How can we stop Israeli human right violations
By: Manawel Abdelal
Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions
Wednesday 22 April 2009 @ 7:00pm
Main Lecture Theatre, Tower Building
Dundee University
Event Organised by: Dundee Trades Council, Dundee University Islamic Society and Tayside for Justice in Palestine
Tayside for Justice in Palestine invites you to a Lunch time talk with
Mich Levy and Sara Kershnar founders of International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network
Saturday 11 April 2009 @ 12:30-2:00pm
Venue: the friends meeting house
(7 Whitehall crescent, Dundee, DD1 4AR)
Soup and Rolls available
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli exporters have been forced to cut prices in part because of a worldwide boycott of Israeli products in protest of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land, a leading industry association reported this week.
Israeli exporters have been losing foreign markets and customers because of the global economic crisis and a growing anti-Israel boycott of locally made products following Operation Cast Lead.
The findings were made available by the Israel Manufacturers Association on Sunday, and published in the Jerusalem Post the following day.
According to the report, 21 percent of Israeli exporters face difficulties selling abroad, particularly to the UK and Scandinavian countries.
The boycott and the financial crisis were cited as the issues behind a forced price cut by 66 percent of Israeli exporters.
The report emerged as boycott campaigners announced that they are stepping up their efforts in Palestine and internationally.
On Monday in Ramallah, a press conference was held by the Palestinian National Boycott Committee (BNC) in Ramallah, which urged local and international parties to continue their boycott actions. They called the boycott a “tool to realize long-denied Palestinian national rights.”
Representative of the BNC and the Palestinian NGO network Allam Jarrar called Land Day an appropriate time to call a Boycott and Divestment Day because both events shared the same goal.
In Palestine the boycott of Israeli products, institutions and companies is once again gaining ground. Increasing numbers of students, women and ordinary people see the boycott of Israel as an effective form of resistance and are beginning to make it a part of their daily lives,
Omar Asaf, another representative of the BNC and a member of the National Higher Committee for the Defense of the Right of Return said.
In the last month,
he continued, regional and local committees have been formed to promote the boycott of Israeli products and an end to ties between Palestinian organizations, and their Israeli counterparts,
According to BNC more than 75 demonstrations, protests and festivals were held in 19 countries to promote the Global BDS day of action.
Please tell or remind people at the meeting on Thursday and in subsequent e-mails of the SPSCmeeting in Salutation Inn in Perth South St at lunchtime on April 21st, mainly for STUC attenders as a fringe meeting with Menawel Abb Edal – trade unionist from Palestine.
Followed same day by evening meeting/public launch 7.30 for 7.45 start at St Ninian’s Cathedral premises, Perth (entrance from North) – hosted by PAJAPP* with Mick Napier (SPSC), Menawel from Palestine Trade Union movement and also the new Secretary of the Scottish Palestinian Forum, Alison Phillips. Ends 10.00 pm after formal adoption of PAJAPP constitution and election of seven committee members. All welcome.
*PAJAPP was not described in e-mail so no idea who the organisation is.
Strangemaps found a representation of the fragmentation of Palestine.
A few weeks later they have found a full copy of the map and had a word with the creator.
Thursday, 2nd April, 7.15 p.m.
Friend’s Meeting House, 7, Whitehall Crescent, Dundee.
Note change of venue from usual.
Several Israeli soldiers have come forward and admitted to activities which are clear war crimes during the slaughter in Gaza.
One account tells of a sniper killing a mother and children at close range whom troops had told to leave their home.
In another cited case, a commander ordered troops to kill an elderly woman walking on a road, even though she was easily identifiable and clearly not a threat.
Testimonies, which were given by combat pilots and infantry soldiers, also included allegations of unnecessary destruction of Palestinian property.
The soldiers’ testimonies also reportedly told of an unusually high intervention by military and non-military rabbis, who circulated pamphlets describing the war in religious terminology.
“All the articles had one clear message,” one soldier said. “We are the people of Israel, we arrived in the country almost by miracle, now we need to fight to uproot the gentiles who interfere with re-conquering the Holy Land.”
Revelations from an Israeli newspaper Haaretz
Dead babies, mothers weeping on their children’s graves, a gun aimed at a child and bombed-out mosques – these are a few examples of the images Israel Defense Forces soldiers design these days to print on shirts they order to mark the end of training, or of field duty. The slogans accompanying the drawings are not exactly anemic either: A T-shirt for infantry snipers bears the inscription “Better use Durex,” next to a picture of a dead Palestinian baby, with his weeping mother and a teddy bear beside him. A sharpshooter’s T-shirt from the Givati Brigade’s Shaked battalion shows a pregnant Palestinian woman with a bull’s-eye superimposed on her belly, with the slogan, in English, “1 shot, 2 kills.” A “graduation” shirt for those who have completed another snipers course depicts a Palestinian baby, who grows into a combative boy and then an armed adult, with the inscription, “No matter how it begins, we’ll put an end to it.”
Israeli Army t-shirt
This is why 1000 people marched in Dundee demanding ceasefire. The silence from those supporters of the slaughter is deafening. A sharp contrast to their constant bleating on every news programme and newspaper during the onslaught.
The boycott is working. The co-operative have reduced their Israeli produce from 20 items to 15 and are reconsidering stocking the rest. Please contribute.
The postcard is available here
Postcard to Co-op
The text follows:
As a customer who both values and shares the Co-op’s commitment to fair-trade and support for human rights, I urge you to please stop selling Israeli goods!
Israel has imposed a military occupation on Palestine for 41 years and has laid siege to Gaza for almost 2 years. As we have seen from the recent massacre of 1,400 people (around 470 children) with the full support of the so-called “civilised” governments (including the UK), Israel is able to commit war crime after war crime with impunity.
The Palestinians have called on the people of the world to boycott Apartheid Israel. In order to pressure Israel to end its violations of international law and its disregard for human rights, we all have a responsibility to act on that call.
Total raised: £3,046.
Tickets: £2,240,
Raffle: £425,
Bucket collection: £321,
Labour Party Fringe Meeting: £60.
Sale of Palestinian produce/goods – £500 – highest sales ever!
It was a great night! Thanks from Tayside for Justice in Palestine.
To everyone who helped make it so. Many, many, positive things but one thing in particular – it’s broad based support: SNP & Labour Party MSPs, Liberal Democrat & Lab Councillors from Angus. Scottish Socialist Party, Socialist Workers’ Party, Communist Party of Scotland, Trade Unionists, Pensioners, Church of Scotland, Roman Catholic Church, Muslim faith, Quakers, Fair-Trade, Environmentalists, Dundee/Nablus Twinning Association, Jews for Justice for Palestinians, Democratic Left, The Green Party, One-World Centre and the Co-operative Movement.
Manchester university have now been in occupation for nearly a month! Their vice-chancellor has so far failed to enter into negotiations and a demo is planned for this afternoon. Please take one minute of your morning to take action to support them. Copy and paste the text below into an email, adding your name at the bottom, and forward to president@manchester.ac.uk. We want to inundate him with support for the occupation! You can also call him at 0161 306 6010 to express your feelings. Please circulate widely.
Dear Vice-Chancellor Gilbert,
I am writing to express my total support for the Manchester University occupation in solidarity with Gaza and its demands.
The Manchester University occupation has been the longest and the largest of a national wave of UK university occupations in solidarity with Gaza and its students have shown admirable passion and commitment to this urgent cause. That its students are sufficiently compassionate and engaged to interrupt their own lives to this extent in order to speak out in solidarity with the victims of violence and oppression is surely something to be celebrated by Manchester University. The students have demonstrated utmost willingness to work together with the university administration and have sought negotiations throughout the entire protest.
The Manchester University occupation has the support of a strong national student movement and its principles and sentiments are reflective of those of the majority of the British public. Its demands are similar to those currently being implemented in numerous universities across the UK which are now working together with their students to put an end to their institutional collusion with the illegal Israeli occupation and find ways to use their privileged position to help those who are suffering because of it. Manchester should be no exception. Therefore we urge you to do the same and hope that you will begin working together with the students of the occupation to address their demands.
Yours sincerely,
name, Uni/organisation
