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<font size=3><b>Palestinian Civil Society Call for Boycott, Divestment
and Sanctions against Israel Until it Complies with International Law and
Universal Principles of Human Rights<br>
<a href="http://electronicintifada.net/bytopic/486.shtml" eudora="autourl">
http://electronicintifada.net/bytopic/486.shtml<br><br>
</a>9 July 2005<br><br>
</b>One year after the historic Advisory Opinion of the International
Court of Justice (ICJ) which found Israel's Wall built on occupied
Palestinian territory to be illegal, Israel continues its construction of
the colonial Wall with total disregard to the Court's decision. Thirty
eight years into Israel's occupation of the Palestinian West Bank
(including East Jerusalem), Gaza Strip and the Syrian Golan Heights,
Israel continues to expand Jewish colonies. It has unilaterally annexed
occupied East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights and is now de facto
annexing large parts of the West Bank by means of the Wall. Israel is
also preparing - in the shadow of its planned redeployment from the Gaza
Strip - to build and expand colonies in the West Bank. Fifty seven years
after the state of Israel was built mainly on land ethnically cleansed of
its Palestinian owners, a majority of Palestinians are refugees, most of
whom are stateless. Moreover, Israel's entrenched system of racial
discrimination against its own Arab-Palestinian citizens remains
intact.<br><br>
In light of Israel's persistent violations of international law, and
Given that, since 1948, hundreds of UN resolutions have condemned
Israel's colonial and discriminatory policies as illegal and called for
immediate, adequate and effective remedies, and<br><br>
Given that all forms of international intervention and peace-making have
until now failed to convince or force Israel to comply with humanitarian
law, to respect fundamental human rights and to end its occupation and
oppression of the people of Palestine, and<br><br>
In view of the fact that people of conscience in the international
community have historically shouldered the moral responsibility to fight
injustice, as exemplified in the struggle to abolish apartheid in South
Africa through diverse forms of boycott, divestment and
sanctions;<br><br>
Inspired by the struggle of South Africans against apartheid and in the
spirit of international solidarity, moral consistency and resistance to
injustice and oppression,<br><br>
We, representatives of Palestinian civil society, call upon international
civil society organizations and people of conscience all over the world
to impose broad boycotts and implement divestment initiatives against
Israel similar to those applied to South Africa in the apartheid era. We
appeal to you to pressure your respective states to impose embargoes and
sanctions against Israel. We also invite conscientious Israelis to
support this Call, for the sake of justice and genuine peace.<br><br>
These non-violent punitive measures should be maintained until Israel
meets its obligation to recognize the Palestinian people's inalienable
right to self-determination and fully complies with the precepts of
international law by:<br>
</font>
<dl>
<dd>1. Ending its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and
dismantling the Wall;<br>
<dd>2. Recognizing the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian
citizens of Israel to full equality; and<br>
<dd>3. Respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian
refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN
resolution 194.<br><br>
<br><br>
</dl><a href="http://www.badil.org/Boycott-Statement.htm">View the
signatures<br><br>
<br>
</a><a name="boycottcall"></a>Palestinian Civil Society Call for Academic
and Cultural Boycott of Israel<br><br>
</b>Whereas Israel's colonial oppression of the Palestinian people, which
is based on Zionist ideology, comprises the following:
<ul>
<ul>
<li>Denial of its responsibility for the Nakba -- in particular the waves
of ethnic cleansing and dispossession that created the Palestinian
refugee problem -- and therefore refusal to accept the inalienable rights
of the refugees and displaced stipulated in and protected by
international law;
<li>Military occupation and colonization of the West Bank (including East
Jerusalem) and Gaza since 1967, in violation of international law and UN
resolutions;
<li>The entrenched system of racial discrimination and segregation
against the Palestinian citizens of Israel, which resembles the defunct
apartheid system in South Africa;<br>
</dl>Since Israeli academic institutions (mostly state controlled) and
the vast majority of Israeli intellectuals and academics have either
contributed directly to maintaining, defending or otherwise justifying
the above forms of oppression, or have been complicit in them through
their silence,<br><br>
Given that all forms of international intervention have until now failed
to force Israel to comply with international law or to end its repression
of the Palestinians, which has manifested itself in many forms, including
siege, indiscriminate killing, wanton destruction and the racist colonial
wall,<br><br>
In view of the fact that people of conscience in the international
community of scholars and intellectuals have historically shouldered the
moral responsibility to fight injustice, as exemplified in their struggle
to abolish apartheid in South Africa through diverse forms of
boycott,<br><br>
Recognizing that the growing international boycott movement against
Israel has expressed the need for a Palestinian frame of reference
outlining guiding principles,<br><br>
In the spirit of international solidarity, moral consistency and
resistance to injustice and oppression,<br><br>
We, Palestinian academics and intellectuals, call upon our colleagues in
the international community to comprehensively and consistently boycott
all Israeli academic and cultural institutions as a contribution to the
struggle to end Israel's occupation, colonization and system of
apartheid, by applying the following:
<ul>
<ul>
<li>Refrain from participation in any form of academic and cultural
cooperation, collaboration or joint projects with Israeli institutions;
<li>Advocate a comprehensive boycott of Israeli institutions at the
national and international levels, including suspension of all forms of
funding and subsidies to these institutions;
<li>Promote divestment and disinvestment from Israel by international
academic institutions;
<li>Work toward the condemnation of Israeli policies by pressing for
resolutions to be adopted by academic, professional and cultural
associations and organizations;
<li>Support Palestinian academic and cultural institutions directly
without requiring them to partner with Israeli counterparts as an
explicit or implicit condition for such support.<br><br>
<br><br>
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</dl><font size=3 color="#FF0000">Freedom Archives<br>
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San Francisco, CA 94110<br><br>
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