis and Palestinians."
The global coalition is requesting that people worldwide should deactivate their Airbnb accounts on May 15th on Nakba Day or “catastrophe.” So far, thousands of people across the world, from Chile to Indonesia, have answered the coalition's call to action and have committed to #deactivateAirbnb.
The press release said that “Israeli settlements are considered war crimes under international law and are responsible for the displacement of Palestinians and the theft of their land. By doing business in these settlements, Airbnb and other international companies are contributing to the economic viability of settlements and are normalizing Israeli annexation of Palestinian land.”
Despite the intense documentation and scrutiny from prominent human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, Airbnb is choosing to directly promote discrimination, oppression, and injustice – and failing to uphold its corporate responsibility to respect human rights, the press release said.
Salem Barahmeh, executive director of the Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy, "It is time to end this culture of impunity that has allowed the occupation, oppression and dispossession of the Palestinian people to continue.”
Barahmeh added, "International companies are complicit in perpetuating this injustice and must be held accountable. Through the #deactivateAirbnb campaign, people can choose whether to be complicit in supporting war crimes or ending them.”
On May 15th, the 1948 Nakba or “catastrophe” will be commemorated for the 71st year, re-focusing the world’s attention on the 750,000 Palestinians displaced during and after the establishment of the state of Israel, and the more than five million Palestinians who remain refugees as they wait to return to their lands in Israel.
American singer Madonna gave a confirmation regarding her controversial performance at the Eurovision song contest, saying that she will always speak up to defend human rights and hopes to see "a new path toward peace," on Tuesday.
Despite calls for boycott by various international artists and pro-Palestinian groups and organizations, Madonna is set to perform two songs on Saturday during the Eurovision finals in Tel Aviv, in central Israel.
Concerning her decision to perform at Eurovision, Madonna told Reuters news outlet that she was a supporter of all human rights.
The 60-year-old said, "I'll never stop playing music to suit someone's political agenda nor will I stop speaking out against violations of human rights wherever in the world they may be."
She added, "My heart breaks every time I hear about the innocent lives that are lost in this region and the violence that is so often perpetuated to suit the political goals of people who benefit from this ancient conflict. I hope and pray that we will soon break free from this terrible cycle of destruction and create a new path towards peace.”
This would be Madonna’s fourth performance in Israel. The first came in 1993, and was followed by concerts in 2009 and 2012.
Even Roger Waters, the founder of Pink Floyd, urged Madonna to cancel her performance and not to “normalize” apartheid.
Waters said in a letter, entitled “If you believe in human rights, Madonna, don’t play Tel Aviv,” published in The Guardian news outlet, “To perform in Israel is a lucrative gig but to do so serves to normalize the occupation, the apartheid, the ethnic cleansing, the incarceration of children, the slaughter of unarmed protesters … all that bad stuff.”
Waters continued, “The resisting Palestinians have asked us, 'the bleeding hearts and the artists' for our help. We, all of us have, in my view, an absolute moral and human obligation as fellow human beings to answer their call.”
Recently, some 171 Swedish artists and celebrities have signed an open letter urging to boycott the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest and stressed that "as long as Israel, with its apartheid policy, denies the Palestinians their basic human rights, we must renounce all participation in Israeli cultural exchanges.”
In September 2018, over 140 artists from around the world, including six Israeli artists, signed a letter calling for the boycott of the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest and demanding the song contest should be boycotted if it is "hosted by Israel while it continues its grave, decades-old violations of Palestinian human rights."
Performing in Israel still remains highly politicized, with many criticizing that Israel's military action towards the Palestinians is more than enough to justify a cultural boycott.
Despite calls for boycott by various international artists and pro-Palestinian groups and organizations, Madonna is set to perform two songs on Saturday during the Eurovision finals in Tel Aviv, in central Israel.
Concerning her decision to perform at Eurovision, Madonna told Reuters news outlet that she was a supporter of all human rights.
The 60-year-old said, "I'll never stop playing music to suit someone's political agenda nor will I stop speaking out against violations of human rights wherever in the world they may be."
She added, "My heart breaks every time I hear about the innocent lives that are lost in this region and the violence that is so often perpetuated to suit the political goals of people who benefit from this ancient conflict. I hope and pray that we will soon break free from this terrible cycle of destruction and create a new path towards peace.”
This would be Madonna’s fourth performance in Israel. The first came in 1993, and was followed by concerts in 2009 and 2012.
Even Roger Waters, the founder of Pink Floyd, urged Madonna to cancel her performance and not to “normalize” apartheid.
Waters said in a letter, entitled “If you believe in human rights, Madonna, don’t play Tel Aviv,” published in The Guardian news outlet, “To perform in Israel is a lucrative gig but to do so serves to normalize the occupation, the apartheid, the ethnic cleansing, the incarceration of children, the slaughter of unarmed protesters … all that bad stuff.”
Waters continued, “The resisting Palestinians have asked us, 'the bleeding hearts and the artists' for our help. We, all of us have, in my view, an absolute moral and human obligation as fellow human beings to answer their call.”
Recently, some 171 Swedish artists and celebrities have signed an open letter urging to boycott the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest and stressed that "as long as Israel, with its apartheid policy, denies the Palestinians their basic human rights, we must renounce all participation in Israeli cultural exchanges.”
In September 2018, over 140 artists from around the world, including six Israeli artists, signed a letter calling for the boycott of the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest and demanding the song contest should be boycotted if it is "hosted by Israel while it continues its grave, decades-old violations of Palestinian human rights."
Performing in Israel still remains highly politicized, with many criticizing that Israel's military action towards the Palestinians is more than enough to justify a cultural boycott.
13 may 2019
Gilad Erdan: "We exposed the Anti-Semitism and terror ties of the BDS"
Internet users seeking information regarding boycotting the Eurovision in Tel Aviv got a surprise when their search took them to a website about how Beautiful, Diverse and Sensational Israel is
As the Eurovision song contest begins and BDS activists calling for a boycott of the event being held in Israel, the ministry of strategic affairs has launched a campaign against supporters of the boycott. Web users searching for information regarding BDS came upon a website seemingly supporting the boycott movement — only to discover that it is actually a cleverly designed Pro-Israeli website.
The website shows all that is beautiful about Israel by using the BDS initials: Beautiful, Diverse, Sensational. More than 30,000 internet users visited the website in less than a week and got the Israeli response to the misinformation and hypocrisy being spread by boycott organizations.
The Ministry for Strategic Affairs, headed by Gilad Erdan, looked for a creative way to contradict the narrative behind the boycott campaign of the BDS movement. In order not expand the BDS brand, the ministry launched a campaign aimed at internet users looking to support the boycott on Google, including banners and adds that "follow" the users to other, unrelated sites.
The website includes photos of Israel's landscape and short publicity film clips about the diversity of Israeli society. "Israel — a country where openness, freedom of expression and the freedom to live and let live have become its main characteristics. A mixture of cultures and traditions that have made Israel an island of tolerance," the website wrote. The website postcards photographed by participants of the Eurovision show the breathtaking landscape and colorful culture.
"After we exposed the anti-Semitism and terror ties of the BDS organizations and discovered dozens of internet bots and fake accounts aimed at pressuring musicians to boycott the contest, we have launched a website aimed at exposing their lies and presenting Israel as a truly: diverse, beautiful and astonishing country," said Minister Erdan.
Internet users seeking information regarding boycotting the Eurovision in Tel Aviv got a surprise when their search took them to a website about how Beautiful, Diverse and Sensational Israel is
As the Eurovision song contest begins and BDS activists calling for a boycott of the event being held in Israel, the ministry of strategic affairs has launched a campaign against supporters of the boycott. Web users searching for information regarding BDS came upon a website seemingly supporting the boycott movement — only to discover that it is actually a cleverly designed Pro-Israeli website.
The website shows all that is beautiful about Israel by using the BDS initials: Beautiful, Diverse, Sensational. More than 30,000 internet users visited the website in less than a week and got the Israeli response to the misinformation and hypocrisy being spread by boycott organizations.
The Ministry for Strategic Affairs, headed by Gilad Erdan, looked for a creative way to contradict the narrative behind the boycott campaign of the BDS movement. In order not expand the BDS brand, the ministry launched a campaign aimed at internet users looking to support the boycott on Google, including banners and adds that "follow" the users to other, unrelated sites.
The website includes photos of Israel's landscape and short publicity film clips about the diversity of Israeli society. "Israel — a country where openness, freedom of expression and the freedom to live and let live have become its main characteristics. A mixture of cultures and traditions that have made Israel an island of tolerance," the website wrote. The website postcards photographed by participants of the Eurovision show the breathtaking landscape and colorful culture.
"After we exposed the anti-Semitism and terror ties of the BDS organizations and discovered dozens of internet bots and fake accounts aimed at pressuring musicians to boycott the contest, we have launched a website aimed at exposing their lies and presenting Israel as a truly: diverse, beautiful and astonishing country," said Minister Erdan.
A global coalition launched a campaign, today, against the international tourism company, Airbnb, for reversing its decision to delist properties in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, according to a press release.
WAFA reports that the coalition is asking people from around the world to deactivate their Airbnb accounts on Nakba Day, 15 May. So far, thousands of people across the world, from Chile to Indonesia, have answered the coalition’s call to action and have committed to #deactivateAirbnb.
Israeli settlements are considered war crimes, under international law. They are responsible for the displacement of Palestinians and the theft of their land. By doing business in these settlements, Airbnb and other international companies are contributing to the economic viability of settlements and are normalizing Israeli annexation of Palestinian land, said the press release.
Despite the intense documentation and scrutiny from prominent human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, Airbnb is choosing to directly promote discrimination, oppression, and injustice – and failing to uphold its corporate responsibility to respect human rights, it said.
“It is time to end this culture of impunity that has allowed the occupation, oppression and dispossession of the Palestinian people to continue,” said Salem Barahmeh, executive director of the Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy.
“International companies are complicit in perpetuating this injustice and must be held accountable. Through the #deactivateAirbnb campaign, people can choose whether to be complicit in supporting war crimes or ending them,” he added.
May 15 commemorates the expulsion of almost two thirds of the Palestinian population from their homes and land in 1948.
The ‘Nakba’, meaning ‘catastrophe’ in Arabic continues to this day, as Palestinians are forcibly expelled from their lands to make way for illegal settlements, which can then be advertised as vacation rentals by international companies.
(photo: bdsmovement.net)
WAFA reports that the coalition is asking people from around the world to deactivate their Airbnb accounts on Nakba Day, 15 May. So far, thousands of people across the world, from Chile to Indonesia, have answered the coalition’s call to action and have committed to #deactivateAirbnb.
Israeli settlements are considered war crimes, under international law. They are responsible for the displacement of Palestinians and the theft of their land. By doing business in these settlements, Airbnb and other international companies are contributing to the economic viability of settlements and are normalizing Israeli annexation of Palestinian land, said the press release.
Despite the intense documentation and scrutiny from prominent human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, Airbnb is choosing to directly promote discrimination, oppression, and injustice – and failing to uphold its corporate responsibility to respect human rights, it said.
“It is time to end this culture of impunity that has allowed the occupation, oppression and dispossession of the Palestinian people to continue,” said Salem Barahmeh, executive director of the Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy.
“International companies are complicit in perpetuating this injustice and must be held accountable. Through the #deactivateAirbnb campaign, people can choose whether to be complicit in supporting war crimes or ending them,” he added.
May 15 commemorates the expulsion of almost two thirds of the Palestinian population from their homes and land in 1948.
The ‘Nakba’, meaning ‘catastrophe’ in Arabic continues to this day, as Palestinians are forcibly expelled from their lands to make way for illegal settlements, which can then be advertised as vacation rentals by international companies.
(photo: bdsmovement.net)
