Wave Of Cultural Terrorism Rocks Israel

Three western musical acts, The Pixies, The Klaxons, and Gorillaz, have canceled their appearances in Israel in light of Israel’s massacre and attack on the Freedom Flotilla last week. The cancellation prompted Israelis to decry the isolation as “cultural terrorism.”

BDS is a non-violent strategy that has teeth and can be painful, it is also designed to make Israel feel pain through isolation, reflect, and change. If it is terrorizing Israelis, then call me a cultural terrorist, because I’ll do every thing I can to make sure Israel is culturally isolated, for that we may be closer to a just and lasting solution.

Israel’s Latest Propaganda Tool Malfunctions

One of Israel’s most hyped new propaganda machines stalled over the weekend during a show it put on in Yankee Stadium. Boxer Yuri Foreman, seemingly a nice Belarusian, Jewish boy has become Israeli hasbara’s most polished news story of late. He was TKOed by Miguel Cotto in the first boxing match in the new Yankee Stadium.
Most media outlet, including the sports commentators and analysis of ESPN and HBO who hyped the fight, or more realistically Foreman, recognized that he was no match for Cotto, yet he was the news story because of his “unique” and “emotional” story, born in Belarus, temporarily Israeli, living and training in the US, studying to be a rabbi, became the darling of the Israeli Consulate, and by extension, US media.

Rachel Would be Proud

We received the following press release from student activists in Washington. They announced that Evergreen State College students overwhelmingly voted to divest from Israel. Rachel Corrie was a senior at the college when the Israeli army took her life with a Caterpillar bulldozer, as she stood in front of a Palestinian home they wanted to demolish.

While I am sure Rachel would be honored to have one of the flotilla ships named after her, this action by Evergreen State students is in her legacy and would make her proud, I imagine.

Italian Grocers Boycott Israeli Products

Two Italian grocery chains, Coop Italia and Nordiconad, announced they will discontinue carrying and distributing all Israeli agricultural products beginning next week. The decision came in response to one of Italy’s strong BDS campaigns, Stop Carmel-Agrexco.

The Israeli Inquisitions & Another BDS Victory

Israel continues its assault on Palestinian human rights and equality activists… Most recently arresting Ameer Makhoul and Omar Sayid, two leaders of the Palestinian community within Israel.

30 Pages of Famous Jewish Support for Divestment at Berkeley

Jewish Voice for Peace has compiled letters from prominent Jewish and Israeli intellectuals and activists, supporting UC Berkeley’s divestment initiative and encouraging the student government to override President Will Smelko’s unprincipled veto tonight. Student activists supporting the bill have been wearing shirts with their simple slogan: Divest. Make history. Since it is relevant and an [...]

Noam Chomsky endorses Berkeley divestment

Noam Chomsky writes student senators at UC Berkeley, urging them to continue their support for Berkeley’s divestment bill, which had been vetoed by the student body president.

ICAHD Director Jeff Halper letter endorses Berkeley divestment

Jeff Halper, the director of Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions, writes the ASUC Senate at UC Berkeley supporting their effort to divest from the occupation.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu to UC Berkeley: Divesting is the Right Thing To Do

Desmond Tutu writes a letter to UC Berkeley’s student government, endorsing and encouraging their decision to divest from the Israeli occupation.

Singling out Israel is the right thing to do

Two weeks ago, UC Berkeley’s student senate made a historic 16-4 decision to divest from General Electric and United Technologies, two American companies that profit from the Israeli occupation. A week later, the student body president vetoed the bill, citing its “focus on a specific country,” Israel. His veto echoed identical claims by Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, that “in a world filled with human rights abuses across Africa, Asia and the Americas, the UC Berkeley students vote to single out Israel for censure is hypocritical.”