Boycott! Supporting the Palestinian BDS call from within (Boycott from Within)
Tonight (16/11) in Tel Aviv, Israeli and international BDS supporters spent an hour standing outside the press conference held by the “Creative Coalition” Hollywood actors. The event, which was co-ordinated by AIPAC, took place at the Dan Intercontinental hotel. The group held banners which read “No Culture in Whitewashing Israeli Apartheid” and “Shame On You, Hollywood”, in order to remind the actors on the Hasbara (Israel advocacy) mission of the Palestinian call for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel’s policies of racism, apartheid and occupation.
The banners drew much attention from pedestrians and drivers, as well as hotel residents, who took many photos. Reporters departing from the conference also expressed interest in the group. So did a Shabak (GSS, Israel’s security service) officer who hung around for a while, harassing the activists.
The organizers tried to hide the activists’ presence from the important guests, by moving their bus to the back door, but the activists relocated. Thus, as the actors boarded the bus they were confronted with the full meaning of their complicity.
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CCH Pounder (“Avatar” ) was the only member of the group who said she encountered opposition to her visit here – in her case, from South African friends. Schiff, for his part, was upset upon leaving the hotel to encounter a small group of demonstrators holding signs telling the actors they should be ashamed of themselves and denouncing Israel’s “apartheid” policies.