Letters of Support Requested for Welsh National Assembly Speaker's Boycott of Israeli Ambassador Meeting

Mohammad Asghar, a new member of the National Assembly for Wales, has invited the entirety of the Assembly to meet with Israel's UK Ambassador Ron Prosor later this month. Taking a principled stand in protest against the Israeli occupation and persistent violation of Palestinian human rights, the Speaker of the National Assembly for Wales, Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas, announced that he will boycott the meeting, stating: "I am unwilling to accept the invitation to meet the ambassador, because of my objection to the failure of the State of Israel to meet its international obligations to the Palestinian people of the Holy Lands," and inviting other Assembly Members to do the same.

This is a truly courageous stand by a parliamentarian who will no doubt come under heavy attack for his decision. Lord Elis-Thomas has taken other principled positions in the past, notably against nuclear proliferation. Ironically, it was Wales's first Muslim Assembly Member, Mohammad Asghar, who issued the Prosor invitation. Asghar was elected in 2007, a year after Lord Elis-Thomas took a strong and controversial position criticizing previous Welsh Assemblies for their lack of diversity.

It is a priority for supporters of justice and human rights to support and defend those who take principled positions in the face brutality and oppression. As such we, the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC), call on people of conscience to communicate their support for Lord Elis-Thomas. Below is the text of the letter sent to the Speaker by the BNC, a copy of which was also sent to Assembly Member Mohammad Asghar. We ask that you send similar letters of support to Lord Elis-Thomas and copies of your letters to Mr. Asghar.

Letters can be sent to:

Dafydd Elis-Thomas, AM
email: dafydd.elis-thomas@wales.gov.uk
Tel: 01766 515028
7 Bank Place
Porthmadog
Gwynedd
LL49 9AA

Mohammad Asghar, AM
mohammad.asghar@wales.gov.uk
National Assembly for Wales,
Cardiff Bay
Cardiff
CF99 1NA

*Sample Letter*

To: Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas, AM and Speaker of the National Assembly for Wales
Cc: Mr. Mohammad Asghar, AM

From: The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Campaign National Committee (BNC), Palestine

Re: Invitation of Israeli Ambassador to Meet with Members of the National Assembly for Wales


Dear Lord Elis-Thomas,

The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Campaign National Committee (BNC) is a coordinating body made up of Palestinian civil society organizations representing workers, farmers, students, refugees, and the social and political forces of Palestinian society at large.

We believe that it is shameful that Mohammad Asghar, or any other British public official, would call for a meeting with a representative of the Israeli state. Thirty-one Palestinians have been killed and eighty-five have been wounded by Israeli attacks over the past month in Gaza alone, where the Israeli-imposed siege has resulted in catastrophic shortages in fuel, food, clean water, medicine and other basic human needs. In the West Bank, Israel's colonial policies of land theft and strangulation targeting the indigenous Palestinian population continue unabated, as Israeli illegal settlements continue to expropriate and colonize Palestinian land; as the apartheid wall and Israeli-only roads encircle and imprison Palestinian communities; and as hundreds of Israeli military checkpoints choke the remaining life out of Palestinian society under occupation.

This year is also significant in that it marks sixty years since Israel was established through the ethnic cleansing of over 750,000 Palestinians out of their homes and off of their lands, also marking sixty years of Israel's forcible denial of the basic human right of these Palestinians to return to the places from which they were expelled, and sixty years of institutionalized racial discrimination against the Palestinians who managed to stay and who, as citizens of Israel, have been touted as a sign of Israeli ?democracy.? The Israeli apartheid reality faced by Palestinian citizens of Israel has been repeatedly compared to its South African predecessor by prominent South African, Palestinian and even Israeli figures.

As a career diplomat who holds the rank of Major (Reserve) in the Israeli Occupation Forces' Artillery Division, Ron Prosor is no regular ambassador. His job is to hide and legitimize Israel's daily war crimes and crimes against humanity to the British government and the British people. It is important to remember that it is this same army that recently murdered two British citizens who dared to stand on the side of justice. Palestine will never forget Tom Hurndall and James Miller.

Prosor's role as chief Israeli propagandist in the UK was made clear in the past weeks when, amidst the carnage in Gaza, Prosor dared to accuse British society of becoming a hotbed of anti-Israel extremism. Responding to a principled and historic decision by the University and College Union (UCU) to?consider the moral and political implications of educational links with Israeli institutions,?Prosor addressed the British public saying that British academics ?have seen their union held hostage by radical factions, armed with political agendas and personal interests.?

Your decision to boycott the meeting with Mr. Prosor is a clear indication of your respect for international law, and the rights of human beings to live in freedom and dignity. We commend your courage, and hope that many more will follow your lead, and that of respectable British institutions like the University and College Union, UNISON, National Union of Journalists, and the Church of England as well as notable personalities like Ken Loach, John Berger and Roger Waters in making their principled positions known to the world. When the powerful states of the world turn their backs on the downtrodden and oppressed, it is up to the people of the world, people like yourself, to stand with the truth in the face of all odds. History will not forget those who speak truth to power, nor will it forgive those who were willfully blind to the horrors that power commits.

In the hope that someday we can thank you in person in a free Palestine.

The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Campaign National Committee, Palestine

Call for Support: Palestine Solidarity Project and Mousa Abu Maria in Administrative Detention

On April 11 Mousa Abu Maria, a dedicated peace with justice activist and co-founder of the Palestine Solidarity Project, an organization committed to challenging the Occupation using non-violent direct action and promoting Palestinian self-sufficiency, was arrested by Israeli forces. Like nearly 1000 other Palestinians in Administrative Detention, Mousa is being held without charge or trial in Israeli prison. His case has garnered support from around the world including hundreds of letters written on his behalf, generous donations to his legal defense fund and solidarity actions:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGYXd70RJik
or download in higher quality

http://corky.net/~eran/yossi/FreeMousa%204web.WMV

right click on the link+save target as

On May 29th Mousa's lawyer Adv. Gaby Lasky appealed for his release to the military court but the appeal was rejected. In his decision the military judge did not address any of the points raised in Mousa's appeal and he intends to appeal his case to the High Court of justice. However, it would be naïve to expect much from the same system which imprisoned Mousa without a trial in the first place.

MORE SUPPORT IS NEEDED!
Mousa's has requested specifically:

1. That supporters internationally contact their governmental representatives and demand that they inquire into Mousa's unjust detention with the Israeli foreign ministry in their respective country.

2. That THE WORK OF PSP CONTINUES. You can help by DONATING to PSP and to
Mousa's legal fund via the website:

http://palestinesolidarityproject.org/donate/

or by writing a check made out to PSP-NY and mailing it to:

PSP-NYC
P.O. Box 721234
Jackson Heights, NY 11372

3. Mousa should be able to receive mail in prison and it will help his morale very much. He would appreciate short letters in English or longer ones in Arabic. The jail authorities scrutinize incoming mail and limit Mousa to sending 4 postcards and 4 letters every month so he will probably be unable to write back. You can write to

Mousa Abdel Hamid Ahmed Abu Maria
Ktziot Prison
p.o box 13
84102
Israel

Statement, Trade Union Friends of Palestine (ICTU), 5 June 2008

At its Biennial Delegate Conference in May 2008 the public sector union IMPACT passed two motions criticizing Israeli suppression of the Palestinian people and calling for a boycott of Israeli goods and services. The motions also called for divestment from those companies engaged in or profiting from the occupation as well as an education campaign to raise awareness of the plight of the Palestinian people. Conference furthermore called on the Irish Government to take a stand on Palestine independent of EU foreign policy, demanded the restoration of EU funding, and also called for the suspension of the preferential trading status enjoyed under the Euro-Med Agreement.

The passing of these motions is yet another very significant development in terms of trade union solidarity since IMPACT is the largest public sector union in Ireland. As such it represents a huge cross section of Irish opinion and is indicative of the outrage felt by the Irish people over Israeli injustices and war crimes. It should be noted that the IMPACT motions follow on from the motions passed by NIPSA, the largest public sector union in Northern Ireland. At the NIPSA conference a total of five motions were passed -- all unanimous -- severely criticizing Israel and calling for a number of solidarity activities including boycott and divestment and the suspension of Euro-Med.

That the two largest public sector unions in Ireland -- encompassing both jurisdictions -- have come out so strongly in favor of boycott and divestment is of great significance. It sends a very strong message to the Israeli government, and to the Irish government, that one of the most important sectors of Irish civil society is aware of what is happening in the region and is prepared to do something about it. This was also evident at the national May Day parade in Belfast when no less than three of the speakers on the platform called for a mobilization of the Irish working class in solidarity with our oppressed brothers and sisters in Palestine.

The adoption of these two motions by IMPACT in recent days is also a complete endorsement of the policy position of boycott and divestment taken by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions at their Biennial Delegate Conference in July 2007. The ICTU policy, with its detail of Israeli atrocities and injustices, as well as its specification of a wide range of solidarity activities, is undoubtedly one of the strongest and most determined positions taken by any trade union
congress world-wide. In the wake of the ICTU conference the leaders of the trade union movement here were confronted by the Israeli ambassadors to both the UK and the Irish Republic. An ICTU fact-finding delegation to the region in November 2007, involving senior trade union leaders, also had to withstand an extremely critical -- at times bordering on hysterical -- response from both Histadrut (the Israeli trade union confederation) and from the Israeli business sector. The witnessing of the conditions being endured by Palestinians under
armed occupation however served only to reinforce the decision of congress. Peter McLoone, the General Secretary of IMPACT, was a member of that delegation and in fact was one of only four members who were permitted access to Gaza. It is no surprise that he also took the platform at the IMPACT conference to speak strongly in favor of the motions, urging the membership to take a firm stand to relieve the suffering of the Palestinian people and to help to bring about the ending of Israeli injustice.

Once again the Irish trade union movement has made a powerful statement of solidarity with the Palestinian people as they continue to endure the horrors of Israeli occupation and war crimes. Sixty years after the Nakba -- the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their lands -- the Palestinian people continue to endure conditions that have been described as "apartheid under occupation." It is an occupation that involves the terrorizing of the entire Palestinian population and systematic abuses of human rights including the state sponsored theft and destruction of lands, water and homes. Israel and its allies appear to be banking on the assumption that because it has gone on for so long, and because it has become such a common practice, many in the Western world have become inured to such violence, even when that violence involves mass civilian casualties as at Beit Hanoun or on the beach at Gaza; even when it involves the murder of a Palestinian mother and four of her children, aged between one and
five, as happened in Beit Hanoun on the morning of 28 April. The question for all civilized people however is whether at this very critical moment in our history we either collude with Israeli terror and violence, which -- and this is the really worrying thing -- is right in front of our eyes, and thus become brutalized ourselves, or else we can take a stand against it and call injustice by its name -- to "speak truth to power."

UCU passes motion in support of Palestinian Universities

Press release , British Committee for the Universities of Palestine , 28 May 2008

BRICUP PRESS RELEASE

UCU Vote on links with Israeli universities

The University and College Union (UCU) today voted to ask its members to reconsider their links with Israeli universities, and authorised the investigation of one Israeli College with a view to action being taken against it under the union's 'greylisting' procedure.

UCU is the union representing 120,000 teachers and researchers in Britain's Higher and Further Education Colleges. The issue of boycotting Israeli higher education institutions has been the subject of high profile debate over recent years. Today at its Congress in Manchester the union confirmed that it wished this debate to continue, and that information on the situation of higher education in the Israeli Occupied Territories of Palestine should be made widely available to members.

Ariel College, which has been illegally built in the Occupied Territories, in violation of UN Resolutions and the Geneva Conventions, is to be investigated under the union's greylisting policy. If implemented this will involve a moratorium on UCU members applying for jobs at Ariel, on holding or attending conferences there, and on publishing in journals based at Ariel.

An amendment to make any Congress decision to boycott Israeli universities depend on a ballot of all UCU members was defeated by a 3 to 1 margin. The unamended motion was then passed by more than 10 to 1.

Commenting on the vote at the UCU Congress Professor Haim Bresheeth, an Israeli academic based in Britain, who spoke in the debate, said "This vote puts Israel on notice that its colonising activities in the Occupied Territories and the oppressive policies against the Palestinian population are simply unacceptable to civilised world opinion. Our academic colleagues are increasingly feeling that they cannot be associated with Israeli university institutions, many of them built on stolen land, and complicit with the Occupation".

BRICUP welcomes this decision, and calls on academics based in Israel to join in calls for the end of the Occupation.

FULL MOTION TEXT
25 - Composite: Palestine and the occupation University of Brighton - Eastbourne, University of Brighton - Grand Parade, University of East London Docklands, National Executive Committee

Congress notes the:

1. continuation of illegal settlement, killing of civilians and the impossibility of civil life, including education
2. humanitarian catastrophe imposed on Gaza by Israel and the EU
3. apparent complicity of most of the Israeli academy
4. legal attempts to prevent UCU debating boycott of Israeli academic institutions; and legal advice that such debates are lawful

Congress affirms that
5. criticism of Israel or Israeli policy are not, as such, anti-semitic;
6. pursuit and dissemination of knowledge are not uniquely immune from their moral and political consequences;

Congress resolves that
7. colleagues be asked to consider the moral and political implications of educational links with Israeli institutions, and to discuss the occupation with individuals and institutions concerned, including Israeli colleagues with whom they are collaborating;
8. UCU widely disseminate the personal testimonies of UCU and PFUUPE delegations to Palestine and the UK, respectively;
9. the testimonies will be used to promote a wide discussion by colleagues of the appropriateness of continued educational links with Israeli academic institutions;
10. UCU facilitate and encourage twinning arrangements and other direct solidarity with Palestinian institutions;
11. Ariel College, an explicitly colonising institution in the West Bank, be investigated under the formal Greylisting* Procedure.

* Greylisting is UCU’s procedure for action against institutions, in the UK or abroad, which break normal rules of behaviour and if an institution is greylisted that members are expected not to apply for jobs there, act as external examiners or co-operate with it in any way.

ASSÉ Against Israeli Apartheid

Montreal May 2008: Across the world grassroots movements struggling in opposition to Israeli apartheid are marking the 60th year of the Palestinian Nakba (”catastrophe”) – 60 years of dispossession, ethnic cleansing and exile for Palestinians resulting from the creation of the state of Israel.

A grassroots response in opposition to Israeli apartheid is growing throughout the world sparked by an appeal launched by Palestinian civil-society organizations in 2005 for an international campaign directed at the government in Israel, a campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions. This critical campaign is modeled on a successful international campaign similar in nature that played a critical role in bringing an end to the apartheid regime in South Africa.

Today students in Quebec are now joining the international boycott campaign in large numbers including L’Association pour une Solidarité Syndicale Étudiante (ASSÉ), an important Quebec-wide student federation representing over 42,000 students.

ASSÉ voted to support the international campaign against Israeli apartheid at a Quebec-wide level after several local assemblies at university and Cégep campuses across the province voted at a local level within general student assemblies to support the boycott campaign. ASSÉ’s boycott resolution marks the first time that a major student union in Quebec or Canada has voted to support the international boycott campaign opposing Israeli apartheid.

Throughout the 2007 / 2008 school year ASSÉ in collaboration with Tadamon! Montreal, with support from Fédération nationale des enseignantes et enseignants du Québec (FNEEQ) — Quebec’s largest college level teachers union — and the Quebec Public Interest Research Group (QPIRG) organized multiple workshops throughout Quebec at Cégep and university campuses bringing together hundreds of students for popular education workshops outlining the critical importance for Quebec’s student movement to stand against Israeli apartheid.

ASSÉ represents the grassroots face of Quebec’s powerful student movement, with tens-of-thousands of members and a strong position against privatization and for free post-secondary education in Quebec.

In 2005 ASSÉ launched and lead a historic student strike across Quebec, with over one-hundred student unions participating at the height of a strike rooted in a demand for a cancellation on all student debt and free post-secondary education in Quebec.

Utilizing mass protest, creative direct actions and grassroots campus-based organizing ASSÉ has successfully fought against neo-liberal economic policies fronted by the Liberal government of Jean Charest, who upon taking governmental power moved to make important changes to financial aid program for students in Quebec, including a $103 million cut. After major protests lead by ASSÉ across Quebec the Liberal government was forced to reverse their cuts to student funding, marking one of the only times in Quebec’s recent history that grassroots social mobilization has successfully reversed unpopular government policy.

ASSÉ represents a grassroots power base within Quebec’s student movement, one that draws parallels between the struggle for accessible and free education in Quebec to larger movements for social justice in the Americas, the Middle East and internationally.

ASSÉ has now taken an important and courageous stand to support the international campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions, as a tangible step in solidarity with struggles against Israeli apartheid in Palestine and throughout the Middle East. This resolution marks the growing momentum behind the international movement against Israeli apartheid and a willingness to take action at a local level within progressive student networks in Quebec to challenge Israeli apartheid.

ASSÉ’s important stand also marks a critical opportunity for grassroots student and social movements in Quebec to challenge the Quebec and Canadian government complicity towards Israeli apartheid and today the outright support towards Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza by Canada’s Conservative government.

Today we call on all student and labor unions to join L’Association pour une Solidarité Syndicale Étudiante in creating a strong and effective boycott movement against Israeli apartheid!

actions you can take:

* Endorse this statement: send the name of your organization and city to: tadamon[at]resist.ca.

* Send a message of solidarity through an email to the ASSÉ National office congratulating them on their stand against Israeli apartheid. Please send your message to: webmestre(at)asse-solidarite.qc.ca

* Ask your local student union, labor union, community group, association or collective to follow ASSÉ’s lead and adopt a position in support of the international campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israeli apartheid.

endorsed by:

Tadamon! Montreal (Montreal, Quebec)
Palestinian BDS National Committee (Palestine)
Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (Toronto, Canada)