October19, 2005
Refuse to support the Israeli occupation! In defence of international law and human rights:
boycott, divestment and sanctions against the occupation.
At its meeting in London in September 2005 the EJJP decided to add to its declaration of aims
the following clauses:
a. EJJP supports non violent action aimed at ending the Israeli occupation of Palestinian
lands and Israeli breaches of international law
b. EJJP calls upon all states to ensure that their relations with Israel are in accordance with
international law and comply with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
For thirty-eight years massive land and water confiscation, roadblocks, extrajudicial killings,
closures, curfews, and collective punishment have taken place in the Occupied Palestinian
Territories, in contravention of international law. Oppression, segregation and humiliation, house
demolitions, and the construction of the annexation wall in the West Bank and the barriers
around the Gaza Strip determine the daily life of the occupied Palestinian people. Unfortunately,
the Israeli Government is using its unilateral ‘disengagement’ from Gaza as a cover for the
consolidation of the occupation of the West Bank and the annexation of large areas of
Palestinian land.
The Israeli government, throughout the years of Occupation, has felt entitled to breach
International Law, the Charter of the United Nations, and the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, the Fourth Geneva Convention, and even the decisions of the International Court of
Justice with the tacit acceptance of much of the international community.
The United Nations and the international community as a whole have failed to implement any
effective sanctions against Israeli breaches of International Law. Citizens’ action throughout
Europe is therefore called for, to stop Governments operating double standards and continuing
to appease Israel.
The 2005 Annual Plenary Session of the EJJP
Recalls that:
The fulfilment of the principles of the United Nations Charter requires the establishment of a
just and lasting peace between both Israel and the future Palestinian state.
All Member States of the United Nations in their acceptance of the Charter of the United
Nations are committed to act in accordance with Article 2 of the Charter.
The maintenance of an international system of justice, its authority and meaning for the
international community requires that Israel must be compelled to end the Occupation.
Israel, as a powerful state occupying the land of another people, is an equal member of the
international community and must be held accountable for its policies and actions in the light of
accepted international norms as are all other nations. Any other approach to the State of Israel is
discriminatory, selecting it out, without justification, as a special case from all other countries.
For all these reasons we consider the Israeli Occupation of Palestinian land to be an
international issue.
We all have a stake in ending it.
We are not willing to accept the blindness of the so called super powers, the indolence of the
United Nations, the apathy of the “Quartet”, and finally, the indifference of the states of the
Middle East and the Mediterranean.
We are not willing to be silent about the fact that the occupying power, Israel, claims to speak
for Jews world-wide and to be acting on behalf of our ancestors, many of whom were victims of
the Nazi genocide, and supposedly for the sake of all victims of anti-Semitism and racism..
We are not willing to witness passively a policy course that has already caused too many
casualties, unbearable destruction, and constant pain.
Regarding ourselves as European citizens and, hence, believing that human rights is the political
basis of European civil society, we share the responsibility for peace and justice with our friends
and sister organizations in Israel, in Palestine, and in all countries of the international community.
We are determined to take a major stand against the Israeli Occupation of the Palestinian
territories, i.e. against the course of hatred and hostility that could culminate in a catastrophe – for
Palestinians and Israelis.
We are convinced that the Israeli leadership and decision makers, as well as most of Israel’s civil
society, have the power to alter the intolerable situation, but are reluctant and/or unwilling to do
so. For this reason, it is impossible to end the Occupation without pressure from outside.
International non-violent but effective pressure, in support of the joint Israeli-Palestinian struggle
against the Occupation is a crucial way to break through this deadlock.
The 2005 Annual Plenary Session of EJJP notes
The “Call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Against Israel Until it Complies
with International Law and Human Rights” that was launched by representatives of
Palestinian civil society in May 2005
The “Agenda of Struggle” that was approved by of the 5th World Social Forum in Porto
Alegre on Jan. 2005 calling upon the social movements to “mobilize for de-investments
and boycotts” with the explicit aim of “pressuring Israel to implement international
resolutions and to respect the decision of the International Court of Justice for the
immediate stop and destruction of the illegal apartheid wall and the end of the
Occupation”
The final resolution of the United Nations International Conference in Support of Middle
East Peace that was published in Paris on July 2005, announcing for the next year the
inauguration “of a global campaign of boycotts, divestment and sanctions to pressure
Israel to end the Occupation and comply with international law and all relevant
United Nations resolutions”
The petition that was approved to be launched by the meeting of the European Coordinating
Committee of NGOs on the Question of Palestine (ECCP) in Brussels on May
2005, that calls upon all citizens of the EU members to “urge our Minister of Foreign
Affairs, the Council of the European Union and the United Nations to take political
and economical measures, including sanctions, aiming at preventing Israel from
continuing the construction of the wall and to oblige it to respect the ICJ Advisory
Opinion”.
That many Jewish and Israeli organizations support the idea of selective boycott and
sanctions on Israel including Gush Shalom, Bat Shalom, ICAHD (Israeli Committee
Against House Demolition), New Profile (a feminist and antimilitaristic organization),
Ta’ayush, Anarchists Against the Wall; Matzpen (Israel/International); Jewish Voice for
Peace (JVP/US), Not in My Name (US), Jews Against the Occupation (NYC Chapter);
Jewish Voices Against the Occupation (US); Jewish Women for Justice in Israel and
Palestine (US); Jews for Global Justice (US); and Visions of Peace With Justice (US); and the
petition of South African government minister Ronnie Kasrils and legislator Max Ozinsky,
which has gathered more than 500 signatures of South African Jews.
It declares:
· That there is nothing inherently anti Semitic in implementing boycotts and divestment
campaigns against Israeli occupation. Indeed we are undertaking such action in the belief that
the end of the Occupation is in the long term interests of the Israeli people.
· That the situation in the different countries of Europe varies, so that different country groups
of EJJP will need to decide the most appropriate form of action within the framework of
direct non-violent action against the Occupation.
· That a selective boycott could be designed to encourage Israelis to move towards respect for
Palestinian rights
The Federation of the European Jews for a Just Peace and many of its affiliated groups will be
supporting and pursuing an interwoven campaign of actions against the Occupation on all
levels: local, regional, national, European and international.
Proposed Actions
We believe that a variety of interwoven measures targeted specifically at the machinery of
Occupation and the Israeli Military-Science-Technology-Economy tiers that are linked to it
will generally be appropriate. We will work with other organisations in the field and include in
our activities actions against:
· 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;
· training and advice by Israel of police and military personnel from EU countries.
Divestment from companies supporting the occupation and engaged in the construction of
the wall and settlements or the destruction of Palestinian homes and land. Working with
local, Palestinian and Israeli groups and divestment campaigners to identify appropriate
targets.
Campaigning for importers, wholesalers and retailers not to label as ‘Israeli’ those products
that have been produced in whole or part, or which contain any components produced
outside the 1967 borders but instead to label them as “settlement products from the occupied
Palestinian territories”.
Supporting consumer boycotts of such products by publicising a consolidate list in
conjunction with Gush Shalom, Palestinian organisations and local solidarity groups, using
the EJJP website. Where retailers and wholesalers refuse to provide information on the
provenance of such goods, they would be included on such a list, marked as potential
settlement products.
Linking with other groups in compiling and updating information and in campaigning for
divestment and consumer boycotts. This could help stem the fragmentation of political
solidarity campaigns with the Palestinian People.
The time has come to translate our criticism of and opposition to the Israeli governments
and policies into effective, non-violent action. While these may be largely symbolic in the
first instance, such actions are designed to activate a citizen base which can pressurise
our own Governments. Initially the aim is to rescind the privileges accorded to Israel in
trade and research collaboration by the EU-Israel Association Agreement, until such time
as Israel meets the Human Rights obligations written into the Agreement.
European Jews for a Just Peace is a federation of Jewish Peace groups campaigning in 10 European countries