People's Food Co-op staffer reports that "people are uncomfortable" with signs demanding boycott of Israel

17 months of campaigning, at the People's Food Co-op...
...to boycott the Racist State of Israel.

(Click on image, once or twice, to enlarge it.)

June 29, 2008:

A staff member of the People's Food Co-op reported, today, that people are uncomfortable with having to walk past signs demanding "Boycott Israel: Keep your Hands off Iran".

That staffer did not report any discomfort with Israel's mass-murder of Palestinians.

That staffer did not report any discomfort with Israel's dropping millions of cluster bombs onto Lebanon.

That staffer did not report any discomfort with Israel's threats to bomb 76 million Iranians.

That staffer did not report any discomfort with the People's Food Co-op importing Israeli products, despite over 900 petitioners demanding an end to that practice.


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[ Click on poster to enlarge it. ]

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Israeli settlement backer is boycotted by the U.N. children's fund (UNICEF)

Leviev

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"UNICEF rejects Leviev support:

"Diamond mogul facing increasing pressure for human rights violations"

NATIONAL JEWELER NETWORK
June 23, 2008

On the Web at:

http://www.nationaljewelernetwork.com/njn/content_display/independent/e3ib3b4f691bfdc20772cc3b1a10bc5c57f?imw=Y


New York—The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has cut ties with billionaire diamantaire Lev Leviev due to his suspected involvement in building Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, according to a letter sent from the organization to activist group Adalah-NY.

According to the letter, sent from Chris de Bono, UNICEF's senior advisor of communications for the executive director, UNICEF will no longer consider "partnerships—direct or indirect—with Mr. Leviev or any of his corporate entities, and will not accept financial or other support that we know is from him or his corporate entities."

In a letter to Adalah-NY dated March 25, 2008, UNICEF explained that Leviev had indirectly supported UNICEF three times, "each time as a sponsor of fund-raising activities organized by the French magazine Gala in support of UNICEF."

UNICEF's rejection of Leviev's support followed meetings with Adalah-NY, letters from organizations and Palestinian communities advocating a boycott of Leviev's companies, and a visit by UNICEF officials to Jayyous, one of the Palestinian communities where a Leviev company is allegedly building Israeli settlements, according to Adalah-NY.

Leviev's diamond-mining companies in Angola have also been accused of serious human rights abuses.

"UNICEF officials visited us in May and saw the terrible impacts on our children of the theft of our farmland for the expansion of Zufim settlement by Leviev's company leader," Mohammed Taher Jaber, the mayor of the West Bank village of Jayyous, said in a media release. "We thank UNICEF for upholding international law and supporting children's rights, and we call on other organizations to do the same."

Officials from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, have also announced that they would not allow Leviev to open planned jewelry stores in the region following boycott calls issued by Adalah-NY and Palestinian communities, Adalah-NY reports.


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Boycott-Israel campaign, in Wales:Protesters cry out against the "open prison" in which Palestine is confined by Israeli troops

"Protesters arrested at Israeli ambassador’s visit"

by David Williamson

Western Mail (Wales)

June 25, 2008

On the Web at:

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/politics-news/2008/06/25/protesters-arrested-at-israeli-ambassador-s-visit-91466-21145494/

"Protesters arrested as Israeli ambassador’s visit sparks row"

ISRAEL’S ambassador mounted a fierce defence of his nation amid arrests and protest as he visited the National Assembly.

Ambassador Ron Prosor was greeted by around 30 protesters who were joined by Plaid AMs Nerys Evans, Bethan Jenkins, Helen Mary Jones, and Leanne Wood – plus Plaid Cardiff councillor Neil McEvoy.

South Wales Police last night confirmed two women and a man were taken into custody for questioning after a “minor disturbance”.

Mr Prosor met with the leaders of all four parties and a cross-party group of around 10 AMs took part in a discussion session organised by Plaid Cymru’s Mohammad Asghar – the first Muslim politician elected to the Assembly.

But the Assembly’s Presiding Officer Dafydd Elis-Thomas was not present – he had previously called for a boycott of the ambassador’s visit.

In response Mr Prosor said a boycott was “against the Welsh spirit” and said of Lord Elis-Thomas: “Although a lord, his statements are not very noble.”

The ambassador described Israel as a “democracy under fire” confronting Islamic extremists who threaten the stability of neighbouring countries.

He ruled out the return of Palestinian refugees to Israel and insisted Jerusalem must remain the capital of the Jewish state.

However, he said: “We are as a democracy trying to find a way to reach peace and we are looking for leaders who are really willing to sit down and make peace with us.”

He said Israel had struck lasting peace settlements with Egypt and Jordan but could not negotiate with Hamas, which holds power in Gaza.

Mr Prosor said: “Instead of turning this into a model state they could be proud of they turned it into a terrorist hub. I could call it ‘Hamastan’.”

Negotiating with Hamas would, he said, encourage Muslim groups which threaten the stability of neighbouring countries.

The West, he added, should not demand Arab countries in the Middle East hold elections if it is likely an Islamist party will win power. He argued: “It’s very clear today if there were real democratic elections the extremists, the fundamentalists, would have the upper hand.”

The ambassador refused to contemplate a move to a South African style “binational” state, involving a merger of Israel and the Occupied Territories.

He said: “The one state solution is a code word for the destruction of the state of Israel, through numbers, through demographics. We will never, ever agree to that.”

Plaid’s Ms Wood explained her decision to join the protest, saying: “The Israeli ambassador has been able to travel here unhindered, which is in stark contrast to the way Palestinian people are corralled by Israeli troops, herded through security gates and kept in what has become virtually an open prison.”

Conservative Assembly leader Nick Bourne defended Mr Asghar’s decision to invite Mr Prosor to the cross-party meeting, saying: “I think it was an act of political courage for a Muslim to arrange the meeting with the ambassador.”

He also defended the position of the Lord Elis-Thomas, stating: “There is no appetite in our group for seeking the removal of the Presiding Officer. From day one he has had our support.”

Protester Andy Williams, a journalism researcher at Cardiff University, said the party leaders had been used in a public relations exercise by the Israeli government.

He said: “Any opportunity the new ambassador gets to bang the drum and spread his propaganda, he’ll take it. I think our politicians have been caught hook, line and sinker.”

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Green Party endorses divestment from War on Iraq, from Occupation of Palestine, and from any War on Iran.

On the Web at:

http://www.seattlegreens.org/archives/news/2008/05/divest_from_war.html

"Divest from War Ballot Initiative"

Posted on May 05, 2008

Green Party of Seattle Endorses Initiative 97 -- Seattle Divest from War and Occupation

At its April general membership meeting, the Green Party of Seattle voted almost unanimously to endorse Seattle ballot initiative 97, titled Seattle Divest from War and Occupation.

If adopted by Seattle voters, this initiative would restrict the City of Seattle Employees' Retirement Fund from investing in companies that directly participate in, or directly profit from, the U.S. occupation of Iraq.

Investment will also be prohibited in corporations that provide material support for Israeli government activities, or do business within Israeli settlements, in territory taken by Israel in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. The City will also be required to withdraw retirement fund investments in Israeli government bonds if Israel attacks Iran without U.N. authorization.

Green Party of Seattle also committed to collecting a minimum of 1000 signatures, of the 18,000 or so that is needed for this initiative to be placed on the ballot.

For more information about Seattle Divest from War and Occupation, or to get involved in the campaign, please visit:

http://www.divestfromwar.org

"Divestment from companies that benefit from the occupation is an opportunity...to...say that our money will not fund human rights abuses any longer."

"Tactics that ended apartheid in S. Africa can end it in Israel"

By Bill Fletcher Jr.

SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS

06/24/2008

On the Web at:
http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_9681308

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict often inspires a sense of powerlessness. What can average Americans do to bring an end to this decades-old conflict when our leaders have failed so miserably?

And what good is speaking out about Israel's occupation of Palestinian land as the primary obstacle to peace when even former President Jimmy Carter and Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu are condemned for their criticism of Israeli policies?

This month in San Jose, average Americans will have the opportunity to take a stand for peace and justice in the Middle East. The Presbyterian Church U.S.A.'s General Assembly began Saturday and runs through Sunday at the San Jose Convention Center. At the meeting, which takes place once every two years, delegates will make policy decisions for the 2.3 million-member denomination.

They will consider corporate engagement, up to divestment, with companies that profit from the obstacles to a just peace in Israel and Palestine. The church is considering approaches to Caterpillar, ITT Industries, Motorola and United Technologies.

The TransAfrica Forum, an organization which I was honored to head, played a leading role in the movement to end apartheid in South Africa. Corporate engagement was one of the most powerful tools in our non-violent arsenal. It was the right moral decision then and it is the right moral decision now. Just as it worked in South Africa, it can work in Palestine and Israel.

Yet Presbyterian delegates are being pressured to vote against similar measures. Some say the tactic unfairly singles out Israel for condemnation. But it is not the country we condemn; it's a system of segregation and inequality.

The Israeli government has established in the Occupied Palestinian Territories a regime of systematic discrimination. It maintains two systems of laws, and a person's rights are based on national origin. Palestinian land is confiscated to build Israeli-only settlements and roads. Palestinians wait hours in line at more than 500 Israeli checkpoints and roadblocks in the West Bank, while Jewish settlers speed by on modern, well-lit highways.

As Carter, and many Israelis have said, as long as this dual system exists, any peace agreement between Israel and Palestine will be impossible. Palestinians compare Israeli policies to those of apartheid in South Africa. Former Israeli Attorney General Michael Ben-Yair wrote in 2002, "In effect, we established an apartheid regime in the occupied territories immediately following their capture. That regime exists to this day."

South Africans who led the fight against apartheid, like Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former United Nations envoy John Dugard, make similar comparisons.

To the detriment of both Israelis and Palestinians, we provide financial and diplomatic support to maintain these separate and unequal policies. Israel is the No. 1 recipient of U.S. foreign aid: roughly $2.5 billion last year alone. Our government has cast more than 40 vetoes in the United Nations Security Council to shield Israel from international condemnation.

Divestment from companies that benefit from the occupation is an opportunity for American citizens to do what our government leaders have refused to do: say that our money will not fund human rights abuses any longer.

With humbleness, with love, with compassion for Palestinians and Israelis, I believe in the possibility that both can live as neighbors with security, dignity and respect. As it did in South Africa, corporate engagement, including divestment, can help make that possibility a reality.

--BILL FLETCHER JR. is executive editor of www.blackcommentator.com and former president of the TransAfrica Forum, which led the U.S. movement to overthrow apartheid in South Africa during the 1980s. He wrote this article for the Mercury News.


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Video: How Zionist Occupiers Enforce Silence......even at Arab-American Festivals: "Anti-Arabs at the Arab Festival"

Anti-Arabs at the Arab Festival

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This video shows what happens, in the United States, when all political expression is banned for the convenience of occupying armies. It is an unbelievable scene of U.S. military and spy agencies shamelessly recruiting Arab-Americans, in broad daylight, with the full permission of Arab-American festival organizers.

You will see video of a major Arab-American festival, held in June 2008, as millions of Arabs are killed in Iraq, and millions of Muslims are killed in Afghanistan, the victims of U.S. military invasion and occupation.

To protect U.S. military and FBI recruiters from any sign of political dissent, police stood ready to arrest anyone who was seen, by festival organizers, engaging in "political solicitation".

The festival organizers laid down these draconian rules on their Web site, at http://www.americanarab.com/festival , under the heading of Download the vendor application


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American Arab Chamber of Commerce

13^th Annual Dearborn Arab International Festival

June 20, 21, 22, 2008

Dearborn, Michigan

Booth Application – Food & Artisan Tents

"Political Activities:

"...1. No political solicitation of any kind shall be permitted at Festival entrance points or other areas where such activity would impede pedestrian or vehicular traffic.

"2. No political literature or paraphernalia shall be passed out inside any of the vendor tents or in the carnival area.

"3. No political signs or placards shall be mounted, posted or carried through the Festival grounds.

"4. No vehicle mounted political signs shall be allowed within the Festival area perimeter.

"5. Political candidates, or those supporting a political cause, shall not set up any stands, booths tables tents or podiums.

"6. No band, musical instruments, amplifying devices, performances, exhibits or other demonstrations designed to promote a political candidate or cause shall be permitted.

"7. No solicitation for signatures on petitions for any cause or candidate shall be permitted inside vendor tents or in any area where such activity would in any way impede pedestrian or vehicular traffic, including carnival area.

"Any infraction of above rules will result in immediate ejection from the Festival site and other appropriate enforcement action."

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The video was dedicated to this martyred 14-year-old girl, Abeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi (عبير قاسم حمزه الجنابي), and to all martyred and wounded Iraqis.




The video is on YouTube at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odOZ6ZtL28A


In the background, you can hear كاظم الساهر , asking why you've turned your back on Iraqis:

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"We believe that it is crucial not only to criticize the immoral and illegal acts of the Israeli and U.S. governments, but to back [it] up with action

"Cindy Sheehan and Other Local/National Antiwar Leaders Endorse I-97"

Growing list also includes Cynthia McKinney, Dahr Jamail, Veterans for Peace, Jewish Voice for Peace

For Immediate Release: June 17, 2008

http://divestfromwar.org/pressroom/cindy-sheehan-endorses-2008-06-17.html

During her recent visit to Seattle, Cindy Sheehan became the latest antiwar leader to endorse Seattle ballot initiative 97. Sheehan first grabbed headlines in 2005 by camping outside George W. Bush’s Crawford, Texas ranch after her son Casey was killed in Iraq.

Former Georgia congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and "unembedded" journalist Dahr Jamail have also endorsed the campaign in recent days. Jamail is the author of the award-winning book "Beyond the Green Zone - Dispatches from an Unembedded Journalist in Occupied Iraq."

Additionally, I-97 has recently received the endorsement of local antiwar organizations, including Veterans for Peace Chapter 92 (greater Seattle area). Chapter president Candace Davis says, "Wars will end when we make it unprofitable to engage in them. And if we weren't filling the pockets of war profiteers, maybe we would have money to pay for the medical care of our veterans."

Also endorsing the campaign is the Seattle chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace, which said in its statement of endorsement, "We believe that it is crucial not only to criticize the immoral and illegal acts of the Israeli and U.S. governments, but to back up that criticism with action. We are among the many American Jews who say to the U.S. and Israeli governments: Not in our names!"

Ballot initiative 97, if adopted, would require the Seattle Employees’ Retirement System to divest from any company that (1) participates directly in the occupation of Iraq; (2) is profiting from privatization of Iraqi state resources; (3) provides direct material support to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, and Golan Heights; and (4) has a direct presence in Israeli settlements in the occupied territories listed above. It would also require divestment from Israeli government bonds if Israel carries out a military attack on Iran without UN authorization.

For a full list of endorsements, please visit the campaign web site at:

• http://www.divestfromwar.org/endorsements/

END

More Information:
Seattle Divest From War
http://www.divestfromwar.org
media@divestfromwar.org
(206) 299-4186

Boycott of Apartheid Israel: "While the board could have decided to place the item on the ballot..."

Of course a Food Co-op can take a stand for the starving, occupied people of Palestine.

A Co-op can boycott Israel: the occupying power.


But look at the arrogance of the people running the People's Food Co-op, in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Their article, below, makes it clear that the People's Food Co-op refused to even put a boycott on the ballot... until over 600 petitioners forced boycott onto the ballot.

Are they encouraging 300 Food Co-ops, nationwide, to also stonewall any future boycotts against Israel?

After 15 months of boycott campaigning, the Co-op still refuses to even acknowledge what is being done to Palestine, and by whom.

Near the end of their essay, the Co-op authors arrogantly highlight the fact that they simply WILL NOT DISCUSS Palestine.

Here are some excerpts from their recent article, sent out to hundreds of Food Co-ops:

"Co-op Challenged by Member Boycott Request"

By Linda Diane Feldt and Kevin Sharp

Issue #136, may - june 2008

Published in "The Cooperative Grocer", a trade publication for nearly 300 food cooperatives across the United States.

The full article is on the Web at:

http://www.cooperativegrocer.coop/articles/index.php?id=805

"The views and perspective expressed are our own, and not necessarily those of the co-op members, the co-op staff, or the board of directors of People’s Food Co-op of Ann Arbor Michigan.

"In the beginning of 2007, the People’s Food Co-op (PFC) board of directors was asked by a group of co-op members to show humanitarian support for Palestinians by initiating a boycott of Israeli products. The issue is complex. In addition, a number of problems were encountered in determining the board’s response to the request, when and to what extent to involve the entire membership, and under what timelines. The experience provided some valuable lessons.

"Perhaps most notable among the learning points was the lack of a clear boycott policy to work from. A detailed boycott policy had existed, but it was omitted when the PFC board of directors switched to Policy Governance. While that former policy provided a model for how to proceed, we actually had no boycott policy in place.

"In addition, at that time the board was in a state of change and difficulty. The seven-member board had had two recent resignations with no replacements. The general manager of more than 15 years had recently resigned; we had an interim general manager while searching for a permanent replacement.

"Member requests were rare, and the petitioning group was dedicated and persistent in requesting the boycott. Based on the past policy, the board agreed that such a significant and potentially controversial decision belonged with the membership and not with the board of directors.

"While the board could have decided to place the item on the ballot, it decided to ask the group requesting the boycott to go through a petitioning process outlined in our bylaws. This was done to determine whether there was member support to put a referendum to a vote: PFC bylaws require at least 7 percent of the members’ signatures on a petition for a referendum, a number that was eventually achieved by the petitioners...."

"...A final controversy was the lack of observers to oversee the ballot counting. In this case we did have extensive policy on how voting is to be conducted, from the collection of ballots, validation and the actual count. However, there is no mention of member oversight of the ballot count. The board voted on the question and declined to allow member participation.

"When the boycott was defeated, the issue of ballot count oversight became a hot point for the boycott supporters, who accused the board of manipulating the vote or claimed that ballots must have been stolen and manufactured. No formal charges or evidence were ever produced, but the accusations persist. The board has since passed an observer policy allowing limited involvement....

"...While this has been a narrative of key points of this process, you can’t help but notice that there has been no mention of some of the issues involved. Should the co-op carry products from Israel? What about Palestinian products? Are there joint peaceful efforts to support? The board was asked to be a part of efforts to resolve the conflict in the Middle East, a task we were not prepared for..."

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"Trade unionists today demanded a blanket ban on the imports of Israeli goods and services."

"Trade unionists call for Israeli import ban"


June 18, 2008
17:54

On the Web at:

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2008/0618/breaking90.htm

Trade unionists today demanded a blanket ban on the imports of Israeli goods and services.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) also called on politicians to get their EU counterparts to address the actions of the Israeli government.

The trade union umbrella group, which sent a delegation to the region, said it was taking the action in a bid to encourage Israeli compliance with international law and to cease its violation of the human rights of the Palestinian people.

Its pleas for change were made as Israel officially confirmed that a ceasefire with Hamas militants will begin this week in an effort to end a year of fighting that has killed more than 400 Palestinians and seven Israelis.

A Congress spokesman said Israel’s biggest exports to the EU include fruit, vegetables and hi-tech goods, while Irish companies have invested in the construction sector.

“We are supporting and promoting a boycott campaign of Israeli goods and services and a policy of disinvestment from Israeli companies,” he said.

“We are calling for the Irish public and anyone with any influence or power to join us.”

Ictu president Patricia McKeown and senior officials met with trade unionists, human rights activists and senior politicians during a visit to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza in November.

They asked for a meeting with Taoiseach Brian Cowen and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin and called for Irish government assistance for building civic capacity in both Palestine and Israel, with regard to conflict resolution, along with investment in the Palestinian economy.

The delegation recommended its findings be distributed throughout the international trade union movement and urged other trade unions to visit the occupied territories.

Ictu said it now plans to host a high level conference with international speakers, to develop trade union solidarity.

PA

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Israel = Total Nazi control over Occupied Palestine.Boycott the Nazi State of Israel

Dr. Hanan Ahmad Awwad
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"Philadephia talk on Palestine today"

by Rosita Johnson

On the Web at:
http://www.pww.org/article/articleview/13193/1/266/


“Any Israeli soldier can go into any Palestinian home in any village, town or city and remove a person. The Palestinian police can do nothing. We have no protection. We have no security,” said Dr. Hanan Ahmad Awwad, president of the Palestinian Section of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). She spoke to the organization’s Philadelphia chapter on June 8th . Dr. Awwad, born in Jerusalem, is a scholar, writer, poet and peace activist and is on a speaking tour of the US..."


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Major Canadian student union backs boycott against Apartheid Israel:

ASSÉ Against Israeli Apartheid

May 30th, 2008 |

Posted in Israel, Boycott, Lebanon, Quebec, Canada, Palestine, Solidarity, Community Organizing, Politics, Resistance, War and Terror, Tadamon!

On the Web at:

http://tadamon.resist.ca/index.php/post/1538

Call to support the first major student union in Quebec or Canada to back
the international campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions on Israel…

Montreal May 2008: Across the world grassroots movements struggling in opposition to Israeli apartheid are marking the 60th year of the Palestinian Nakba (”catastrophe”) – 60 years of dispossession, ethnic cleansing and exile for Palestinians resulting from the creation of the state of Israel.

A grassroots response in opposition to Israeli apartheid is growing throughout the world sparked by an appeal launched by Palestinian civil-society organizations in 2005 for an international campaign directed at the government in Israel, a campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions. This critical campaign is modeled on a successful international campaign similar in nature that played a critical role in bringing an end to the apartheid regime in South Africa.

Today students in Quebec are now joining the international boycott campaign in large numbers including L’Association pour une Solidarité Syndicale Étudiante (ASSÉ), an important Quebec-wide student federation representing over 42,000 students.

ASSÉ voted to support the international campaign against Israeli apartheid at a Quebec-wide level after several local assemblies at university and Cégep campuses across the province voted at a local level within general student assemblies to support the boycott campaign. ASSÉ’s boycott resolution marks the first time that a major student union in Quebec or Canada has voted to support the international boycott campaign opposing Israeli apartheid.

Throughout the 2007 / 2008 school year ASSÉ in collaboration with Tadamon! Montreal, with support from Fédération nationale des enseignantes et enseignants du Québec (FNEEQ) — Quebec’s largest college level teachers union — and the Quebec Public Interest Research Group (QPIRG) organized multiple workshops throughout Quebec at Cégep and university campuses bringing together hundreds of students for popular education workshops outlining the critical importance for Quebec’s student movement to stand against Israeli apartheid.

ASSÉ represents the grassroots face of Quebec’s powerful student movement, with tens-of-thousands of members and a strong position against privatization and for free post-secondary education in Quebec.

In 2005 ASSÉ launched and lead a historic student strike across Quebec, with over one-hundred student unions participating at the height of a strike rooted in a demand for a cancellation on all student debt and free post-secondary education in Quebec.

Utilizing mass protest, creative direct actions and grassroots campus-based organizing ASSÉ has successfully fought against neo-liberal economic policies fronted by the Liberal government of Jean Charest, who upon taking governmental power moved to make important changes to financial aid program for students in Quebec, including a $103 million cut. After major protests lead by ASSÉ across Quebec the Liberal government was forced to reverse their cuts to student funding, marking one of the only times in Quebec’s recent history that grassroots social mobilization has successfully reversed unpopular government policy.

ASSÉ represents a grassroots power base within Quebec’s student movement, one that draws parallels between the struggle for accessible and free education in Quebec to larger movements for social justice in the Americas, the Middle East and internationally.

ASSÉ has now taken an important and courageous stand to support the international campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions, as a tangible step in solidarity with struggles against Israeli apartheid in Palestine and throughout the Middle East. This resolution marks the growing momentum behind the international movement against Israeli apartheid and a willingness to take action at a local level within progressive student networks in Quebec to challenge Israeli apartheid.

ASSÉ’s important stand also marks a critical opportunity for grassroots student and social movements in Quebec to challenge the Quebec and Canadian government complicity towards Israeli apartheid and today the outright support towards Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza by Canada’s Conservative government.

Today we call on all student and labor unions to join L’Association pour une Solidarité Syndicale Étudiante in creating a strong and effective boycott movement against Israeli apartheid!

actions you can take:

* Endorse this statement: send the name of your organization and city to: tadamon[at]resist.ca.

* Send a message of solidarity through an email to the ASSÉ National office congratulating them on their stand against Israeli apartheid. Please send your message to: webmestre(at)asse-solidarite.qc.ca

* Ask your local student union, labor union, community group, association or collective to follow ASSÉ’s lead and adopt a position in support of the international campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israeli apartheid.

endorsed by:

Tadamon! Montreal (Montreal, Quebec)
Palestinian BDS National Committee (Palestine)
Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (Toronto, Canada)

11 Comments »

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Zionism is Ku-Klux-Klanism

" 'Jewish settler attack' on film"

By Tim Franks BBC News, Jerusalem

Thursday, 12 June 2008 19:35 UK

Video, and news story, on BBC at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7451691.stm

Footage from a video camera handed out by an Israeli human rights group appears to show Jewish settlers beating up Palestinians in the West Bank.

An elderly shepherd, his wife and a nephew said they were attacked by four masked men for allowing their animals to graze near the settlement of Susia.

The rights group, B'Tselem, said the cameras were provided to enable Palestinians to get proof of attacks.

A spokesman for the Israeli police said that an investigation was under way.

So far, no-one has been arrested.

Baseball bats

For the past year, B'Tselem has handed out video cameras to Palestinians as part of its "Shooting Back" project.

The Palestinians said they were attacked after refusing to move

The BBC has been given exclusive access to the footage of this particular attack, which happened earlier this week. The date and time on the camera footage shows that it is Sunday afternoon.

Over the brow of the hill walk four masked men holding baseball bats. To the right of the screen, in the foreground, stands a 58-year-old Palestinian woman.

Thamam al-Nawaja has been herding her goats close to the Jewish settlement of Susia, near Hebron in the southern West Bank.

Within a few seconds, she, along with her 70-year-old husband and one of her nephews, will be beaten up.

As the first blows land, the woman filming - the daughter-in-law of the elderly couple - drops the camera and runs for help.

'Ten-minute warning'

Mrs Nawaja spent three days in hospital after the attack.

Returning to the small Palestinian encampment close to the red-roofed houses of Susia, she stepped slowly and unsteadily out of the minibus.

They don't want us to stay on our land, but we won't leave - we'll die here --Thamam al-Nawaja

A dark stain showed through the white gauze covering her broken right arm. Her veil was lifted gingerly away from her lined face. A bloodshot eye and intersection of scars revealed a fractured left cheek.

"The settlers gave us a 10-minute warning to clear off from the land," she told me, her voice a tired, cracked whisper.

She and her husband had stood their ground. It is at this point that her voice grows louder.

"They don't want us to stay on our land. But we won't leave. We'll die here. It's ours," she added.

Indeed, the rest of the world regards Jewish settlements in the West Bank such as Susia, as illegal, built on occupied territory...

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Boycott against Israeli ambassador, by the Welsh assembly's presiding officer

"Israeli visit sparks boycott call"



June 11, 2008

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/7447750.stm

Lord Thomas (right) is boycotting Mr Asghar's meeting with the ambassador

The assembly's presiding officer is calling on AMs to boycott a private meeting with the Israeli ambassador, organised by Wales' only Muslim AM.

Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas said he objected to Israel's "failure to meet its international obligations" towards the Palestinians.

Mohammed Asghar, who represents South Wales East, invited his assembly colleagues to the confidential meeting.

But Lord Elis-Thomas e-mailed the AMs calling on them to refuse to attend.

The leaders of the political groupings in the assembly have been invited to meet Ron Prosor during a visit to the Senedd in Cardiff Bay this month in an event arranged by the assembly government.

Mr Asghar, the first AM from an ethnic minority, said his own invitation to Mr Prosor, which was sent internally and marked as confidential, aimed to promote inter-faith dialogue.

Speaking on BBC Radio Wales, Mr Asghar explained his decision.

He said: "The biggest flashpoint in the world at the moment is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, so we must understand both sides of the facts.

The Israeli ambassador was invited by the assembly's only Muslim AM

"I know quite a lot from the Palestinian side, but I haven't been able to speak with any Israeli till today, so in my fortunate position I thought this was the best opportunity for me to invite him.

"That was the whole idea, to bring him over, and listen to his views.

"I don't want to put my head in the sand, and I appreciate everybody's feelings, and being Muslim, probably everyone knows my feelings, but I am a human being, and a peaceful human being.

"I'm sure everyone's got their own mind to make and I'm sure some of them, most of them, will love to listen to Ron Prosor and I will pledge again when I see Lord Elis-Thomas in the next couple of days to change his mind."

'Barriers'

In his leaked e-mail, Lord Elis-Thomas said: "I am unwilling to accept the invitation to meet the ambassador because of my objection to the failure of the state of Israel to meet its international obligations to the Palestinian people of the Holy Lands. I would invite other colleagues to do the same."

Rodney Berman, the leader of Cardiff council, said Wales' Jewish community would be shocked at the "strident tone" of Lord Thomas's response.

He said: "If AMs have concerns, as I do myself, about policies followed by the Israeli government then surely it's better to use this event to talk about those concerns rather than to put up barriers which can only promote further misunderstanding."

Jean Evans, UK Co-ordinator of the Israel Peace Forum, based in Cardiff, called Lord Elis-Thomas's position "absolutely appalling", and said it would only stir up more trouble and drive people apart...

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U.S. Candidates ready to bomb Iran, invade Pakistan, and give billions to Israel

"On Wednesday, Obama vowed to be a staunch advocate of Israel and paid tribute to the long struggle to create the Jewish state. 'We know that we cannot relent, we cannot yield, and as president, I will never compromise when it comes to Israel's security,' he said."

--USA Today, June 4, 2008

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-06-04-jewish-voters_N.htm

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"Questions linger over Obama's Asia policy"

June 8, 2008




Full article published in Agence France-Presse (AFP), at:

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jShwuqnxxBtcmyMxGqcVGoXZH5Lw

"...Obama has also vowed that he would pursue Al-Qaeda militants into Pakistan, with or without Islamabad's permission, if he had strong intelligence the group was planning an attack on the United States.

"Even back in 2004, when he was campaigning to enter the Senate, Obama said he would consider military action in Pakistan to destroy nuclear weapons there should the then-military ruler Pervez Musharraf be overthrown in a coup.

"US-backed Musharraf has since hung up his military uniform although he remains president..."

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Zionists aiming at Pakistan, too

"Map locating Mohmand in Pakistan"


"Pakistan slams 'cowardly' US for killing 11 soldiers"


AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE (AFP)

June 11, 2008

On the Web at:

http://www.afp.com/english/news/stories/newsmlmmd.8a439af87797a7a959113b111b4ce325.481.html

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) — Pakistan said a "cowardly" air strike by US-led forces killed 11 Pakistani troops Wednesday near the Afghan border and warned it could undermine cooperation in the war against terrorism.

The army accused the US-led coalition in Afghanistan of launching the unprovoked attack on a checkpost in Pakistan's volatile Mohmand tribal zone, while the foreign office called for an immediate investigation.

In Kabul, the coalition admitted carrying out an air strike in Pakistani territory but said it was targeted against militants firing at them from near the Pakistani paramilitary outpost.

The incident, the worst of its kind since Pakistan joined the "war on terror" in 2001, comes amid growing unease in Washington and Kabul over Pakistan's efforts to negotiate with Taliban militants in the region.

In an unusually harsh statement, a Pakistani army spokesman "condemned this completely unprovoked and cowardly act" and confirmed that 11 soldiers died in the air strike, including an officer.

"The incident had hit at the very basis of cooperation and sacrifice with which Pakistani soldiers are supporting the coalition in the war against terror," the statement quoted the spokesman as saying.

"We condemn it strongly. We will take a stand to preserve the sovereignty, dignity and respect of the country," Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told parliament.

President Pervez Musharraf backed the US-led toppling of Afghanistan's Taliban regime after 9/11, but his support for Washington has angered many Pakistanis and attracted the wrath of Islamic militants at home.

The foreign office issued a statement condemning the "senseless use of air power" by the coalition...

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Boycott against the Racist State of Israel......Spreading to Wales..

"Israel's ambassador to Britain, Ron Prosor"

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"Welsh Assembly speaker boycotts Israeli ambassador"

Agence France-Presse (AFP)

June 11, 2008

On the Web at:

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jFqTFBeREZzZq4FwrgRwg0sZlkyw

LONDON (AFP) — The speaker of the Welsh Assembly is to boycott a meeting with Israel's ambassador to Britain because of the Jewish state's failure to fulfil its obligations towards Palestinians.

Dafydd Elis-Thomas said he would not meet Ron Prosor at the legislature in Cardiff later this month after his colleague from the nationalist Plaid Cymru party Mohammad Asghar invited all 60 assembly members in an email Tuesday.

"I am unwilling to accept the invitation to meet the ambassador, because of my objection to the failure of the State of Israel to meet its international obligations to the Palestinian people of the Holy Lands," Elis-Thomas said.

The internal invite, marked private and confidential but seen by AFP, added: "I would invite other colleagues to (do) the same."

A spokesman for Asghar said Wednesday he hoped his "good friend" would reconsider.

As presiding officer, Elis-Thomas, a former MP in Britain's parliament and a member of the upper House of Lords, is required to be impartial but he has been outspoken on a number of issues since the assembly was set up in 1999.

In 2006, he said he was "ashamed" at the lack of ethnic minority representation in the assembly, which has limited powers to set policy in a number of areas, including health and education.

Asghar was elected as the assembly's first Muslim and ethnic minority member in May last year.

Elis-Thomas's comments come after Prosor wrote in a newspaper article Tuesday that Britain has become a "hotbed for radical anti-Israeli views" in recent years, particularly in universities.

The British, Israeli and US governments complained in May 2007 when members of the University and College Union voted to back a boycott of Israeli universities due to the occupation of Palestinian territories...

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The Democratic Party: It's still a murderous Zionist Party, Ready to Nuke Iran

"Barack Obama: I'll nuke Iran"

Submitted by Bill Weinberg on Fri, 06/06/2008

On the Web at:
http://ww4report.com/node/5606

We've noted before Barack Obama's alarming bellicose tendencies. They were out in profligate display at his notorious address to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) annual conference in Washington June 4. Here's the most ominous one from the Washington Post's transcript:

The danger from Iran is grave, it is real, and my goal will be to eliminate this threat... We will...use all elements of American power to pressure Iran. I will do everything in my power to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, everything in my power to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, everything.

He immediately followed this up with "That starts with aggressive, principled, tough diplomacy," but it was pretty clear what he meant by "everything." The WP transcript did not use italics, but if you listen to the sound clip, Obama sure spoke the word (three times) with a disturbingly knowing emphasis.

There was also the requisite betrayal of a particularly contentious piece of Israeli-occupied real estate which is a no-compromise issue for the Palestinians: East Jerusalem.

The Palestinians need a state -- the Palestinians need a state that is contiguous and cohesive and that allows them to prosper. But any agreement with the Palestinian people must preserve Israel's identity as a Jewish state, with secure, recognized, defensible borders.

(APPLAUSE)

And Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided.

Both Israel's rulers and US defense contractors were certainly heartened by this:

Our alliance is based on shared interests and shared values. Those who threaten Israel threaten us. Israel always faced these threats on the front lines.

And I will bring to the White House an unshakable commitment to Israel's security. That starts with ensuring Israel's qualitative military advantage.

(APPLAUSE)

I will ensure that Israel can defend itself from any threat from Gaza to Tehran. Defense cooperation...

(APPLAUSE)

Defense cooperation between the United States and Israel is a model of success and it must be deepened. As president, I will implement a memorandum of understanding that provides $30 billion in assistance to Israel over the next decade, investments to Israel's security that will not be tied to any other nation....

....See our last posts on Barack Obama, Israel/Palestine, Iran and AIPAC.

The Democratic Party: it's still a murderous Zionist Party.

"Obama rattles saber at Pakistan —again"

by Bill Weinberg
"WORLD WAR 4 REPORT"

On the Web at:
http://ww4report.com/node/5145

February 24, 2008


...Obama calls instead for illegal unilateral aggression in Pakistan...

But it's pretty clear what he means in light of his speech last summer at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in DC, in which he said (Chicago Tribune, Aug. 2, 2007):

"I understand that President Musharraf has his own challenges. But let me make this clear. There are terrorists holed up in those mountains who murdered 3,000 Americans. They are plotting to strike again... If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf will not act, we will."

The timing of Obama's comments is also ominous. The New York Times reported Feb. 22 that last month the Bush administration reached a "quiet understanding" with the Musharraf regime that "allowed an increase in the number and scope of patrols and strikes by armed Predator surveillance aircraft launched from a secret base in Pakistan—a far more aggressive strategy to attack Al Qaeda and the Taliban than had existed before. But since opposition parties emerged victorious from the parliamentary election early this week, American officials are worried that the new, more permissive arrangement could be choked off in its infancy."

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Remember the Zionist Alliance with White-Supremacist South Africa

Flashback: McCain Opposed Divestment From South Africa»

June 4, 2008

On the Web at:
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/04/mccain-divestment/

During his speech before the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) touted the success of America’s divestment campaign from South Africa’s racist apartheid regime and proposed a similar policy towards Iran:

We should privatize the sanctions against Iran by launching a worldwide divestment campaign. …Years ago, the moral clarity and conviction of civilized nations came together in a divestment campaign against South Africa, helping to rid that nation of the evil of apartheid. In our day, we must use that same power and moral conviction against the regime in Iran, and help to safeguard the people of Israel and the peace of the world.

Years ago, McCain lacked the “moral clarity and conviction” to consistently support divestment from South Africa. Despite voting to override President Reagan’s veto of a bill imposing economic sanctions against South Africa in 1986, McCain voted against sanctions on at least six other occasions:

– 1985: Voted To Recommit Anti-Apartheid Act To Foreign Affairs Committee Postponing Sanctions Against South Africa: McCain voted to postpone for one year the imposition of any sanctions against South Africa, permitting the president to waive the sanctions if he determined that the African National Congress had not renounced violence. [HR 1460, Vote 129, 6/5/85, Failed 139-282, D 7-238; R 132-44; I 0-0]

– 1985: Voted To Allow U.S. Firms Continue Investing In South Africa: McCain voted to let U.S. firms continue investing in South Africa if their units comply with a code of worker rights. [HR 1460, Vote 110, 5/21/85, Failed 148-256, D 3-227; R 145-29; I 0-0]

– 1985: Voted Against Requiring Immediate Withdrawal Of U.S. Investment From South Africa: McCain voted against imposing a total ban on U.S. exports to South Africa. [HR 1460, Vote 128, 6/5/85, Failed 77-345, D 77-167; R 0-178; I 0-0]

– 1985: Voted Against Establishing A Commission To Study Apartheid In South Africa And To Recommend Sanctions: McCain voted against establishing a commission to study apartheid in South Africa and to recommend what sanctions the United States should impose on the government. [HR 1460, Vote 126, 6/5/85, Failed 108-310, D 6-235; R 102-75; I 0-0]

– 1985: Voted Against Imposing Sanctions Against South Africa: McCain voted against imposing sanctions immediately against South Africa. [HR 1460, Vote 130, 6/5/85, Passed 295-127, D 239-6; R 56-121; I 0-0]

– 1986: Voted Against Considering Imposing Economic Sanctions Against South Africa: McCain voted against providing for House floor consideration of the bill to impose economic sanctions against South Africa. [HR 4868, Vote 159, 6/18/86, Passed 286-127, D 238-4; R 48-123; I 0-0]

McCain’s schizophrenic voting record on divestment undermines his lofty campaign rhetoric and moral platitudes. McCain was as slow to recognize the importance of “helping to rid that nation of the evil of apartheid” as he is quick to consider bombing Iran.

"Boycott Israel, support Palestine"

"Thousands protest Israeli focus at Turin book fair"

CBC News
May 10, 2008

Italian police officers wearing blue helmets look on during a demonstration described by organizers as pro-Palestinian, outside the Lingotto building, venue of the Turin book fair, in Turin, northern Italy on Saturday. (Alberto Pellaschiar/Associated Press)

About 4,000 people filled the streets of Turin, Italy, on Saturday to protest against the Turin Book fair's celebration of Israeli writers.

With a banner reading: "Boycott Israel, support Palestine," protestors walked through the streets towards the old factory building, which is hosting the prestigious booksellers' exhibition, due to end on Monday.

About 1,000 police were on hand to contain the crowd as demonstrators denounced the "continuing terror and daily raids which have, these last few years, killed 5,050 Palestinians and destroyed 32,000 houses."

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the creation of Israel. Israeli authors featured at the fair include Abraham B. Yehoshua, David Grossman, Amos Oz, Aaron Appelfeld and Meir Shalev.

When asked by an Italian newspaper this week whether he represented Israel, Applefeld replied: "I cannot represent a state, I can only represent my thoughts."

No Palestinian writers invited

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano inaugurated the fair on Thursday by saying: "No dialogue is possible if there is a refusal to recognize Israel."

However, the 1997 Nobel Prize winner for literature, Italian playwright and director Dario Fo, supports the protest and criticized organizers for not having invited Palestinian authors.

Fo says that instead of reading from his new book, The Apocalypse Postponed, he plans to use his appearance at the fair to talk about the Palestinian cause.

"Many have chosen to forfeit the fair, but I think it is necessary to attend and to raise a taboo theme: Palestine," Fo told the newspaper Corriere della Sera on Wednesday.

The 21-year-old fair, the second-largest in Europe with more than 300,000 visitors last year, features traders, writers and more than 1,400 publishers from all over the world.

The Paris book fair in March, which also highlighted Israeli literature, drew similar protests.

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