PACBI Update No. 5: BDS Campaign Press release, Invasion of Gaza, ICJ Ruling, BDS, and Academic and Cultural Boycott

July 10, 2006

Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel PACBI www.pacbi.org info@boycottisrael.ps

BDS Campaign Press Release

Israel is Committing War Crimes in Gaza with Impunity—High Time for Boycott! Acting Steering Committee, Palestinian BDS Campaign July 9, 2006

On the second anniversary of the condemnation by the International Court of Justice of its colonial Wall and its entire regime of occupation as illegal, Israel is not only proceeding unabated in constructing the Wall and expanding its colonies, but has also launched a ruthless military assault on the defenceless Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel calls upon international civil society to act now to boycott Israel and divest from it in order to bring about an end to its occupation and persistent violation of international law. www.pacbi.org/announcements_more.php?id=269_0_5_0_M

Invasion of Gaza

1.Israel/Occupied Territories: Deliberate attacks a war crime Amnesty International Press Release June 30, 2006

Deliberate attacks by Israeli forces against civilian property and infrastructure in the Gaza Strip violate international humanitarian law and constitute war crimes, Amnesty International said today. www.pacbi.org/announcements_more.php?id=263_0_5_0_M

2.The National Lawyers Guild Calls for Sanctions The National Lawyers Guild | | July 6, 2006

The National Lawyers Guild Strongly Condemns Israel’s Crimes Against Humanity and Demands Israel Immediately Halt Its Siege on Gaza and End Its Efforts at Toppling the Democratically Elected Palestinian Legislative Council. www.pacbi.org/boycott_news_more.php?id=266_0_1_0_C

3.’It is never anti-Semitic to oppose injustice’ Ted Schmidt | rabble.ca | July 6, 2006

There is a splendid Talmudic saying that a single life is a universe. How absolutely wonderful in its insistence on the dignity of each human being, a reminder that no child of God should be forgotten, abused or die unmourned. The 20th century, however, of all centuries in history, seemingly forgot this crucial legacy of the Abrahamic religions. www.pacbi.org/boycott_news_more.php?id=265_0_1_0_C

4.Europe’s response to the siege of Gaza is shameful Jonathan Steele | The Guardian | July 6, 2006

Thank goodness for the Swiss. Alone in Europe, their government has dared to condemn what the Israelis are doing to Gaza. It is collective punishment, they say. It violates the principle of proportionality. Israel has not taken the precautions required by international law to protect civilians. www.pacbi.org/boycott_news_more.php?id=264_0_1_0_C

ICJ Ruling

1.Globalizing the Occupation Jamal Jum’a | Counterpunch | July 8-9, 2006

This year the 9th of July is a bitter day for Palestinians. The Occupation Army besieges Gaza, massacres its people and attacks its infrastructure. The ghettos of the West Bank take shape as the Apartheid Wall edges closer to completion and the Palestinian exodus from Jerusalem has begun. Over 9000 Palestinians sit in Israeli prison cells whilst Palestinians who remain on their 1948 lands do so under the subjugation of the most vicious and discriminatory Apartheid system. www.pacbi.org/boycott _news_more.php?id=268_0_1_0_C

2.Justice or Jungle: Notes on the Primacy of International Law Andreas van Agt | Paper Presented at UN International Meeting in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace, Convened by the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, Vienna, 27-28 June 2006 |

This meeting is being held almost at the eve of the second anniversary of the landmark ruling by the International Court of Justice (I C J) concerning the “Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”. www.pacbi.org/boycott _news_more.php?id=262_0_1_0_C

Bocyott, Divestment and Sanctions

1.Slurs will not silence us Sid Ryan | Toronto Globe and Mail | July 7, 2006

When our union recently passed a resolution critical of policies of the government of Israel, it was savagely attacked in several quarters and labelled by many as anti-Semitic. www.pacbi.org/boycott_news_more.php?id=267_0_1_0_C

2.Local Green Party pushes divestment from Israel TOM GANTERT | The Ann Arbor News | July 1, 2006

A group of pro-Palestinian activists has taken control of the local Green Party and hopes to make divestment from Israel an election issue in Ann Arbor, current and former party members said. www.pacbi.org/boycott_news_more.php?id=261_0_1_0_C

3.Toronto’s United Church to boycott Israeli goods STUART LAIDLAW | Toronto Star | June 28, 2006

The United Church of Canada’s Toronto branch will today unveil a boycott of Israeli products and companies doing business with its military to end what it calls the illegal occupation of Palestinian lands. www.pacbi.org/boycott_news_more.php?id=260_0_1_0_C

4.Divestment, Corporate Engagement and Israel WILL YOUMANS and NORA ERAKAT | Counterpunch | June 23, 2006

America’s largest Presbyterian church voted to continue policies of economic engagement in the Middle East. It affirmed its willingness to use its investment policies to press for peace in Israel-Palestine. The vote came two years after its overwhelming support of a phased, selective divestment from Israel. www.pacbi.org/boycott_news_more.php?id=A256_0_1_0_M

Cultural and Academic Boycott

1.Letter to FFIPPI July 8, 2006

A sample response to the many international and Palestinian initiatives condemning the lethal Israeli onslaught on the Gaza Strip; this letter was written in reaction to the initiative from Faculty for Israeli-Palestinian Peace International (FFIPPI). www.pacbi.org/letters_more.php?id=270_0_3_0_C

2.We Don’t Need no Occupation, We Don’t Need no Racist Wall! Roger Waters challenges Israel to tear down its colonial Wall

Ramallah — Reaffirming his commitment to fighting injustice, the world renowned rock star Roger Waters explicitly challenged Israel to “tear down this wall” and end its occupation to achieve real peace. www.pacbi.org/boycott_news_more.php?id=A255_0_1_0_M

3.Confront the colluders in Israel’s academy Lisa Taraki | The Times Higher Education Supplement | June 23, 2006

Although Menahem Milson’s career path and mine have been on a collision course, we have never met. In 1976, I joined Birzeit University in the occupied West Bank as a junior instructor in sociology. The same year, Milson, a professor of Arabic language and literature at the Hebrew University, became “adviser on Arab affairs” in the Israeli Government. www.pacbi.org/boycott_news_more.php?id=A254_0_1_0_M

4.The Palestinian Council for Higher Education Thanks British Academic Institutions The Palestinian Council for Higher Education | June 2006

The Palestinian Council for Higher Education sent a thankful letter to all academic institutions in Britain for their positive stand beside the Palestinians by boycotting the Israeli Academic Institutions for denouncing them the atrocities behaviors in the Occupied Palestinian Land. www.pacbi.org/boycott_news_more.php?id=A257_0_1_0_M

Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel PACBI www.pacbi.org info@boycottisrael.ps