What about Israel's Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine?
As today begins the annual Israeli Apartheid Week, I decided to give myself a little break from Ukraine to come back to my fight for Palestinian
human rights, as most of my colleagues seem to believe that the Palestinians belong to the
class of “unworthy” people. With no rights.
The proof is the
marginalization of Russian Artists and Sport women and men. (It broke my heart
to watch the pressure, and further, banishement, of my favourite opera singers,
classical musicians, maestros and stage directors from European scene, for the
momente. Only because they happen to be Russians and refuse to become renegades.).
In 40 years doing this job, I had never seen something like that. Not even
during the time of support of South Africa’s struggle against apartheid. Which
was, I can assure you, mild compared to what Israel is doing in Palestine.
Ignorance, and
double standards, seem to have no limit in the «civilized» West.
Israel’s war on Palestinian sports is as old as the Israeli state
itself.
For Palestinians, sport is a
critical aspect of their popular culture, and since Palestinian culture itself
is a target for the ongoing Israeli attack on Palestinian life in all of its
manifestations, sports and athletes have been purposely targeted as well. Yet,
the world’s main football governing body, FIFA, along with other international
sports organizations, has done nothing to hold Israel accountable for its
crimes against Palestinian sports.
Now that FIFA, along with UEFA,
the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and others have swiftly joined the West’s anti-Russia measures as
a result of the latter’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24,
Palestinians and their supporters are puzzled. Years of relentless advocacy to
sanction Israel at international sports competitions have paid little or no dividends.
This has continued to be the case, despite the numerous documented facts of
Israel’s intentional targeting of Palestinian stadiums,
travel restrictions on athletes, the cancelation of sports events, the arrest
and even killing of Palestinian footballers.
Many Palestinians, Arabs and
international activists have already highlighted the issue of western hypocrisy
in the case of the Israeli military occupation of Palestine by apartheid Israel
within hours of the start of the Russian military operations. Almost
immediately, an unprecedented wave of boycotts and sanctions of
everything Russian, including music, art, theater, literature and, of course,
sports, kicked in. What took the anti-Apartheid movement in South Africa
decades to achieve was carried out against Russia in a matter of hours and days.
Palestinians are justified to be
baffled, since they have been informed by FIFA, time and again, that
“sports and politics don’t mix”. Marvel at this hypocrisy to truly appreciate
Palestinian frustration: “The FIFA Council acknowledges that the current
situation (in Palestine and Israel) is, for reasons that have nothing to do
with football, characterized by an exceptional complexity and sensitivity and
by certain de facto circumstances that can neither be ignored nor changed
unilaterally by non-governmental organizations such as FIFA.”
That was, in part, the official
FIFA position declared in October 2017, in
response to a Palestinian request that the “six Israeli football clubs based in
illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories should either
relocate to Israel or be banned from FIFA-recognized competitions”.
Two years later, Israel so
callously canceled the FIFA Palestine Cup that was
meant to bring Gaza’s top football team, Khadamat Rafah Club, and the West
Bank’s FC Balata together in a dramatic final.
Palestinians perceive football as
a respite from the hardship of life under siege and occupation. The highly
anticipated event would have been a moment of precious unity among Palestinians
and would have been followed by a large number of people, regardless of their
political affiliation or geographic location. But, and “for no apparent
reason”, as reported in the Nation, Israel decided to
deny Palestinians that brief moment of joy.
Even then, FIFA did nothing,
despite the fact that the event itself carried the name ‘FIFA’.
Meanwhile, outright racist Israeli football teams,
the likes of Beitar Jerusalem Football Club, are allowed to play unhindered, to
travel unrestricted and to echo their favorite racist cheers, “Death to the Arabs,” as if racism in
sports is the accepted routine.
FIFA’s double standards are abhorrent, to say
the least. But FIFA is not the only hypocrite. On March 3, the International
Paralympics Committee (IPC) went as far as denying athletes from Russia and Belarus
the right to compete at this year’s Winter Paralympics held in Beijing. The
decision was justified on the basis that having these athletes participate in
the Games was “jeopardizing the viability” of the events and, supposedly,
making the safety of the athletes “untenable,” despite the fact that the
Russian and Belarusian athletes were, due to the political context, set to take
part as ‘neutrals.’Not only are Israeli athletes welcomed in all international
sports events, the mere attempt by individual athletes to register a moral
stance in support of Palestinians, by refusing to compete against Israelis, can
be very costly. Algerian Judoka Fehi Nourine, for example, was suspended along with his coach for 10
years for withdrawing from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to avoid meeting an Israeli
opponent. The same course of action was taken against other players and teams for displaying symbolic solidarity
with Palestine, or even fans for merely raising Palestinian flags
or chanting for Palestinian freedom.
Mohammed Aboutrika, the former
Captain of the Egyptian National Football Team, was censured by
FIFA in 2009 for merely displaying a shirt that read, in both Arabic and
English, “Sympathize with Gaza”. For that supposedly egregious act, the
Confederation of African Football (CAF) – a branch of FIFA – warned him against
“mixing politics with sports”.
About the double standards of FIFA,
Aboutrika recently said in a media interview that the
“decision to suspend Russian clubs and teams from all competitions must be
accompanied by a ban on those affiliated with Israel (because Israel) has been
killing children and women in Palestine for years.”
It must be stated that the
hypocrisy here goes well beyond Palestine and Israel, into numerous situations
where those demanding justice and accountability are often affiliated with poor
nations from the Global South, or causes that challenge the status quo, such as
the Black Lives Matter movement, among others.
But there is much more that can be
done aside from merely delineating the double standards or decrying the
hypocrisy. True, it took the South African Anti-Apartheid movement many years
to isolate the
racist Apartheid government in Pretoria at international sports platforms
around the world, but that seemingly impossible task was eventually achieved.
Palestinians, too, must now use
these channels and platforms to continue pushing for justice and
accountability. It will not take days, as is the case with Russia and Ukraine,
but they will eventually succeed in isolating Israel, for, as it turned out,
politics and sports do mix after all.
Jonathan Cook: https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/russia-ukraine-war-israel-facebook-hate-speech-silence-critics
NEWS 03/06/15 UK National Students Union votes for boycott Israel
A "UNE" do Reino Unido decidiu boicotar Israel
No dia 28, em Zurich
Hoje tenho uma boa e uma má notícia. Vou começar pela boa.
Finalmente! (por livre e espontânea pressão) Tony Blair demitiu-se do cargo de Middle East Envoy do Quarteto para o Oriente Médio (EUA, UE, ONU, Rússia)!!!
Tony Blair ganhou este cargo-presente do cúmplice de bombardeio e genocídio George W. Bush ao terminar seu mandato de primeiro ministro da Inglaterra em 2007. Seu cupincha o presenteou o que queria: visibilidade e poder para fazer seus negócios privados com as despesas bem pagas.
Foi encarregado de desenvolver a Economia da Palestina e facilitar a mobilidade dos nativos dentro dos territórios ocupados.
O que ele fez durante sua gestão de 8 anos?
Facilitou a instalação de celulares/WEB - bem controlados por Israel - e viu, de braços cruzados, os checkpoints da IDF aumentarem assim como as colônias judias ilegais com o consequente prejuízo da qualidade de vida e da locomoção dos palestinos.
Ou seja, fracasso total humanitário e legal. Sucesso completo no plano pessoal.
Agradou tanto os sionistas que ganhou um prêmio de US$1 milhão em Tel Aviv por serviços prestados pela paz... Além de vários contratos milionários que o enriqueceram de maneira desmesurada.
Trocando em miúdos, Tony Blair é um sanguessuga corrupto desavergonhado. Vai tarde.
Se houvesse justiça na Terra para bandidos de colarinho branco, ele seria condenado a prisão perpétua. É um dos responsáveis pela morte de milhares de pessoas no Oriente Médio por causa da invasão do Iraque e seu 'trabalho' na Palestina em interesse próprio.
Tony Blair não está deixando o cargo por problemas de consciência, não, seria pedir demais a indivíduos de sua espécie. Está deixando o cargo porque após o último massacre de Israel em Gaza (onde esteve apenas três vezes nestes oito anos) as críticas à sua inércia ou à sua parcialidade venal estavam ficando insuportáveis e estava um pouco complicado para ele ganhar mais dinheiro devido a conflitos de interesse cada vez mais flagrantes em sua função de lobista de petróleo e de conselheiro de dirigentes pouco recomendáveis.
Tony Blair consegue ser pior do que o casal Clinton e tão nocivo para a Palestina quanto 'la Hillary', representante oficiosa do lobby sionista em Washington.
Tony Blair vai mesmo tarde. Que não seja substituído por ninguém de sua laia!
Reação da mídia inglesa à partida de Tony Blair
A má notícia é a vitória dos corruptos da FIFA não apenas na reeleição como também na tentativa frustrada da Palestina de suspender Israel das competições internacionais.
O interesseiro Sepp Blatter contestado dentro e fora do plenário
Gosto de futebol mas nunca tinha seguido reunião da FIFA porque não é a minha praia profissional. Segui esta que aconteceu nos dias 28 e 29 de maio por causa da questão palestina. Fiquei impressionada com a força dos lobbies e dos conchavos. Parecia o Congresso dos Estados Unidos. Não se via maletas cheia de dólares nem de contratos passando de uma mão para outra, mas se sentia que o que se votava lá, tanto a saída de Blatter quanto a suspensão de Israel, tinha mais a ver com sede de poder e venalidade do que com futebol e princípios morais-ideológicos. E diziam que João Havelange era corrupto... Devia ser, mas a concorrência é brava. Mas isso é problema dos jornalistas esportivos. O meu é a geopolítica.
Jibril Rajoub, presidente da Federação Palestina de Futebol, ao chegar já foi cercado de sufocante pressão de todos os lados. Se não fosse macaco velho teria sofrido um ataque - do coração, já que o Mossad não poderia assassiná-lo como fez com muitos de seus camaradas na frente de centenas de câmeras de televisão e livrar a cara como sempre faz.
Até Angela Merkell entrou na jogada em favor de Israel ligando diretamente para o representante palestino para pressioná-lo, certamente com uma chantagem. Qual, ainda não foi revelada . Off the record, como tudo o que foge à ética e à legalidade.
O lobby israelense se movimentava nas capitais ocidentais e entre os delegados do planeta futebol em Zurich com um ataque melhor do que seria um tridente Ronaldinho fenômeno/Pelé/Romário e uma zaga-muro melhor do que uma defesa David Luiz/Thiago Silva/Lúcio.
No final das contas, as lanças e a parede racistas conseguiram concomitantemente apunhalar e bloquear a justiça. Israel e Blatter foram eficientes. Como Platini na Uefa. Ex-jogador e cartola são farinha do mesmo saco.
Jibril Rajoub acaba jogando a toalha em plenário
“I decided to drop the suspension but it does not mean that I give up the resistance,” disse Jibril Rajoub em meio a aplausos. “A lot of colleagues who I respect and I appreciate explained to me how it is painful for them to hear in this family about the issue of suspension.”
Foi assim que conseguiram enrolá-lo, com melodrama esportivo e com promessas de ajuda que jamais serão cumpridas porque o lobby sionista está armado de muita grana e de hasbara. Tanto que Israel 'prometeu' estudar as reivindicações palestinas. Quem acredita?
Um dos delegados palestinos confessou em seguida que Jibril "had been under huge pressure to withdraw the suspension motion from delegates". Outro confirmou: "It is true everyone was putting pressure on him to withdraw.” Blatter já deixara claro que faria tudo ao seu alcance para bloquear "a vote on Israeli suspension." Indo contra a teoria da FIFA de combater o racismo e a segregação de todo tipo. A injustiça nem é relevante para essa gente para quem o futebol não é esporte e sim poder e dólares. Apesar disso, haveriam de ter um mínimo de coerência. Certo?
Após a retirada da moção palestina de suspenção de Israel, 90% dos delegados aprovaram um monitoramento de inspeções para garantir o movimento do jogadores e equipamentos. Enfim, para quem conhece o mesmo tipo de comitê da ONU para coisas ainda mais graves como expansão de colônias e bombardeios, o ceticismo reina. Parece mesmo é uma maneira de empurrar os palestinos com a barriga e deixar Israel agir impunemente. Porém, o número impressionante de votos de apoio que os palestinos receberam: 165 contra 18, serviu de prêmio de consolação que muitos delegados pelo menos reconhecem o problema e querem pelo menos fazer de conta que pretendem resolvê-lo.
Em Tel Aviv comemoram a vitória com escário de sempre. Com seu sarcasmo constumeiro, Binyamin Netanyahu admitiu o crime lobista sem rodeios: “Our international effort has proven itself and led to the Antes do voto membros da delegação palestina reclamaram aos jornalistas presentes do "effective removal by Blatter of the issue of referral to the UN" e denunciaram que "Fifa officials were attempting to prevent a vote on the substantive issue of the settlement teams".
O presidente da Israeli Football Association Ofer Eini usou a hasbara junto aos delegados do congresso: “Let’s leave politics to the politicians while we play soccer the best we can.”
Não, a suspensão da FIFA e o boicote econômico, acadêmico e cultural foram os argumentos mais fortes contra o apartheid na África do Sul.
Por que os dois pesos e as duas medidas?
Por que a FIFA suspendeu a África do Sul e não suspende Israel?
Só por causa do vil metal ou por cumplicidade política?
Tudo na vida é política. Todo ato simples é político. Israel e os cartolas da FIFA sabem muito bem disso.
Antes de Zurich, Blatter adulou Netanyahu em Jerusalém ocupada
e advogou por Israel em Ramallah
Antes da palhaçada de Zurich, na semana passada vi uma manchete em sites brasileiros que Binyamin Netanyahu concordara com a proposta de Sepp Blatter de uma partida 'amigável' entre as seleções de Israel e da Palestina. Nem me dei ao trabalho de ler a matéria porque conheço de cor a história e suspeitava que a recusa dos palestinos fosse mal-interpretada, como sempre é, por causa da potência da hasbara ou de simples ignorância dos fatos.
Na verdade o Primeiro Ministro de Israel ousou dizer ao presidente da FIFA em Jerusalém, ocupada, que "Soccer should be a vehicle of goodwill between nations, not a political tool."
Ah! É?
Fute Naddem Barghouti, um jogador nativo de 25 anos que joga futebol desde criança, nem consegue entender esta falsidade. Ele sabe que os atletas palestinos não têm oportunidade de viver como seus colegas estrangeiros justamente por causa da política. E quem mesmo é que impõe a política?...
Seu time, o Silwan Football Club é em Jerusalém Oriental, ocupada por soldados e colonos israelenses. Em 2012 Israel fechou o clube pretextando que tinha ligação com o Hamas - partido majoritário na Faixa de Gaza que goza de popularidade na Cisjordânia. "Israel considers all Palestinians terrorists. We are just atletes like athletes anywhere ele, not terrorists. But when we want to play in other parts of the West Bank we are subjected to lenghty searches at Israeli military checkpoints. The Israeli are not. Palestinian soccer players struglle to travel and after a match, we always know that we could be harassed or arrested by Israeli soldiers when returning. Israeli players, on the other hand, travel without problems and don't face any restrictions. This is discrimination. It's opprresion," explicou Fute.
É por isso que a Palestinian Football Association - PFA, ativistas e políticos estão fazendo campanha para a FIFA banir Israel do panorama Futebol. A não ser que Israel retire as restrições de movimento dos jogadores palestinos entre a Faixa de Gaza e a Cisjordânia assim como a importação de equipamentos e outras mesquinharias opressivas.
Blatter foi políticamente incorreto até no lugar em que encontrou Netanyahu - Jerusalém ocupada e oficialmente palestina. Saiu da reunião com o Primeiro Ministro de Israel e foi encontrar o presidente palestino Mahmoud Abbas. Em vez de ouvir o que Abu Mazen tinha a dizer, pediu-lhe que interviesse na decisão da PFA de solicitar o banimento da IFA no fim da semana, e ficou a ver navios, pois o Presidente palestino, como todos os chefes de Estado, não tem voz ativa na PFA.
E o presidente da PFA não é qualquer um e nem um político da nova guarda do Fatah. É Jibril Rajoub, kunya Abu Rami, ex-companheiro de Abu Ammar (Yasser Arafat) com quem enfrentou muitas batalhas. Não é Blatter que lhe dá medo. "Our cause is just", disse ele, "all we are requesting are basic rights for our athletes. The Israeli occupation's overt oppresion and racist policies, including movement restrictions for atlhetes, prevent us from participating in the game to our full potential," concluindo, "IFA's inclusion of Israeli football teams from illegal settlements in the West Bank contravenes FIFA rules. And Israeli has approached us only from a position of pressure and threats. There will be no compromising on the free movement of our atletes and officials."
Se a FIFA fosse moral, teria sido impossível não acatar a demanda palestina, já que no início de maio Jibril acompanhou uma delegação a Hebron e os visitantes tiveram a oportunidade de ver a realidade nua e crua da ocupação. Um grupo de colonos judeus aproximou-se do grupo e começou a insultá-los. Mais na frente testemunharam agressão física de colonos contra hebronitas, rotineiras na cidade (Blog 29/04/12). "The soldiers came and prevented us from walking in the Old City. It was the clearest example of Israeli racism toward Palestinians. The settlers harassed us and said racist innuendos. We told them that we were leading a tour for FIFA, and they said it didn't matter because the area was only for Jews," contou Jibril.
Porém, como era de se esperar, Israel respondeu à iniciativa palestina com a hasbara de sempre e uma campanha diplomático-financeira da pesada contra a suspensão, pois esta pressão já funcionara anteriormente com Michel Platini que até os incluiu na Uefa. Antes do congresso de Zurich, o ministro de esportes Miri Regev também reiterara a falsidade de Netanyahu dizendo "A separation must be made between sports and politics, as long as there is loyalty to the state and its laws."
Ah! É?
Geoff Lee, da ONG britânica Red Card Israeli Racism estava em Zurich reclamando: "We think it's absolutely wital that Israel is suspended from FIFA and then makes good on obligations before it is allowed back in. The football establishment should uphold the highest values of anti-racism. Israel ought to be shunned until it respects the human rights of all Palestinians and complies with international law."
Antes disso, um jerusalemita estava satisfeito com o apoio, mas estava pessimista. "We don't think Israel will actually be suspended, but it's good that there is more of the world's attention on what is happening to us. We simply want our athletes to be treated like atlhetes anywhere ele in the world. And us, Palestinians, like real people."
Eu queria ser otimista e acreditar que a FIFA era composta de seres humanos e que seus cartolas não eram tão corruptos quanto se pensa. Caí do cavalo, mas ainda há esperança porque a luta dos palestinos continua.
Não seria nada mal que o Romário, defensor dos fracos dos oprimidos e da justiça, se juntasse a Eric Cantona em defesa da causa da Palestina. Uma voz a mais sempre conta, sobretudo a de um brasileiro campeão do Mundo com o currículum e a fama do nosso querido baixinho.
Logo que a Associação Palestina de Futebol anunciou que solicitaria à FIFA a suspensão da Associação Israelense de Futebol das competições esportivas vários intelectuais e artistas apoiaram a medida mandando a seguinte carta aberta ao jornal inglês The Guardian: Palestinian Football Association will present a motion to Fifa's annual congress on 28-29 May, calling for the suspension of the Israel FA. We urge delegates to pass the motion. Palestine took to the pitch at January's Asian Cup to standing ovations from football fans of all nations. Their very appearance at the tournament was a heroic achievement in light of the obstacles faced by the team. No thanks are due to the IRA. It has stood shoulder to shoulder with Israel's murderous regime while Palestinian footballers habe been shot, beaten, bombed, and incarcerated along with their fellow citizens. And its only response to the day-to-day obstruction of travel, tournaments and the development of facilities has been to to repeat the much-abused mantra of "security concerns".
The IFA welcomes teams from illegal settlements into its leagues and competitions. It has racially segregated part of its national children's league, incurring legal action. It has never once disciplined Beitar Jerusalem FC for that club's longstanding apparent ban on the hiring of Arab players, or taken serious action to curb the notorious anti-Arab violence of its supporters. Two years of diplomacy have failed to secure change, and FIfa must now take punitive action in defence of its humanitarian ethos. Its 30-year exlusion of South Africa from its ranks provides a precedent for the action that is required. The lesson, surely, is that there can be no "positive engagement" with apartheid - only principled opposition.
Fifa owes it to all Palestinians to uphold their right to fully acces football by suypporting the call from the Palestinian FA for suspension of the IFA.
John Berger, Rodney Bickerstaffe, Breyten Breytenbach, Noam Chomsky, Richard Falk, Pat Gaffney, Rev Garth Hewitt, Ronnie Kasrils, Aki Kaurismaki, Bruce Kent, Ken Loach, Michael Mansfield, Miriam Margolyes,John Pilger, Bob Russel, Salman Abu Sita, Ahdaf Soueif, Jenny Tonge, Benjamin Zephaniah.
Palestina na Copa da Ásia
(Israel participa da UeFa... embora esteja na mesma área geográfica)
Quem estiver na Escócia no dia 1° de agosto de 2015, participe do passeio de bicicleta beneficiente de Edinburgo a Londres. O dinheiro será usado no tratamento das crianças palestinas que os tiros e as bombas israelenses aleijaram. More at:www.redspokes.co.uk/thebigride. Ken Loach:"More and more people are becoming aware that justice for the Palestinians is the great cause of our time. Let's see the green, red and black of the Palestinian flag making its way from Edinburgh to London." On 1-9 August, step on your bike and stand up for Palestine in tandem with 1,000 other fellow cyclists. Combine the challenge of cycling from Edinburgh to London with fundraising in support of a Palestinian children's charity. Has the FIFA corruption crisis saved Israel from vote to expel it from world football?The FIFA corruption crisis came just as its annual congress was due to debate a motion calling for Israel to be suspended from world football. By Geoff Lee.
Why is Matti Friedman so mad at Breaking the Silence?A former AP reporter who crusades against the international media’s alleged anti-Israel bias takes aim at the Israeli NGO of veteran soldiers in an article that is long on … well, length. But short on substance.read more ›
“I can tell you from the inside, he’s got a lot to spare,” Jeffrey Goldberg heard whispering, as Obama springs joyful news on Jewish audience that he’s getting circumcised.Obama strikes right chord with Jewish audience. "When he says the bonds between the U.S. and Israel are unbreakable, he means it," one attendee says. Jacob Kornbluh. May 22, 2015
RT entrevista do autor do livro BLAIR INC.on March 2015
Documentário Dispatches: The Wonderful World of Tony Blair(47')
BDS, The New Enemy
For years now, Netanyahu has built his career on fear of the Iranian Nuclear Bomb. The Iranians are crazy people. Once they have the Bomb, they will drop it on Israel, even if Israel's nuclear second strike will certainly annihilate Iran with its thousands of years of civilization.Binyamin Netanyahu was racking his brain. His whole career is based on fear mongering. Since Jews have lived in fear for millennia, it is easy to invoke it. They are addicts.
But Netanyahu saw with growing anxiety that the Iranian threat was losing its edge. The US, so it seems, is about to reach an agreement with Iran, which will prevent it from achieving the Bomb. Even Sheldon the Great cannot prevent the agreement. What to do?
Looking around, three letters popped up: BDS. They denote Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, a worldwide campaign to boycott Israel because of its 48 year-old subjugation of the Palestinian people.
Ah, here we have a real threat, worse than the Bomb. A second Holocaust is looming. Brave little Israel facing the entire evil, anti-Semitic world...
...Honest disclosure: my friends and I initiated the first boycott, which was directed at the products of the settlements.
Our peace movement, Gush Shalom, was deliberating how to stop the spread of the settlements, each of which is a land mine on the road to peace. The main reason for setting up settlements is to prevent the two-state solution – the only peace solution there is.
Our investigators made a Grand Tour of the settlements and registered the enterprises which were lured by government enticements to set up shop beyond the Green Line. We published the list and encouraged customers to abstain from buying these products.
A boycott is a democratic instrument of protest. It is non-violent. Every person can exercise it privately, without joining any group or exhibiting himself or herself in public.
Our main aim was to get the Israeli public to distinguish clearly between Israel proper and the settlements in the occupied territories.
In March 1997 we held a press conference to announce the campaign. It was a unique event. I have held press conference which were overflowing with journalists – for example, after my first meeting with Yasser Arafat in besieged West Beirut. I have held press conferences with sparse attendance. But this one was really special: not a single Israeli journalist turned up.
Still, the idea spread. I don't know how many thousand Israelis are boycotting the products of the settlements right now.
However, we were upset by the attitude of the European Union authorities, which denounced the settlements while in practice subsidizing their products with customs exemptions like real Israeli wares. My colleagues and I went to Brussels to protest, but were told by polite bureaucrats that Germany and others were obstructing any step toward a settlement boycott.
Eventually, the Europeans moved, albeit slowly. They are now demanding that the products of the settlements be clearly marked.
The BDS movement has a very different agenda. They want to boycott the State of Israel as such.
...Netanyahu could not wish for more. He is now riding the wave of Jewish reactions. Every day there are headlines about another success of the boycott movement, and each success is a bonus for Netanyahu.
It is also a bonus for his adversary, Omar al-Barghouti, the Palestinian organizer of BDS.
Palestine is well stocked with Barghoutis. It is an extended family prominent in several villages north of Jerusalem.
The most famous is Marwan al-Barghouti, who has been condemned to several life sentences for leading the Fatah youth organization. He was not indicted for taking part in any "terrorist" acts, but for his role as organizationally responsible. Indeed, he and I were partners in organizing several non-violent protests against the occupation.
When he was brought to trial, we protested in the court building. One of my colleagues lost a toenail in the ensuing battle with the violent court guards. Marwan is still in prison and many Palestinians consider him a prospective heir of Mahmoud Abbas.
Another Barghouti is Mustafa, the very likable leader of a leftist party, who ran against Abbas for the presidency of the Palestinian Authority. We have met while facing the army in several demonstrations against the Wall.
Omar Barghouti, the leader of the BDS movement, is a postgraduate student at Tel Aviv University. He demands the free return of all Palestinian refugees, equality for Israel's Palestinian citizens and, of course, an end to the occupation.
... As we feared from the beginning, the boycott of Israel... has united the general Jewish population with the settlers, under the leadership of Netanyahu.
The fatherland is in danger. National unity is the order of the day. "Opposition Leader" Yitzhak Herzog is rushing forward to support Netanyahu, as are almost all other parties.
Israel's Supreme Court, a frightened shadow of its former self, has already decreed that calling for a boycott of Israel is a crime – including calls for boycotting the settlements.
Almost every day, news about the boycott hits the headlines. The boss of "Orange", the French communications giant, first joined the boycott, then quickly turned around and is coming to Israel for a pilgrimage of repentance. Student organizations and professional groups in America and Europe adopt the boycott. The EU now vigorously demands the marking of settlement products.
Netanyahu is happy. He calls upon world Jewry to take up the fight against this "anti-Semitic" outrage. The owner of Netanyahu, multi-billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, has convened a war council of rich Jews in Las Vegas. His counterpart, pro-Labor multi-billionaire Haim Saban has joined him. Even the perpetrators of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion would not believe it.
As comic relief, another casino owner is competing for the headlines. He is a much, much smaller operator, who cannot be compared to Adelson.
He is the new Knesset Member Oren Hazan, No 30 on the Likud election list, the last one who got in. A TV expose has alleged that he was the owner of a casino in Bulgaria, who supplied prostitutes to his clients and used hard drugs. He has already been chosen as Deputy Speaker of the Knesset. The Speaker has temporarily suspended him from chairing Knesset plenum sessions.
So the two casino owners, the big and the small, dominate the news. Rather bizarre in a country where casinos are forbidden, and where clandestine casino goers are routinely arrested...
Uri Avnery.
Reality Asserts itself - Maio de 2015
A descida de Israel no Barbarismo: Method and Madness
