22 nov 2017
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed his Indian counterpart on an “historic” visit in July, but despite the fanfare major arms deals did not materialize as expected. (via Facebook)
Palestinians are welcoming India’s decision to scrap a $500-million deal to buy anti-tank missiles from the Israeli weapons firm Rafael.
Jamal Juma’, coordinator of the Palestinian Stop the Wall Campaign, called the move “a huge blow to the Israeli weapons industry.”
“It is also a major setback for Israel’s propaganda hubris that its technology is indispensable for India’s development and modernization,” Juma’, also affiliated with the Palestinian Boycott Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC), added. “As many Indians are recognizing, Israel is marketing military and agricultural technologies in India and trying to cement Indian dependence on Israel.”
Signs of trouble
Israeli media had hailed the planned weapons purchase “as a flagship deal that cemented the budding Israeli-Indian security relationship.”
It appeared to be on course as recently as August when Rafael and India’s Kalyani Group announced a joint venture to open a factory in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad to make the missiles.
On Monday, before it was confirmed by Indian sources, Israeli media expressed consternation at the nixing of a deal that had been years in the works.
Ishai David, a spokesperson for Rafael, told The Jerusalem Post his company had not been informed of any decision by India not to buy the missiles. “This activity will continue as planned,” he insisted.
In retrospect, there were already signs of trouble in July when Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi became the first Indian prime minister to visit Israel.
Though Israel hailed the visit as an historic warming of ties, contrary to expectations no arms deals were signed including the Rafael deal.
What appears to have torpedoed the agreement was the Indian defense ministry’s insistence – overruling other agencies – that the country could develop its own technology and did not need Israel’s.
Israel as India’s model
While hailing the cancellation, Palestinians note that India remains one of Israel’s biggest arms customers and the two countries have other military joint ventures in the works.
As the BNC said, “over the last two decades, Indo-Israeli military relations have continuously increased despite various corruption scandals and technical failures.”
India has also turned to Israel as a model for its brutal repression of resistance to its rule in Kashmir.
Indian government efforts to manipulate the demographics of Kashmir by moving Hindus into the state have even been described as “an Israel-style policy of creating settlements in occupied territory.”
India’s ascendant Hindu nationalist right has also embraced Zionism and made common cause with Israel, an affinity further cemented by shared, virulent Islamophobia.
Far-reaching negative effects
A big part of Modi’s nationalism is his “Make in India” campaign to promote homegrown industry, and that also seems to have hurt the Rafael deal in spite of ideological affinities with Israel.
Scrapping the Rafael purchase could have far-reaching negative effects on economic relations, according to David Keynan, vice-chair of the Federation of Indo-Israeli Chambers of Commerce.
“It is a very noteworthy deal. It will have an impact not only on defense trade, but on all trade,” Keynan told The Times of Israel.
According to Keynan, weapons sales are often a “catalyst” for further trade.
“We hope this is the beginning of the end of Indian complicity in Israel’s egregious violation of international law and Palestinian human rights,” Omar Barghouti, a founder of the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement for Palestinian rights, stated.
But Barghouti warned that as the BDS movement scores more successes in Europe and North America, “Israel has started dragging India into deals fraught with legal and political risks.”
Several Indian firms are bidding for drilling rights in Mediterranean waters claimed by Israel.
And earlier this year, India’s Adventz Group bid for work on Israel’s light rail system which connects settlements in the occupied West Bank in violation of international law. [PDF]
Solidarity and discontent
There are also signs of discontent with the relationship. Last week lawmakers in India’s Telangana state denounced the state government’s plan to send 1,000 public officials on “training” junkets to Israel, wasting public money that could be used to improve the conditions of local farmers.
Hyderabad, where the Rafael missile factory was to be located, is Telangana’s state capital.
And in October, the All India Kisan Sabha, the largest national organization representing farmers and agricultural workers in India, announced its support for the BDS movement.
Barghouti said: “As Palestinians we ask the Indian people to maintain their proud legacy of commitment to independence, to growing local knowledge and to respecting other people’s struggles for freedom from colonialism and apartheid.”
Palestinians are welcoming India’s decision to scrap a $500-million deal to buy anti-tank missiles from the Israeli weapons firm Rafael.
Jamal Juma’, coordinator of the Palestinian Stop the Wall Campaign, called the move “a huge blow to the Israeli weapons industry.”
“It is also a major setback for Israel’s propaganda hubris that its technology is indispensable for India’s development and modernization,” Juma’, also affiliated with the Palestinian Boycott Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC), added. “As many Indians are recognizing, Israel is marketing military and agricultural technologies in India and trying to cement Indian dependence on Israel.”
Signs of trouble
Israeli media had hailed the planned weapons purchase “as a flagship deal that cemented the budding Israeli-Indian security relationship.”
It appeared to be on course as recently as August when Rafael and India’s Kalyani Group announced a joint venture to open a factory in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad to make the missiles.
On Monday, before it was confirmed by Indian sources, Israeli media expressed consternation at the nixing of a deal that had been years in the works.
Ishai David, a spokesperson for Rafael, told The Jerusalem Post his company had not been informed of any decision by India not to buy the missiles. “This activity will continue as planned,” he insisted.
In retrospect, there were already signs of trouble in July when Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi became the first Indian prime minister to visit Israel.
Though Israel hailed the visit as an historic warming of ties, contrary to expectations no arms deals were signed including the Rafael deal.
What appears to have torpedoed the agreement was the Indian defense ministry’s insistence – overruling other agencies – that the country could develop its own technology and did not need Israel’s.
Israel as India’s model
While hailing the cancellation, Palestinians note that India remains one of Israel’s biggest arms customers and the two countries have other military joint ventures in the works.
As the BNC said, “over the last two decades, Indo-Israeli military relations have continuously increased despite various corruption scandals and technical failures.”
India has also turned to Israel as a model for its brutal repression of resistance to its rule in Kashmir.
Indian government efforts to manipulate the demographics of Kashmir by moving Hindus into the state have even been described as “an Israel-style policy of creating settlements in occupied territory.”
India’s ascendant Hindu nationalist right has also embraced Zionism and made common cause with Israel, an affinity further cemented by shared, virulent Islamophobia.
Far-reaching negative effects
A big part of Modi’s nationalism is his “Make in India” campaign to promote homegrown industry, and that also seems to have hurt the Rafael deal in spite of ideological affinities with Israel.
Scrapping the Rafael purchase could have far-reaching negative effects on economic relations, according to David Keynan, vice-chair of the Federation of Indo-Israeli Chambers of Commerce.
“It is a very noteworthy deal. It will have an impact not only on defense trade, but on all trade,” Keynan told The Times of Israel.
According to Keynan, weapons sales are often a “catalyst” for further trade.
“We hope this is the beginning of the end of Indian complicity in Israel’s egregious violation of international law and Palestinian human rights,” Omar Barghouti, a founder of the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement for Palestinian rights, stated.
But Barghouti warned that as the BDS movement scores more successes in Europe and North America, “Israel has started dragging India into deals fraught with legal and political risks.”
Several Indian firms are bidding for drilling rights in Mediterranean waters claimed by Israel.
And earlier this year, India’s Adventz Group bid for work on Israel’s light rail system which connects settlements in the occupied West Bank in violation of international law. [PDF]
Solidarity and discontent
There are also signs of discontent with the relationship. Last week lawmakers in India’s Telangana state denounced the state government’s plan to send 1,000 public officials on “training” junkets to Israel, wasting public money that could be used to improve the conditions of local farmers.
Hyderabad, where the Rafael missile factory was to be located, is Telangana’s state capital.
And in October, the All India Kisan Sabha, the largest national organization representing farmers and agricultural workers in India, announced its support for the BDS movement.
Barghouti said: “As Palestinians we ask the Indian people to maintain their proud legacy of commitment to independence, to growing local knowledge and to respecting other people’s struggles for freedom from colonialism and apartheid.”
21 nov 2017
In anticipation of this deal to produce missile systems, Israeli arms manufacturer Rafael Advanced Defense Systems had entered into a joint venture with its in Indian partner. (Representative Image: Reuters)
Yesterday, media reported that the Indian Ministry of Defense scrapped the $500M deal with Israeli arms manufacturer Rafael Advanced Defense Systems for its missile systems. Years in the making, the deal had been celebrated in international media and was finalized after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel in July.
In August, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and its Indian partner Kalyani Strategic Systems opened a facility in Hyderabad to manufacture the missile systems.
The deal was cancelled after India’s state-run Defense Research Development Organisation asserted that India should not import this Israeli technology.
Jamal Juma’, coordinator of the Palestinian Stop the Wall Campaign and BNC secretariat member said:
India’s decision to scrap this massive arms deal with Israel is a huge blow to the Israeli weapons industry. This $500 million deal would have fueled Israel’s military industry, which is deeply implicated in war crimes against the Palestinian people.
It is also a major setback for Israel’s propaganda hubris that its technology is indispensable for India’s development and modernization. As many Indians are recognizing, Israel is marketing military and agricultural technologies in India and trying to cement Indian dependence on Israel.
Israel seeks a flow of Indian cash for it’s own profit and to help finance its criminal wars and apartheid regime.
India is by far the globe’s biggest importer of Israeli weapons, and Israel is enjoying almost unparalleled influence in the Indian military system. Israel is equipping the Indian army with Israeli guns, the Indian airforce and navy with Israeli airplanes and missiles, and is also providing communication systems and technology in all levels of the Indian military.
Over the last two decades, Indo-Israeli military relations have continuously increased despite various corruption scandals and technical failures.
Similar patterns have started to surface in other sectors as well. India’s 16 million-strong farmer’s union AIKS has endorsed the Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) “in order to stand for the rights of the Palestinian people and to resist the corporate takeover of Indian agriculture sector by Israeli companies.”
Members of Telengana’s state assembly last week denounced state-sponsored trips of Indian farmers to Israel as “a wastage of money.”
Omar Barghouti, co-founder of the BNC said:
We hope this is the beginning of the end of Indian complicity in Israel’s egregious violation of international law and Palestinian human rights.
As Palestinians we ask the Indian people to maintain their proud legacy of commitment to independence, to growing local knowledge and to respecting other people’s struggles for self-determination.
Israel’s regime of oppression can never be a model for the great Indian nation that once led the non-aligned movement and upheld the right of all nations to self determination and freedom. Israel exports to India what it knows best — technology that represses, militarizes and dispossesses people of their land and water rights. India is better off without that.
Last week it was announced that Indian Oil and Natural Gas Corporations are bidding for drilling rights in gas fields claimed by Israel, despite the many controversies linked to territorial disputes in such fields.
In August, India’s Adventz group signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop Israel’s Jerusalem Light Rail [PDF], which serves Israel’s settlements in and around occupied East Jerusalem in violation of international law.
Yesterday, media reported that the Indian Ministry of Defense scrapped the $500M deal with Israeli arms manufacturer Rafael Advanced Defense Systems for its missile systems. Years in the making, the deal had been celebrated in international media and was finalized after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel in July.
In August, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and its Indian partner Kalyani Strategic Systems opened a facility in Hyderabad to manufacture the missile systems.
The deal was cancelled after India’s state-run Defense Research Development Organisation asserted that India should not import this Israeli technology.
Jamal Juma’, coordinator of the Palestinian Stop the Wall Campaign and BNC secretariat member said:
India’s decision to scrap this massive arms deal with Israel is a huge blow to the Israeli weapons industry. This $500 million deal would have fueled Israel’s military industry, which is deeply implicated in war crimes against the Palestinian people.
It is also a major setback for Israel’s propaganda hubris that its technology is indispensable for India’s development and modernization. As many Indians are recognizing, Israel is marketing military and agricultural technologies in India and trying to cement Indian dependence on Israel.
Israel seeks a flow of Indian cash for it’s own profit and to help finance its criminal wars and apartheid regime.
India is by far the globe’s biggest importer of Israeli weapons, and Israel is enjoying almost unparalleled influence in the Indian military system. Israel is equipping the Indian army with Israeli guns, the Indian airforce and navy with Israeli airplanes and missiles, and is also providing communication systems and technology in all levels of the Indian military.
Over the last two decades, Indo-Israeli military relations have continuously increased despite various corruption scandals and technical failures.
Similar patterns have started to surface in other sectors as well. India’s 16 million-strong farmer’s union AIKS has endorsed the Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) “in order to stand for the rights of the Palestinian people and to resist the corporate takeover of Indian agriculture sector by Israeli companies.”
Members of Telengana’s state assembly last week denounced state-sponsored trips of Indian farmers to Israel as “a wastage of money.”
Omar Barghouti, co-founder of the BNC said:
We hope this is the beginning of the end of Indian complicity in Israel’s egregious violation of international law and Palestinian human rights.
As Palestinians we ask the Indian people to maintain their proud legacy of commitment to independence, to growing local knowledge and to respecting other people’s struggles for self-determination.
Israel’s regime of oppression can never be a model for the great Indian nation that once led the non-aligned movement and upheld the right of all nations to self determination and freedom. Israel exports to India what it knows best — technology that represses, militarizes and dispossesses people of their land and water rights. India is better off without that.
Last week it was announced that Indian Oil and Natural Gas Corporations are bidding for drilling rights in gas fields claimed by Israel, despite the many controversies linked to territorial disputes in such fields.
In August, India’s Adventz group signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop Israel’s Jerusalem Light Rail [PDF], which serves Israel’s settlements in and around occupied East Jerusalem in violation of international law.
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Omar Barghouti said:
As large multinationals increasingly abandon their illegal projects in Israel due to effective BDS pressure, Israel has started dragging India into deals fraught with legal and political problems. Indian companies would be well advised to avoid getting sucked into Israel’s human rights violations as more and more international corporations refuse to get involved in such complicity. The Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC) is the largest coalition in Palestinian civil society. It leads and supports the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement for Palestinian rights. VIDEO — Omar Barghouti on BDS: How Effective Is It? |
19 nov 2017
Political bureau member of Hamas, Ezzet Resheq, acclaimed on Saturday evening the anti-normalization conference held in Kuwait, dubbing it a key step to isolate the Israeli occupation and disclose its crimes against the Palestinians.
Resheq said the conference is a slap on the face of the Israeli leaders who have left no stone unturned to meddle in the Gulf’s home affairs and spark strife in the region.
“Boycotting the Israeli occupation—children’s murderer—is a national and humanitarian duty that the Arab governments and world’s free peoples should take upon their shoulders,” said Resheq.
“We hail our Kuwaiti brothers and sisters for hosting the anti-normalization conference. This is a sign of Kuwait’s unyielding pro-Palestine position,” the Hamas leader added.
Resheq also thanked the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement-Gulf (BDS) for staging the conference under the auspices of the Speaker of the National Assembly of Kuwait, Marzouk Al-Ghanim.
The so-called “Conference to Resist Normalization” with Israel in the Arab Gulf dovetails the 100th anniversary of the notorious Balfour Declaration.
Resheq said the conference is a slap on the face of the Israeli leaders who have left no stone unturned to meddle in the Gulf’s home affairs and spark strife in the region.
“Boycotting the Israeli occupation—children’s murderer—is a national and humanitarian duty that the Arab governments and world’s free peoples should take upon their shoulders,” said Resheq.
“We hail our Kuwaiti brothers and sisters for hosting the anti-normalization conference. This is a sign of Kuwait’s unyielding pro-Palestine position,” the Hamas leader added.
Resheq also thanked the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement-Gulf (BDS) for staging the conference under the auspices of the Speaker of the National Assembly of Kuwait, Marzouk Al-Ghanim.
The so-called “Conference to Resist Normalization” with Israel in the Arab Gulf dovetails the 100th anniversary of the notorious Balfour Declaration.
13 nov 2017
The Israeli authorities on Monday banned the entry of a number of European MPs and French mayors because of their activism in the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
The Hebrew website "0404" reported that Israel's Minister of Interior, Aryeh Deri, adopted recommendations by Israel's Minister of Strategic Affairs and Public Security, Gilad Erdan, not to allow the entry of a delegation composed of European MPs and heads of French local councils.
Deri said, according to the website, "This is not the first time we prevent the entry of boycott activists into Israel. This time, however, it is a delegation of European figures coming to act against Israel, and the matter is assuming a different dimension."
Erdan stressed that they will never allow entry of these BDS activists especially that they were planning to visit the Palestinian prisoner Marwan al-Barghouthi in Israeli jails.
Israel has enacted many laws against its boycotters including a law that allows to sue boycott activists and ask for financial compensations up to 100,000 shekels ($29,000) and 500,000 shekels ($143,000).
The Israeli authorities have recently barred the entry of dozens of activists and human rights workers because of their solidarity with the Palestinian people.
The Hebrew website "0404" reported that Israel's Minister of Interior, Aryeh Deri, adopted recommendations by Israel's Minister of Strategic Affairs and Public Security, Gilad Erdan, not to allow the entry of a delegation composed of European MPs and heads of French local councils.
Deri said, according to the website, "This is not the first time we prevent the entry of boycott activists into Israel. This time, however, it is a delegation of European figures coming to act against Israel, and the matter is assuming a different dimension."
Erdan stressed that they will never allow entry of these BDS activists especially that they were planning to visit the Palestinian prisoner Marwan al-Barghouthi in Israeli jails.
Israel has enacted many laws against its boycotters including a law that allows to sue boycott activists and ask for financial compensations up to 100,000 shekels ($29,000) and 500,000 shekels ($143,000).
The Israeli authorities have recently barred the entry of dozens of activists and human rights workers because of their solidarity with the Palestinian people.
12 nov 2017
The Israeli government is currently preparing a blacklist of local and international organizations and activists who call for boycotting Israeli institutions, products and events, local media sources revealed yesterday.
On Sunday, the Israeli Ministerial Committee on Legislation passed a law against activists who encourage the international boycott of Israel, under which they are likely to be sued or fined.
According to the PNN, Israel Hayom quoted legal officials, yesterday, describing the blacklist as “a database of the boycotting organizations, which can be prosecuted under the new law.”
According to the amended law, “a body or person who encourages any sort of boycott of Israel or Israeli institutions simply for being Israeli is liable to be sued for 100,000 shekels [$28,280] without proof of damages, and for 500,000 shekels [$142,500] if tangible damage is proven to have been caused.”
According to the agency, the blacklist includes Amnesty International, which has called on its website, in international ads, and on its Facebook page for all countries to boycott products from the occupied West Bank, and to impose a weapons embargo on the Jewish state, claiming that Israel is guilty of war crimes and that the settlements constitute a war crime.
The list also includes the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, the world’s most widely spread movement that calls for boycotting Israel.
BDS was established in 2005 with the aim to end the international support for Israel’s oppression against the Palestinians and to pressure Israel to comply with international law.
On Sunday, the Israeli Ministerial Committee on Legislation passed a law against activists who encourage the international boycott of Israel, under which they are likely to be sued or fined.
According to the PNN, Israel Hayom quoted legal officials, yesterday, describing the blacklist as “a database of the boycotting organizations, which can be prosecuted under the new law.”
According to the amended law, “a body or person who encourages any sort of boycott of Israel or Israeli institutions simply for being Israeli is liable to be sued for 100,000 shekels [$28,280] without proof of damages, and for 500,000 shekels [$142,500] if tangible damage is proven to have been caused.”
According to the agency, the blacklist includes Amnesty International, which has called on its website, in international ads, and on its Facebook page for all countries to boycott products from the occupied West Bank, and to impose a weapons embargo on the Jewish state, claiming that Israel is guilty of war crimes and that the settlements constitute a war crime.
The list also includes the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, the world’s most widely spread movement that calls for boycotting Israel.
BDS was established in 2005 with the aim to end the international support for Israel’s oppression against the Palestinians and to pressure Israel to comply with international law.
6 nov 2017
Air Canada’s Boeing 767 aircraft will no longer be maintained by the weapons maker Israel Aerospace Industries.
Air Canada has ended a maintenance contract with the arms maker Israel Aerospace Industries, activist groups have announced.
The Canadian BDS Coalition, which supports the Palestinian-led campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions, said on Sunday it had been informed by Air Canada management “that the five-year, multi-million dollar contract with Israel Aerospace Industries Bedek Group for heavy maintenance on Air Canada Boeing 767 jets was terminated in ‘early 2017,’ with two years remaining.”
The contract, signed in 2014, was reportedly worth tens of millions of dollars.
Air Canada told the activist groups that the work is being transferred to “another provider in North America,” which it did not name.
In September, Illinois-based AAR announced that it had signed a five-year contract to maintain the Canadian airline’s 34 Boeing 767s at its facility in Miami.
Air Canada provided activists with no reason for its termination of the Israeli contract.
But the coalition pointed out that Air Canada had released the information only “after our #AirCanadaComplicity campaign was taking off and receiving increasing support both from within Canada and internationally.”
The campaign garnered support from trade unions and solidarity groups in Canada and around the world.
Air Canada said in its letter to activists that it still maintains one small contract with the Israeli company, to perform mandatory inspection of aircraft prior to the departure of regularly scheduled return flights to Canada. But if problems are found during those checks, repairs are performed by Air Canada’s own personnel.
“The Canadian BDS Coalition is pleased that the largest and most significant element of Air Canada’s involvement with Israel Aerospace Industries has been terminated,” the activists said. “Given the recent publicity [Israel Aerospace Industries] has received in the international press in the last months, it is not surprising that any company would want to distance themselves from such a partner.”
The Canadian BDS Coalition noted that Israel Aerospace Industries was recently named in media reports as one of more than 100 firms likely to appear on a UN list of companies that are profiting from Israel’s occupation and illegal colonization of Palestinian land.
In September, the US government picked Elta North America, a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries, to build a prototype of President Donald Trump’s planned wall on the US-Mexico border.
Activists are now pushing Air Canada to stop serving Sabra brand hummus aboard its flights. Sabra is made by the Strauss group, which gives active support to the Israeli army.
Israel in AustraliaIsraeli weapons firms have been pushing into civil aviation in other countries as well.
Last month, activists in Australia welcomed a decision by the storied Royal Flying Doctor Service to pull out of a multi-million dollar joint venture with Elbit Systems, Israel’s biggest arms maker.
Nonetheless, Australia remains a major market for Israeli arms companies including Elbit and missile maker Rafael, which just announced it is opening a subsidiary in Melbourne.
Rafael is hoping to capture a big slice of a multi-billion dollar spending spree by Australia to expand its military.
“We haven’t had any substantial activity in Australia in recent years,” Rafael executive vice-president Giora Katz told Israel’s Globes business publication. “Now we’re returning to this market in full force.”
Last month Rafael announced a partnership with Australia’s Bisalloy Steels to supply materials to be used in manufacturing weapons systems.
Punishing opinions
In another sign of Israel’s distress over the effects of BDS, a cabinet committee on Sunday approved a draft law that allows Israeli companies to sue individual activists for up to $28,500 without having to prove any damages.
The new bill would expand Israel’s 2011 anti-boycott law. Israel’s high court upheld that law in 2015, but invalidated one provision which would have allowed anyone to sue for boycott-related damages without showing proof they were harmed.
If adopted, the law would effectively impose heavy financial penalties on individuals for expressing opinions contrary to the policies of the Israeli government.
The new legislation is backed by Gilad Erdan, Israel’s strategic affairs minister who has been spearheading a campaign of censorship and repression against the BDS movement that has reportedly involved the use of clandestine “black ops.”
Israel is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for the services of a US law firm as part of what human rights activists see as an effort to take this campaign of repression global.
Air Canada has ended a maintenance contract with the arms maker Israel Aerospace Industries, activist groups have announced.
The Canadian BDS Coalition, which supports the Palestinian-led campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions, said on Sunday it had been informed by Air Canada management “that the five-year, multi-million dollar contract with Israel Aerospace Industries Bedek Group for heavy maintenance on Air Canada Boeing 767 jets was terminated in ‘early 2017,’ with two years remaining.”
The contract, signed in 2014, was reportedly worth tens of millions of dollars.
Air Canada told the activist groups that the work is being transferred to “another provider in North America,” which it did not name.
In September, Illinois-based AAR announced that it had signed a five-year contract to maintain the Canadian airline’s 34 Boeing 767s at its facility in Miami.
Air Canada provided activists with no reason for its termination of the Israeli contract.
But the coalition pointed out that Air Canada had released the information only “after our #AirCanadaComplicity campaign was taking off and receiving increasing support both from within Canada and internationally.”
The campaign garnered support from trade unions and solidarity groups in Canada and around the world.
Air Canada said in its letter to activists that it still maintains one small contract with the Israeli company, to perform mandatory inspection of aircraft prior to the departure of regularly scheduled return flights to Canada. But if problems are found during those checks, repairs are performed by Air Canada’s own personnel.
“The Canadian BDS Coalition is pleased that the largest and most significant element of Air Canada’s involvement with Israel Aerospace Industries has been terminated,” the activists said. “Given the recent publicity [Israel Aerospace Industries] has received in the international press in the last months, it is not surprising that any company would want to distance themselves from such a partner.”
The Canadian BDS Coalition noted that Israel Aerospace Industries was recently named in media reports as one of more than 100 firms likely to appear on a UN list of companies that are profiting from Israel’s occupation and illegal colonization of Palestinian land.
In September, the US government picked Elta North America, a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries, to build a prototype of President Donald Trump’s planned wall on the US-Mexico border.
Activists are now pushing Air Canada to stop serving Sabra brand hummus aboard its flights. Sabra is made by the Strauss group, which gives active support to the Israeli army.
Israel in AustraliaIsraeli weapons firms have been pushing into civil aviation in other countries as well.
Last month, activists in Australia welcomed a decision by the storied Royal Flying Doctor Service to pull out of a multi-million dollar joint venture with Elbit Systems, Israel’s biggest arms maker.
Nonetheless, Australia remains a major market for Israeli arms companies including Elbit and missile maker Rafael, which just announced it is opening a subsidiary in Melbourne.
Rafael is hoping to capture a big slice of a multi-billion dollar spending spree by Australia to expand its military.
“We haven’t had any substantial activity in Australia in recent years,” Rafael executive vice-president Giora Katz told Israel’s Globes business publication. “Now we’re returning to this market in full force.”
Last month Rafael announced a partnership with Australia’s Bisalloy Steels to supply materials to be used in manufacturing weapons systems.
Punishing opinions
In another sign of Israel’s distress over the effects of BDS, a cabinet committee on Sunday approved a draft law that allows Israeli companies to sue individual activists for up to $28,500 without having to prove any damages.
The new bill would expand Israel’s 2011 anti-boycott law. Israel’s high court upheld that law in 2015, but invalidated one provision which would have allowed anyone to sue for boycott-related damages without showing proof they were harmed.
If adopted, the law would effectively impose heavy financial penalties on individuals for expressing opinions contrary to the policies of the Israeli government.
The new legislation is backed by Gilad Erdan, Israel’s strategic affairs minister who has been spearheading a campaign of censorship and repression against the BDS movement that has reportedly involved the use of clandestine “black ops.”
Israel is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for the services of a US law firm as part of what human rights activists see as an effort to take this campaign of repression global.
5 nov 2017
The Israeli Ministerial Committee for Legislation on Sunday approved a bill that allows to sue Israel's boycotters and ask for financial compensation.
The Hebrew TV channel Seven reported that the bill allows the Israelis who find themselves affected by the boycott campaigns to demand financial compensation without proof of damage.
The bill is set to be presented to the Knesset for final approval, which means that all left-wing organizations calling for boycotting Israel culturally, academically and economically in the occupied Palestinian territories will be subjected to immediate judicial prosecution.
The original law was approved by the Knesset in 2011, but the Israeli Supreme Court overturned the clause related to claiming financial compensation without citing evidence of damage.
According to the new law, the institutions and bodies that encourage or advocate anti-Israel boycott campaigns will be fined 100,000 shekels ($29,000) if there is no evidence of damage and 500,000 shekels ($150,000) if the evidence is there.
The Hebrew TV channel Seven reported that the bill allows the Israelis who find themselves affected by the boycott campaigns to demand financial compensation without proof of damage.
The bill is set to be presented to the Knesset for final approval, which means that all left-wing organizations calling for boycotting Israel culturally, academically and economically in the occupied Palestinian territories will be subjected to immediate judicial prosecution.
The original law was approved by the Knesset in 2011, but the Israeli Supreme Court overturned the clause related to claiming financial compensation without citing evidence of damage.
According to the new law, the institutions and bodies that encourage or advocate anti-Israel boycott campaigns will be fined 100,000 shekels ($29,000) if there is no evidence of damage and 500,000 shekels ($150,000) if the evidence is there.
1 nov 2017
Israeli occupation authorities banned, on Tuesday, the Arab-American activist Raed Jarrar from entering Israel, over his support of the boycott movement against Israel.
Jarrar was barred from accessing pre-1948 Palestinian lands in Israel by recommendation of Israeli Minister of Internal Security Golad Erdan. Erdan said that everyone who activates against Israel must recognize that the reality has changed.
Jarrar arrived in Gaza and was banned from entering Israeli territory, according to Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency.
Jarrar is a blogger and political activist who works in Washington, DC, and the spokesperson for the US-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.
Jarrar was barred from accessing pre-1948 Palestinian lands in Israel by recommendation of Israeli Minister of Internal Security Golad Erdan. Erdan said that everyone who activates against Israel must recognize that the reality has changed.
Jarrar arrived in Gaza and was banned from entering Israeli territory, according to Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency.
Jarrar is a blogger and political activist who works in Washington, DC, and the spokesperson for the US-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.