See article in Mondoweiss
Campaign organizers are calling on Ballet BC (and now the 2 other dance companies as well) to take a stand and not perform in Israel, which would be a permanent stain on their records. They are also calling on solidarity activists, both locally and around the world, to support this campaign, and to let these artists know that it is morally wrong for them to trample on the dignity and rights of Palestinians.
BC Attorney General David Eby finally responded to two of the initiating groups on an Open Letter, regarding BC government liquor stores carrying Israeli wines in violation of international humanitarian laws. Mr. Eby refused to meet with representatives of the 30 groups who sponsored and endorsed the letter, and insisted again to focus solely on the “customers’ right to make choices”. Here is the public answer to Eby from CPA Vancouver and BDS Vancouver-Coast Salish.
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Public Response to David Eby regarding Israeli wines in BC Liquor Stores
Oct. 17, 2018
Dear Mr. Eby:
Thank you for your brief replies to our concerns.
Once again, you have completely ignored the issues raised on this subject, this time brought forward by 30 organizations. We mentioned in our open letter that selling Israeli wines in BC liquor Stores is “in direct contravention of the Fourth Geneva Convention”. The UN Security Council, UN General Assembly and the Canadian government recognize the applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention in the occupied Palestinian territories. Israel is in violations of many articles of this convention, including the theft of Palestinian land, building colonies in the occupied territories and transferring several hundreds of thousands of its citizens to live in them, in contravention of articles 49 and 53. Israel also expropriates and exploits the natural resources in the occupied territory to meet the needs of the occupying power, in violation of article 55. The wine that is carried in the BC Liquor Stores is the product of these Israeli settler colonialists who stole Palestinian land and its agricultural and natural resources.
The Federal Government currently imposes sanctions against 20 countries, 11 of them in the Middle East (the list does not include Israel nor Saudi Arabia), so we ask where is your “customers’ right to make choices” there?
And as noted in the open letter, these wines are mislabelled as “made in Israel” in an attempt to hide product origin, something that is currently being challenged in the Canadian courts. So how can a consumer make choices when they are not even aware of what they are buying?
As you can see, this is not a matter of a “customers’ right to make choices”. The only choices being made in these circumstances are the wrong choices. As Attorney General, would you advise any police department to not curtail the selling of stolen products in BC stores, because it infringes on a “customers’ right to make choices”?!
We feel your government is simply hiding behind the liberal façade of “customer choice” in order to avoid any meaningful discussion about your role in enabling the dispossession of the Palestinian people. Violating the many articles of the Fourth Geneva Convention amounts to war crimes. Supporting these violations is complicity in them.
As the anti Apartheid leader Archbishop Desmond Tutu put it: “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.”
And finally, your unwillingness to meet with us demonstrates an arrogance and disinterest in issues of serious concern to your constituents and British Columbians, a very disappointing approach for someone who claims to be interested in rectifying social and historical injustices.
Hanna Kawas, Chairperson, Canada Palestine Association
Aiyanas Ormond, Coordinator, BDS Vancouver-Coast Salish
c.c. All Signatory Groups on the Open Letter
Palestinians urge participating artists to withdraw from the festival as a meaningful contribution to our struggle for freedom, justice and equality.
We, Palestinian cultural organizations, municipalities and human rights campaigns, call for the boycott of Meteor Festival in Israel, scheduled for September 6-8, 2018. We urge all participating artists to respect Palestinians’ non-violent resistance and withdraw from this complicit festival as a meaningful contribution to our struggle for freedom, justice and equality.
Naranja, the Israeli organisers of Meteor Festival, bring international artists to Israel to serve later as future ambassadors for the country. In 2009, just months after Israel killed over 1,400 Palestinians in Gaza, Naranja worked to “improve Israel’s image in Scandinavia”. Naranja say they want Meteor Festival to create an “alternative reality”. The reality for Palestinians is 70-year-old regime of occupation, colonization and apartheid.
Just last week, Israel effectively declared itself as an apartheid state by adopting the “Jewish Nation-State Law”, which constitutionally denies Palestinian citizens equal rights and legalizes their exclusion.
The Meteor festival recommends accommodation located in illegal Israeli settlements built in violation of international law in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights. Israel’s expanding illegal settlements steal the land and resources of millions of Palestinians living under military occupation. Israel’s bulldozers demolish Palestinian homes and villages, leaving families and entire communities homeless refugees in our own land.
Since 2004, Palestinian artists and cultural organizations have urged their international colleagues not to perform in Israel as long as it continues to violate Palestinian human rights with impunity. Artists played an important role in isolating Apartheid South Africa by refusing to play in Sun City. Today, thousands of artistsacross the world support the Palestinian boycott call or have respected our nonviolent picket line, including Lorde, Ms Lauryn Hill, Thurston Moore, Shakira, Wolf Alice, Chuck D, Portishead, Brian Eno and Young Fathers.
The Israeli government uses international performances as a stamp of approval for its regime of oppression and ethnic cleansing and its violent attacks on Palestinian life and culture. Performing at an international music festival in Israel sends the message that Israel’s actions aren’t so bad after all. As the Washington Post remarked earlier this year, “From now on, if it weren’t the case already, merely scheduling a concert date in Israel will be considered a political act.”
Israel has confined two million Palestinians in Gaza under a cruel siege for over 10 years now. The UN has declared the Gaza Strip as “unlivable.” When tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza peacefully protested for their UN-stipulated rights in March, Israeli snipers implemented a “shoot-to-kill-or-maim” and killed over 140 Palestinians and injured over 16,000, leaving many with life-changing injuries. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are among the rights organisations who have condemned Israel’s massacre in Gaza.
In the area surrounding the festival site are the ruins of dozens of Palestinian cities, towns and villages violently destroyed during the establishment of Israel on the rubbles of Palestine. More than 500 Palestinian population centres were systematically destroyed in this way during the Nakba (“catastrophe”). Many Palestinian communities within Israel are denied basic services, including electricity, water, schools and roads and suffer under a system of racial discrimination that is entrenched with more than 60 racist laws.
Against this oppression and dispossession, as all oppressed peoples, we resist. An important part of our resistance is through culture, music, poetry, literature, cinema, dance and theatre. Israel’s response is to detain and arrest Palestinian artists at checkpoints, raid festivals, close Palestinian cinemas and ban Palestinian cultural events.
We appeal to artists who are scheduled to perform at Meteor to simply do no harm; to respect Palestinians’ non-violent picket line and to not lend your name to art-washing Israel’s crimes against Palestinians. Stand for freedom, justice and equality. Cancel your participation at Meteor Festival.
The Canadian BDS Coalition calls Canadian and other musicians, artists and civil society to call on the Danish-Canadian musical group Rhye to cancel their performance at Meteor. To add you name/organization click here
“The Canadian government is called upon to immediately condemn Israel’s apartheid law by putting sanctions in place as is required under Canada’s own domestic law. The Canadian BDS Coalition joins with the Palestinian people and the Palestinian BDS National Committee in calling for the UN to activate its anti-apartheid laws and impose serious sanctions, on Israel such as those which were imposed on South Africa.”
On July 19, 2018, Israeli legislators approved the “Basic Law: Israel as the Nation State of the Jewish People” bill that unambiguously defines Israel as a state that belongs exclusively to the “Jewish people.” This law was approved even though one in five Israeli citizens is an indigenous, non-Jewish Palestinian. This law makes discrimination constitutional and enshrines apartheid into Law
The Jewish Nation-State legislation was approved by 62 to 55 votes. Palestinian members of the Israeli Knesset condemned the law that stipulates that “Israel is the historic homeland of the Jewish people and they have an exclusive right to national self-determination in it.”
“It has passed a law of Jewish supremacy and told us that we will always be second-class citizens,” Ayman Odeh, the head of the Arab Joint List – an alliance of four predominantly Arab parties – said in a statement following the law’s passage.
The newly passed law also states that an undivided Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, and names illegal settlements as a “national value.” This blatant disregard of United Nations resolutions is also contrary to Canadian foreign policy. The legislation is a blatant disregard for the Fourth Geneva Convention which does not allow for populations of the occupier to be moved into occupied areas. Under Article 1 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, Canada as a signatory of the Convention is responsible for ensuring that the Convention is upheld in all circumstances.
Adalah, a leading Palestinian human rights organization in Israel,said that the law “affirms the principle of apartheid in housing, land and citizenship.” Adalah indicates “this law constitutionally sanctions institutionalized discrimination.”
The Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC) shared Najwan Berekdar, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, reaction:
As a Palestinian citizen of this state, this bill entrenches my third-class citizenship on the land where generations of my family have lived since long before the state of Israel even existed.
The Jewish-Israeli majority is loudly reminding us indigenous Palestinian citizens of Israel that we are not welcome in our own ancestral homeland. My people have always suffered from legalized racism by the state of Israel and its institutions, but this law makes our apartheid reality the law of the land like never before.
As “non-Jews” we are already not allowed to buy or rent land on 93% of the area controlled by the Israeli state, and many of our communities are declared to be “unrecognized” and bulldozed out of existence by Israeli forces. I received a racially segregated and inferior education in a school system that conspicuously privileges Jewish-Israelis.
Israel is now stripping us of any semblance of equal rights based solely on our ethno-religious identity. It’s even demoting our language from one of the state’s two official languages.
Omar Barghouti from the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC) commented:
Israel has dozens of racist laws, including some which strikingly fit the UN definition of apartheid. But with the constitutional power of this Basic Law, Israel is effectively declaring itself an apartheid state and dropping its worn-out mask of democracy.
From now on, it will not just be legal to racially discriminate against the indigenous Palestinian citizens of the state. It will be constitutionally mandated and required. This should stir people, institutions and governments to take effective action to hold Israel accountable.
The Canadian BDS Coalition which includes over 25 groups from coast to coast, including national, regional and local groups, reminds the Canadian government that its own domestic legislation, the Special Economic Measures Act requires that sanctions are applied where gross and systemic human rights violations have been committed by a foreign state.
“The Canadian government is called upon to immediately condemn Israel’s apartheid law by putting sanctions in place as is required under Canada’s own domestic law. The Canadian BDS Coalition joins with the Palestinian people and the Palestinian BDS National Committee in calling for the UN to activate its anti-apartheid laws and impose serious sanctions, on Israel such as those which were imposed on South Africa.”
contact: bdscoalition@gmail.com
Release from Palestinian BNC here.
Press release on wire service here.
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/HQ_IEC_partnership_agreement_en/
Sign the petition to demand that Hydro-Québec terminate its agreement to cooperate on cyber security with Israel Electric Corporation concluded on May 22, 2017.
This memorandum of understanding is in fact a contract between two states: Quebec and Israel.
The cooperation agreement was signed as part of the May 2017 economic mission to Israel and the West Bank by Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard, in his presence. Hydro-Québec refuses to disclose the content of its partnership agreement with IEC in contravention of the Act respecting access to documents held by public bodies and the protection of personal information to which it is subject.
Gaza has been under an illegal blockade for 10 years. In recent weeks Israel has adopted the official policy of ‘shoot-to-kill’ in Gaza, targeting and shooting Palestinian demonstrators seeking to improve their living conditions and to end the blockade:
In signing its memorandum of understanding with Israel Electric Corporation, Hydro-Quebec – and the Quebec state – makes themselves complicit in these crimes. Please sign the petition demanding that Hydro-Quebec cancel its partnership with Israel Electric Corporation!
Sign:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/HQ_IEC_partnership_agreement_en/
To learn more about the cooperation of Canada’s energy industry read this IT World Canada article that provides details about Toronto Hydro, IESO (Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator), and the Canadian Electric Association, as well as Canadian energy sector.
from Israel in Toronto Facebook page
Israel enjoys a close relationship with Canada’s electricity sector. Last year, a delegation of Canadian electricity companies, government officials, and regulators visited Israel.
Yesterday, Israel in Canada‘s Ambassador Rafael Barak, Nissan Amdur (Israel’s Economic Attache to Canada), and Yosi Shneck (Senior Vice President and CIO of the חברת החשמל לישראל Israel Electric Corporation), participated in IESO – The Electricity Outlet‘s Executive Briefing on Cybersecurity in Toronto.
Speaking with your economic buying power–an age old tactic
The BDS movement is building an economic boycott of Israel and developing effective campaigns against companies that participate in Israel’s oppression of Palestinians.
International companies aid and abet Israel’s violations of international law, including by operating in illegal Israeli settlements and acting as contractors for the Israeli military and government.
The economic boycott of Israel aims to put pressure on Israel to comply with international law and to persuade private companies to end their participation in Israel’s crimes.
Grassroots BDS campaigning is leading to major companies and investors changing their attitudes towards Israel and its oppression of Palestinians.
The Israeli economy is especially dependent on international trade and investment, making it especially susceptible to international economic boycotts.
Campaigning has led to major companies selling up and leaving Israel altogether and a range of investors divesting from Israeli and international companies.
The UN, the World Bank and other experts say that BDS is having an important economic impact on Israel.
Experts report growing economic impact of BDS: According to the authors of a UN report, BDS was a key factor behind at 46% drop in foreign direct investment into Israel in 2014 compared to 2013. The World Bank partially attributed a 24% drop in Palestinian imports from Israel to boycott. Reports by the Israeli government and the Rand Corporation have predicted that BDS could cost the Israeli economy billions of dollars.
Does the BDS movement call for a boycott of all Israeli products or just products and companies from illegal Israeli settlements?
The BDS movement calls for a boycott of all Israeli products. However, some of our biggest campaigns are against companies that operate in illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied West Bank. This is simply because targeting these companies are, at this stage, more capable of winning widespread support and succeeding. As our movement grows, so do our ambitions and the BDS movement is currently in the process of moving away from campaigns focused mainly on illegal Israeli settlements.
A barcode starting with 729 usually indicates a product of Israel. But this is not always reliable. The best way to tell if a product is made in Israel is to look for a “Product of Israel” label or to ask the retailer if they can guarantee a product isn’t from Israel.
BNC Campaign: Priority Boycott & Related Actions
HP plays a key role in Israel’s oppression of Palestinians. It provides technology, equipment and services to the Israeli military, including for the checkpoints and ID card system that underpin Israel’s apartheid policies and its movement restrictions for Palestinians.HP relies on its good image and its contracts with public organisations, civil society bodies and private businesses. Effective grassroots campaigning can push HP to end its role in Israeli apartheid and settler colonialism.
ACTIONS:
For Palestinians, agriculture is much more than the production of olives, citrus fruit and other fresh produce, or keeping livestock. Farming is tied to the Palestinian people’s identity, history and resistance to Israel’s colonial occupation.
ACTIONS:
Israeli Fruit and Vegetables, including Dates
Fruit and vegetables are one of Israel’s biggest exports and all Israeli agricultural exporters are complicit in Israel’s violations of international law as they operate on stolen Palestinian land.
Wineries
As an example, approximately 60-70 products labelled “made in Israel” are available through the LCBO in Ontario. Many of these have connection with illegal occupation of Syrian Golan or Palestinian territory.
Include the word “Israel” in the LCBO search to find stores and products to take action
See Canada Palestine Association re wine boycotts here.
Sabra
Sabra hummus is a joint venture between PepsiCo and the Strauss Group, an Israeli food company that provides financial support to the Israel Defense Forces.
Determine where it is sold in Canada HERE
Plan actions at Consumer Shows across Canada. Check HERE.
Air Canada sells Sabra on board its planes.
Dead Sea Salt
Check out CJPME resources here.
Ahava
Ahava cosmetics is one of Israel’s best known export companies.
Find locations selling this project HERE.
Action: contact Ahava stores and head office, and the Bay.
See resources from the United Church of Canada and CJPME
SodaStream
SodaStream home drinks machines are one of Israel’s best known exports.
For stores see here.
Major retailers include Hudson Bay, Canadian Tire, Home Outfitters, Walmart, London Drugs and Bed, Bath and Beyond.
See resources from the United Church of Canada and CJPME.
HSBC: end complicity in Israel’s militarised repression of Palestinians
The international HSBC bank is a major shareholder in companies selling weapons and military technology to Israel and also provides those companies with the loans they need to operate.
ACTIONS:
Hyundai
#BoycottHyundai
The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Committee of Palestinian Citizens of Israel (BDS48) call upon our Palestinian people in the homeland and the Diaspora, the peoples of the Arab world, and people of conscience worldwide to boycott and divest from Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), until it ends its involvement in Israel’s violations of our human rights, particularly in Jerusalem and the Naqab (Negev).
Inform yourself HERE.
Boycott the Following (research by Who Profits)
Coca Cola
Africa Israel: clothing line
Motorola
Naot
Pay Pal (see UCC)
Trip Advisor
Airbnb
Remax (see CJPME)
Ketter (see UCC)
Aroma Espresso Cafes
Toyota
Land Rover
General Motors
Mitsubishi
Note: several of these organizations have been on leaked UN Blacklists as well. Canada has two companies expected to be on the UN list when it is available but the names have not yet been released. We expect to provide more information on Canadian companies doing business in settlements and in support of the occupation, as well as further information on other products that have been verified by Who Profits and other groups.
The following have had verification work done previously:
Mountain Equipment Company by CJPME
Canadian Tire by CJPME , Canada Palestine Association, UCC
COSTCO by CJPME
H&M by CJPME
IBM by CJPME
IKEA by CJPME
Indigo by CJPME
Pizza Hut by CJPME
Toys’r’us see CJPME
Western Union see CJPME
The Bay see UCC
Walmart see UCC
IMPORTANT NOTE
The global nature of today’s economy means that there are thousands of companies that have links to Israel and are complicit to various degrees in Israel’s violations of international law. However, for our movement to have real impact we need our consumer boycotts to be easy to explain, have wide appeal and the potential for success. That’s why we particularly focus globally on a select few strategic campaigns. We also encourage the principle of context sensitivity, whereby activists in any given context decide what best to target and how, in line with BDS guidelines. There is a lot of information online claiming that some large companies give money to Israel, some of which turns out to be false. BDS has built a reputation for strictly adhering to established facts and producing the most accurate information.
Besides boycotting Israeli goods, what else can I do?
The BDS movement is about much more than consumer boycotts: it is also about campaigning alongside others to pressure institutions, unions, and companies to boycott or divest and to isolate Israel academically, culturally, economically and militarily. Check out the other areas of this Get Involved page for more information and ideas.
Frequent Questions and Answers
Will more items be added?
Yes. More products and organizations will be added as research is completed, and new campaigns added through the BNC, the Canadian BDS Coalition or local organizations.
What if I find a product, company or retailer that might be added to the list?
Provide details to bdscoalition@gmail.com
Should i make direct contact with companies and/or retailers before taking an action?
It is always advisable to make contact with the companies and retailers. For BNC campaigns this contact has been made at global level. For those organizations listed by Who Profits, they have been directly contacted by Who Profits. Similarly organizations like CJPME and UCC have made this contact before moving forward with campaigns. As part of publishing this list the Canadian BDS Coalition has made contact with organizations at a national level (still to be done). Best practices would be for local organizations and also individuals to also make such contact related to any boycott action or locally developed campaign.
CJPME: Canadian for Justice and Peace in the Middle East
UCC: United Church of Canada
Interested in being involved locally contact bdscoalition@gmail.com
HP plays a key role in Israel’s oppression of Palestinians. It provides technology, equipment and services to the Israeli military, including for the checkpoints and ID card system that underpin Israel’s apartheid policies and its movement restrictions for Palestinians.HP relies on its good image and its contracts with public organisations, civil society bodies and private businesses. Effective grassroots campaigning can push HP to end its role in Israeli apartheid and settler colonialism.
ACTIONS:
Air Canada’s complicity with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has been matched by its silence.
By Marion Kawas
Friday, October 06, 2017
Two weeks ago, it was revealed that a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), Elta North America, would be involved in building the U.S.-Mexico border wall. The immediate connection between the “builders” of oppressive and apartheid walls was not lost on those concerned about social justice, but a look at the history of IAI is even more enlightening. It is just one of many Israeli military defense companies that have intensified their global marketing in the last two decades, but it is also wholly owned by the Israeli government and is part of the historical foundation and fabric of the whole Zionist enterprise.
On November 2, 2017, it will be a century since the road for colonization of Palestine was set.
Recognizing a century since the Balfour Declaration, 70 years since the Partition Plan and approaching 70 years since the Nakba, 50 years of occupation of the territory taken in the 1967 set-back, and 10 years seize on Gaza, we are pleased that Alexandre Boulerice, MP to Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, NDP, Quebec has sponsored the following petition to the government of Canada.
