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It was another good year in 2023, for the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Globally the following happened. The mayor of Barcelona, Spain suspended institutional relations with Israel. Oslo, Norway announced that it would be excluding purchases from companies that either directly or indirectly contribute to the illegal settlements. The cities of Liege and Verviers in Belgium voted to end all ties with Israel and to “strengthen its support for the Palestinian people.” The mayor of Belem, Brazildeclared the city an Apartheid Free Zone. Indonesia called for the exclusion of Israel from the Men’s World Cup.
And in December, Puma sportswear dropped sponsorship of the Israel Football Association (IFA) as a result of a targeted, global BDS campaign. This happened because many people protested and occupied Puma’s offices and shops, and convinced individual teams, athletes, artists and stores to boycott Puma. They jammed inboxes and phone lines with requests that Puma drop sponsorship of Team Israel. After a five-year campaign, Puma dropped sponsorship. BDS works and it takes work. Also, this last year, The Canadian Union of Public Employees, representing 37,000 workers, announced its support for BDS. The governor of Bali, following the example of Indonesia, also demanded that Israel be dropped from the Men’s World Cup competition. Grammy award winner, Sam Smith cancelled their performance in Israel following massive pressure from their fans, and supporters of justice for Palestine. The South African Rugby Union rescinded an invitation to play in Israel. US tech firms Electronic Arts, Dropbox and Corning have all shut down operations in Israel and moved elsewhere, citing a lack of confidence in Israel’s economy. The Indigo Music Festival cancelled an event in Sinai following pressure led by BDS Egypt. The Balkan Trafik Festival in Belgium ended its partnership with Israel. Then in June, G4S decided to totally divest from Israel. G4S is one of the world’s largest security companies, offering its services to governments, corporations, universities, churches, and elsewhere. G4S has an extensive, violent record of human rights abuses against prisoners, migrants and others. These abuses made large-scale coalition building possible. The campaign began in 2012n first with churches, then unions, universities, restaurant chains and others that dropped G4S services due to its abuses. Eleven years later it was a victory for Palestine. Recently international sanctions have grown, many of them due to Israel’s slaughter in Gaza and the West Bank. More than 17 European Union (EU) countries, as well as Bolivia, Bahrain, Chad, Chile, Columbia, Honduras, Jordan, Turkey and South Africa are all participating in some form of sanctions, from ending trade relations to removing ambassadors. The list grows as the murders in Gaza and the West Bank continue. Meanwhile in the US, the number of states with anti-BDS laws has increased. As of November 2023, 37 states have passed such laws. These laws state that if you want to do business with the state you cannot actively support BDS. This is mostly the result of well-financed lobbying coming from the Israel Allies Foundation out of Jerusalem. According to a 2019 poll from the University of Maryland, 72 percent of Americans oppose these laws. When these laws get challenged in court, they are usually overturned due to their legal flimsiness as they violate Americans’ First Amendment rights. So far, the US Supreme Court has refused to rule on the issue. Apartheid Free Zones, where there is pro-active support for Palestine and no products that support the occupation of Palestine are available, are growing. There are over 100 in Spain. They are all over Europe and plentiful in Latin America. In the US there are Apartheid Free Zones in New Orleans, Durham, Portland and even Santa Rosa. Apartheid Free Zones can be shops, local businesses, social institutes, restaurants, cultural centers and public institutes. You can start one where you work and play today. Go to bdsmovement.net to learn how. BDS is working as it moves more into international sanctions. Sources: bdsmovement.net, Wikipedia, Aljazeera. |
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