Human Rights

August 4, 2012December 11, 2020

Don’t Bring Your Blues to Apartheid Israel, Robert Belfour

Dear Robert Belfour,

We have discovered you are scheduled to play in Israel on 23 August at the Barby in Tel Aviv.

The fact that there is a cultural boycott of Israel is not something of which all musical artists are aware when they schedule to play Israel. After becoming aware, many cancel. (See http://www.pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=1788)

We are writing to let you know more about this global movement, and we hope you will decide to be a part of it.

Israel has claimed authority over the lives and land of millions of Palestinian people. What began in 1948 in Palestine has now escalated into what South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu and many others call apartheid. Racism runs deep in the streets of Tel Aviv, Africans seeking asylum and living as refugees are filled with fear as Israelis demonstrate on the streets against their presence. Last May brought fear to Africans in Israel as a series of fire bombings of apartments and a day nursery were set off in an area where African migrants live. Shops run by or serving migrants were smashed up and looted in violent demonstrations in which several Africans were attacked. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu stated

“We’ll start by ejecting the infiltrators from South Sudan…and then move on to other groups.”

Israel’s Minister of the Interior, Eli Yishai said chillingly:

“The infiltrators [African immigrants] along with the Palestinians will quickly bring us to the end of the Zionist dream…we don’t need to import more problems from Africa…[they] think the country doesn’t belong to us, the white man”.

A heinous series of walls, checkpoints, and sniper towers dot the landscape for millions of Palestinians. Brutal military might is flaunted daily and children in Gaza are regularly targeted to demonstrate the “effectiveness” of new weapons. Armed soldiers raid homes, fire into schoolyards, maiming and killing children.

While some liberal “peacenik” Israelis will tell you they want you to play because they will be your audience, please know that the most effective tool to end the oppression is an unequivocal stand against the injustice by saying no. Instead listen to the brave Israelis from “Boycott From Within” who have asked many artists to stay away from the failing Zionist state. (See http://boycottisrael.info/ )

Artists who do play for apartheid are being used to promote Israel as a false democracy. The Israeli government has an official twitter and uses its position to let the world know which artists lend their name to promote Israel’s false image. Just three of many examples are Bobby McFerrin, Gun N Roses and Sister Bliss.

Please don’t allow your name to be used to whitewash racism, apartheid, and the horrible illegal annexation wall (pictured here in this recent video). http://youtu.be/pxZrUIctF5A

Join the boycott for justice, equality, freedom and human rights.

Yours truly,

DPAI

Don’t Play Apartheid Israel (DPAI) seeks to inform musicians of the Palestinian call to boycott Israel, and the extent to which their decision to play in the apartheid state will be instrumentalized – against their will – as propaganda for the maintenance of a horrifying status quo in Israel/Palestine: that is a brutal, decades-long occupation, ongoing ethnic cleansing, continual land theft, passing of over 20 racist laws within Israel/’48, and the crackdown on human rights groups. We represent over 900 members from around the globe who believe that it is essential for musicians & other artists to heed the call of the PACBI, and join in the boycott of Israel.

For more information:
http://972mag.com/israeli-coalition-members-speak-about-refugees/47455/

SOURCE

Robert Belfour on Facebook
Robert Belfour on Myspace

July 29, 2012December 11, 2020

Great Words From Three Little Birds

Three Little Birds, an all-female trio from Canada came under fire recently from the censorious Canadian zionist lobby after their song “Apartheid” was aired on CTV Morning Live.

Courageously, these harmonious women of principle released a statement/letter affirming their stance in support of Palestinian rights:

Censored Carleton University poster

Re: CTV Defends Giving Band Airtime to Slur Israel as an “Apartheid” State (July 16, 2012)
(http://www.honestreporting.ca/news_article_name/CTVDefendsGivingBandAirtimetoSlurIsraelasanApartheidState7162012.aspx)

To whom it may concern/interest,

We’d like to thank HonestReportingCanada for writing about our TV clip on CTV. They attempted to censor CTV’s airing of our song “Apartheid,” but it now has almost 2,000 views. We sincerely thank HonestReportingCanada for the free promotion.

Our song “Apartheid,” was originally written in response to the banning of a poster at Carleton University that depicted the bombardment of Gaza in 2008-2009, which killed over 1,400 Palestinians. A year later, we learned that the Carleton University pension fund invests in and profits from the very weaponry that is depicted in the poster (breakdown on the attached image). Three Little Birds is deeply disturbed that the university pension fund profited from the Gaza bombings and continues to profit from the weaponry and other infrastructure of occupation that oppress Palestinian people. The song is our reaction to attempted censorship. With great poetic irony, HonestReportingCanada is currently asking its subscribers to censor CTV coverage of music and politics by calling upon CTV executives to never again present anyone on the air who criticizes the current actions of the state of Israel through use of the term “apartheid” like we did with our song.

We don’t use the term “Apartheid” lightly. It is the current actions of the state of Israel that necessitated the use of the term. According to the definition of apartheid under international law, the Russell Tribunal on Palestine, and the Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa Report, Israel is currently operating as an apartheid state.

The Wall that Israel is building in the West Bank, which was declared illegal by the International Court of Justice in 2004, has annexed Palestinian territory, appropriated Palestinian water resources, and destroyed thousands of orchards, homes and communities. Furthermore, Israel currently has over 500 checkpoints in the occupied West Bank, which restrict the movement of virtually all Palestinians living there, and subjects them to violence and humiliation on a daily basis. Additionally, Palestinians living within the boundaries of Israel proper have their citizenship restricted, as they are legally discriminated against. (Check out link to the Adalah Inequity Report: http://www.adalah.org/upfiles/2011/Adalah_The_Inequality_Report_March_2011.pdf). This institutionalized racism has led people such as Desmond Tutu, anti-apartheid activist to state in his Guardian article, “Apartheid in the Holy Land,” that “I’ve been very deeply distressed in my visit to the Holy Land; it reminded me so much of what happened to us black people in South Africa. I have seen the humiliation of the Palestinians at checkpoints and roadblocks, suffering like us when the young white police officers prevented us from moving about.” Israel, as any other country or individual, must be held accountable for its actions, and we are therefore proud to stand against apartheid, and with the struggle for freedom, justice, and equality for all those living in Israel and Palestine.

In light of HonestReportingCanada’s attempted censorship of the term “Israeli apartheid,” we find their slogan to “promote fairness” and “ensure accuracy,” laughable. While we understand that we are little more than a “fringe musical group” next to the magnitude that is HonestReportingCanada, we nonetheless suggest that they stop promoting censorship and ensure the accuracy of their own information. For example, they assert that Gay Pride Toronto has banned the term “apartheid.” This is false, and only requires the simple use of a search engine to confirm this. Or just follow this link!
(http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/pride/article/827793–pride-toronto-reverses-israeli-apartheid-ban)

Thanks again for the free promotion, HonestReportingCanada!

We invite our supporters to send their own thoughts to CTV’s Regional Vice-President Richard Gray at the following address: . Let’s ensure that CTV knows that we want to hear more about this topic!

Warmly,
Three Little Birds

For more information about these issues, we recommend visiting:

Our Sources:

Russel Tribunal on Palestine: http://www.russelltribunalonpalestine.com/en/sessions/south-africa
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) report from December 2011: http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/ochaopt_atlas_barrier_affecting_palestinians_december2011.pdf
http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/ocha_opt_MovementandAccess_FactSheet_September_2011.pdf
International Court of Justice decision: http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/index.php?pr=71&code=mwp&p1=3&p2=4&p3=6&ca
B’Tselem facts about the Wall: http://www.btselem.org/separation_barrier
B’Tselem info on checkpoints: http://www.btselem.org/freedom_of_movement/checkpoints_and_forbidden_roads
Checkpoint Watch (Israeli NGO): http://www.machsomwatch.org/en/daily-reports/checkpoints
Adalah- The Inequity Report: http://www.adalah.org/upfiles/2011/Adalah_The_Inequality_Report_March_2011.pdf
Desmond Tutu, “Apartheid in the Holy Land” –http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2002/apr/29/comment
Israel and Apartheid: A fair comparison?http://rabble.ca/news/2010/03/israel-and-apartheid-fair-comparison
Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa Report, “Occupation, Colonialism, Apartheid?: A re-assessment of Isreal’s practices in the occupied Palestinian territories under international law,” 2009.

Background Info:

http://www.ochaopt.org/
http://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/
http://www.adalah.org/eng
http://www.stopthewall.org/
http://www.hrw.org/news/2010/12/18/israelwest-bank-separate-and-unequal
http://www.pacbi.org/
www.bdsmovement.net

Three Little Birds Facebook

Noticing that their statement contained no direct affirmation of boycott, divestment and sanctions of apartheid Israel, I commented:

You have a brand new fan – thanks for your courage in standing up for truth, justice and human rights. Hopefully you will make a statement at some point to support boycott, divestment and sanctions of apartheid Israel. All the best!

Three Little Birds responded:

We support boycott, divestment and sanctions of apartheid Israel. There’s your statement Sylvia Posadas!!! ♥ thank you for your wonderful words of support.

While some musicians still may not have heard of the call of Palestinian civil society for BDS to be implemented by the global community until Palestinian people obtain their just rights guaranteed by international law, it is encouraging that Three Little Birds are way out front with their conscientious vocal support. Singer Angela Schleihauf has also contributed narration and voiceovers for the Carleton University Students Against Israeli Apartheid Divestment Campaign.

Find out more about this exciting band and their stunning music on their facebook page and follow them on twitter at @TLBtheband

July 23, 2012December 11, 2020

Landmark Victory for Political Protest in Victoria – BDS Leads the Way

In what has been described as a landmark case, 16 protesters against Israeli oppression and apartheid supported by the Strauss group’s Max Brenner franchise in Australia, have been cleared of the majority of charges against them. They were arrested at a protest in QV Square, Melbourne, in July last year.

Defence lawyer Rob Starry, ‘who acted for some of the accused, said the decision had wide-ranging ramifications.

“This case is really a landmark case in the annuls of the criminal justice system because what it represents is people have a right to express themselves politically.”‘

The court said when they exonerated some of those people who engaged in peaceful protest they’ve got a right to express that view.”

Mr Starry said the decision could affect similar Occupy Melbourne protests and current industrial protests including the Toll blockade.

“The Toll blockade is an industrial dispute, it should not involve the police unless there is a breach of the peace or other criminal behaviour but that has not been the case,” he said.

“Police should not get involved in political protest or industrial disputes of this nature, (protests) shouldn’t be criminalised.

“We don’t live in a totalitarian regime. This is Australia where we should be able to engage in robust debate.”

Protestor Vashti Kenway said the decision was a victory for freedom of speech.

“It’s a victory for our capacity to protest in places where corporations have previously said they controlled,” she said.

“It’s also useful for us to know that the QV management have no right to say we are not allowed to express our political opinions within that space.”

The Strauss group which owns the Max Brenner chain sponsors the Israeli Occupation Forces’ Golani and Givati brigades, responsible for war crimes and human rights abuses against Palestinian people in the Occupied Territories.

UPDATE 25/7/12

For all Melbournites:

Be there at the QV Square this Friday and exercise the right of public political protest.

Remembering Vic Alhadeff, the CEO of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies’ words from August 2011 which have been brought to fruition:

‘Australian zionist organisations coordinate with politicians and police in pushing the hasbara agenda of Israel against BDS.

Arguing against any Zionist-organized BDS “counter” protest, Alhadeff writes: “It is important for the community to be aware that our response to BDS forms part of [a] coordinated national strategy. Furthermore, this strategy is endorsed by counterparts abroad and Israel’s Foreign Ministry.”

Alhadeff outlined this coordinated national strategy in response to BDS, stating that it “included, but is not limited to, engagement with civil society and politicians, patronage of boycotted outlets, cooperation with police, shop owners and center managers and exposure of the motives behind the BDS movement.” According to Alhadeff, Zionist policy in response to BDS should be one which seeks to “speak softly” but to also carry “a suggestion of a big stick.”’

NOTE

Max Brenner is boycottable not because it’s an Israeli-owned business, but because it’s owned by the Strauss group, which is profiteering off of and taking part in occupation in several ways
http://www.whoprofits.org/company/krashin-shalev-metal-industries
http://www.whoprofits.org/company/koralek-almog-sifting-machines-and-production-systems
http://www.whoprofits.org/company/adir-plastic-packaging

Not to mention “adopting” occupation army military units
http://blog.endtheoccupation.org/2011/11/depaul-university-students-declare.html
http://www.inminds.com/article.php?id=10538

(Thanks @TaliShapiro)

It provides a salutary lesson to the authorities as to why police should not be engaged where people are simply exercising their democratic right of peaceful protest.

It’s a fundamental right in any tolerant and civilised democratic society.

And this episode raises the question of why scarce police resources were invoked at the behest of a large commercial interest in dispersing lawful peaceful protesters.

The management of QV should indemnify Victoria Police for the costs of this operation. It should not be borne by the general public.

The legal costs that will be ordered against Victoria Police as a result of this case should also be borne in part by the Victorian Government Solicitor’s Office, as a result of its advice as to what might constitute wilful trespass or besetting of premises.”

BDS victory in Australia
Brenner using the publicity to launch new hotel partnerships
Examining the encroachment of neoliberalism onto the public commons – we don’t know what we’ve got even when it isn’t gone.
Victory for Australia’s boycott campaign as charges of blockading chocolate store dropped : ‘Reports in the Australian Jewish News also confirmed that in April 2011, the Jewish Community Council of Victoria had made representations to the Victorian police and had called on them “to stamp down harder on aggressive protesters”’

Palestine / Israel Links

The Israeli occupation and theft of the Old City of Jerusalem :

With no Palestinian representative on the city council — since the illegal annexation of the Old City to Israel in 1967, the Palestinian population of East Jerusalem has been boycotting municipal elections

Awakening to the fascist nature of Israel? :

‘And, worst of all, we have lost the capacity to see how profoundly shocking the situation has become, because we have adjusted to so many inequities of so many different shapes and kinds that a moral language to evaluate this situation is slowly disappearing. This unease has no name because it is beyond “inequality,” “occupation,” or “racism.” It is about a deep and massive corrosion of the very meaning of what it means to be a citizen of Israel today. ‘

Israel orders demolition of 8 Palestinian villages, claims need for IDF training land
Built-in racism: Israeli real estate article lauds “desirable” Arab-free neighborhood
The NYTimes has it wrong: Israel’s roots are not liberal

July 21, 2012December 11, 2020

Israeli Apartheid and the Olympics

The below translation is by Sol Salbe of the Middle East News Service, Melbourne, Australia.

Who will not be there at the Olympics?

Yoav Borowitz

20 July 2012 02.00

In exactly a week the world’s eyes will be on the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics, one of those spectacular and dramatic events produced every four years. The State of Israel will be well representedl at the ceremony and the games themselves, with a delegation of 38 athletes – the country’s largest ever representation. The delegation is a shining example of gender equality: 20 men and 18 women. The number of sports in which Israeli athletes will participate (12), and their range, is quite impressive.

However, very large community will not be part of this celebration, a community that in effect has not been part of the Olympic celebration for eight consecutive Olympics. Zero Arab athletes represent Israel in London. Zero, even though the Arabs in Israel number 1.67 million people, approximately 20.5 per cent of the population. In all of its years of existence Israel has been represented by 338 athletes in 19 different Olympics. But only two Arab-Israelis have been privileged to participate in Olympic delegations – soccer star Rifat Turk (Montreal, 1976) and weightlifter Edward Maron (Rome, 1960).

This topic has never come up on the public agenda in Israel. Sports ministers have never said a word about it, nor have the heads of national Olympic Committee, or even the media or elected officials ever uttered a word about it. Amazingly, no one can even recall Arab Israelis raising the issue, as if they expect to be excluded from official delegations that represent the state.

Sport is indeed the closest thing to meritocracy only one’s ability counts. Had there been a good enough Arab athlete meeting the Israeli and international criteria, she or he would certainly be representing Israel in London. But it is clear that the absence of such an such athlete is not indicative of the lack of talent or the zeal to train hard within the Arab community as far as sport is concerned. The root of the problem is that there are no facilities, coaches or infrastructure for almost any sport in any Arab village or town. The only area in which little money, and a lot of goodwill, is invested is soccer. So today 15 per cent of Premier League footballers are Israeli Arabs.

But in no other sport, and there are dozens of wonderful and important sports, most of which are represented in the Olympics, is there a prominent Arab athlete. The Ministry of Sports admits that only about 11 million out of about 128 million shekels in the sports budget is invested in the Arab sector. As if to prove the point, they add that under the incumbent Minister, Limor Livnat, the figure has actually improved considerably. Until two years ago the amount invested in the Arab sector was only 6 million shekels a year.

It seems as if this discrimination does not disturb the country’s sports officials, or the Israeli public in general. And perhaps rightly so: there is nothing like so great international event to accurately reflect the reality of life and the state’s real priorities.

Yoav Borowitz is a Haaretz sports writer.

Hebrew original: http://www.haaretz.co.il/opinions/1.1780664

July 21, 2012December 11, 2020

Souza, Pas’cal, Melo and Zottarelli, Don’t Bring Your Jazz to Apartheid : OPEN LETTER

Souza, Pas'cal, Melo and Zottarelli, boycott apartheid Israel — Pictured against the backdrop of the illegal apartheid wall, Jazz singer/guitarist Carmen Souza (center), bassist Theo Pas’cal (right), pianist Filipe Melo (not pictured) and percussionist Mauricio Zottarelli (left) are all being asked to take a stand for justice.

Dear Carmen Souza, Theo Pas’cal, Filipe Melo and Mauricio Zottarelli,

We are a group of over 900 members, representing many nations around the globe, who believe that musicians and other artists can play a role in ending apartheid by heeding the call of Palestinian civil society and joining in the boycott of Israel. We also believe that by playing in Israel, artists are condoning the suffering of millions of Palestinians through conducting business as usual with that state.

All we are asking you to do is to first do no harm – to stay home, and refrain from playing. It is up to you, and would be highly appreciated, if you would like to support and join the boycott movement by making a statement in support of universal human rights. Although some artists try to remain apolitical, surely you could not make the conscious choice to endorse the crimes of Israel’s government by playing in Israel despite the boycott, thus becoming a propaganda trophy on its shelf.

Carmen Souza, Theo Pas’cal, Filipe Melo and Mauricio Zottarelli, you are on the schedule to play on August 1 and 2 at the Kaminsky in Eilat for the 26th Red Sea Jazz Festival. Many people are unaware of the gravity of the Israeli oppression of the Palestinian people under occupation, the suffering of Palestinians in refugee camps and the severely curtailed rights of Palestinians within Israel. We hope you’ll do some research before you board your plane for Tel Aviv and that you will decide that human rights are not selective, they are universal, and you will want to choose to be artists of conscience.

Two days prior to her gig headlining the Holon Women’s Festival, Grammy-winning jazz artist Cassandra Wilson cancelled. Regarding Palestine, Wilson tweeted back to human rights volunteers:

reallycassandra Thank you. We get NO news here in the US. Please keep your updates coming. We need more NEWS!!! 1:50 AM Feb 16th from web
reallycassandra I’m not sure how it happened, but my first news of the boycott and #BDS came yesterday. #WeAreInTheDark 1:52 AM Feb 16th from web
reallycassandra CRAZY. INSANE. And not being televised! Many thanks! 2:53 AM Feb 16th from web

Wilson’s tweets indicate that mainstream media have played a role in censoring human rights violations by Israel. Media also is to blame for shaping a false positive view of the apartheid state. Wilson was informed about Alice Walker’s youtube video taken in Gaza, ‘Alice Walker – The Palestinian Spirit,’

… she was also sent Pink Floyd founder Roger Waters’ words in an article he wrote for the Guardian in the UK titled Tear down this Israeli wall: I want the music industry to support Palestinians’ rights and oppose this inhumane barrier. Cassandra Wilson took the decision to be an artist of conscience, her cancellation respected Waters’ words:

Artists were right to refuse to play in South Africa’s Sun City resort until apartheid fell and white people and black people enjoyed equal rights. And we are right to refuse to play in Israel until the day comes – and it surely will come – when the wall of occupation falls and Palestinians live alongside Israelis in the peace, freedom, justice and dignity that they all deserve.

In a letter to Wilson, Israeli members of Boycott From Within wrote:

Palestinian fans of your music living under the brutal military occupation of theWest Bank or the hermetic siege of the Gaza Strip will be prohibited from coming to Holon and enjoy your performance. These 4 millions who are being denied their most fundamental rights include many Palestinian women, whom the Isha festival will certainly not empower.

Wilson cancelled her performance in Holon, Israel. The woman’s festival she was expected to headline, claimed to empower women, yet it was selective empowerment, ignoring Palestinian women.

The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) which represents almost all of Palestinian civil society, reminds us that:

As performers congregate in Eilat to enjoy “Israel’s southern paradise getaway [that] provides a perfect setting for a unique experience of romantic beaches, fine dining and generous hospitality” [2], only a few kilometres away, the Gaza Strip faces electricity cuts and a suffocating economic siege; the West Bank remains under military occupation and intensifying colonization; Occupied Jerusalem as well as the Naqab (Negev) are facing gradual ethnic cleansing, and the construction of the illegal apartheid wall is near completion.

Human rights are universal, they are not selective. Principled boycott by leading artists such as yourself worked against South African apartheid. As governments have failed or been unable to implement international law to end Israel’s crimes, boycotts can work today to help bring justice, rights and freedom to Palestinian people. Carmen Souza, Theo Pas’cal, Filipe Melo and Mauricio Zottarelli, please boycott the 26th Red Sea Jazz Festival in Eilat.

Warm Regards,

Don’t Play Apartheid Israel

Please join us in seeking justice for the Palestinian people under occupation, and also in refugee camps and in the diaspora throughout the world.

SOURCE