A Gesture of Solidarity

The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States is in session as I write. Yesterday the preparatory committee voted in favor of a motion calling for divestment from companies that do business with Israel.

It is a welcome sign that the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement is gaining increasing momentum. Last time around, the resolution didn’t pass committee level.

Rev. Dr. Walt Davis, Co-Chair of the Israel/Palestine Mission Network, is quoted in the Israeli daily Haaretz, as calling the decision “an encouraging step”, adding that “It’s been a long and thorough process and it’s finally time for the church to stop profiting from the suffering of the peoples of the Holy Land.” A sincere statement that commands our full attention.

The Separation Barriers in Jerusalem

Economic boycotts of individual companies or states that are seen to ignore humane or moral standards of behavior have a strong, if controversial, tradition in Norway. Earlier this year Norwegian retail chain VITA stopped all sales of Ahava products which originate from illegal Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine.

Their decision echoes the words of Dr. Davis and came after a period of active lobbying from Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) and the 320,000 member strong Norwegian Union of Municipal and General Employees (NUMGE).  Human rights activists in Norway have also focused on Ahava and a new campaign has been launched aimed at convincing other stores to follow.

Only three weeks ago Norway’s finance ministry excluded Shikun & Binui from its Government Pension Fund (GPFG), citing the company’s role in the construction of illegal Israeli colonies in East Jerusalem as the reason.

The campaign to boycott, disinvest and sanction is not merely a political issue it is very much a moral one. It is a weapon in the nonviolent tradition of Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi and the Irish civil rights movement I grew up with in Belfast.

The BDS movement was started by the people on the receiving end of the oppression that is being challenged – the Palestinians themselves. They see it as a non-violent alternative to challenging  the oppression which confronts them on a daily basis.

Almost forty years have passed since Israel’s illegal, forced military occupation of Palestinian lands. The Israeli state is presently in the process of unilaterally annexing occupied East Jerusalem and large parts of the West Bank by means of the so called Separation Barrier.

A majority of Palestinians are stateless refugees and Israel’s entrenched system of racial discrimination against its own Arab-Palestinian citizens remains intact. The similarities to the racial bantustans of the South African apartheid regime are there for all to see.

Whilst in Palestine, in June, our delegation met with the Palestinian Non-Governmental Organisations Network (PNGO), representing over 130 independent, non-governmental organisastions.

They were clear in their support for an economic boycott as a non-violent means of opposition. Their representatives reflected an attitude that was prevalent and resurfaced at various meetings with our project partners.

Amjad Y. Shawa and Monem Rmadan from the PNGO in Gaza at the June Meeting

“We are suffering injustice, oppression and state violence. Someone is making money out of it. That cannot be right.”

Indeed.

The final vote at the General Assembly of the US Presbyterian Church is expected later this week. We wish the delegates well in their deliberations and hope you will join us in extending  the General Assembly’s international  solidarity to the Palestinian people. Your support counts.

Risking Their Lives Daily

Fagforbundets Ambassador Corps visited Palestine at the beginning of June. During our first two days in Gaza, Israeli airstrikes and an artillery attack killed three people and injured eight. Nine houses, a poultry farm, a dairy factory and a carpentry shop were destroyed in the attacks. The Israeli Occupation Force (IOF) claimed it was targeting weapons factories following a border clash in which a Palestinian and an Israeli died in an exchange of gunfire. The owner of the dairy is now calling for an international inquiry and demanding an explanation as to why his livelihood was destroyed in what is often described as Israel’s economic war.

The wounded at Khan Younis, after an Israeli missile-strike June, 2012. (Reuters/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa)

On the same day we arrived in Palestine, Israeli naval vessels opened fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the northern coast of  Gaza. The fishermen fled, heading immediately back to land. There were no casualties or injuries that day but neither was there any fish caught and families again went hungry.

Two days later we met with the fishermen’s syndicate at Rafah to hear more about their situation. It was a humbling experience. We had decided to meet on the beach which provides a base for some of the 500 small boats that make up part of the 700 strong Palestinian fishing fleet.

One of the many small fishing boats

We had an appointment with Jamal Basala, the Vice President of the fishermen’s syndicate in Rafah, and Samir Alnahhal, project worker with the support group Palestinian Environmental Friends. As soon as we arrived we were surrounded by enthusiastic people – young and old – thankful for our visit and keen to tell us their story.

Jamal Basala pulled no punches: “The Israelis want to kill our independence by destroying our livelihood and making us dependent on them. We have the right to work and to feed our families.”  He is clearly agitated and asks us to tell people back home that lack of food is not a humanitarian problem in Gaza. “It is a political problem and it needs a political solution. The international ommunity needs to get involved. We are being denied the right to make a living and support our families the way we have done for generations. We do not need charity, we can support ourselves. Just give us back our rights!”

From left to right: Eddie Whyte, Jamal Basala and Samir Alnahhal

Basala’s family have been fishing for generations. He started at the age of 15 and has two brothers and six sons all trying to make a living under very difficult circumstances. His anger is aroused by the injustice of the Israeli military and naval blockade which ensures that Gaza is sealed in on all four sides. Thousands of people in Gaza depend on the fishing industry to survive and yet they are denied access to the sea.

The Oslo Agreement defined the Palestinian fishing zone as twenty nautical miles from shore. The Israelis have unilaterally decided that this is no longer valid and the zone has been reduced several times to its present three miles. Basala is equally worried about the environmental effects of the naval blockade, pointing out that they are forced into over-fishing the breeding grounds.  It is clearly not sustainable.

“Israeli gunboats are on patrol 24 hours a day seven days a week.  We are under constant threat. The Israelis can open fire, destroy our nets and boats, or force us back to shore,” he says. “They even use helicopters.”

The Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem has been vocal in their criticism of the naval blockade. It is common practice for Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF)  to open fire on the fishermen, confiscate their nets and attack their boats. The IOF operate in violation  of Israel’s legal obligations as an occupying power under international law and they operate in violation of the fishing community’s right to earn a living and support their families. There are regular reports of the same forces harassing Palestinian boats even within the three mile limit unilaterally imposed by Israel. Recently documentary maker and activist Harry Fear documented just such an incursion on film.

There are 4,400 fishermen providing a source of living for almost 70,000 people. Three quarters of the fishermen are affiliated to the syndicate. During an 18 month period in 2009 and 2010, the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights documented  53 Israeli attacks on fishing boats leading to 2 dead, 7 injured and 42 arrested. Most of the arrested were subject to ill treatment. 17 fishing boats were confiscated and destroyed during the same period.

Mending nets on Rafah beach

Increased aggression from the Israeli Occupation Forces has led to 90% poverty rates among fishing families. Palestinian fishermen are risking their lives on a daily basis to support their families. It is all part of the Israeli economic war on Palestine. While it is being waged, the international community stands idly by. A collective punishment is being imposed on Palestinians in clear violation of Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law.

Calls for an international boycott of Israel are gaining increasing momentum in Norway. As trade unionists we are committed to doing our part.

You can read more about the issues affecting Palestinian fishermen at the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights

Pressure Mounts Over Blockade

One week after the return of Fagforbundets Ambassador Corps from Palestine, Norways largest union with over 328,000 members,  joined fifty international charities and United Nations Agencies in calling for the lifting of the illegal blockade of Gaza. The organizations have published a simple three line statement to mark the fifth anniversary of the enforcement of the blockade.

For over five years in Gaza, more than 1.6 million people have been under blockade in violation of international law. More than half of these people are children. We the undersigned say with one voice: End the blockade now!

The government of Israel is facing increasing international criticism for the Gaza blockade and this unanimous statement from some of the most world’s most respected international organizations is likely to increase pressure for the blockade to be lifted.

You can read more here.

International Intervention is Needed

Along with millions of others all over Europe and the world we have been enjoying this week’s European soccer Championships. Meanwhile Palestinian footballer Mahmoud Sarsak from Gaza is close to death in an Israeli prison.

During our visit to Palestine people spoke often and warmly about Mahmoud Sarsak. He is regarded as a sporting hero and has become an important symbol for Palestinian youth. Mahmoud has been imprisoned by Israel for 3 years without charge or trial under so called administrative detention.

Mahmoud Sarsak – an important symbol for Palestinians

Amnesty International has called for an immediate end to this form of internment without trial. The Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem has been equally clear in its condemnation of this repressive legislation.

Mahmoud was abducted by Israeli soldiers at the Erez checkpoint while on his way to join the Palestine National Football Team. He has now been on hunger strike for more than 80 days and his health is deteriorating rapidly.  Yesterday was an international day of action which included a protest outside the department of Foreign Affairs in Oslo demanding his release.

Yesterday Israeli prison authorities released a statement saying that he had ended the hunger strike, but Palestinian sources, including his family and lawyer, denied the claim. He does not have many days left. International intervention is required if his life is to be saved.