 |
BOYCOTT! Supporting the Palestinian BDS Call from Within, commonly known as Boycott from Within, [1] [2] is an association of Jewish and Arab Israelis who support the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Founded in 2008, it describes itself as following the guiding principles and sharing the goals of the Palestinian BDS movement, as delineated by Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI).
The members of Boycott from Within describe themselves as “Palestinians, Jews, citizens of Israel,” who “join the Palestinian call for a BDS campaign against Israel, inspired by the struggle of South Africans against apartheid,” and who are “devoted to the promotion of just peace and true democracy in this region.” They disapprove of “Western governments' decision to boycott the Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories,” which they characterize as “particularly outrageous given the same Western governments' prolonged support of Israel's apartheid and other daily violations of international law.” [3]
Ronnie Barkan, a longtime Jewish Israeli activist and math teacher who was raised in Raanana, near Tel Aviv, is a co-founder of Boycott from Within. He has been involved since 2004 in protests against the Israeli barrier in the West Bank and has been arrested and detained a number of times. In a 2012 interview with journalist Ceclia Dalla Negra of The Electronic Intifada , he expressed his belief that Palestinian resistance is a “popular struggle rather than a nonviolent one,” but added that “as long as Israel and its backers use means of terror against the Palestinian civil population, then we cannot legally and should not morally condemn those fighting for their liberation from doing so.” [4]
Barkan has described himself as “among the group of the over-privileged in this struggle for Palestinian rights, acting against a system that has at its very core the Zionist principle of differentiation.” He describes the Israeli treatment of Palestinians as apartheid, identifies himself as “anti-Zionist,” and refers to Israel as “the Jewish-supremacist entity...founded on the basis of ethnic cleansing and ethnic segregation.” [5]
Barkan has been described as having evaded mandatory service in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). [6] He himself has said that he refused to complete his mandatory military service. “There's a lot of social pressure [in Israel],” he told Al-Jazeera in 2011. “We're raised to be soldiers from kindergarten. We're taught that it's our duty [to serve in the army] and you're a parasite or traitor if you don't want to serve.” He said that Israelis “are raised to be deeply racist,” and described his support for BDS as a means of “renouncing my privileges in this land and insisting on equality for all.” He does not, however, support the turning away of Israeli academics or musicians from conferences or other gatherings abroad because they are Israelis, saying that such conduct amounts to racism. [7]
The Israel Security Agency investigators interrogated Barkan in the run-up to the 2012 “flytilla.” [5]
In 2010, Barkan represented the Palestinian Popular Struggle Coordination Committee at the European Parliament. [8]
Another Boycott from Within activist, Kobi Snitz, is a mathematician employed by the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot. Snitz is also a longtime member of Anarchists Against the Wall who has demonstrated alongside Palestinian villagers protesting the West Bank fence for many years. In addition, he has close connections to the Palestine Solidarity Project. Imprisoned in 2004 for interfering with security policies,[ vague ] he was summoned by Shin Bet for questioning in 2010, at which time Shin Bet told Haaretz that it possessed “information indicating that Dr. Kobi Snitz is involved in organizing illegal gatherings and illegal entry into restricted military zones in the West Bank.” [1] [9]
Boycott from Within member Leehee Rothschild’s Tel Aviv apartment was raided and she was detained in 2011. “Obviously [the pressure] is nothing compared to what Palestinians are going through,” Rothschild told Al-Jazeera. “But I think we're touching a nerve.” She said that if the Boycott Law, then under consideration, were passed, “it will peel off, a little more, Israel's mask of democracy.” She described the Israeli people, moreover, as being themselves “oppressed by the occupation – they are living inside a society that is militant; that is violent; that is racist.” [7]
Ofer Neiman is one of the leaders of Boycott from Within. In July 2010, he spoke with Between The Lines’ Melinda Tuhus about the group, saying that “if Israel had accepted the Saudi Initiative – which is not just a Saudi initiative, it's an initiative by the Arab League, a comprehensive peace initiative based on the two-state solution and the '67 borders, then there would be no BDS campaign.” [10]
The Barkan Industrial Park is located about 25 kilometres east of Tel Aviv in the West Bank. Its offices are located at the northern entrance. The industrial park is located adjacent to the Israeli settlement Barkan and near the settlement and city of Ariel.
The Israel on Campus Coalition (ICC) is a United States pro-Israel umbrella organization founded in 2002 with funding from the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies and Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life. ICC's chief executive officer since 2013, Jacob Baime, is a former national field director for AIPAC.
The Reut Group is a non-profit policy think tank and Israeli lobby organization in Tel Aviv. It was founded by Gidi Grinstein in January 2004 to provide decision-support to Israeli policymakers. The Reut Institute was established in January 2004 by Gidi Grinstein and a team of founders.
Shurat HaDin is an Israeli non-governmental organization (NGO) founded in Tel Aviv in 2003. Shurat HaDin has been described by some as a civil rights organization and others as a pro-Israel lawfare-waging NGO.
Udi Aloni is an Israeli American filmmaker, writer, visual artist and political activist whose works focus on the interrelationships between art, theory, and action.
Physicians for Human Rights–Israel is a non-governmental, non-profit, human rights organization based in Jaffa. Physicians for Human Rights–Israel was founded in 1988 with the goal of promoting "a just society where the right to health is granted equally to all people under Israel’s responsibility."
Welcome to Palestine, dubbed by Israeli media the flytilla, is an initiative of Palestinian civil society organizations in the West Bank to welcome hundreds of internationals to participate in a series of solidarity activities with the Palestinian people in the territory. According to organizers, the aim is also to draw attention to Israel's border policies and life under Israeli occupation. Israeli officials described those participating as "hooligans" and "provocateurs," and maintained they had a right to deny the activists entry. Both in 2011—the project's inaugural year—and 2012, many participants were not allowed onto flights departing from European airports to Israel as a result of Israeli diplomatic efforts. In 2011, a total of 130 activists who did arrive at airport were refused entry upon landing, and a few were flown back to their countries' of origin immediately. Four people were granted entry after agreeing to sign documents in which they pledged not to participate in disturbances of the order. The rest of those refused entry were kept in two jails, some for several days, until their expulsions could be arranged.
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a nonviolent Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. Its objective is to pressure Israel to meet what the BDS movement describes as Israel's obligations under international law, defined as withdrawal from the occupied territories, removal of the separation barrier in the West Bank, full equality for Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel, and "respecting, protecting, and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties". The movement is organized and coordinated by the Palestinian BDS National Committee.
Omar Barghouti is a founding committee member of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) and a co-founder of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. He received the Gandhi Peace Award in 2017.
The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) was launched in April 2004 by a group of Palestinian academics and intellectuals in Ramallah, in the West Bank. PACBI is part of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign. The campaign calls for BDS activities against Israel to put international pressure on Israel, in this case against Israeli academic institutions, all of which are said by PACBI to be implicated in the perpetuation of Israeli occupation, in order to achieve BDS goals. The goal of the proposed academic boycotts is to isolate Israel in order to force a change in Israel's policies towards the Palestinians, which proponents argue are discriminatory and oppressive, including oppressing the academic freedom of Palestinians.
Jonathan Pollak is an Israeli activist and graphic designer who works for Haaretz. He co-founded the direct action group Anarchists Against the Wall.
TLVFest, officially the Tel Aviv International LGBTQ+ Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Tel Aviv, Israel. The festival is focused on LGBTQ-themed film from around the world.
Boycotts of Israel are the refusal and calls to refusal of having commercial or social dealings with Israel in order to influence Israel's practices and policies by means of using economic pressure. The specific objective of Israel boycotts varies; the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement calls for boycotts of Israel "until it meets its obligations under international law", and the purpose of the Arab League's boycott of Israel was to prevent Arab states and others to contribute to Israel's economy. Israel believes that boycotts against it are antisemitic.
Students for Justice in Palestine is a pro-Palestinian college student activism organization in the United States, Canada and New Zealand. It has campaigned for boycott and divestment against corporations that deal with Israel and organized events about Israel's human rights violations. In 2011, The New York Times reported that "S.J.P., founded in 2001 at the University of California, Berkeley, has become the leading pro-Palestinian voice on campus."
Reactions to Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) refer to the views of international actors on the BDS movement.
The Amendment No. 28 to the Entry Into Israel Law prohibits the entry into Israel of any foreigner who makes a "public call for boycotting Israel" or "any area under its control" – a reference to the Israeli settlements. It denies entry, visa and residency permits to these affected foreigners.
On June 20, 2017, BDS activists, including at least two Israeli Jews and at least one Palestinian, disrupted a lecture by Israeli politician Aliza Lavie taking place at Humboldt University of Berlin. Humboldt University was not the organizer of the lecture. The activists expressed accusations against Israel and Lavie, including accusations of war crimes and apartheid. The activists were then removed from the lecture hall.
Brand Israel is a public relations campaign run by the Israeli government to improve the image of the State of Israel. The goal of the campaign is to establish Israel as a cosmopolitan, progressive, Westernized and democratic society, contrasting it with the Islamic, homophobic and repressive surrounding nations.
Creative Community for Peace (CCFP) is a pro-Israel organization which works to counter anti-Israel sentiment in the entertainment industry. It was founded in 2011 by David Renzer, Steve Schnur, and Ran Geffen-Lifshitz. CCFP is opposed to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and the idea to create the organization came up in on a conversation about BDS. The organization claims to be apolitical.
Anti-Palestinianism or anti-Palestinian sentiment, also called anti-Palestinian racism, refers to prejudice, collective hatred, and discrimination directed at the Palestinian people for any variety of reasons. Since the mid-20th century, the phenomenon has largely overlapped with anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia due to the fact that the overwhelming majority of Palestinians today are Arabs and Muslims. Historically, however, anti-Palestinianism was more closely identified with European antisemitism, as far-right Europeans detested the Jewish people as undesirable foreigners from Palestine. Modern anti-Palestinianism—that is, xenophobia with regard to the Arab people of Palestine—is most common in Israel, the United States, and Lebanon, among other countries.