Leeds PSC1

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A million dollar festival will not rescue Israel’s image as an apartheid state

PACBI

Occupied Ramallah, 15 August  2010

Once again, the Brand-Israel machine is in high gear, this time organizing a million-dollar international youth extravaganza in Eilat in September 2010 called “Funjoya.”  This unabashed propaganda exercise is sponsored by the Israel Ministry of Tourism and the Israeli Student Union, among other official and semi-official bodies.  The Ministry of Tourism explains one of the aims of the festival: “branding Israel as an attractive tourism destination for students, an improvement in Israel’s image among this target group and facilitating multi-cultural encounters for students from Israel and European countries.” [1]

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The silent treatment

New Statesman

Robert Del Naja of Massive Attack tells William Parry why he is boycotting Israel.

The movement for a cultural boycott of Israel in response to its treatment of the Palestinians, modelled on the boycott of apartheid South Africa, could eclipse decades of disingenuous political charades in engaging western intellectuals, academics and artists. Internationally renowned figures such as Naomi Klein and Ken Loach have supported the call, and now one of Britain’s most successful bands, Massive Attack, is publicly backing the boycott.

“I’ve always felt that it’s the only way forward,” Robert Del Naja, the band’s lead singer, tells me when we meet at the Lazarides gallery in Fitzrovia, London. Del Naja is an artist as well as musician and his face and fingers are speckled with paint. Dozens of his pictures are strewn
all over the wooden floorboards, drying. “It’s a system that’s been applied to many countries. It’s a good thing to aim for because it applies the continual pressure that’s needed.”
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EC halts proposed data deal with Israel

RTE News

The European Commission has halted a proposal to allow Israel access to potentially sensitive data on European Union citizens following concerns expressed by the Irish Government.

The concerns arose following the use of forged Irish passports in the murder of a Hamas operative, allegedly by Israeli agents.

In a surprise move this morning, the Commission said they would withdraw the application to effectively recognise Israel’s data protection standards as being on a par with those enjoyed in the EU.

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U.S. actors back Israeli boycott of West Bank theater

Haaretz

More than 150 American actors, writers, directors and other artists sign letter of support for the Israeli actors who said they would not perform in Ariel.

The American signatories include Cynthia Nixon, who plays Miranda on “Sex and the City”; Mandy Patinkin, who played Inigo Montoya in “The Princess Bride”; and character actor and writer Wallace Shawn, who played the principal in “Clueless.”

Ten days ago, the Israeli actors caused a storm when they released a petition stating they would not perform in the West Bank. Their move was prompted by reports that the theater companies were planning performances at the new cultural center in Ariel.

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Boycotted, Bothered and Bewildered

Forward: The Jewish Daily

Israel entered disturbing, unfamiliar territory this summer in its struggles against boycotts and economic warfare. After nearly a decade of noisy but largely toothless campaigns to isolate it on the international stage, Israel now faces a concerted effort by Palestinians under its rule to isolate the Israeli settlers living among them in the West Bank.

The weapon of choice is a boycott of settlement-based products, services and jobs. And Jerusalem doesn’t have a clue what to do about it.

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Church boycott calls ring louder

Electronic Intifada

The world’s churches have long been one of the battlegrounds of the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement. With the strengthening of the BDS movement, a number of churches across the globe have seen the boycott of Israeli and Israeli settlement goods hotting up, and recent weeks have witnessed some notable victories.

The British Methodist Church has seen a number of resolutions on Israel passed in recent years. In 2006, says Dr. Stephen Leah, a Methodist preacher and member of the church’s conference, a vote to divest from companies profiting from the occupation was passed “overwhelmingly,” and other motions condemning Israeli actions in Gaza and encouraging church members to campaign for a just peace have been welcomed.

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There’s a difference, but still we boycott both

Morning Star (letter)

The Israeli Channel 10 programme Who Is Organising The Worldwide Hatred Of Israel Movement was I’m sure part of the Israeli culture of “We are the victims.”

This is emphasised within the Israeli education system on a daily basis, making young Israelis believe that they are hated throughout the world because they are Jews, which would of course be anti-semitic. However this is a long way from the truth.

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Fayyad: Netanyahu must explain his definition of ‘Palestinian state’

Haaretz

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Monday forecast a “moment of reckoning” in the coming weeks when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is forced to explain what kind of state he has in mind for the Palestinians.

The Palestinians are set to resume direct negotiations with Israel in Washington on Thursday. They will be the first direct talks in 20 months and are the result of painstaking U.S. diplomacy aimed at reviving the peace process.

Fayyad has expressed doubt about whether Netanyahu is ready to offer the Palestinians a state on terms they could accept.

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US condemns ‘deeply offensive’ remarks about Palestinian leader Abbas

The Telegraph

The US State Department has condemned as “deeply offensive” remarks made by the spiritual leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party in Israel’s governing coalition, who called on God to “strike down” Mahmoud Abbas.

Only days before the Palestinian leader is due sit down in Washington in face-to-face talks with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef termed the Palestinian president an evil hater of Israel.

“Abu Mazen (Mr Abbas) and all these evil people should perish from this world. God should strike them with a plague, them and these Palestinians,” he said in his weekly sermon in Jerusalem.

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Palestinians prepare to battle ‘Zionist editing’ on Wikipedia

Haaretz

Association of Palestinian Journalists chairman calls on Palestinians to prepare for ‘PR war’ on Israel.

The next battle in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be fought on the pages of the internet site Wikipedia, a free online encyclopedia which anyone can edit.

Abed A-Nassar, chairman of the Association of Palestinian Journalists, has already begun preparing for the conflict, calling on Palestinian institutions to make Wikipedia pages more pro-Palestinian.

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Three companies excluded from the Government Pension Fund Global

Norwegian Ministry of Finance

The Ministry of Finance has excluded two Israeli companies and one Malaysian company from the portfolio of the Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG).

On the recommendation of the Council on Ethics, the Ministry of Finance has decided to exclude the Israeli companies Africa Israel Investments Ltd. and Danya Cebus Ltd. and the Malaysian company Samling Global Ltd. from the GPFGs investment portfolio. The divestment from these companies has now been concluded.

“The decision to exclude these companies from the GPFG is based on the Council on Ethics assessment that they are contributing to or are themselves responsible for grossly unethical activity,” says Minister of Finance Sigbjørn Johnsen.

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Missed opportunities for a peaceful Middle East

Guardian (letter to)

Ron Prosor’s defence of Israel‘s continued blockade of Gaza (Before we talk to Hamas, August 20) is deeply flawed. Based on research published by The Lancet-Palestinian Health Alliance – a group of health scientists from the occupied Palestinian territory, the UK, US, Norway, France and Canada – several statements by the Israeli ambassador need immediate correction.

Gaza is not a terrorist enclave. It is a vigorous community of 1.4 million people struggling to exist under what the UN still considers to be occupation by Israel. Operation Cast Lead did not target “terrorist infrastructure”. On a visit to Gaza that I made in March this year, with colleagues from the UK, I witnessed the results of indiscriminate bombing of residential communities across the Strip, as well as the results of civilian casualties. These civilian attacks have left families rebuilding homes out of the debris left by the bombing with their bare hands, thanks to the ban on transporting building materials into Gaza.

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J’lem train company asks passengers: ‘Do you mind traveling with Arabs?’

Haaretz

With capital light rail raring to go, operator surveys residents’ attitudes.

Jerusalem’s light rail project is now in its final phase, with its train cars set to operate within less than a year. Ahead of the scheduled activation, CityPass, the rail system’s concessionaire, is conducting a poll to better gauge its public-relations standing among Jerusalemites.

The survey asks residents various questions related to whether they intend to use the new train system. Respondents are asked how they feel about a number of practical issues, such as the planned routes and the measures to make commuting easier.

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A Statement to the Palestinian People

Palestine Monitor

In the interest of resisting external pressure aimed at imposing direct negotiations under Israeli conditions

Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi MP
16 August 2010

To our Palestinian People:

We have followed with great concern the increasing external pressure, especially from the U.S. and Israel, on the PLO leadership to shift from indirect negotiations (which have not resulted in any progress) to direct negotiations without clear and binding terms of reference regarding a complete halt of all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory – including in Jerusalem. The terms of reference should be based on international law and UN resolutions and to include a predetermined timetable to reach a final status agreement. The agreement will necessarily include ending the Israeli occupation of all territories occupied in 1967 and enabling the Palestinians to exercise the Right of Return, right to self-determination, and the right to an independent and sovereign state in the territory occupied in 1967 – with Jerusalem as its capital.

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Knesset revokes Arab MK Zuabi’s privileges over Gaza flotilla

Haaretz

In 34-16 vote, Knesset approves stripping Zuabi of three parliamentary privileges over participation in Gaza flotilla; Zuabi: Knesset is punishing me out of vengeance.

The Knesset on Tuesday voted to revoke three parliamentary privileges from Arab MK Hanin Zuabi (Balad) due to her participation in the aid flotilla that sailed to Gaza in late May.

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