Divestment Walk-through (BDS) 1-14

This includes: breaking down by type and size of institution; examining steps for running a campus campaign; framing your campaign to on and off campus media; exploring various school structures and working with the trustees and administration; strategies for talking to your own campus and opposition about BDS; evaluating levels of support, sympathy, and opposition; different types of divestment campaigns; and more.

Riham Barghouti: Boycott National Committee Speech

A Debate on Ending Israels Occupation: boycotts, divestment, and sanctions (BDS)

Michael's College, Colchester, VT - In the international peace community, the movement to end the Israeli occupa­tion of Palestinian territories through the use of boycotts, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) has been controversial. Our speakers will debate both the fairness and effectiveness of BDS as a method of resolving the conflict. Arguing in favor of the motion: Omar Barghouti, Palestinian researcher, commentator, and human rights activist. He is a founding member of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) and a leader of the BDS campaign against Israel. Arguing against the motion: Dr. Steven Scheinberg, professor emeritus of History at Concordia College in Montreal and co-chair of Canadian Friends of Peace Now, a Zionist organization that works for peace between Israelis and Palestinians and monitors illegal settlement activity in the West Bank. Moderated by: Bill Wilson, Saint Michaels Emeritus Professor of Political Science. For more information, please contact Laurie Gagne at lgagne@smcvt.edu or 802.654.2205. Sponsored by the Peace and Social Justice Program at St. Michaels College, initiated and co-sponsored by Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel.

Top Ten Brands to Boycott this Christmas

USCBI (U.S. Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel)

While there are many Israeli and multinational companies that benefit from apartheid, we put together this list to highlight ten specific companies to target.

 

Many of these produce goods in such a way that directly harms Palestinians — exploiting labor, developing technology for military operations, or supplying equipment for illegal settlements. Many are also the targets of boycotts for other reasons, like harming the environment and labor violations.

1. AHAVA

This brand’s cosmetics are produced using salt, minerals, and mud from the Dead Sea — natural resources that are excavated from the occupied West Bank. The products themselves are manufactured in the illegal Israeli settlement Mitzpe Shalem. AHAVA is the target of CODEPINK’s “Stolen Beauty” campaign.  

2. Delta Galil Industries
           
Israel’s largest textiles manufacturer provides clothing and underwear for such popular brands as Gap, J-Crew, J.C. Penny, Calvin Klein, Playtex, Victoria’s Secret (see #10) and many others. Its founder and chairman Dov Lautman is a close associate of former Israeli President Ehud Barak. It has also been condemned by Sweatshop Watch for its exploitation of labor in other countries such as Egypt, Jordan, and Turkey.

3. Motorola

While many of us know this brand for its stylish cellphones, did you know that it also develops and manufactures bomb fuses and missile guidance systems? Motorola components are also used in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or “drones”) and in communications and surveillance systems used in settlements, checkpoints, and along the 490 mile apartheid wall. The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation has launched the “Hang Up on Motorola” campaign.  

4. L’Oreal / The Body Shop
 
This cosmetics and perfume company is known for its investments and manufacturing activities in Israel, including production in Migdal Haemek, the “Silicon Valley” of Israel built on the land of Palestinian village Al-Mujaydil, which was ethnically cleansed in 1948. In 1998, a representative of L’Oreal was given the Jubilee Award by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu for strengthening the Israeli economy. 
  
5. Dorot Garlic and Herbs

These frozen herbs that are sold at Trader Joe’s are shipped halfway around the world when they could easily be purchased locally. Trader Joe’s also sells Israeli Cous Cous and Pastures of Eden feta cheese that are made in Israel. QUIT, South Bay Mobilization, and other groups have targeted Trader Joe’s with a “Don’t Buy into Apartheid” campaign.   

6. Estee Lauder

This company’s chairman Ronald Lauder is also the chairman of the Jewish National Fund, a quasi-governmental organization that was established in 1901 to acquire Palestinian land and is connected to the continued building of illegal settlements. Estee Lauder’s popular brands include Clinique, MAC, Origins, Bumble & Bumble, Aveda, fragrance lines for top designers, and many others. They have been the target of QUIT’s “Estee Slaughter Killer Products” campaign.

7. Intel

This technology company that manufactures computer processors and other hardware components employs thousands of Israelis and has exports from Israel totaling over $1 billion per year. They are one of Israel’s oldest foreign supporters, having established their first development center outside of the US in 1974 in Haifa. Al-Awda (the Palestinian Right to Return Coalition) has urged action against Intel for building a facility on the land of former village Iraq Al Manshiya, which was cleansed in 1949.

8. Sabra

This brand of hummus, baba ghanoush and other foods is co-owned by Israel’s second-largest food company The Strauss Group and Pepsico. On the “Corporate Responsibility” section of its website, The Strauss Group boasts of its relationship to the Israeli Army, offering food products and political support.

9. Sara Lee

Sara Lee holds a 30% stake in Delta Galil (see #2) and is the world’s largest clothing manufacturer, which owns or is affiliated with such brands as Hanes, Playtex, Champion, Leggs, Sara Lee Bakery, Ball Park hotdogs, Wonderbra, and many others. Similar to L’Oreal (see #4), a representative of Sara Lee received the Jubilee Award from Netanyahu for its commitment to business with Israel.

10. Victoria’s Secret

Most of Victoria’s Secret’s bras are produced by Delta Galil (see #2), and much of the cotton is also grown in Israel on confiscated Palestinian land. Victoria’s Secret has also been the target of labor rights’ groups for sourcing products from companies with labor violations, and by environmental groups for their unsustainable use of paper in producing their catalogues. That’s not sexy!

Remember, it’s also important to let these companies — and the stores that sell them — know that we will not support them as long as they support Israeli apartheid!

 

To view our complete list of Israeli products in Bay Area stores click here. To report more Product Sightings, email products[at]baceia.org.

 

**please distribute widely**

 

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The Palestinian American Congress (PAC) is a non-profit grass-roots organization that adheres to the principles that the Palestinian people constitute an indivisible National Unit and that Palestine is its national homeland. PAC affirms its support of the Palestinian people's struggle to realize its national rights in accordance with the United Nations Charter and Resolutions. PAC affirms its opposition to racism and discrimination in all of its manifestations. For more information about PAC, visit www.pac-national.org

Ali Abunimah: Campus BDS Conference keynote speaker

Ali Abunimah, co-founder of Electronic Intifada and author of One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse delivers the keynote address at the 2009 Campus BDS Conference at Hampshire College in Amherst, MA.