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Boycott Israeli Goods FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
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Category: Main -> Boycott Facts
| Answer | · Isn't boycotting Israel contrary to laws passed by the US Congress against the Arab boycott?
U.S. law bans participation "with any boycott fostered or imposed by a foreign country against a country which is friendly to the United States." The boycott of Israeli goods is being asked for by groups of Israeli citizens (not a country) who are morally outraged by the occupation and its effects on Israeli society. There are actually two boycotts Gush Shalom, the Peace Bloc, asks for a boycott of items produced in the territories. See http://www.gush-shalom.org/archives/faq.html . Matzpun (Conscience) asks for a boycott of all Israeli products. See their site at: http://www.matzpun.com/
Arab Countries developed guidelines and laws that certify companies that trade in the Arab world as not dealing with Israel (issuing certificates to this effect to complying companies). Although little enforced and of little practical consequences, the US congress, under heavy Israeli lobby, passed laws intended to thwart complying with the requirements of the Arab boycott committee (based in Damascus). This includes provisions for penalizing companies that provide certification. However, this was intended and framed to prohibit companies from complying with the terms of the boycott by Arab countries not by citizens. There are no laws on the books and none in the US could be passed (due to constitutional restraints) which can:
- prohibit individuals and businesses from deciding for themselves when to buy and who to buy from
- direct companies to do operations or provide manufacturing facilities in any country (companies are free to make business decisions solely based on their financial interests).
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| · Why boycott Israeli Goods and services?
- As a condition for its admission to the United Nations, Israel formally agreed, to accept General Assembly Resolution 181 (II) (1947) (on partition and Jerusalem trusteeship) and General Assembly Resolution 194 (III) (1948) (Palestinian Right of Return). Nevertheless, the government of Israel has expressly repudiated both.
- Israel engaged in systematic ethnic cleansing between 1947-1948 resulting in the largest and most persistent refugee crisis remaining. In the past 54 years, Israel has also engaged in continued land confiscation and changing the character of the land and its inhabitants. See Palestine Remembered http://www.palestineremembered.com/ and
- Today five million of the 8.5 million Palestinians live as refugees or displaced persons and the others live either under brutal military occupation (West Bank and Gaza) or as fifth class citizens with racist and discriminatory laws against them in all spheres of their lives. Israel's brutal occupation and massive terror attacks on civilian populations resulted in the death of 1 in every two thousand Palestinians and injury of 1 in every 100 Palestinians just in a7 months after Sept. 2000. See Palestine Monitor http://www.palestinemonitor.org/
- Concerned citizens and governments all over the world must organize comprehensive campaigns of economic and academic boycotts, disinvestment, and divestment from Israel along the same lines of what they did to the former criminal apartheid regime in South Africa. The Anti-Apartheid worldwide campaigns played a critical role in dismantling the criminal racist regime in South Africa. For much the same reasons, worldwide campaigns against Israel will play a critical role in dismantling its criminal apartheid regime against the Palestinian People living in occupied Palestine as well as in Israel itself. This will create conditions for coexistance and peace based on justice for all. It is in the interests of all people in that part of the world regardless of their religion or national affiliation.
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| · Isn't a boycott likely to hurt Palestinians both within Israel and in the West Bank and Gaza who rely on salaries or who rely on maintaining a decent economy to live?
In South Africa when blacks asked for the boycotts even though some of their jobs were being lost. Both Palestinians and Israelis welcome boycotts because the evil of what the Israeli government is doing is harming many more people that teh harm done from any boycott campaign. For Palestinians with 60% unemployment due to eth Israeli occupation, removing thsi occupation is definetly worth the temporary sacrifice of a few remaining jobs dependent on the Israeli economy. Similar motivation exists for Israeli Jews who see their country sliding further and further into mayhem and racism and who see laws specifically targeted at non-Jews remaining and even strengthened by new laws passed in the Knesset. The all say: occupation and apartheid are killing us all and this must end.
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| · Isn't Boycotting Israeli Goods similar to the Nazis' Boycott of Jewish Goods?
No. A boycott can be used for good reasons or for bad and it can be directed at people because of their religion (which Nazis directed at Jews) or can be directed towards removing oppression (e.g. the boycott against Nazi Germany). The Nazis used a boycott against Jews to foster hatred, murder and theft. The boycott of Israeli products is used exactly for opposite reasons, to rescue a people living under occupation and apartheid. When Hitler took over Germany, Jews War Veterans started a worldwide boycott of Germany. If it had pursued effectively the Nazis would have been seriously weakened. However, after a few large demonstrations not much was done. Zionists actually broke the boycott. The World Zionist Organization made a deal with Nazi Germany (See the book Zionism in the Age of the Dictators, by Lenni Brenner available at http://www.marxists.de/middleast/ironwall/index.htm).
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| · Are you targeting "Jewish owned businesses"?
Absolutely not. We are interested in companies that support Israel whether they are owned by Jews, Muslims, Chrsitians, Hindu etc. All in our campaign must distinguish our actions against Israeli apartheid and occupation (totally legitimate actions supported by many Jews) and anti-Jewish sentiments and feelings (illegitimate and contrary to all rational and religious law). Further -Judaism and Zionism are obviously not the same. There are many Christian Zionists and many also run businesses that support Israeli governmental policies!! Even governments in the Arab world do so. By contrast, there are great companies with majority Jewish ; thrship who do not support Israel.
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| · Does the personal political beliefs of a business owner relevant to whether they are boycotted or not?
No. We believe in freedom of thought and expression. We are concerned only of financial support to Israel. There are businesses whose owners sympathize highly with human rights but still support Israel financially. There are also business with Zionist-leaning owners who do not support Israel financially. Many, if not most, of the businesses that we will be considering are, in all events, owned by share-holders and the beliefs of the owners are irrelevant. The main aim of
our boycott is to hurt Israel economically, and we can do that regardless of the owners' beliefs. If he supports Israel, he will have to pay for their beliefs in profits if they insist on carrying or making products in Israel.
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| · What are some famous successful boycotts?
To protest apartheid in South Africa various boycotts were tried over the years. Cities were asked to keep South African goods from their docks. Store managers were asked to stop stocking certain products. Sports figures refused to play in competitions against South Africans. Businessmen who had interests in South Africa were picketed. Campagns were organized to influence colleges and legislatures which had stock in companies that did business with South Africa. It became very unfashionable to wear gold because of the gold produced in South Africa.
In the 1920's automaker Henry Ford made anti-Jewish statements and published literature attacking Jews. Jews started a boycott of Ford products and in 1927 Henry Ford succumbed. He published a retraction of his views and ceased his anti-Semitic publications.
If it was not for Zionists movement thwarting the boycott of Nazi Germany, some believe Hitler's ideology would have been hampered if not impeded in its infancy. See Henry Black, The Transfer Agreement. http://www.nizkor.org/hweb/people/b/black-edwin/chapter-03.html
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| · When will you call for an end to this boycott?
When Israel:
- complies with all International laws and UN resolutions including allowing refugees to return home,
- respects human rights and applies them equally,
- abolishes racist laws such as land ownership laws (where land is controlled not for the benefit of citizens but claimed as a birthrights for any Jews regardless of citizenship).
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| · What was the launch date of your site
April 2002 Back to top
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