While the complicity of the British government and leading British corporations, like G4S, in Israel's occupation and violations of international law remains intact, British society is steadily shifting towards isolating Israel as it did quite effectively to apartheid South Africa.
Roger Waters -- of Pink Floyd fame -- is feeling far less lonely nowadays in his beautifully courageous and consistent support for BDS. Two weeks ago, about 1,000 artists in the UK signed a pledge to boycott Israel culturally. Key writers, filmmakers and artists were among the luminaries who have signed this pledge, reminding us of the famous British artists' boycott of apartheid South Africa.
A few months ago, the executive committee of the National Union of Students, representing some 7 million British students, adopted BDS.
The largest British trade unions, Unite and Unison, among many others, representing millions of workers, also support BDS.
And now this unprecedented, campus-wide vote at an important British university that included academics, staff and students in favor of a full academic boycott of Israel opens the door for much more to come.
Last month, the respectable Chatham House poll of British public opinion showed that Britons feel more "unfavourable" to Israel than to any other country in the world, with the exception of North Korea!
The BBC annual Globescan poll of international public opinion has consistently shown Israel competing with North Korea in popularity in most of the world, including in the UK, where a whopping 72% perceive Israel "mainly negatively."
Yet the British government continues not only its criminal arms trade with Israel, directly enabling Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity, and its various joint projects with Israel -- in the areas of trade, academic research and culture -- that are overtly intended to counter BDS. It remains one of the worst governments in the world -- competing with the Zionist-influenced French, Canadian and Australian governments -- in acting to suppress civil society efforts in support of BDS.
So much for western "democracy"!
SOAS gives us hope that this official British complicity is countered by effective grassroots and civil society solidarity.
Omar
PRESS RELEASE 27/02/2015 FOR IMMEDIATE USE
A historic victory for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement was achieved today in the referendum on the academic boycott of Israel [1], at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. Out of 2056 votes cast, an overwhelming majority of 73% voted in favour of boycotting Israeli academic institutions. This victory reinforces the demands of the BDS call issued in 2005 by Palestinian civil society organizations [2].
The voting took place between 23rd and 27th of February. The referendum was School-wide, that is, it was open to all members of the SOAS community. This included current students, academics, non-academic staff, university governors, and outsourced workers such as cleaners, security, and catering staff.
SOAS represents one of the most diverse student bodies in the UK with roughly 6,000 students and staff of multi-faith backgrounds from over 133 countries. The referendum was called for by the Students’ Union, and was conducted in an open, fair and transparent environment. Both the Yes and No campaigners were given equal platforms to hold panel discussions and debates.
The academic boycott campaign was led by students and staff from various nationalities, backgrounds, and faith groups reflecting the broad support for the boycott. It has demonstrated the popular appeal of BDS as a powerful form of protest and resistance.
By voting in favour of the academic boycott, the SOAS community has confirmed its unwavering commitment to freedom, equality and justice for all Palestinians and has reasserted its call for an end to Israeli apartheid, oppressive occupation, and settler-colonialism.
Presently, SOAS has ties with the Hebrew University, which unapologetically joined the “war effort” last summer [3] when the Israeli army murdered over 2,000 Palestinians in Gaza. In October 2014, the US weapons-producer Lockheed Martin announced that a cooperation agreement [4] had been signed with Yissum, a technology firm that belongs to the Hebrew University.
The academic boycott campaign stresses that the boycott does not contradict academic freedom as it targets Israeli institutions complicit in the oppression of Palestinians, not individuals. Open enquiry, free exchange of ideas, and intellectual freedom are crucial to every academic community, but freedom can only be real when it is afforded to all. This has to include the Palestinians.
The Palestine Society and the BDS campaign at SOAS state:
“This historic result has brought us one step further in our struggle for freedom and justice. We do not tolerate any collaboration with academic institutions which are complicit in human rights violations and which do not practice the values of academic freedom and equality. We call upon other universities to show their solidarity by joining the academic boycott.”
ENDS
1 opmerking:
The day Allan Parsons, a contracted engineer of "Dark side Of The Moon" by Pink Floyd & Roger Waters, became a robot: Day After Day (The Show Must Go On)
Nobody can play his 'guitar arrangements' as well as the Israeli guitar player he contracted, they are that complicated and challenging!
How about dancing to a different drummer, eh? Quite hilarious if you ask me to be able to suit the mainstream taste so that it supports his pension funds looking for excuses. Never expected him to be that stupid really. Sure, it's only human. Musicians are no different except they often don't put the money where their mouth is. Listening to this album now, evokes a whole new experience, that will make one want to experience his concerts for sentimental reasons. Who cares. He should be ashamed of himself like Roger said with so many words, it had to be.
Just because? Forget it.
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