09.10.08
Palestinians reject Israel boycott campaign
Last month the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions and the Israeli equivalent Histadrut signed an agreement calling for “fraternity and coexistence between the two peoples.”
And yet the Green Party conference was awash with leaflets urging us to boycott Israel. We have a pro-boycott leader and a futile and simplistic resolution to impose total boycott, divestment and sanctions stands.
Now the PGFTU has indicated again that it does not support general BDS.
“We did consider the option, if it could pressure the Israeli government to obey United Nations resolutions and respect human rights”, said Mr Nasser “but we do not see it as effective. Instead we think there should be boycotts only of companies directly involved in building settlements and the apartheid wall.”
This makes much more sense (stupid apartheid comparison notwithstanding) because it is specific, bounded, related to its aims, and targeted at the occupation.
Trade Union Friends of Israel said of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign of Conference delegates:
“Three years ago they stripped our stand of all the leaflets,” said volunteer Ian Sternberg, “this year the stand is opposite that of the PSC and things are quite friendly.”
James Caspell hasn’t quite achieved the required u-turn.
Ian Sternberg said,
September 11, 2008 at 9:13 am
Although I agree that I said that relations with the Palestine Solidarity Campaign stall has been much more friendly & We have had some interesting & constructive conversations with the volunteers – this article suggests that I said that it was the Palestine Solidarity Campaign that was responsible for stripping the stand of the leaflets which I did not mean and indeed although the Police investigated the incident it was never discovered as to who was responsible . I actually meant that the stripping was the work of people Who had been influenced by the unbalanced & provocative pro-palestinian & anti-israel propaganda that was being distributed three years ago .
Anonymous said,
September 27, 2009 at 4:50 pm
This development is unsurprising. Nothing to do with the environment, just Israel and branding all who criticise it as “Anti-Semitic”. I’m familiar with the twisted logic a psychopath or Narcissist would use. The best thing for all would be a dismantling of the Zionist machine. A material state of Israel is a heresy in Judaism and an ecological abomination.
Mira Vogel said,
September 27, 2009 at 9:20 pm
Well, I think the secular Israelis who make up the majority of the population would feel that heresy is a very old-fashioned reason to dismantle a state. And, unless you consider its inhabitants and supporters particularly environmentally dangerous, a material state of Israel is not an ecological abomination. If you do think that they are particularly environmentally dangerous, then you should say why. Because sometimes criticism of Israel isn’t antisemitic and sometimes it is.