BDS: Movement Against Occupation of Palestine

BDS: Movement Against Occupation of Palestine

Postby Oscar » Fri Jul 10, 2015 10:24 am

Ten Years of BDS: The Growing Movement Against the Occupation of Palestine

[ http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/3178 ... -palestine ]

Wednesday, 08 July 2015 00:00 By Joe Catron, Truthout | News Analysis

A global effort by Palestinian activists to pressure Israel into meeting their demands is finding growing success as its 10th anniversary nears.

The boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, launched by 171 Palestinian organizations on July 9, 2005, [ http://www.bdsmovement.net/call ] calls for Israel to end its occupation and colonization of Arab lands, extend equal rights to its minority of Palestinian citizens and allow the return of Palestinian refugees expelled during and after Israel's founding in 1948.

Its strategy of isolating Israeli institutions through grassroots campaigns, ranging from consumer boycotts to pushes for sanctions by foreign governments, usually draws the most attention when a victory - like Lauryn Hill's cancellation of a May 7 concert in Tel Aviv [ http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/m ... t-pressure ] or a war of words over French telecommunications company Orange's announcement of plans to sever ties with its Israeli partner - reaches the world's headlines.

"For Palestinians living under occupation this action sends a strong signal that they are not alone."

These breakthroughs often follow intensive efforts. When the United Church of Christ, a Christian denomination with 1.1 million members in 5,100 churches across the United States, decided at its General Synod in Cleveland on June 30 to boycott and divest from a raft of Israeli companies and contractors, the lopsided vote of 508-124, with 38 abstentions, capped a process that, coincidentally, began four days before the launch of BDS itself. [ http://www.ucc.org/news_general_synod_i ... n_06302015 ]

"Ten years ago, in 2005, the Church passed a resolution calling for corporate engagement and the use of economic leverage to support efforts to make peace, including 'divestment from those companies that refuse to change their practice of gain from the perpetuation of violence, including the occupation,'" Tom Russell, a spokesman for the United Church of Christ Palestine/Israel Network (UCC PIN), told Truthout. "After a decade of dialogue and shareholder resolutions, the companies in question (Caterpillar, Motorola Solutions and Hewlett Packard) have failed to alter their practices and the occupation is more deeply entrenched than ever before."

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[ http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/3178 ... -palestine ]
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