Boycot Israel 8

Eelectronic Intifada bericht:

'Hundreds converge on Ramallah for boycott summit Summary report, Conference Steering CommitteeAn important milestone in building the global boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign was achieved in Ramallah on 22 November 2007. Some 300 activists, members of unions, associations and NGOs in towns, villages and refugee camps of the occupied West Bank, with monitors from the global solidarity movement in Britain, Canada, Norway, Spain and South Africa, convened for a day of discussion and debate about ways to promote all forms of boycott against Israel among Palestinian community organizations, unions, as well as political, academic and cultural institutions. Organizers and participants left the conference with a sense of accomplishment: practical recommendations are in place for building the popular Palestinian BDS campaign as a strategic form of civil resistance in the long struggle ahead against Israel's regime of apartheid over the Palestinian people.The conference was opened by Dr. Gabi Baramki (Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel-PACBI) who reminded participants of the fact that boycott has been a tool of the Palestinian struggle since the 1920s. He stated that the power of popular boycott derived from international law and universal ethical principles, and emphasized the timeliness of a Palestinian popular boycott movement, especially now, when isolation and fragmentation are imposed more than ever on the Palestinian people, in order to bring about loss of hope, dignity and surrender. Boycott and popular struggle contributed to the liberation of India and South Africa, he stated, adding that, while it is true that the challenge for Palestinians is bigger, because South Africa never enjoyed the level of support Israel has from the United States and Europe, the Palestinian boycott campaign can be effective because of Israel's ultimate dependence, politically, diplomatically and economically, on the West. Representing the Palestinian Non-Governemntal Organizations Network, Dr. Allam Jarrar then summarized the need for boycott in the current political context, asserting that "The Palestinian struggle is a struggle against the systematic effort by Israel to replace one people in the country by another." He affirmed that the conference was a historic event "because 60 years into the Palestinian Nakba, we are beginning to revise the strategy of our struggle for the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, foremost among them our rights to self-determination, independence and return [for refugees]. The boycott campaign will re-vitalize popular resistance and restore dignity." He presented several motivating factors for the BDS campaign: it dispels the myth that negotiations with Israel are the only form of struggle that Palestinians can engage in; as a nonviolent tool, it is a form of popular resistance that can appeal to all Palestinians, in the homeland and exile, as well as to global supporters; it is a tool for rebuilding collective struggle and unity; it revives national culture and identity, and can give hope and inspiration to the young generation; and it challenges the current balance of power through applying sustained and effective pressure on Israel.'

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