Free the Hares Boys!

Dear friends,
you may or may not be aware of the campaign to free five teenage boys from the Palestinian village of Hares in the Occupied West Bank.  Hares is a small village I know well as it is the village where the International Women's Peace Service was located for seven years before our team moved to the neighbouring village of Dier Istiya.  It is located in the middle of what is known as the "Ariel settlement bloc" and came under regular attack from the Israeli military at the beginning of the second intifada.  The Israeli occupation forces still continue to regularly harass the village, invading and arresting Palestinian youth and other residents.

The five Hares boys - Mohammad Suleiman, Ammar Souf, Mohammed Kleib, Tamer Souf, and Ali Shamlawi - are currently facing life imprisonment for a crime that never happened. They are being held in Israeli prison charged with 25 counts of attempted murder for alleged stone-throwing, with no evidence whatsoever. The boys have been labelled as “terrorists” before any objective investigation even took place.

They’ve been condemned in the Israeli media as guilty even before they “confessed” to stone-throwing under torture. They’ve been denied any sort of justice in the Israeli military court system that convicts Palestinian children at a 99.7% rate, not unlike that of the world’s worst totalitarian regimes of the 20th century.

You can read the full story/background to their arrest and their imprisonment here
The Hares Boys, like all Palestinians, have the right to live their young lives without that regime cutting them short in a mock judicial process.

You can join the campaign to free the boys checking out the Free the Hares Boys website and Facobook page.  Importantly, the Free the Hares Boys website has a page called  “What You Can Do” which outlines how you can take action and support the boys. 

You can visit the website here.  The Hares Boys facebook page is here: Free the Hares Boys.

There is also a petition calling for the five boys to be freed.  Please sign and share with your social media and other networks.  You can find the petition here.

There has also been some media coverage of the boys' arrest on Mondoweiss and Al Jazeera.

For more information on Palestinian child prisoners, see: Addameer and Defence of Children, Palestine.

In solidarity, Kim

***

FREE THE HARES BOYS!

 Ammar Souf

 Ali Shamlawi

 Mohammed Suleiman

 Mohammed Kleib

 

Tamer Souf

Haaretz: An Apartheid of hearts, minds and international law

Dear friends,
a very good article from Haaretz explaining exactly why the use of the apartheid analogy is correct in relation to Israel.

In solidarity,
Kim

**

An apartheid of hearts, minds and international law

Israel doesn’t have to precisely replicate South Africa to conform to the international definition of an apartheid regime. It’s time for those who object to the Israel apartheid analogy to understand this.

By Roy Isacowitz | Jul. 17, 2013 | 

Eight men, among them anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela, sentenced to life imprisonment, leaving the Palace of Justice in Pretoria with their fists raised in defiance, June 16, 1964. Photo by AFP

Shuki Friedman, in his opinion piece published Tuesday (‘Between inequality and apartheid’), referred to the 2002 Rome Statute to back up his contention that the analogy between Israel and apartheid is “a travesty of reality and history.” Given that the statute is readily available online, perhaps he should have been a little more careful in his references to it. 

The gist of Friedman’s argument was that apartheid – both in practice and as defined by the statute – must precisely replicate the racial discrimination and oppression that existed in South Africa prior to 1994 and must have a legal framework, i.e. it must be enacted in law. His summary of the Rome Statute reads: “The crime of apartheid is seen to be committed when there is an institutionalized goal and action taken to discriminate and oppress another people. This is not the case in Israel, nor is it the case in Judea and Samaria.” 

The problem is that his summary of the statute is tendentious and he’s wrong on both counts. Article 7 of the statute, which is the one quoted by Friedman, defines the crime of apartheid as acts “committed in the context of an institutionalized regime of systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over any other racial group or groups and committed with the intention of maintaining that regime.” 

In other words, it’s not the goal and action that need to be institutionalized, as Friedman maintains, but the regime in which they occur. The goals and actions can be either legislated or ad hoc, but they must be part of an institutionalized regime - one that has become commonplace or mainstream and arguably (depending on definition) one that is lawfully constituted. I won’t speculate as to what motivated Friedman to tamper with the wording of the statute, but few would argue against the characterization of Israel’s 46-year-long military control over the occupied West Bank is both commonplace and lawful (in terms of Israel’s own legal definitions). 

The 1973 International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid (ICSPCA), which preceded the Rome Statute, defined apartheid as “inhumane acts committed for the purpose of establishing and maintaining domination by one racial group of persons over any other racial group of persons and systematically oppressing them.” (If Friedman wants to quibble over the term “racial,” he should take a look at his Israeli ID card, which conflates nationality with race and religion.) 

Nowhere in either the Rome Statute or the ICSPCA is there a requirement that apartheid be enshrined in a legislative framework. Similarly, both expressly define it as a crime not limited by the South African experience. (The ICSPCA speaks of “similar policies and practices of racial segregation and discrimination as practiced in southern Africa.”) In other words, discrimination does not need to be implemented exactly as was done in South Africa to qualify as apartheid. 

All of which means that Friedman’s argument is nonsense. The etymology of the word “apartheid” in Afrikaner nationalism is of absolutely no relevance. International convention has removed apartheid from the South African context and established it as a crime in its own right. Any discriminatory and oppressive policies from any regime can legitimately be termed apartheid if they meet the definitions of the ICSPCA and the Rome Statute. 

It’s about time that those who object to the Israel-apartheid analogy understood that South Africa is not part of the equation; at most it acts as a reference point. It may feel good to go on about the park benches in South Africa that were reserved for whites only or the bloated corpus of discriminatory legislation under the apartheid regime but they have no relevance. Apartheid today has an internationally endorsed definition, which does not include South Africa and does not require legislation. Israel, and all other regimes, are judged according to that benchmark. 

A word for Shuki Friedman from one who grew up under apartheid and experienced it up close and personal: Definitions and legalities are only part of the story. The real apartheid in South Africa was the apartheid of the heart and the mind – the apartheid mentality. True apartheid is the elevation of one group above another on the basis of race, religion, tribe or nationality and the consequent arrogation of rights and freedoms that are denied the other.
Friedman may not discern that mentality in Israel, but I see it everywhere – in our apathy to what is happening in the territories, the ease with which we absolve ourselves of responsibility and our almost total lack of empathy for the other, if he or she is not Jewish. 

The discriminatory legislation that for Friedman is the crux of apartheid (incorrectly, of course) has begun creeping into the Knesset under the Netanyahu administration, but that is not where apartheid begins. It begins in the hearts and minds of people. 

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart once said that pornography was difficult to define, “but I know it when I see it.” I know apartheid when I see it – and I see it sprouting here.

Roy Isacowitz is a writer and marketer living in Tel Aviv. He spent many years working for the Israeli and foreign media.

IN PHOTOS: Palestinian General Strike Against Israel's Prawer-Begin Ethnic Cleansing Plan

Dear friends,

activists are currently tweeting photos from across '48 and '67 of the Palestinian General Strike against Israel's Prawer-Begin plan which seeks to ethnically cleanse more than 40,000 Palestinian Bedouin (who are Israeli citizens) from the Naqab (Negev) desert.  

For more information/background, see my earlier posts and article on the Prawer-Begin plan here.

In solidarity, Kim

***

 Shops in Akka closed in support of the Palestinian general strike

Photo via Lina Alssafin

 

 Na'imeh junction closed near Shifa Amro in northern Israel

 

Protesters in Gaza protesting Prawer-Begin plan

Photo via Al Jabha

Protestors in Beer Sheba in the Naqab protesting the Prawer-Begin Plan

Photo via: Adalah - The Legal Center For Arab Minority Rights In Israel

 

Protestors in Beesheba

Photo via Aamer Ibrahim

 

Israeli Police at the Beer Sheba protest

Israeli police attack protestors at the Beersheba protest against the Prawer-Begin plan

Photo by Active Stills

 Israeli police attack protestors at the Beersheba protest against the Prawer-Begin plan

Photo by Active Stills

Israeli police attack protestors at the Beersheba protest against the Prawer-Begin plan

Photo by Active Stills

Israeli police attack and arrest two women protestors in Beersheba
Photo by Al Arab
 

 At least 20 people arrested protesting in Beersheba
Photo by Al Arab

Palestinian youth arrested by Israeli police for protesting Prawer-Begin plan

Dear friends,
I am posting below Palestinian activist, Abir Kopty's post from the weekend on today's Palestinian general strike.  I will also be updating Live from Occupied Palestine with photos and updates from the actions over the next few hours.

In solidarity, Kim

***

July 15th: Anger Strike to stop Prawer Plan

by Abir Kopty: 13 July 2013

The “High Follow-Up Committee for Arab citizens of Israel” announced a general strike on Monday July 15th, and protests will take place in several Palestinian cities and villages, calling to stop “Prawer Plan”, which aims to displace Palestinian Bedouins in the Naqab (southern of historic Palestine).

Prawer Plan aims to displace between 30,000 to 40,000 Palestinian Bedouins, uproot approximately 40 villages and confiscate over 850,000 dunums of land.  For more info please click here and here.

 
The Plan is named after Ehud Prawer, Netanyahu’s director of planning, who headed the Prawer commission which discussed planing issues in the Naqab. The Prawer’s recommendation were approved by the government in September. Two weeks ago Prawer’s bill passed first reading in the Israeli Knesset.

For Palestinians the Nakba was never a one time event that happened 65 years ago. It’s an ongoing tragedy, ethnic cleansing and colonization never stopped. Implementing Prawer Plan, with whatever justifications Israel gives, should be viewed in that context.

The struggle to stop Prawer Plan should be massive and powerful, confrontation with the state is inevitable. This is not just the struggle of Palestinians 48, its the struggle of all parts of the Palestinian people against the same power that keeps us divided, continues to colonize our land and transfer our people, whether in lands occupied in 1967 or in 1948.

Prawer plan is also a good example for those questioning “Apartheid” in Israel and praising it’s “democracy”. It’s about time you understand that concrete action is needed, join Palestine solidarity movements and support efforts to Boycott, Divest and place Sanctions on Israel.

Call to action: you can raise awareness and mobilize in your city to stop Prawer Prawer plan. Organize protests, events, BDS actions etc.

Schedule for the Anger Strike events on Monday, July 15th, in Palestine:
Central demonstrations:

• 10am central demonstration in Naqab
• 5pm Um Alfahem entrance
• 5pm Sakhnin, Mesgav junction

In the following locations, demonstrations will take place:

• 6pm Yafa, Clock Square
• 9pm Jerusalem, Damascus Gate
• 4pm Ramallah, Manarah Square
• 4pm Gaza, Unknown Soldier Square
• 4:30pm Hebron, Tal Rumeide
• 4pm Nablus, Shuhada Square

And in other locations will start 11am unless stated otherwise:

• Ara’ra entrance
• Baqa al-Gharbeya-Jat, indistrial zone
• Tira and Taybeh
• Nazareth, next to Big Fashion junction
• Reineh and Mashhad, Circle.
• Kufr Manda+Rumaneh+A’zeir, Tiberias-Kufr Manda Junction
• Shfa’amr+ Tamra+Ei’belin, Na’ameh junction
• Jdaydeh, Maker, Kufr Yasif, Ayadeiyeh junction.
• Majd Alkroum, Deir Alasad, Be’neh, Majd Alkroum enterance.
• Tarshiha and Me’lya junction
• Akka
• Sunday July 14th 8:30pm Haifa, Emil Habibi Square.
• Led+Ramleh

Use social media to raise awareness as well. we are using Hashtags #StopPrawerPlan #AngerStrike and in Arabic: #برافر_لن_يمر و #اضراب_الغضب

Prawer-Begin Plan: Israel to escalate ethnic cleansing

Dear friends,

please find below my latest article on Israel's Prawer-Begin plan to ethnically cleanse between 40,000 and 70,000 Palestinian Bedouin from the Naqab (Negev) desert.  The article appears in edition 3 of the newly launched socialist newspaper,  Red Flag.

in solidarity, Kim 

***

Israel to escalate ethnic cleansing

by Kim Bullimore: Red Flag, Issue 3: 10 July 2013

The Israeli Knesset (parliament) has approved the first reading of the Arrangement of Bedouin Settlement in the Negev. More commonly known as the Prawer-Begin Plan, the bill allows for mass forced expulsions of the Palestinian Bedouin community from the Naqab (the Arabic name for the Negev desert). 

 

According to the Israeli human rights group Adalah, if the plan is fully implemented it “will result in the forced displacement of up to 70,000 [Palestinian] Arab Bedouin citizens of Israel and the destruction of 35 ‘unrecognised’ villages”. 

 

Approximately half of the Palestinian Bedouin population – around 90,000 people – live in 46 towns and villages located on just 5 percent of the land in the Naqab region. Israel currently recognises only 11 of these villages, despite the fact that they have existed since prior to the establishment of Israel in 1948. 

 

Palestinian Bedouin living in these villages are treated as “trespassers on State land” and are denied access to infrastructure including water, electricity, sewage, education, health care and roads. These services are deliberately withheld by the Zionist state as part of a war of attrition that seeks to “encourage” Palestinian Bedouin to leave their land. As a result, the Palestinian Bedouin community is one of the most socially and economically disadvantaged within Israel. According to Adalah, 67 percent of Palestinian Bedouin were classified as “poor” in 2009. 

 

The original Plan was conceived by Ehud Prawer, the former Deputy Chair of Israel’s National Security Council, in 2011 – without any consultation with the Palestinian Bedouin community. In January, amendments to the bill were made by Benny Begin, the son of former Israeli PM Menachem Begin who had been a leader of the Zionist terror militia known as the Etzel (Irgun). 

 

Begin’s amendments resulted in the removal of some of the more offensive language from the bill, which deemed Bedouins “squatters” on their own land, as well as legitimising the use of “reasonable force” to evict them. Both the original plan and the amended bill have been rejected by the Palestinian Bedouin community. 

 

The Prawer-Begin bill will result in the largest single act of ethnic cleansing of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel since the first decade following the creation of the Israeli state.

In 1948, Zionist terror militias carried out attacks on the Palestinian Bedouin living in the Naqab. Then the newly created Israeli military launched a full scale ethnic cleansing operation to expel Palestinian Bedouin from the region for “military reasons”. 

 

Over the next two years between 70,000 and 90,000 Palestinian Bedouin were expelled from the region. This systematic ethnic cleansing would continue throughout the 1950s. 

 

While the vast majority were pushed outside the boundaries of the Zionist state, approximately 10 percent would remain. They were evicted to the Siyag (meaning “fence” in Arabic) in the northern Naqab, where they were forced to live under military rule until 1966.

However, since the 1950s the Palestinian Bedouin have continually sought to return to their traditional lands. Israel has prevented their return both militarily and also by planting trees via the Jewish National Fund. While the JNF claims that it is rehabilitating the land, the main purpose of the tree planting is to ensure control of the land. 

 

Haneen Zoabi, one of the 12 Palestinian Arab members of the Knesset, told the Jerusalem Post on 28 May that “This is not how a normal state or even a dictatorship treats its citizens because it is very obvious that the aim of this plan is to expel the Palestinian citizens from their land and develop the land for the Jewish population.” 

 

“We didn’t immigrate to Israel, it was Israel that immigrated to us,” she added. 

 

Since the Prawer Plan was first announced, Israel has demolished more than 1,000 Palestinian Bedouin homes in the Naqab, while at the same time announcing plans to plant forests, build military centres and establish new Jewish settlements in the place of Palestinian Bedouin villages that will be ethnically cleansed.

78,000 Palestinians arrested by Israel since Sept 2000, with 5000 currently in Israeli prisons

Dear friends,

shocking research that shows that more than 78,000 Palestinians, including 9,000 Palestinian children have been arrested and detained by Israeli Occupation Forces over the last 12.5 years.   Please find below the latest report from Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network. 

in solidarity, 
Kim

***

Palestinian researcher: 5000 Palestinian prisoners, including 234 children, in occupation prisons

 Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network: 6 July,2013

 

Former prisoner, researcher and analyst, Abdel Nasser Farwana, reported that since the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Intifada on September 28, 2000 until today, there were over 78,000 Palestinians arrested from all sectors of Palestinian society.

Among these arrests included over 9,000 children under 10, and nearly 60 Palestinian legislators and ministers in addition to numerous journalists, academics, and hundreds of political leaders.

Ferwana said that at the present time, Israel is holding approximately 5000 prisoners in 17 prisons and detention centres in harsh condition, and that the prisoners lack the minimum human rights stipulated in international law and human rights instruments. In particular, he pointed to the continued policy of medical neglect and abuse and physical and psychological torture.

83.5% of the detainees are from the West Bank, 8.7% from Gaza, and 7.8% from Jerusalem and Occupied Palestine ’48. Most prisoners are held in Negev, Eshel, Nafha, Ohla Kedar, Ramon, Gilboa, Shata, Ofer, Asqelan, Hadorim, Hasharon, Ramle, and Megiddo.
29.6% of prisoners are married, and 70.4% are single. 

There are 234 children, 15 women prisoners, 14 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, and 153 administrative detainees. 51 of the child prisoners are under 16. Among the women prisoners, Lena Jarbouni has been held for over 11 years.

There are 537 prisoners serving one or several life sentences.

There are 103 prisoners who are “veteran prisoners,” held before the Oslo agreement, including 83 prisoners who have been held for 20 years, among them 24 who have been held for over 25 years. Karim Younes has been detaines for over 30 years.

Since 1967, 204 prisoners have died in occupation prisons due to torture, medical neglect, or beatings, the latest of which were Arafat Jaradat and Maysara Abu Hamdiyeh, in addition to hundreds of prisoners who died after their liberation from prison due to the impacts of torture and medical neglect.

Ferwana called on all Palestinians, national and Islamic forces and political parties and social institutions to activate and raise the level of their solidarity to befit the sacrifices of the prisoners, the role of their cause, and put an end to the violations committed against them on the road to freedom and liberation for all prisoners.

A tribute to Palestinian women and a call for Alicia Keys to not entertain Israeli apartheid

Dear friends,

you may already be aware there has been an extensive campaign calling on singer, Alicia Keys to not perform in Israel this month.  Tens of thousands of people from all over the world have called on Keys to respect the Palestinian Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) call against Israel. So far Keys has ignored the call.   As part of the campaign, the Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of New Mexico have produced a protest video paying tribute to the women of Palestine and calling on Key's to not entertain Israeli apartheid.

Others have joined the campaign by producing a videos explaining why the are calling on Keys to respect the boycott call.

I have included below the SJP UofM video and the call issued by Boycott!, an group of Israeli citizens who support the Palestinian BDS campaign from within Israel, calling on Keys to not play Israeli apartheid.

in solidarity, Kim

 

Alicia Keys, Put the Spotlight On the Plight of Palestinian Children: Boycott Apartheid Israel!

Dear Alicia Keys,
We are citizens of Israel who oppose Israel’s continuing displacement and oppression of the Palestinian people via military occupation and apartheid policies [1]. this policy has been described as apartheid by notable and knowledgeable human rights activists such as Bishop Desmond Tutu [2]. It is disheartening for us that you have ignored the impassioned appeals to you to cancel your concert in Israel, but we insist on making this call, in the name of equality, justice and human rights, which at this time are brutally violated by Israel. We are aware of, and admire your activism for children with AIDS, and we ask that you allow us to raise your awareness of the Palestine issue as well, so that you may be able to make an informed decision. 

While Israel's military rule over the Palestinian population affects all Palestinians, we would like to focus for  a moment on Palestinian children living under Israel's drones, tanks, guns, and prisons . According to UNICEF [3], Israel arrests, interrogates and detains approximately 700 Palestinian children each year between the ages of 12 and 17. In the past 10 years, some 7,000 children  were held, an average of two children each day. The UNICEF report documents extreme abuses such as arrest in the middle of the night, threats and physical beatings. 

The Defense for Children International Palestine Section mentions the following routine  Israeli practices against Palestinian children, which amount to torture, which have long-term effects on the children's development [4]:

"Frequently, we hear of cases where children are forced to sign confessions, where they are beaten and handcuffed, or subjected to positional abuse, or shabeh (see fact sheets for more). Meanwhile, children deprived of their liberty are often denied access to health care and education, adequate nutrition, hygiene and recreation time. Family visits are a rare privilege due to travel restrictions on the Palestinian population and frequent detention within Israeli military bases or settlements. Not surprisingly, psycho-social studies indicate that the impact of imprisonment and the horrific experiences suffered by child prisoners has a significant impact on their future development as individuals." 

Beyond the systematized incarceration of children, the daily violence of the Israeli army and Israeli settlers also plays a destructive role in the lives of Palestinian children. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reports [5] that 54% of mental health patients at MSF clinics in the Gaza Strip were under the age of 12 in 2010, and over a third of the cases MSF treats in Gaza and over half in Nablus, in the West Bank, are severe, and affect the functioning of a person in daily life:

"Children and adolescents have particular symptoms of psychological distress, like bed wetting, nightmares, learning difficulties [reading and speech], concentration and memory problems and therefore academic failure, or even aggressive behavior."

Academic failure, however, is not just an indirect result of Israel's occupation, but one of its clear goals. In 2007, Stop the Wall issued a report documenting the systematic erosion of Palestinian education in the West Bank and Israel's discriminatory polices of its Palestinian citizens [6]:

In the West Bank, both children and teachers are cut off from their schools by the apartheid wall, military checkpoints, and when they are able to make that long walk to schools, they are often in need of accompaniment to protect them from military and settler harassment and violence. Schools and kindergartens are demolished by the army under the pretense of "no permit", and under the guise of "security" are raided and expensive equipment such as computers and documents are confiscated. 

Within the 1948 armistice lines, the state discriminates against the Palestinian communities on all levels. Pertaining to children's education, schools are almost completely segregated. According to Human Rights Watch [7]

"… the Israeli government reported in February 2001 that in 1991, the total government investment per Palestinian pupil was only 60% that of a Jewish child, and because of the lower socio-economic status of Palestinians in general, the total educational investment per Palestinian child was only one- third that of a Jewish child… While schools for Jewish children may be equipped with theatres, playgrounds, art studios, gymnasiums, and more, schools for Palestinian children usually have few specialized facilities. Furthermore, one third of Palestinian children study in flammable and dangerous structures… Even access to schools can be limited and difficult. Often, children will have to walk far distances to reach school or even the school bus stop. If buses are provided, they are usually dangerously crowded and are not provided with seat belts." 

Furthermore, The besieged Gaza strip is home to 1.7 million people, over half of which (53%) are children [8]. Gazan schools are just part of the civilian infrastructure targeted by the Israeli army, and during the 2009 Israeli onslaught known as "Cast Lead", Amnesty International reported that 280 schools were damaged and 18 were completely destroyed [9]: 

"Repairing the damaged schools has proved extremely difficult because of the blockade and the continuing restrictions on the entry of construction materials. .. At the start of the 2009-2010 school year, many pupils in Gaza had to study without textbooks or writing supplies, as truckloads of classroom materials were held up by Israel at the Kerem Shalom crossing point."

All this provides just a glimpse of Israel's systematic oppression of the Palestinian people. 
The production elements in your concert are strongly involved in Israeli propaganda efforts. As you know, the concert is locally produced by Shuki Weiss Promotion and Production LTD. The company collaborates with the Israeli government by gifting Israeli officials VIP tickets to shows [10]. This is not just corruption within the system, but corruption that serves to whitewash Israel’s war crimes against the Palestinian people, using international artists such as you:

"Tourism Ministry spokeswoman Shira Koa said that the ministry had agreed with the producers of the concert that the event would be used to promote Israel as a safe tourism destination. "Madonna belongs to an exclusive club of mega stars, who draws thousands of fans from abroad to her concerts. For this reason, the ministry authorized an agreement with the producers that would give the ministry video and stills footage of the singer and her entourage, both during the concerts and her visits to tourist sites in Israel, to be used in international marketing campaigns. They also agreed to have four displays at the concert with films promoting Israel, supplied by the ministry, targeting the thousands of foreign tourists... Such promotion campaigns are regular occurrences both in Israel and abroad."

Mr. Weiss has also attended parliamentary meetings about outlawing boycotts [11], which has resulted in the delegalization of the democratic tool of boycott [12], rendering this letter to you a potentially illegal act, subject to heavy fines.

Dear Alicia Keys, Music is indeed a universal language that is meant to unify audiences in peace and love. However, Israel practices apartheid, and your audience will be its beneficiaries. As a rule, Palestinians living under Israel's occupation in the West Bank are not even allowed to come to Tel Aviv, let alone attend concerts.  

In light of all this, we hope that you respect the BDS call made by Palestinian civil society [13] and postpone your concert in apartheid Israel, until our government respects the most basic human rights principles. The call was made so that people of your celebrity stature will put the spotlight on the plight of Palestinian children!

We will gladly address any questions or comments you may have.

Sincerely,
BOYCOTT! Supporting the Palestinian BDS Call from Within
Please contact us for any questions and further information at admin@boycottisrael.info 

[1] http://www.boycottisrael.info/
[2] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ov2KVAJY_E
[3] http://www.unicef.org/oPt/UNICEF_oPt_Children_in_Israeli_Military_Detention_Observations_and_Recommendations_-_6_March_2013.pdf
[4] http://www.dci-pal.org/english/camp/freedom/display.cfm?docid=243&categoryid=14
[5] http://electronicintifada.net/content/trauma-palestinian-children-increasing-say-health-groups/10212
[6] http://www.stopthewall.org/downloads/pdf/UnderOccupation.pdf
[7] HRW
[8] http://imeu.net/news/article0017067.shtml
[9] http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE15/002/2010/en/c8e6742a-b52a-4c70-b641-986de2db878a/mde150022010en.pdf
[10] http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/tourism-minister-given-illegal-gift-of-vip-madonna-tickets-1.262006
[11] http://maxblumenthal.com/tag/shuki-weiss/ , http://pulsemedia.org/2011/02/14/the-macy-gray-effect/
[12] http://www.acri.org.il/en/2011/07/17/the-anti-boycott-law-questions-and-answers/
[13] http://pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id