Tag Archive for Israel boycott

National Union of Journalists in Britain is planning to boycott Israel – again

The National Union of Journalists in Britain 1st voted to support a boycott of Israel in 2007, in protest of the Second Lebanon War, but then later quashed it. The same is expected to happen once again, this spring.

 

The National Union of Journalists in Britain is planning to boycott Israel – again, the Telegraph reports. The union first voted to support a boycott (66-54) in 2007, in protest of the Second Lebanon War in the summer of 2006.

Boycott Israel flyers on the streets of Paris

Boycott Israel flyers on the streets of Paris – Photo: Dreamstime

At the time concerns were raised that it compromised journalistic integrity and that it deviated from the union’s main priorities. Continue Reading »

SodaStream Wins Lawsuit against French BDS Group

 

SodaStream victorious in it’s case, is believed to be the 1st Israeli firm to introduce formal court charges against the Palestinian lobby.

By: Tzvi Ben-Gedalyahu

 

A SodaStream ad in France, where a BDS-linked group has been found guilty of maligning the company.

A SodaStream ad in France, where a BDS-linked group has been found guilty of maligning the company.

A SodaStream ad in France

A French court has ordered a Pro Palestinian Authority group affiliated with the Boycott Israel movement to compensate the company and to stop all activities alleging that SodaStream products are illegally made and sold.

The company, whose Mishor Adumim factory in Israel’s Judean Desert is only one of 20 around the world, sued the Association France Palestine Solidarite (AFPS) in a Paris civil court for activities that the company said included “falsely claiming that the products are ‘illegally sold’ as a result of being manufactured in ‘occupied territories’ while bearing the ‘Made in Israel’ label.” Continue Reading »

N.Y. State bill ends funding to schools that boycott academic institutions

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, “Colleges should not use (State) funds to support boycotts, resolutions or any similar actions that are discriminatory & limit academic opportunities.”

By JTA

 

WASHINGTON — A bill introduced in the New York State Assembly would suspend funding to educational institutions which fund groups that boycott Israel.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver

The legislation, introduced earlier this month by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and first reported by Mondoweiss, an anti-Zionist news site, would ban state funding to colleges which fund groups that boycott “in countries that host higher education institutions chartered by the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York.”

Continue Reading »

Scarlett Johansson responds to BDS critics of her SodaStream endorsement

The Jewish Hollywood Star sparked controversial uproar after revealing her endorsement for the Israeli made selzter-maker.

By i24News

 

American starlet Scarlett Johansson has responded to the wave of criticism leveled at her for agreeing to endorse the Israeli company SodaStream, who own a factory in the West Bank.

In a statement made to the Huffington Post, Johansson described her role as the first-ever brand ambassador for SodaStream as “building to peace.” She also made clear that despite the pressure from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS), she would not renege on her commitment to SodaStream, which will include a TV spot to be aired during the Super Bowl. Continue Reading »

Scarlett Johansson catching slack over SodaStream ad campaign

The humanitarian group Oxfam, says that while it respects the independence of its ‘global ambassador against poverty’, it opposes ‘all trade’ from Israeli settlements.

 

Oxfam International is criticizing Scarlett Johansson over her new ad campaign for an Israeli company that operates in the West Bank.

Scarlett Johansson

Scarlett Johansson – Phot: AP

Israeli drink maker SodaStream International Ltd. recently signed the U.S. actress as its first “global brand ambassador.” She is to appear in a television ad during the Super Bowl on Feb. 2.

SodaStream has come under fire from pro-Palestinian activists for maintaining a large factory in an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Continue Reading »

Germany places restrictions on science & high-tech grants on settlement funding

Foreign ministry in Jerusalem hopes to nix clause that would complicate renewal of scientific and academic research agreement.

 

 

The German government is conditioning continued grants to Israeli high-tech companies, as well as the renewal of a scientific cooperation agreement, on the inclusion of a territorial clause stating that Israeli entities located in West Bank settlements or East Jerusalem will not be eligible for funding. Israel fears the German move will lead other European Union member states to follow suit.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, near Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, January 22, 2014. – Photo by AP

The German decision represents a significant escalation in European measures against the settlements. Continue Reading »

Congress members condemn ASA for unproductive path of boycott

Along with the U.S. Congress, close to 200 U.S. universities and the larger academic groups have criticized the boycott.

By JTA

WASHINGTON  — A bipartisan slate of 134 U.S. Congress members wrote a letter to the American Studies Association protesting its decision last month to boycott Israeli universities.

 Reps. Pete Roskam (R-Ill.) left & right  Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) - Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Pete Roskam (R-Ill.) left & right Ted Deutch (D-Fla.)  Photo: Wikimedia Commons

“Academic cooperation can be an important tool to help foster peace between Israelis and Palestinians, but you have chosen the unproductive path of isolation,” said the letter dated Friday, initiated by Reps. Pete Roskam (R-Ill.), the chief deputy whip of the U.S.

Continue Reading »

55 U.S. Universities Condemn American Studies Association Boycott of Israel

 

Along with the 55 condemnations, 4 universities withdrew their membership in the wake of the vote: Brandeis University, Kenyon College, Indiana University & Penn State Harrisburg.

By

At least 55 American universities and colleges have rejected the American Studies Association membership vote in favor of an academic boycott of Israel.

Boycott Israel illustration.

Boycott Israel sign (illustration) – Photo: Dreamstime

The number was tracked by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

Reuters

Afghan protesters set fire to representations of U.S. and Israel flags as they shout slogans during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Jalalabad November 26, 2012.

Continue Reading »

What goes around, comes around: American university divorces Palestinian university

 

Brandeis university suspended all relations with Palestinian Al-Quds University, and was justified. Nazi salutes & paramilitary dress that decorated a rally on their campus seems to have been a common occurrence.

By Michael Curtis

 

In light of the recent demonstrations of ignorance, bigotry, and possibly anti-Semitism exhibited by the members of the two academic bodies — the Association of Asian American Studies in April 2013 and the American Studies Association in December 2013 — who voted in favor of a boycott of Israeli academic institutions — it is a seemingly ironic twist of fate that on November 18, 2013, Al-Quds, an Arab University, was suspended by an American university, Brandeis, from continuing the partnership arrangement between the two institutions. Continue Reading »

NY Bill to Withdraw Public Funding to Schools Supporting ASA Boycott

New York State politicians are proposing a bill that will withdraw public financial assistance from colleges & universities supporting the ASA boycott of Israel because it only targeted discrimination against Israel and betrays the values of academic freedom that are held dear.

By Tova Dvorin

 

Two New York lawmakers are fighting an anti-Israel boycott with a campaign of their own: to stop the flow of public funds to schools involved in the scandal.

The New York Daily News reported Friday that Senate co-leader Jeffrey Klein and Assemblyman Dov Hikind are proposing a bill that would give colleges and universities in the state of New York 30 days to withdraw their support from groups boycotting Israel – or lose state funding. Continue Reading »

4 American universities divest from ASA over its academic boycott of Israel

2 additional American universities officially withdrew their memberships from the American Studies Association after voting for an academic boycott of Israeli institutions of higher education.

By JTA

 

Two more American institutions of higher learning officially withdrew their memberships from the American Studies Association after its membership voted in favor of an academic boycott of Israel.

Kenyon College & Indiana University joined Brandeis University to condemn Boycott – Photo: U.S. News

Kenyon College and Indiana University on Monday joined Brandeis University and Penn State Harrisburg in canceling their memberships in the association. Dozens of other universities also have condemned the ASA boycott, including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown, Cornell, the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, the University of Maryland and New York University.

Continue Reading »

Gaza’s BDS Advocate Wanted His Medical Care in Israel

Yet another Palestinian hypocrite who demanded nations to sever their ties with Israel, took a different path, when he needed what Israel had to offer.

And still, Jerusalem provided, even to Sarraj, the best medical care available.

By: Lori Lowenthal Marcus

 

Eyad El-Sarraj, Gaza psychiatrist and major BDS advocate, died. But first he sought medical treatment in Israel. Eyad El-Sarraj, Gaza psychiatrist and major BDS advocate, died. But first he sought medical treatment in Israel. Eyad El Sarraj, a prominent psychiatrist in the Gaza Strip, died on Wednesday, Dec. 18. El Sarraj was 70 years old. He died of complications from Leukemia. Continue Reading »

Dutch Prime Minister Rejects Water Company’s Israel Boycott

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte opposes Vitens, a local water company’s decision to boycott its Israeli counterpart, says boycott is against the Netherlands gov’t policy.

By Elad Benari

 

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has rejected a local water company’s boycott of its Israeli counterpart, Kol Yisrael radio reported on Wednesday.

According to the report, Rutte spoke with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and clarified that the decision by Vitens, a Dutch water company, to cut ties with its Israeli counterpart Mekorot is inconsistent with government policy.

Rutte reportedly clarified that Vitens would continue to work with Mekorot.

The reason cited for last week’s decision was Mekorot’s presence in areas located beyond the 1949 Armistice lines. Continue Reading »

Brandeis University Quits the American Studies Association over Boycott Policy

Brandeis University, the second to quit the ASA

We can no longer support an organization that has rejected two of the core principles of American culture,–freedom of association and expression.

 

Brandeis University has become the second institution to withdraw from the American Studies Association, following the organization’s decision to boycott Israel. “We view the recent vote by the membership to affirm an academic boycott of Israel as a politicization of the discipline and a rebuke to the kind of open inquiry that a scholarly association should foster,” Brandeis’s American Studies Department posted on their web site. “We remain committed to the discipline of American Studies but we can no longer support an organization that has rejected two of the core principles of American culture–freedom of association and expression.” Continue Reading »

Is taxation the right way to fight foreign gov’ts covert meddling in Israel’s internal affairs?

If Jerusalem really wants to expose the immoral corruption spawned by foreign gov’ts funding anti-Israel NGOs, then there are better options than taxation.

By Gerald M. Steinberg

 

 

Once again, members of the government coalition have introduced legislation to tax and curtail foreign government funding for non-governmental organizations (NGOs), aiming at groups involved in boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS), anti-Israel lawfare, racist activities and the undermining of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.

EU Parliament in Brussels

Pedestrians walk toward EU Parliament in Brussels. – Photo: Reuters

Clearly and justifiably, after the widely critical headlines and a pro-forma vote, this legislation is going to be buried following the opposition of the minister of justice, and the concerns voiced by the attorney general. Continue Reading »