In this section:
▪ What people are saying about BDS
▪ Partial List of Israel’s Violations of Human Rights

What people are saying about BDS

“The absence of meaningful action from governments to hold Israel accountable to international law leaves open one path for citizens of conscience: to take this responsibility upon themselves, as done against apartheid South Africa. Non-violent citizen-led initiatives, exemplified by the Flotilla and the various boycott and divestment campaigns around the world, present the most promising way to overcome the failure of world governments to stand up to Israel’s intransigence and lawless behavior.”
-  Stephane Hessel, Holocaust Survivor, Human Rights Activist, Diplomat
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephane-frederic-hessel/gaza-flotilla-global-citi_b_612865.html

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“The best way to end the bloody occupation is to target Israel with the kind of movement that ended apartheid in South Africa It’s time. Long past time. The best strategy to end the increasingly bloody occupation is for Israel to become the target of the kind of global movement that put an end to apartheid in South Africa.”

- Jewish Canadian author, Naomi Kline, Jan 10, 2009, www.guardian.co.uk

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“In South Africa, we could not have achieved our freedom and just peace without the help of people around the world, who through the use of non-violent means, such as boycotts and divestment, encouraged their governments and other corporate actors to reverse decades-long support for the Apartheid regime. …
The same issue of equality is what motivates the divestment movement of today, which tries to end Israel’s 43 year long occupation and the unequal treatment of the Palestinian people by the Israeli government ruling over them. The abuses they face are real, and no person should be offended by principled, morally consistent, non-violent acts to oppose them. It is no more wrong to call out Israel in particular for its abuses than it was to call out the Apartheid regime in particular for its abuses.”

- Archbishop Desmond Tutu, April 14, 2010 message to UC Berkeley students.
http://desertpeace.wordpress.com/2010/04/14/desmond-tutu-divesting-is-the-right-thing-to-do/

Partial List of Israel’s Violations of Human Rights and Other Violent Conduct

- On May 31, 2010, Israeli naval ships attacked unarmed humanitarian aid ships in international waters, killing at least 9 civilians and wounding dozens of others. An attack on a vessel in international waters is a violation of international law.

- Serious allegations that Israel committed war crimes and crimes against humanity during Israel’s assault on Gaza, which took place nearly a year ago, have been raised by Human Rights Watch, the National Lawyers Guild, Amnesty International, and the Goldstone Report adopted by the United Nations Human Rights Council.

- Israel has kept the 1.5 million people in Gaza under siege since mid-2006, restricting the entry of food, medical supplies and other necessities. On a daily basis, the Israeli Navy shoots at Gazan fishermen and farmers who are trying to feed their families.

- Israel’s continued building of illegal settlements and the massive “Separation barrier” have been condemned by the United Nations and determined to be in violation of international law by the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

- Daily, Israel violates the rights of the 2.5 million Palestinians in the West Bank, against whom it maintains a military occupation, confiscating their lands and water, demolishing their homes, destroying their agriculture. The wall separates Palestinian towns from their farm land and water; approximately 600 military roadblocks and checkpoints restrict Palestinians’ freedom of movement and their ability to work, go to school, get to hospitals, etc. Israel human rights violations include: imposing curfews, imprisoning adults and children, killing unarmed community and human rights activists.

- The Israeli government has institutionalized discriminatory practices against its approximately 1.5 million citizens who are native Palestinians. Although they make up 20% of the population, Palestinian citizens of Israel are denied access to 95% of the land; they do not receive the same rights, benefits or access to land as Jewish-Israelis; the development of their communities is severely restricted; and Israeli government officials have threatened to ethnically cleanse them.

- Israel has defied over 30 United Nations resolutions which address Palestinian rights, including U.N. Resolution 194 which provides for the right of return of Palestinian refugees who were forced from their homes and lands.

- The Israeli government is actively pursuing a policy of expelling the Palestinian residents of Jerusalem, including through home demolition

Israel‘s Violations of International Law

Israel is a member of the United Nations, and it is therefore responsible for adhering to International Law. The following is a list of International Laws that Israel is currently violating.

Separation Wall: International Court of Justice in the Hague ruled it illegal.

Blockade of Gaza: Illegal under Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Conventional because the blockade enforces “collective punishment” against the people of Gaza based on the actions of their democratically-elected government Hamas.

Settlements in West Bank: Illegal under the Fourth Geneva Convention because settlements constitute a transfer of a foreign population by the occupying power to the occupied territory (colonialism).

Displacement of Palestinians because of settlements in West Bank: Illegal under the Fourth Geneva Convention because the Jewish settlements forcibly remove and/or transfer the Palestinian people of the occupied territory.

Occupied Territories of the West Bank, Gaza and the Golan Heights: During the June 1967 war, Israel annexed the West Bank from Jordan, Gaza from Egypt and the Golan Heights from Syria. Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, it is illegal to maintain land acquired during war. It it is not illegal to occupy a territory at first if the territory has a hostile party in it, but a resolution must be made and the land must be given back to the most recent controllers of it, i.e. Jordan, Egypt and Syria. Israel has maintained control of these territories, which is why they are called occupied territories. They are illegally occupied under international law.

U.N. Resolution 194: Not recognized by Israel, the Right of Return was voted on by the UN to allow Palestinian refugees to return to Palestine (now Israel). Israel is not allowing Palestinian refugees to return to their land.