2 March 2017, AFOPA's "3 Things" Digest
The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) Campaign
Over the coming month we'll delve into the 3 aspects of the Palestinian-led BDS campaign. This week we'll look at Boycotts.
3 Boycott initiatives
- Academic boycotts ~ Israel and Palestine: Settler colonialism and academic freedom [Mondoweiss]
- Cultural boycotts ~ After appeal by leading writers, major US literary festival will proceed without Israeli government sponsorship [Adalah NY]
- Sports boycotts ~ Sports & the Palestinian BDS struggle [Palestine Square]
& ICYMI...a word on BDS in the Australian context [New Matilda]
On left: Anti-apartheid activists protest South Africa's Springboks team tour in New Zealand, 1981 (Phil Reid). On right: Scottish fans wave Palestinian flags at a match between their hometown Glasgow Celtic and Israeli team Hapoel Be'er-Sheva, 2016 (Facebook).
Israel and Palestine: Settler colonialism and academic freedom
Ilan Pappe, Mondoweiss, 1 Mar 2017
"In the last ten years, an old scholarly paradigm that was used for the historical analysis of European settler movements in various parts of the worlds, and in different periods, resurfaced in the USA and Australia as part of the new wish to understand the modern histories of these countries. Leading historians from all around the world reshaped the paradigm of settler colonialism to include all the places where European immigrants colonised non-European lands...To silence anyone for teaching about settler colonialism or ethnic cleansing in Israel and Palestine, or further researching about it, is a grave violation of academic freedom and free speech..."
>> Read full article
>> Learn more about the call for an Academic Boycott
After appeal by leading writers, major US literary festival will proceed without Israeli government sponsorship
Press Release, Adalah-NY, 23 Feb 2017
"Human rights advocates welcome the decision by PEN America to hold PEN’s annual World Voices literary festival without funding from the Israeli government. The decision followed a campaign and a call supported by leading literary figures asking the organization to reject Israeli government sponsorship..."
>> Read full article
>> Learn more about the call for a Cultural Boycott
Sports and the Palestinian BDS Struggle (Part 1)
Aubrey Bloomfield, Palestine Square, 13 Feb 2017
"Despite considerable evidence to the contrary, the myth that sports and politics do not mix endures. There is a long history of repressive regimes using sports as a vehicle for normalization, just as there is a parallel history of activists and subaltern actors using sports as a venue for political protest. Nowhere has this been more obvious than in the global campaign against Apartheid South Africa..."
>> Read Part 1 of article
>> Read Part 2 of article: Palestine v Israel at FIFA
>> Visit the UK campaign: 'Red Card Israeli Racism'
>> Learn more about the call for a Sports Boycott
And in case you missed it...
Opposing The Criminalisation Of Protest: The BDS Movement As A Beacon
Stuart Rees, New Matilda, 4 Sep 2016
The BDS campaign in the Australian context. "In a climate where governments are ratcheting up the fear to suppress legitimate public protest, Professor Stuart Rees argues there’s an organisation that already provides a template for resistance...."
