March 7, 2006
Dear ———-,
We understand that you have voted to boycott Israeli products and that no small pressure to
reverse such action has been put upon you as a result. European Jews for a Just Peace (EJJP)
is a federation of many Jewish groups from across ten European countries. We applaud your
concern and wish to take action on this issue and particularly your wise decision to engage in an
awareness raising exercise so that the reasons for your action are better understood.
We very much hope that you will re-affirm your support of the Palestinian people in their fight for
political freedom. Ever since the ICJ opinion that the Barrier was illegal was issued, Palestinian
activists have said that this was the most important contribution in support of their struggle that
has occurred in recent years. To our minds, the logic that follows on from that is to build a political
solidarity campaign of boycotts, divestment and sanctions that will garner widespread support
because it specifically targets what is illegal about the Israeli Occupation and the evident, if
undeclared, annexation of Palestinian land.
Therefore we would respectfully suggest that help build this campaign by selecting a course of
more targeted action instead of a comprehensive boycott, namely, a total boycott of:
• all settlement goods from the Occupied Palestinian Territories;
• companies who are profiteering from the Occupation by having offices
• or production units based in the Occupied Territories;
• companies who are profiteering from the Occupation by taking part in the construction of
the illegal separation barrier/wall/fence;
• the sale of weapons and parts to and from Israel;
• the sale and servicing of equipment for use in the Occupation;
• the training and testing of Israeli military personnel and weapons in any part of the EU;
• the training and advice by Israel of police and military personnel from EU countries.
There should also be an end to any military co-operation, joint exercises or arms sales between
Israel and other countries.
We attach our annual conference in September 2005, entitled “Refuse to support the Israeli occupation! In defence of international law and human rights: boycott, divestment and sanctions against the occupation.”
We are especially impressed that a tier of government, however small, has taken such a courageous decision. Boycotts can be enacted by concerned individuals. Divestment is an issue for companies. Sanctions are for governments and it is remarkable that you have found yourselves able to take such an important symbolic step.
The actions of one area of Norway have caught the attention of much of the world.
We hope that you remain steadfast in your support of the Palestinian people’s fight for their
political freedom. Should you decide to choose the targeted approach we suggest, we would be
happy for you to release this letter to Norwegian media outlets if you think it will help you in your
important decision
In solidarity,
EJJP Executive Committee