A.Loewenstein Online Newsletter

Why Marrickville BDS should stand; Naomi Klein and others make the call

Posted: 18 Apr 2011

 
Thank you:

Dear Marrickvile councilors,
We the undersigned would firstly like to congratulate the Marrickville Council in Sydney’s Inner West, Australia for their courageous motion (dated December 14, 2010) in support of the Palestinian-led global movement of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel until it complies with international law. The BDS campaign is deeply inspired by the South African anti-apartheid boycott and divestment campaign for freedom and equality. We understand the Marrickville councilors have come under immense pressure to reverse their decision.  After concerted political attacks laden with misinformation about BDS and its alleged costs to the council, a vote is being held on Tuesday April 19 to attempt a reversal.  As supporters of universal principles of human rights, we are writing today to appeal to all Marrickville councilors to uphold their principled motion in support of BDS.
Supporting BDS means first and foremost upholding universal human rights and the just and fair application of international law to end Israel’s occupation and denial of basic Palestinian rights.  It does not in any way entail or necessitate adopting sweeping boycott or divestment measures that may have a disproportionately negative economic impact on Marrickville or any other council. BDS is not a one-size-fits-all formula; its endorsers around the world converge on the rights-based approach of the Call but apply context-sensitive measures that best fit their own reality and particular circumstances. Some boycott campaigns, such as the CodePink-led “Stolen Beauty,” focus on one specific company that is implicated in Israel’s occupation or war crimes, while others, like “Derail Veolia and Alstom,” target a number of complicit institutions, companies or products.
The smear and intimidation campaign waged against the brave Marrickville motion and its supporters has neglected to mention that in 2005, an overwhelming majority of Palestinian civil society called upon conscientious citizens and civil society groups around the world to implement diverse, creative Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign based on the principles of human rights, justice, freedom and equality for all, irrespective of their identity [1].  The BDS movement appeals to people around the world to heed the call until Israel withdraws from all the lands occupied in 1967, including East Jerusalem, and removes all its colonies and walls in those lands; implements United Nations resolutions relevant to the restitution of Palestinian refugees rights; and recognizes the right of its Palestinian citizens to full equality [2]. On this last dimension, it is worth noting that the U.S. Department of State in its annual human rights reports has persistently condemned Israel’s “institutional, legal, and societal discrimination” against its Palestinian citizens. [3] These three demands are firmly based in international law; by supporting this movement the Marrickville Council is expressing its solid commitment to human rights locally and internationally.
In light of the hundreds of UN resolutions condemning Israel’s colonial and discriminatory policies as illegal, and considering the failure of all forms of international intervention and peace-making to oblige Israel to comply with international law, respect fundamental human rights and end its occupation and oppression of the Palestinian people, BDS has become the most urgent form of morally-consistent solidarity that can effectively further the demand for implementing Palestinian rights in accordance with international law. Marrickville Council is not alone in taking this moral stand, it has joined a long list of councils, civil society organizations, prominent artists and intellectuals around the world who have taken initiatives to hold Israel accountable similar to those used to end apartheid in South Africa [4].
We understand that some defenders of Israel’s occupation and racial discrimination system have argued that it would be costly and difficult for Marrickville to implement its BDS policy. This is a little more than a cynical diversion by those who wish to protect Israel from being held accountable for its gross violations of international law. BDS need not be unduly costly – councils across the world have taken action in support of Palestinian rights at little or no cost. By being focused, nuanced, and tactical, Marrickville Council can implement BDS in a way that best suits the local context in which it operates while still making an important contribution towards just peace and respect for the rule of international law.
We warmly welcome your solidarity with Palestinians struggling for their inalienable rights. We believe that the time has come to apply BDS as a minimal, non-violent, yet clearly effective form of pressure on Israel, as was done successfully in the struggle against the apartheid regime in South Africa. Please uphold your boycott policy and stand firm in your commitment to human rights.
Victoria Brittain, journalist and playwright, London
Judith Butler, Professor, University of California, Berkeley
Hedy Epstein, Holocaust survivor and peace activist, Missouri
Chris Hedges, award-winning American journalist and author, US
Ronnie Kasrils, former South African government minister and African National Congress executive member
Naomi Klein, author and social activist, Toronto
Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Belfast
Miriam Margolyes, actress, London
Joseph Massad, Professor, Columbia University, New York
John Pilger, journalist and documentary maker
Sarah Schulman, Distinguished Professor of the Humanities, City University of New York
Clare Short, former UK government minister, London
Baroness Jenny Tonge, life peer and former UK member parliament, London
Salim Vally, lecturer, University of Johannesburg
South African Municipal Workers Union
COSATU-led Coalition for a Free Palestine (CFP)
[1] http://www.bdsmovement.net/call
[2] Ibid.
[3]http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/nea/154463.htm
[4] http://www.bdsmovement.net/2010/five-years-statemen-4602

Add him to the list; yet another Australian politician who embraces occupying Israel

Posted: 17 Apr 2011

 
Australian Federal Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese cares about Palestinians as much as he loves feral cats. His party’s abiding dedication to Zionism is what matters; words are cheap and actions only say backing for Israeli occupation.
So his latest comments are no surprise (in a party where principle left through the back door years ago):

Marrickville council’s boycott of Israel has been slammed as “costly, clumsy and unproductive” by Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese, who says the resolution should be dropped immediately.
Mr Albanese took a swipe at the Greens-inspired policy, claiming it had caused widespread division and had put local Sydney ratepayers out of pocket by more than $100 million.
“It’s time, when the council meets tomorrow night, to put aside this division and to say that the council, should prioritise getting back to basics … not trying to be an alternative foreign government for Australia that has brought the local community I’m proud to represent into a state of ridicule across the country,” said Mr Albanese, who is federal MP for Grayndler, which includes Marrickville.
“This is about self-indulgence and playing politics by the Greens party locally – it’s about time they cut their losses, acknowledge it was a mistake and move on.”


Mr Albanese would not say if he too lobbied the local councillors, but said they “had made it clear” they would vote against the boycott.
“The problem with the BDS is that it is a one-state solution, it doesn’t provide a way forward,” he said.
“I think we need policies that promote a win-win – that don’t have to be anti-Israeli to be pro-Palestinian – and I think that is very important in moving forward on these issues.”

John Pilger to Sydney’s Marrickville council; stand up for Palestine

Posted: 17 Apr 2011

 
John Pilger has sent the following message to Marrickville councillors:

“Sometimes, looked at from the outside, Australia is a strange place. In other ‘western democracies’ the ‘debate’ about the enduring injustice dealt the Palestinians and Israel’s  lawlessness has moved forward to the point where the cynical campaign of anti-Semitism smears is no longer effective — in the UK, much of Europe and even the United States.

If Israel’s bloody assault on Lebanon was not the turning point, the criminal attack on the imprisoned population of Gaza certainly was. The same is true of the BDS movement. This eminently reasonable, decent and necessary campaign enjoys a respectability across the world, not least in South Africa, where it’s backed by the likes of Desmond Tutu and especially those Jews who fought the apartheid regime. The University of Johannesburg, the country’s biggest, has just broken all ties with Israel. Justice for Palestine, said, Mandela, is ‘the greatest moral issue of our time’. That’s the company those Marrickville councillors who have stood up for this ‘greatest moral issue’, keep. And those who have wavered and walked away should think again – remembering other waverers who, long ago, walked away from speaking out against what was being done to Jews. The scale is very different; the principle is the same. Do not be intimidated by Murdoch vendettas or by anyone else. All power to you.”

John Pilger

Power of BDS still stands in Australia even if media bullied change of heart

Posted: 17 Apr 2011

 
So here we are:

The Marrickville mayor, Fiona Byrne, will try to end a boycott of Israel after an intense political and community backlash, death threats and a collapse in support on the council, conceding it is ”impractical and untenable”.
But the mayor, who would not rule out another tilt at state politics, is unwavering in her support for the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel and will tomorrow call on the council to offer its in-principle support only.
Cr Byrne, speaking publicly for the first time since failing to win the seat of Marrickville at the state election, said she did not think the controversial original motion, which called for a boycott of ”all goods made in Israel and any sporting, academic institutions, government or institutional cultural exchanges”, was wrong.
Following a recent council report showing it would cost $3.7 million to fully implement, Cr Byrne said it was ”impractical”.
”I must be financially responsible to my community, and I certainly would not put my community under a financial burden to implement it,” she said, adding she was proud of the council for supporting the rights of the Palestinian people.
”It has got people talking about an issue that previously was invisible,” she said. ”Is it the right thing to support the BDS campaign? Yes. I think it is.”

…

Cr Byrne’s new motion, which calls for in-principle support to be maintained but no practical boycotts implemented, will be put alongside another motion from the independent councillor Victor Macri, who has opposed the boycott from the beginning.

Murdoch’s Australian, which has led the vitriol against anybody who dares back Palestine, runs a story today that once again continues its glorious tradition of ignoring all Arab and Palestinian voices:

The Greens on Marrickville Council were last night locked in talks on a face-saving measure in its Israel boycott saga.
The measure would enable the inner-western Sydney council to maintain a boycott of Israel without the cost to ratepayers.
The Australian understands that one option under consideration would see an alternate motion put forward that made no specific mention of the global boycott, divest and sanctions (BDS) movement, but instead aligned the council with an 1980 UN resolution critical of Israel.
Greens councillor Marika Kontellis conceded yesterday the proposed boycott — which has drawn condemnation from all sides of politics — had been “unpopular” among the community.
UN Resolution 465 calls upon states to withhold any assistance to Israel that could be used in connection to Jewish settlements in the occupied territories. This option could see the original motion, which called for a “boycott of all goods made in Israel and any sporting, academic, government or cultural exchanges” technically remain on the council books.
A report released by council officers last week showed the cost to ratepayers of the boycott would run to at least $3.7 million.
While acknowledging its unpopularity, Ms Kontellis defended the right of the 12-member council to voice its opinions on matters of principle. “But does being unpopular mean it’s wrong it take a stance?” she said. “That’s the question I’ll ask myself.”

Thankfully, Marrickville mayor Fiona Byrne today writes in the Sydney Morning Herald about an issue the corporate media has deliberately avoided; why BDS is so necessary due to Israeli apartheid in Palestine:

It seems that everyone has an opinion at the moment about whether the Marrickville Local Government Area should play a role in trying to create change for the people of Palestine.
In the process, the plight on the ground in Palestine has barely rated a mention. Among others, the Murdoch press, the Labor Party, the Jewish Board of Deputies, and now the Premier, Barry O’Farrell, appear to have enjoyed attacking me and Marrickville Council, in a furore of half-truths and misinformation.
To call this circus ”news” is absurd.
Every day the Palestinian people have their freedom of movement within their own territories restricted. They are denied access to water as the Jordan River and groundwater are diverted to Israeli settlements. Gaza is blockaded, denying people basic supplies such as medicines.
Would we in Sydney live this way? Would we stand for the Queensland government doing these things to us? Wouldn’t we protest for our rights, and if needed call for help from the broader Australian or international communities?
In a community that is so diverse, where multiculturalism blossoms, Marrickville Council is regularly involved in international affairs. We raise the Tibetan and West Papuan flags on their national days to show support for their own struggle for self-determination. We are not the only council in NSW that is a nuclear-free zone, nor the only council working hard to tackle climate change, which will affect every community across the planet. Being involved in international affairs is part of being connected to your community and through it the broader community of the globe.
 
One of the ways that the council can show our support for these causes is through ethical purchasing. Just as individuals choose not to buy certain goods because of the practices of their producers – like the successful boycott of Nestle products until it changed its practices in Africa – the council, as an organisation that purchases goods and services every day on behalf of 76,000 people, has the right to put criteria in place around who we do business with.


Contrary to the heavy-handed statements of the novice Premier last week, councils are about much more than roads, rates and rubbish. On December 14 last year, 10 out of 12 Marrickville councillors expressed support for the global Boycott Divestment and Sanctions campaign, to exert peaceful pressure on the government of Israel to honour its human rights obligations to the Palestinians under Israel’s jurisdiction.
The campaign has widespread support from organisations and individuals including the peace activist Desmond Tutu and the human rights lawyer Julian Burnside.

Australian political and media debate remains mired in immaturity. Instead, we have Murdoch “journalists” writing about Marrickville being Jew-free (which thankfully is thoroughly debunked here.)
Any chance of a real debate about Israel? No, didn’t think so.

I love multicultural Australia, and so should you

Posted: 17 Apr 2011