L.A. Jews mull boycott of Israel university over ‘apartheid’ op-ed

Members of the Los Angeles Jewish community have threatened to withhold donations to an Israeli university in protest of an op-ed published by a prominent Israeli academic in the Los Angeles Times on Friday, in which he called to boycott Israel economically, culturally and politically.

Dr. Neve Gordon of Ben-Gurion University in Be’er Sheva, a veteran peace activist, branded Israel as an apartheid state and said that a boycott was “the only way to save it from itself.”

For full article, visit http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1109275.html

Abe Hayeem: Boycott this Israeli settlement builder

The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office must be commended for its decision to cancel renting premises for the UK embassy in Tel Aviv from the company Africa-Israel, owned by Israeli businessman and settlement builder Lev Leviev. This is an encouraging step that should now be backed by stronger sanctions against the building of the separation wall and the building of illegal settlements by Israel. Furthermore, the governments of Norway and Dubai should emulate the example set by the UK and sever their relationships with Leviev’s companies.

For full article, visit http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/apr/28/israel-boycott-leviev

Nimer Sultany: Should Palestinian citizens vote in Israel’s parliamentary elections?

The recent Israeli elections witnessed a revival of the debate among the Palestinian citizens of Israel concerning the meaning of their participation, or the lack thereof, in the electoral process. The disqualification of Arab parties by the Knesset’s Central Elections Committee and the subsequent reversal of the decision by Israel’s high court led to two paradoxical results: on the one hand, it strengthened the doubts of some Palestinians vis-a-vis the fairness and effectiveness of the parliamentary presence of Palestinian representatives; on the other hand, it seems that these events mobilized more Palestinians to vote in order to defend their representation. Nevertheless, the steady decline of the Palestinian turnout in the national elections in recent years maintained its momentum: only 53 percent of the eligible Palestinian voters voted in the February elections. On the backdrop of the falling percentage of turnout and the rise of the Zionist far right wing, explicating and assessing the main positions in this debate — in particular the voices calling for a Palestinian boycott of the Israeli elections — becomes vital.

For full article, visit http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10461.shtml

Motorola drops bomb fuse unit following boycott campaign

Motorola has sold a controversial unit that produced bomb fuses and other equipment for the Israeli military, according to the Israeli financial newspaper Globes. The sale rids Motorola of some activities that had made it the target of a growing boycott in the US and worldwide. No explanation was offered in the media reports for the sale by Motorola Israel — a wholly owned subsidiary of Motorola — of its unit called Government Electronics Department (GED) to the Israeli company Aeronautics Defense Systems Ltd.

The sale came just days after a 30 March protest in Brooklyn by The New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel (NYCBI) kicking off a city-wide campaign to boycott Motorola over its support for Israeli apartheid. Ryvka Bar Zohar from NYCBI commented, “We are heartened that Motorola has eliminated at least its production of bomb fuses for bombs that Israel dropped on the Palestinian and Lebanese people. But we will continue our campaign to boycott Motorola until it is clear that it has eliminated production and sale of all products used to support Israeli apartheid.”

For full article, visit http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10450.shtml

Canadian Filmmaker John Greyson Turns Down Offer to Premiere Film at the Tel Aviv International LGBT Film Festival

John Greyson is a prominent Canadian filmmaker

“After much wrestling with these difficult issues, I’ve come to a decision: I can’t show Fig Trees in your festival, and I can’t go forward with my proposed film shoot in Israel.

This choice has been very difficult to make. As I’ve said before, I have great respect for the work you’re doing, and know what a struggle your festival faces to keep going. I want to be very clear: my decision isn’t in opposition to your festival, which has done much to promote the voices of global queers, or to you, who have done much to get queer films made and shown in your city.

Instead, I feel I must join the many Jews and non-Jews, Israelis and Palestinians, queers and otherwise, who are part of the growing global BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement against Israeli apartheid. I’ve come to the conclusion that, in this moment, to not take this stand is unthinkable, impossible.”

For full article, visit http://www.alternativenews.org/content/view/1678/381/

Land Day March 30th: Palestinian and worldwide actions planned

Land Day began 32 years ago, on March 30th, 1977, when Israeli forces attacked a non-violent demonstration against widescale land confiscation in the Galilee, in northern Israel. On that day, Israeli forces killed 6 Palestinians, injured 96 and arrested 300. Palestinians inside Israel, the West Bank and Gaza as well as refugee camps in nearby Arab countries declared the day to be ‘Land Day’, to commemorate the loss of Palestinian land, which is still ongoing to create and expand the state of Israel.

Boycott-Divestment-Sanctions logo

For full article, visit http://www.imemc.org/article/59660

On Monday, protests are planned against Israel’s separation wall, which has resulted in the de facto annexation of large swaths of Palestinian land, and settlements, which are built on seized land. Rallies are planned in towns across the West Bank, Jerusalem, and in the Galilee, in the north of Israel.

For full article, visit http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=36758

Israeli poll indicates 21% of exporters have felt effects of boycott

The global call to boycott Israeli products, which began in 2005, gained traction in January 2009 after Israeli forces invaded the Gaza Strip with massive force, killing 1400 people, over 400 of whom were children. Across the world, Palestinians in diaspora and human rights advocates joined together in protests, marches and actions, focusing attention on a boycott of Israel. Some groups have called for a boycott of products exported from Israeli settlements and businesses that make profits from the Israeli military occupation, but other boycott groups have called for all Israeli products to be boycotted.

For full article, visit http://www.imemc.org/article/59662

Australian academics call for boycott of Israel

“We scholars, inspired by the wishes of Palestinian civil society, call upon international civil society organizations and people of conscience all over the world to impose broad boycotts and implement divestment initiatives against Israel similar to those applied to South Africa in the apartheid era. We appeal to you to pressure your respective states to impose embargoes and sanctions against Israel. We also invite conscientious Israelis to support this Call, for the sake of justice and genuine peace.”

For full article, visit http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10427.shtml