5th, June 2007
We, Palestinian and Jewish citizens of Israel join the call put out by civil society organizations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and in other countries to support Boycott, Divestment, and Sanction (BDS) actions against institutions, companies and individuals sustaining the Israeli occupation and profiting from it. The tight cooperation between the high echelons in the military and business sectors in Israel produces and reproduces conditions of exploitation towards Palestinian and Israeli workers, women, and minority groups. We watch with great concern as militarism gains new strongholds within Israeli society and we are well aware of the relationship between the violent oppression of Palestinians in the OPT and the spreading of violence within Israel.
As citizens devoted to the promotion of peace and democracy in the region, we are especially bewildered at the international community's decision to punish the Palestinians and withhold funds from the PA, after the Palestinian people exercised their democratic right to elect the government of their choice. At the same time, the international community continues, through economic investments in Israel, to actively support Israel's daily violations of international law and accelerated colonization of the occupied territories. We fear the potentially irreversible damage created by Israeli and international policy, and realize that the occupation will truly end only when its cost becomes higher that its gain for Israeli society. We especially stress that a critical stance against the occupation, including explicit BDS actions taken by individuals and organizations, are not Anti-Semitic or Anti-Israel. We stand against all forms of racism and oppression and support and encourage BDS actions as a legitimate and necessary form of non-violent resistance.
For more information please contact: bds.occupation@gmail.com
