{"id":41444,"date":"2014-03-31T12:00:37","date_gmt":"2014-03-31T11:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=41444"},"modified":"2015-05-05T21:35:09","modified_gmt":"2015-05-05T20:35:09","slug":"bds-non-violent-resistance-to-israeli-occupation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2014\/03\/bds-non-violent-resistance-to-israeli-occupation\/","title":{"rendered":"BDS: Non-Violent Resistance to Israeli Occupation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(Image credit: latuff1 \/ bdsmovement.net)<\/p><\/div>\n

Thanks to Scarlett Johansson, the American Studies Association (ASA), and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement has entered our national discourse. Representatives of Palestinian civil society launched BDS in 2005, calling upon \u201cinternational 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 African in the apartheid era . . . [including] embargoes and sanctions against Israel.\u201d The call for BDS specified that \u201cthese non-violent punitive measures\u201d should last until Israel fully complies with international law by (1) ending its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the barrier Wall; (2) recognizing the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and (3) respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their land as stipulated in UN resolution 194.<\/p>\n

Johansson is a spokesperson for SodaStream, a seltzer-making company whose major factory is located in an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank. SodaStream generates the highest volume of settlement exports to Europe. Until recently, Johansson was also an ambassador for Oxfam, which, like many other international organizations, opposes all trade from the Israeli settlements in the West Bank because companies are operating there illegally. Shortly before Johansson\u2019s commercial for SodaStream aired during the Super Bowl last month, Oxfam forced Johansson to choose between SodaStreama and Oxfam. She chose SodaStream, stepping down from her post with Oxfam.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the ASA recently endorsed a boycott of Israeli academic institutions, which emerged \u201cfrom the context of U.S. military and other support for Israel; Israel\u2019s violation of international law and UN resolutions; the documented impact of the Israeli occupation on Palestinian scholars and students; the extent to which Israeli institutions of higher education are a party to state policies that violate human rights; and finally, the support of such a resolution by a majority of ASA members.\u201d In its statement of support for the ASA boycott, faculty members at the American University in Cairo cited Israeli policies that \u201chave rendered the Gaza Strip the world\u2019s largest open-air penitentiary.\u201d The ASA is the third major U.S. academic organization \u2013 together with the Asian American and Native American and Indigenous Studies Association \u2013 to endorse the academic boycott of Israel during the past year.<\/p>\n

And, earlier this month, when he delivered the keynote address to the annual meeting of the powerful Israel lobby in the United States, American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Netanyahu spent almost as much time attacking BDS as he did explaining why he thinks Iran is a strategic threat to Israel. Clearly disturbed by the proliferation of BDS worldwide, Netanyahu claimed, \u201cThose who wear the BDS label should be treated exactly as we treat any anti-Semite or bigot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is BDS anti-Semitic?<\/b><\/p>\n

But, in the words of Rafeef Ziadah, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee<\/a>, \u201cThe BDS movement is opposed, as a matter of principle, to all forms of discrimination, including anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.\u201d In January, Palestinian human rights activist Omar Barghouti wrote in the New York Times<\/i><\/a>, \u201cArguing that boycotting Israel is intrinsically anti-Semitic is not only false, but it also presumes that Israel and \u2018the Jews\u2019 are one and the same. This is as absurd and bigoted as claiming that a boycott of a self-defined Islamic state like Saudi Arabia, say, because of its horrific human rights record, would of necessity be Islamophobic.\u201d Barghouti also noted, \u201cBDS doesn\u2019t pose an existential threat to Israel; it poses a serious challenge to Israel\u2019s system of oppression of the Palestinian people, which is the root cause of its growing worldwide isolation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nobel Peace Prize winner South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu concurs. \u201cMy voice will always be raised in support of Christian-Jewish ties and against the anti-Semitism that all sensible people fear and detest,\u201d Tutu wrote in the <\/a>Tampa Bay Times<\/a>. <\/i>\u201cBut this cannot be an excuse for doing nothing and for standing aside as successive Israeli governments colonize the West Bank and advance racist laws,\u201d he added, noting \u201cIsrael\u2019s theft of Palestinian land\u201d and \u201cJewish-only colonies built on Palestinian land in violation of international law.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tutu cited the 2010 Human Rights Watch report<\/a>, which \u201cdescribes the two-tier system of laws, rules, and services that Israel operates for the two populations in areas in the West Bank under its exclusive control, which provide preferential services, development, and benefits for Jewish settlers while imposing harsh conditions on Palestinians.\u201d Tutu writes, \u201cThis, in my book, is apartheid. It is untenable.\u201d He called on \u201cpeople and organizations of conscience to divest from . . . Caterpillar, Motorola Solutions and Hewlett Packard,\u201d which profit \u201cfrom the occupation and subjugation of Palestinians.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moreover, if BDS is anti-Semitic, why do so many Jews support it? In her recent piece in Tikkun Daily<\/i>, Jewish Voice for Peace<\/a> board member Donna Nevel mentioned that \u201crespected members of the liberal Jewish community\u201d and \u201ca few liberal Zionist groups,\u201d formerly opposed to BDS, are now calling for boycotts of products made in the settlements. She points out that groups like Jews Say No and Jewish Voice for Peace \u2013 \u201ca diverse and democratic community of activists inspired by Jewish tradition to work together for peace, social justice, and human rights\u201d – are \u201cresonating with increasing numbers of Jews who support BDS as a natural outgrowth of their commitments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some Jews in Israel have also engaged in non-violent resistance to Israeli government policies. Sixty youth recently signed an open letter to Netanyahu announcing their refusal to serve in the Israeli military due to the dehumanization of Palestinians living under occupation. In the occupied Palestinian territories, they wrote, \u201chuman rights are violated, and acts defined under international law as war-crimes are perpetuated on a daily basis.\u201d The signatories cite \u201cassassinations (extrajudicial killings), the construction of settlements on occupied lands, administrative detentions, torture, collective punishment and the unequal allocation of resources such as electricity and water.\u201d<\/p>\n

How extensive is the BDS movement?<\/b><\/p>\n

The BDS movement is spreading throughout the world. European pension funds are divesting from banks and companies that operate in settlements, and European markets are labeling Israeli goods made in the West Bank. In January, PGGM, the Netherlands\u2019 second largest pension fund, decided to divest from five of Israel\u2019s largest banks because they financed companies involved in the construction of settlements. PGGM is the second Dutch company to recently break ties with Israeli companies. Also in January, two of Europe\u2019s largest financial institutions, Nordea and Danske Bank, agreed to boycott Israeli banks with branches in the West Bank. Norway\u2019s Government Pension Fund Global, a multibillion operation, has blacklisted Africa Israel Investments and Danya Cebus due to their ties to settlements in the West Bank. Argentine authorities have suspended a proposed $170 million water treatment plant\u2019s deal with Israel\u2019s state water company Mekorot, in response to local trade unions and human rights organizations that connected Mekorot\u2019s role in Israel\u2019s illegal theft of Palestinian water resources. Many Western artists and bands refuse to perform in Israel.<\/p>\n

In his final report<\/a> to the United Nations, Richard Falk, Special UN Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, called on the international community to comprehensively investigate the business activities of companies and financial institutions registered in their own respective countries, which profit from the settlements in Israel and other unlawful Israeli activities. He advocated that they \u201ctake appropriate action to end such practices and ensure appropriate reparation for affected Palestinians.\u201d Significantly, Falk wrote, \u201cMember States should consider imposing a ban on imports of settlement produce.\u201d<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s Maariv<\/i> newspaper reported that the international boycott of Israeli settlement products has already led to financial losses of $30 million. Indeed, last August, Secretary of State John Kerry warned that Israel could face a boycott campaign \u201con steroids\u201d if it continues to build settlements in the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n

In a recent interview, President Barack Obama asked, \u201cDo you resign yourself to what amounts to a permanent occupation of the West Bank? Is that the character of Israel as a state for a long period of time? Do you perpetuate, over the course of a decade or two decades, more and more restrictive policies in terms of Palestinian movement? Do you place restrictions on Arab-Israelis that run counter to Israel\u2019s traditions?\u201d These are bold words. But it is unlikely Obama will follow them with bold action.<\/p>\n

Israel remains the largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid, over $3 billion a year. And Elbit Systems Ltd., Israel\u2019s largest arms manufacturer, has just been awarded a $145 million contract by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border and Protection to deploy border surveillance technology in southern Arizona. Elbit is the Israeli military\u2019s largest suppliers of drones, which were involved in the killing of 29 children during Israel\u2019s attack on Gaza in 2008-2009, and the ongoing bombing of Gaza.<\/p>\n

In light of Israel\u2019s documented human rights violations, U.S. assistance and the Elbit contract are unacceptable. \u201cThose who turn a blind eye to injustice actually perpetuate injustice,\u201d Tutu said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter where we worship or live.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anti-BDS legislation and blacklisting student groups<\/b><\/p>\n

Nevertheless, there has been a vigorous campaign to pass anti-BDS legislation, both in Israel and in the United States. In 2011, the Israeli Knesset passed an anti-boycott law which would sanction anyone who declares a commercial embargo on Israel, and label any boycott a civil offense subjecting its initiators to litigation. Several Israeli and U.S. human rights groups asked that the law be annulled and a special panel of the Israeli High Court of Law held a hearing on the bill in February. The New York Times<\/i> opposed the bill, noting, \u201cthis is a fundamental issue of free speech.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anti-boycott legislation introduced earlier this year in both New York and Maryland which would punish institutions that endorse the boycott were withdrawn after several educators and legislators criticized the bills as an attack on academic freedom. But a revised version of the New York bill has been introduced that would punish colleges that use public funds for activities that support boycotts of Israel. In early March, the Protect Academic Freedom Act was introduced in the House of Representatives, which would deny government funding to any U.S institution that endorses the academic boycott of Israel.<\/p>\n

And bills have been introduced in several state legislatures to penalize universities if their faculty members participate in professional organizations that express a political viewpoint by endorsing a boycott. More than 150 scholars and others signed a statement recognizing boycotts as \u201cinternationally affirmed and constitutionally protected forms of political expression.\u201d Columbia Law School Professor Katherine Frank wrote, \u201cA law targeting the boycott today cannot be differentiated from the laws that punished boycotts in the U.S. civil rights movement or those that compelled academics to sign loyalty oaths as a condition of employment.\u201d<\/p>\n

In another campaign against the BDS movement, some universities, including Northeastern, have banned Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) from campuses and threatened disciplinary measures against some SJP members. This appears to be \u201cpart of a coordinated effort by the Israeli government and the Israel lobby to blacklist all student groups that challenge the official Israeli narrative,\u201d according to Chris Hedges.<\/p>\n

Resistance to the banning of student groups that criticize Israeli policies should cite the well-established Supreme Court precedents protecting academic freedom of speech, including Healy v. James<\/i> (\u201c[t]he college classroom with its surrounding environs is peculiarly the marketplace of ideas\u201d), Keyishian v. Bd. of Regents of Univ. of N.Y.<\/i> (\u201cthe vigilant protection of constitutional freedoms is nowhere more vital than in the community of American schools [of higher learning]\u201d), and Snyder v. Phelps <\/i>(\u201cspeech on matters of public concern . . . is at the heart of the First Amendment\u2019s protection\u201d).<\/p>\n

But unless and until Israel ends its brutal occupation of Palestinian lands, grants full equality to all its people – including Palestinians – and recognizes the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their land, the non-violent BDS movement will continue to grow and cripple the Israeli economy. A system based on inequality and oppression cannot survive.<\/p>\n

_________________________________<\/p>\n

Marjorie Cohn, a professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law and past President of the National Lawyers Guild, is the deputy secretary general for external communications of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, and the U.S. representative to the executive committee of the American Association of Jurists. She is the author of <\/i>Cowboy Republic: Six Ways the Bush Gang Has Defied the Law<\/a> and co-author of <\/i>Rules of Disengagement: The Politics and Honor of Military Dissent<\/a> (with Kathleen Gilberd). Her anthology, <\/i>The United States and Torture: Interrogation, Incarceration and Abuse<\/a>, is now available. Her articles are archived at www.marjoriecohn.com<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.<\/i><\/p>\n

Go to Original \u2013 commondreams.org<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Join the BDS-BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT, SANCTIONS<\/i> <\/b><\/span>campaign to protest the Israeli barbaric siege of Gaza, illegal occupation of the Palestine nation\u2019s territory, the apartheid wall, its inhuman and degrading treatment of the Palestinian people, and the more than 7,000 Palestinian men, women, elderly and children arbitrarily locked up in Israeli prisons.<\/p>\n

DON’T BUY<\/b> PRODUCTS WHOSE<\/b> BARCODE<\/b> STARTS WITH<\/b> 729<\/b>, which indicates that it is produced in Israel.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 DO YOUR PART! MAKE A DIFFERENCE!<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

7 2 9: BOYCOTT FOR JUSTICE!<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thanks to Scarlett Johansson, the American Studies Association and Benjamin Netanyahu, the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement has entered our national discourse. Unless and until Israel ends its brutal occupation of Palestinian lands, grants full equality to all its people, and recognizes the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their land, the non-violent BDS movement will continue to grow and cripple the Israeli economy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-palestine-israel-gaza-genocide"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41444"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41444\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}