London's Natural History Museum

UPDATED: 23 January

 EXTRA, EXTRA!

• The Scientist: Europe funding illegal Israeli lab 

• ScienceInsider: Israeli Company’s E.U. Funding Under Scrutiny

• Nature: European Commission slammed for links to West Bank lab

• Reuters/MSNBC: UK museum attacked over links to Israeli Dead Sea firm

• Ynet: UK museum slammed over ties to Israeli firm  

• Israel National News: British Academics Condemn Museum for Working with Ahava

• Jerusalem Post: British museum refuses call to boycott Ahava lab

• Haaretz: U.K. museum lambasted over links to Israeli Dead Sea firm

• JTA: British museum urged to quit study that includes Ahava

 Note: The article and letter below were published in the 17 January 2012 edition of The Independent, a major UK national daily newspaper. 

It’s beyond belief that the Natural History Museum is so deeply involved with both Ahava and Veolia - two companies that were proven beyond a doubt to be complicit in Israel’s violation of international law – and yet care so little about public opinion, despite receiving funding from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.  

We encourage all people of conscience to contact the Natural History Museum on one of their many platforms and urge them to immediately terminate their involvement with both Ahava and Veolia.

Please see the ‘WHAT YOU CAN DO’ section at the bottom of this post for contact information and links.  

The Natural History Museum is today accused by a coalition of prominent academics and cultural figures of helping to break international law by leading a research project which involves an Israeli cosmetics company based in an “illegal” settlement in the occupied West Bank.

In a letter to The Independent (scroll down), leading scientists and the film directors Mike Leigh and Ken Loach, condemn the London museum – which is the fourth most visited in Britain – for its research collaboration with Ahava – Dead Sea Laboratories (DSL), which sells beauty products based on minerals extracted from the Dead Sea.

The museum, which has a substantial academic research team, is co-ordinating NANORETOX, a European Union-funded project looking at any risks to human health and the environment posed by so-called nanoparticles – microscopic engineered materials which scientists are developing for multiple uses from cancer treatment to double glazing.

Ahava-DSL, which is one of a dozen institutions and companies involved in the project including two University of London colleges, has its registered headquarters listed in Israel but most of its activities are carried out in Mitzpe Shalem, a Jewish settlement on the edge of the Dead Sea in the West Bank.

Settlements in the Occupied Territories have been declared illegal under international law by the United Nations and the International Court of Justice. But despite international condemnation, the Israeli government insists that a large number of the settlements, including more than 120 on the West Bank, are not illegal.

In their letter, the 21 signatories, who include the eminent biologist Sir Patrick Bateson, president of the Zoological Society of London, and leading intellectual Sir Jonathan Miller, claim that the Natural History Museum’s connection with Ahava-DSL means that it is “co-ordinating an activity that breaks international law”.

They said: “[Ahava-DSL] extracts, processes and exports Palestinian resources to generate profits that fund an illegal settlement. Israel’s settlement project has been held… to break international law. Organisations which aid and abet this process may well themselves be found to be in violation.

“We find it almost inconceivable that a national institution of the status of the Natural History Museum should have put itself in this position. We call on the museum to take immediate steps to terminate its involvement in [the project] and to establish safeguards that protect against any comparable entanglement.”

The NANORETOX project began in December 2008 and is due to conclude at the end of this year, although campaigners say the involvement of Ahava-DSL has only now come to their attention. The company, which has conducted extensive research on nanoparticles for its products, was appointed to the project to supply materials and carry out toxicity tests.

The Natural History Museum yesterday defended its role in the research, saying that Ahava-DSL was chosen from a listed of scientific partners approved by the European Commission and suggested that any decision to boycott the project could be a challenge to “academic freedom”.

In a statement, Professor Ian Owens, the museum’s director of science, said: “We work within the legal and policy boundaries established by politicians and policy makers, and would not participate in any academic or educational boycotts that could restrict academic freedom.”

Ahava-DSL, which has been the subject of a boycott campaign targeting its shops in Europe and America, did not respond to requests for a comment. The company has previously said that the Dead Sea mud and materials used in its products are excavated from Israeli land outside the occupied territories and that Mitzpe Shalem is not an illegal settlement.

It is extraordinary, but true, that one of our great national museums is co-ordinating an activity that breaks international law. That museum is the Natural History Museum, which is collaborating in research with an Israeli commercial firm located in an illegal settlement in the Palestinian West Bank.

The firm is Ahava/Dead Sea Laboratories, whose business is manufacturing cosmetics out of mud, which it excavates from the banks of the Dead Sea. Ahava/DSL is located at Mitzpe Shalem, a settlement 10km beyond the Green Line. The collaboration with the Museum is through an EU-funded project called Nanoretox, in which Kings College London, Imperial College and a number of foreign institutions are also involved. The museum is the coordinating partner for this project.

Ahava/DSL is based on occupied territory. It extracts, processes and exports Palestinian resources to generate profits that fund an illegal settlement. Israel’s settlement project has been held by the International Court of Justice to break international law. Organisations which aid and abet this process may well themselves be found to be in violation. We find it almost inconceivable that a national institution of the status of the Natural History Museum should have put itself in this position.

We call on the museum to take immediate steps to terminate its involvement in Nanoretox and to establish safeguards that protect against any comparable entanglement.

 

Professor Sir Patrick Bateson FRS, University of Cambridge

 

Professor Malcolm Levitt FRS, University of Southampton

 

Professor Tim Shallice FRS, SISSA, Trieste

 

Mike Leigh

 

Ken Loach

 

Jonathan Miller

 

Victoria Brittain

 

Baroness Tonge

 

Dr Gillian Yudkin

 

Professor Laurence Dreyfus FBA, University of Oxford

 

Professor Jacqueline Rose FBA, Queen Mary University of London

 

Professor Jonathan Rosenhead, London School of Economics

 

Professor John Armitage, University of Bristol

 

Professor Haim Bresheeth, University of East London

 

Professor Barry Fuller, University College London

 

Professor Colin Green, University College, London

 

Dr Ghada Karmi, University of Exeter

 

Professor Adah Kay, City University

 

Professor David Pegg, University of York

 

Professor Steven Rose, Open University

 

Professor Lynne Segal, Birkbeck College

 

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

• Contact the Natural History Museum: NHM, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, Tel: 020 7942 5511, or send them an email via a reply form.
• Leave an appropriate message on the Natural History Museum’s Facebook page.
• Tweet the Natural History Museum: @NHM_London
• Contact your MP to  let them know how you feel. The Natural History Museum receives funding from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

• Join us outside the Natural History Museum on Saturday, January 28th between 12-2pm. All welcome!

'Palestine Pete' says "BIN VEOLIA!" outside London's Natural History Museum

Report by Bruce/Photos courtesy of Inminds

Saturday, 14 January 2012

Outside the Natural History Museum (NHM), twenty-six human rights activists successfully engaged with museum visitors to unmask Veolia, sponsor of the NHM’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition in a blatant example of corporate whitewashing by this toxic company.

Present alongside London BDS and other campaigners were Palestine solidarity activists from London Metropolitan and Roehampton Universities, as well as activists from France and San Francisco. The Palestine Solidarity Campaign and the Tower Hamlets Jenin Friendship Association were also represented.

A large banner was displayed that read: “VEOLIA MUST STOP SUPPORTING ISRAEL’S ILLEGAL SETTLEMENTS.” 

A visitor from Spain approached campaigners after reading the banner and said: “I know what Israel is doing to Palestinians and am glad that you are here.” A tourist from France said: “It’s important that people know about this.” A London resident out with his son gave the thumbs up and told a campaigner: “Well done mate.”

French multinational Veolia has been accused of complicity in Israel’s violation of international law and continues to be a legitimate global target for human rights activists.

Veolia was involved in the construction of and currently manages the controversial Jerusalem Light Rail project that links Israeli Settlements – which are internationally recognised as illegal - reinforcing the apartheid Zionist government’s hegemony over the region.

Veolia also manages the Tovlan landfill, built on stolen Palestinian land in the Occupied Jordan Valley, where rubbish from Israel and its illegal settlements are transported to by Veolia subsidiaries TMM Integrated Recycling Services and YRAV Sherutei Noy 1985. Under international law, Israel is prohibited from using occupied land to benefit its civilian population.

Another Veolia subsidiary, Connex, operates apartheid bus services connecting Israel to its illegal West Bank settlements along Road 443 which is often referred to as an ‘apartheid road.’ Not only are Palestinians prohibited from using these bus services, but portions of Road 443 are off-limits to them as well.

Activists have been successfully lobbying against Veolia in the UK and have taken credit for the company’s exclusion from numerous public service contracts worth billions.

The four Zios who turned up outside the NHM were typical of their ilk; willowy and bearded Zionist flag-waver Martin Sugarman, an Exams Officer employed by Westminster Kingsway College, was once escorted by police from Portcullis House (a Parliamentary Building in Westminster) after Sugarman raised his arm and shockingly shouted “Sieg Heil” during a 27 January 2010 lecture delivered by 85 year-old anti-Zionist Holocaust survivor Dr Hajo Meyer.

Dark-haired, shifty and spectacle-wearing South African ‘Sharon Klaff,’ another apartheid advocate, tried unsuccessfully to distribute Zionist propaganda to visitors queuing outside the NHM. ‘Klaff’ who often expresses admiration for ultra-right wing hate groups on blogs, once blatantly called a Jewish anti-Zionist campaigner in front of witnesses,  “A dirty little Jew Boy,” a comment that earned her a warning from police outside the former Ahava shop on Monmouth Street.

The quote of the day was when one of the few Zionists present accused a Jewish campaigner of being a ‘self-hating Jew,’ the campaigner replied: “I’m not a self-hating Jew, I just hate you.”

Advertising apartheid

Travelling on the Underground a few weeks ago, we noticed this billboard (below) advertising the NHM’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition that has earned our nomination for a Truth in Advertising Award.  Within the past few days, we’ve been receiving reports of billboards that have been supplemented with similar information, which is a promising sign.

Will the Natural History Museum ever get the message? In 2010, activists also 'enhanced' billboards like the one above.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

• Leave an appropriate message stating your objection to Veolia on the Natural History Museum’s Facebook page.
• Tweet an appropriate message to the Natural History Museum: @NHM_London
• Join us outside the Natural History Museum on Saturday, January 28th between 12-2pm – All welcome!

An Inminds report of this event can be found here.

See you on Saturday, January 28th. FREE PALESTINE!

2011 was a year that once again, activists, campaigners and people of conscience from all backgrounds and cultures came together to support Palestine and increase awareness of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign called for by Palestinian civil society in 2005.

On a more modest note, public support is overwhelmingly positive and we continue to receive many messages from throughout the world on all our platforms, including Twitter and Facebook. Keep ‘em coming, as all your comments, suggestions and even criticisms are most welcome.  

So here are selected highlights of our BDS campaigning, activities and news in the “Hub of Hubs” during 2011 – proving that ‘the resistance is continuous!’

 JANUARY

London BDS kicked off the ‘Adidas – Don’t Run with Apartheid’ campaign by staging a protest outside the Adidas shop near Covent Garden and delivered a petition calling for Adidas to cancel its sponsorship of the Jerusalem Marathon.

BDS SUCCESS! Major UK retailer John Lewis confirmed that it no longer sold Ahava products. Its Managing Director, Andy Street, wrote: “As a socially responsible retailer, John Lewis…expect all our suppliers not only to obey the law, but also to respect the rights, interests and well-being of their employees, their communities and the environment.”

FEBRUARY

London BDS activists were both inside and outside the Professional Beauty trade show at the ExCeL centre explaining to visitors and exhibitors why Ahava is bad for your business.

MARCH

As part of the Don’t Run with Apartheid campaign, activists staged a race inside the Adidas flagship store on Oxford Street on the day of the Jerusalem Marathon. In Rome, activists staged a similar event on the day of the Tel Aviv Marathon.

No Justice, No Peace! People of conscience kept up the pressure when Zionist war criminal Shimon Peres visited London.

During the BDS Week of Action, the Covent Garden TESCO supermarket was targeted as activists de-shelved illegal West Bank Settlement goods.

and Veolia’s reputation (and lobby) was trashed when campaigners delivered bags of rubbish to their corporate office.

BDS SUCCESS! The London School of Economics Palestine Society scored a victory against Eden Springs in their boycott campaign.

BDS SUCCESS! In late March, news broke that the UK’s only Ahava shop would close in September. Activists however vowed to continue their fortnightly picket for another six months until they saw an empty shop.

click to enlarge

APRIL

BDS SUCCESS! After intensive lobbying, the South London Waste Partnership dumped Veolia’s bid for the one billion pound ‘Waste Treatment Infrastructure’ contract serving the South London boroughs of Kingston-upon-Thames, Sutton, Merton and Croydon.

BDS SUCCESS! The UK Quaker movement announced they will boycott all Israeli settlement goods.

MAY

BBC: Impartially Partial. London BDS was the first to break the news about how the BBC edited the lyrics “free Palestine” from a rap song broadcast on Radio 1Xtra. This report about BBC censorship went viral and was later picked up by the PSC and the national media. 

The party’s over for Israel’s supporters when just three activists and a simple banner ended a Zionist social event in a Central London bar.

BDS SUCCESS! Campaigners protested outside singer Marc Almond’s concert at London’s Royal Festival Hall. A few days later Almond announced the cancellation of his performance in Tel Aviv.

For the first time ever, UK activists joined French colleagues in an action outside the Veolia AGM in Paris…

…and we also reported from Move Over AIPAC in Washington, DC.

JUNE

Back home in the UK, Westminster got a taste of the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza as campaigners from the Free Gaza Movement sailed along the River Thames to Parliament to deliver the message: Freedom for Palestine!

London BDS spearheaded the highly successful Boycott Israeli Dates London Mosque Tour during the holy month of Ramadan, explaining to both people of faith and non-believers why they should boycott Israeli dates.

We exposed the Zionist academic huckster Benny Morris and staged a walk-out during his lecture at the London School of Economics.

We also exposed an Israeli property exhibition that was a complete sham.

JULY

During the course of four days, we welcomed back the ‘Flytilla’ heroes at Luton Airport who were detained and deported from Israel for simply stating that they wanted to visit Bethlehem.

AUGUST

Marilyn Monroe said “Don’t Engage with Israeli Blood Diamonds” at Hatton Garden, the centre of London’s jewellery trade.

SEPTEMBER

BDS SUCCESS! Illegal settlement cosmetics company Ahava closed its only UK shop as a direct result of the campaign that began in 2009. It was a major BDS victory and inspired others, including an Australian group who are a year into their campaign against Dead Sea cosmetic company Seacret. (We admit to being jealous of all that sunshine in Adelaide!)

BDS SUCCESS! Action against the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra’s BBC Proms concert at the Royal Albert Hall that was successful in taking the Radio 3 broadcast of the Prom off the air, which also made it a major international media event. London BDS was the first to break the news on Twitter. The result? The IPO recently announced that they may never return to perform in the UK again. Hooray! 

Campaigners demanded that America end its military aid to Israel with a protest outside the US Embassy.

OCTOBER

Outside Downing Street, protesters told Zionist war criminal Tzipi Livni that she was visiting the wrong Hague during her meeting with UK Foreign Secretary William Hague in London.

Students at Kings College London began a campaign to end their University’s partnership with Ahava in an EU-funded research project. To date, over 1,200 people signed the e-petition. Why not join them? 

With the Ahava shop now history, we lost no time mobilising outside of London’s Natural History Museum where Veolia is currently sponsoring the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition.

NOVEMBER

November saw Zionists going ‘up north’ to plan their attack on London. From their sagging ‘Mini Tent’ in London to their sagging ‘Big Tent’ in Manchester, we reported on the selective admission for a London Zionist conference after a Jewish human rights campaigner was refused admission. As we would later tweet; it’s a #hasbaraFAIL.

BDS SUCCESS! A complaint made by an activist was upheld by the Advertising Standards Agency against the Zionist Jewish Chronicle newspaper for misleading advertising involving an Israeli property company selling homes in an illegal West Bank settlement.

We visited an international travel exhibition at ExCeL and reported that Israel had been kicked out the Middle East and was now in Europe, sandwiched between Romania and the Czech Republic. We also distributed flyers exposing Ahava (one of the exhibitors), as well as outed the camera-shy Israeli security thugs at the Israel pavilion.

During the BDS Day of Action, activists were outside supermarkets in East, West and South London engaging with and encouraging shoppers to boycott Israeli and illegal settlement produce.

DECEMBER

During the festive season BDS activists sung alternative carols and offered guests attending a cocktail party at Lev Leviev’s diamond shop on Old Bond Street ‘Israeli Promise’ cocktails (in empty glasses).

Alternative carols were also sung outside the Natural History Museum and the Lacoste shop on Regent Street.

BDS SUCCESS! West London Waste Authority excluded Veolia from a £485 million contract serving the West London boroughs of Brent, Ealing, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow and Richmond-upon-Thames.

On the 28^th December, a demonstration took place outside the Israeli Embassy in Kensington commemorating the third anniversary of Operation Cast Lead and people of conscience demanded the Zionist apartheid state end its inhuman siege of Gaza.

THE FUTURE

So what does the future hold?  We offer no New Year resolutions or predictions….

But what there will be is a further intensification of the BDS campaign, as well as more and more artists refusing to perform in Israel, the Welcome to Palestine initiative to support, labels to check, along with other activity …

Special thanks to all those who are involved with London BDS, without whom none of this would be possible.

Thanks also to our many coalition partners; especially ISM London and Code Pink’s Stolen Beauty Campaign, whose enthusiasm, creativity and dedication continues to inspire. Appreciation also goes to the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods (J-BIG) and the BNC.

And most importantly to the people of Palestine and the Palestinian Diaspora, we vow to continue until we see a…

FREE PALESTINE!

Peace.

ORT House

Report by Joseph Michaels

As an answer to the Big Tent for Israel, an event noted more for its exclusions than for anything else, the UK Zionist Federation were inspired to hold an Israel Advocacy Training Conference at ORT House in Camden on Sunday, December 11^th.

But like many events the Zionist Federation organises, not all went according to plan. Some have claimed that the whole thing was a send-up at the behest of disparate elements and others claim that it was at least some kind of propaganda effort. Although it was advertised as a major event by the Zionist Federation, neither the Zionist Jewish Chronicle nor the Jewish News covered it.

As it was unlikely that those opposed to the continued infliction of torture and denial of the human rights of the indigenous Palestinians would be permitted entry, there were nonetheless several observers present outside to see how many turned up. From the start, they noted the arrival of the punters (at £25 a throw) and numbers – as predicted – were very low indeed.

Around noon, it was observed that about 50 persons were identified as being present – including the 26 speakers who had been invited – which hardly constitutes a full-house.

As is often the case, ‘security’ for this Zionist gee-up was provided by the Community Security Trust (CST) who like to think of themselves as an organisation that protects Britain’s Jewish Community and prevents anti-Semitism. In reality, the CST is a well-funded Zionist “charity” who act as bouncers at Zionist events and whose modus operandi when dealing with anti-Zionists is on a par with the Zionist Federation’s ally, the English Defence League. 

The CST’s claim that they prevent anti-Semitism is highly questionable, as they’ve been involved in too many controversial incidents. For instance in January 2009, a Jewish man who heckled the UK’s Chief Rabbi by singing an Israeli children’s song was physically attacked by a CST thug and in February 2010, two Jewish anti-Zionist campaigners were violently ejected by CST goons for simply and politely asking uncomfortable questions at a Zionist ‘environmental’ meeting held at the University of London’s Institute of Education.

An angry and aggressive CST ruffian approached a pair of observers who were opposite ORT House and threatened to call the police. But once challenged (like all bullies), he quickly backed off. As one observer later reported:

“A truculent man from the CST tried to intimidate us by saying we had to move away. I replied that we were interested in…the local architecture. This infuriated the CST creature who threatened to call the police, to which I said “OK”, but he didn’t.”

A LAW UNTO THEMSELVES: The CST said that taking photographs (on a public street) was not permitted.

On looking at the programme, even the most die-hard supporter of Zionist terrorism will have to admit that a cock-up took place with the selection of speakers that included significant dimwits, halfwits, nitwits, drones, nonentities and political illiterates. The list would be long, but two can be selected to demonstrate the point.

"Richard" (his best side)

A certain hack Zionist propagandist (who we’ll call “Richard”) spoke on the topic “Blogging for Israel”. For those ignorant souls that turned up, they learned…

“…how to create your own news agenda instead of having it created for you by the traditional media. With blogging you can write your own stories (yes, “Richard,” we know) about Israel, anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism.”

Those who were involved in the Ahava demonstrations on Monmouth Street will remember “Richard” and all that he did to assist the subjugated Palestinians by helping to get the Ahava shop closed.

No mention of a Zionist event would be complete without the inclusion of the thoughts (and threats) of the Co Vice-Chair of the Zionist Federation, Jonathan Hoffman.

The Zionist Federation's Jonathan Hoffman

Hoffman (along with one Keith Fraser) spoke on… “How to make the most of limited knowledge” (I didn’t make this up!). The blurb for the session read:

“Without being an expert, see how you can rebut the most common accusations. Armed with just a few powerful facts, you can defend Israel and even persuade an opponent prepared to listen. The consistent repetition of positive, affirmative (sic) messages are our most powerful weapons”.

How very odd that Hoffman chose not to employ such skills when parking his posterior outside Ahava screaming “Nazi” at everyone who disagreed with him. Even Ahava UK’s Managing Director, Odelia Haroush who served in the Israeli Occupation Force’s Intelligence Corps could not get rid of him.

It has been noted by inside sources that there was, as a result of this conference, a shortfall in receipts and that the ZF is now tearing itself apart with its officers blaming each other for this fiasco.

For the last several editions, the Zionist Jewish Chronicle and Jewish News have ignored the obvious nonsense of the above and the reason is perfectly clear; a complete mess from start to finish and so the diktat has gone out to maintain silence on this farcical conference just as the terrorists of Israel maintain a similar silence about what they did to cleanse the Palestinian inhabitants in 1947/1948.

Below are two videos of the 27th December demonstration very near to the Israeli Embassy off Kensington High Street to commemorate the third anniversary of Operation Cast Lead, the genocidal attack that was launched by the apartheid Zionist state on the 27th of December 2008 against the helpless and imprisoned people of Gaza.

The first video, courtesy of Seymour Alexander, gives a gripping first person perspective of the day and also includes some speeches:

The second video is coverage from Press TV:

Report from Press TV:

UK activists mark Gaza war anniversary

Tue Dec 27, 2011

British anti-war activists have staged a pro-Palestinian rally outside the Israel embassy in London, voicing their opposition against the blockade of Gaza Strip.

In a bid to mark the third anniversary of Operation Cast Lead, Israel’s three-week bombing and invasion of the Gaza Strip in December 2008 / January 2009, over a hundred of anti-Gaza siege demonstrators protested from 1pm until 3pm on Kensington High Street and voiced their anger at the continuing violence and siege against the Palestinian public living in Gaza.

Following Israel’s 22-day-war on the densely populate Gaza, some 1,166 Palestinian civilians were killed, including 300 children. And over 50,000 people had to leave their city as the war destroyed 4,000 houses in the blockaded territory.

The move was organized by pro-Palestine campaigns, including Palestine Solidarity Campaign, British Muslim Initiative, Friends of Al Aqsa, Stop the War Coalition, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, and Palestinian Forum in Britain.

The British protesters also called on the coalition government to stop its current economic, diplomatic, and military support of Israel, and to urge Israel to put an end to its illegal occupation of Palestine.

More than 1.5 million Palestinians are now living under the relentless Israeli siege, which has been imposed on the coastal enclave since 2007.

While hundreds of people were marking the third anniversary of Gaza war and commemorating the martyrs who lost their lives during the war, an Israeli airstrike killed one Palestinian and wounded two others in northern Gaza Strip.

Report/photos By Carl

Lacoste is a French fashion company that many recognise by their green crocodile logo. They also sponsor the Lacoste Elysée Prize – an art competition organised by the Musée de l’Elysée in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Palestinian artist Larissa Sansour was one of eight nominees who were shortlisted for the prize. However, Lacoste changed its mind about including Sansor’s work in the competition and asked the Museum to remove her as a nominee citing her work as “too pro-Palestinian”.

Sansour’s entry into the competition was entitled Nation Estate which feature images based on Palestine’s admission to UNESCO. In her entry, Sansour imagines the state contained in a single skyscraper, with each floor representing cities including Jerusalem, Ramallah, as well as Sansour’s native Bethlehem.

Within 48 hours of Sansour going public, the Musée de l’Elysée came out in her support announcing that it had decided to suspend its relationship with Lacoste as a sponsor of this prestigious prize for its insistence to exclude Sansour from the competition.

In London…

On Friday, December 23^rd, over a dozen activists – some wearing Santa hats – mobilised at short notice outside the Lacoste shop on London’s Regent Street to distribute specially produced flyers condemning Lacoste and sing anti-apartheid carols. The flyers were offered to the few customers entering and leaving the Lacoste shop, as well as distributed to the hundreds of people passing by.

Despite the rain, the alternative carols sung in the very heart of London’s West End, minutes away from Oxford Circus, attracted attention from a considerable number of shoppers and tourists, many of who stopped to take photographs and were curious to find out more.

One man, seeing a Palestinian flag that one activist brought along, joined in. Others expressed their support by giving the ‘thumbs up’ sign and saying “well done” as they walked by.

Despite the peaceful nature of the picket, one Zionist verbally and physically assaulted a female human rights activist, an incident that required police intervention.

The presence of human rights campaigners outside Lacoste also attracted the attention of the media and thus campaigners were able to further raise awareness of the oppression and indignities suffered by the Palestinian people at the hands of the apartheid Zionist state.

Something tells us we haven’t heard the last of Lacoste.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

• Boycott Lacoste and tell others why they should as well.
• Leave an appropriate message on Lacoste’s Facebook page.
• Tweet a suitable message to Lacoste: @Lacoste_UK

Artwork courtesy of polyp.org.uk

London BDS thanks you for your support and wishing you Season’s Greetings and a peaceful New Year.

The Case Against Veolia

London 17 December 2011. Report by Isvestia

Veolia is a key target of the call of Palestinian civil society for an international Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions campaign in support of Palestinian rights. French multinational Veolia directly supports and profits from Israel’s illegal occupation through 1) its construction and management of the Jerusalem Light Rail project, 2) the operation of apartheid buses serving illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank and 3) the dumping of waste from Israel and illegal settlements on stolen Palestinian land.

As a result of successful and concerted action by human rights campaigners, both in the UK and throughout the world, Veolia lost billions of Pounds worth of business.

OUTSIDE THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM

London's Natural History Museum

Saturday December 17th was one of the coldest days in London. However that did not deter seventeen human rights campaigners who turned out to raise awareness of Veolia’s activities with visitors to the Natural History Museum’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition whose corporate sponsor is Veolia. Campaigners used specially designed flyers and postcards summarising Veolia’s complicity in supporting Israel’s grave breaches of international and humanitarian law, denying justice, equality and freedom to the Palestinian people.

Human rights campaigners have been at the Natural History Museum (NHM) every two weeks since the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition opened in November and have distributed thousands of postcards and flyers about Veolia to the visitors and tourists who throng to this area of London known as ‘Museum Row.’

The postcards and flyers not only provide the facts, but also ask museum-goers to complain to the NHM about its choice of corporate sponsor. As on previous occasions, many people stopped to express their support and also say that they too were unhappy about Veolia’s sponsorship of the exhibition. Running alongside this campaign is a London BDS initiative encouraging people to post messages on the Natural History Museum’s Facebook page to urge the NHM to drop Veolia as a corporate sponsor.

Without a doubt, this is not what Veolia had in mind when it decided to sponsor the photography exhibition. Veolia thought it would be basking in the adoration of grateful museum-goers. Instead, it has made a serious miscalculation and provided a platform for campaigners to provide the public with a very different picture of the Veolia ‘brand’.

Raising awareness about Veolia's complicity in Israel's illegal occupation outside London's Natural History Museum.

If the presence of human rights campaigners were not bad enough for Veolia, seven Zionist Federation (ZF) counter-protesters turned up at the museum to shout “Support Israel! Support Veolia!” – which is not the sort of advertising or help Veolia is looking for.

The ZF’s chants and shouting were led by Co Vice-Chair of the UK Zionist Federation, Jonathan Hoffman, who has previously campaigned alongside the racist English Defence League outside the Israeli cosmetics shop Ahava.

Despite the ZF’s presence, campaigners spread out along the footpath and quietly and politely engaged with the public. The contrast with the aggressive shouting of the ZF could not have been greater.

It was not long before the ZF seemed to become frustrated with their lack of success and started to loudly interrupt members of the public who stopped to talk to the human rights campaigners.  On at least four occasions and much to the bemusement of passers-by, members of the public loudly and clearly admonished  ZF members for their behaviour and interruptions.

Rather than take the hint, the ZF resorted to chanting “No Nazi boycotts” and “They want terror, we want peace.”

CAROL SINGING

Zionists exposed! Zionist Federation hooligans unsuccessfully attempt to disrupt the carol singers and look foolish at the same time.

To mark the festive season, human rights campaigners formed an impromptu choir and started singing seasonal carols with lyrics about the illegal Israeli occupation and the plight of Palestinians. The reaction from passers-by was very positive; there were many smiles and much interest, including a young mother and daughter who were passing-by who stopped to join in the carol singing.

The reaction of the small ZF gaggle however was a different spectacle; they became even more aggressive and loud. Hoffman and his close ZF associate Harvey Garfield, started loudly chanting “Go home you bums” at the human rights carollers – to the visible disgust of the public and Natural History Museum staff.

The carol singers refused to be silenced by the ZF and continued with their full repertoire of alternative carols while other campaigners took the opportunity to engage with the public about Veolia and distributed even more literature.

At this point the ZF became even more visibly divided – some desperately tried to calm down their thuggish colleagues but with little success. As the human rights campaigners finished their protest, members of the ZF were last seen arguing loudly and aggressively with Natural History Museum security personnel.

The net result for Veolia and its brand? A public relations disaster.

And with friends like Jonathan Hoffman and his Zionist Federation entourage, Veolia must be wondering who needs enemies?

For more information about Veolia and its activities, visit the BIG Campaign’s Veolia page.

A few of the activists outside Camden Town Hall on Tuesday

Report: London BDS/Photos: Alice

It seems that demonstrations against Veolia are becoming more and more frequent as the campaign against this poisonous company intensifies.

In solidarity with the Palestinian people, human rights activists gathered yesterday outside Camden Town Hall to send a strong and clear message to a meeting of the North London Waste Authority (NLWA) not to shortlist French multinational Veolia for lucrative waste and fuel management contracts across several London boroughs.

Despite the threat of inclement weather and an early morning start, there was a large turnout of activists and groups that included Jews for Justice for Palestinians (JfJfP), the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) and the Tower Hamlets & Jenin Friendship Association.

One banner proclaimed: “Veolia Stinks, Bin It!” Another sign read: “Veolia Must Stop Supporting Israel’s Illegal Settlements.” Other campaigners carried colourful placards, some of which were created by a local artist. A few people had their faces painted and were dressed in white boiler suits, resembling refuse workers.

Most likely as a result of the continued campaign against Veolia, the NLWA has extended its timescale, yet further postponing a decision. 

According to a report by the Tower Hamlets & Jenin Friendship Association, “substantial efforts” have been made to contact councillors and should Veolia be successful in its bid then “councillors cannot claim they did not know about Veolia’s complicity in war crimes.”

One campaigner said: “If Veolia is successful in its bid, then we will ensure that the councillors involved will be held accountable come election time.”

The toxic company has long supported Israel’s illegal infrastructure in the West Bank and East Jerusalem – and the case against it is a strong one.

Veolia has already lost contracts worth billions of pounds throughout the UK and Europe thanks to extensive lobbying and campaigning by human rights activists and organisations who are determined that companies involved in supporting Israel’s illegal occupation will be publicly named and shamed.

Veolia helped to construct and operate the Jerusalem Light Rail tram that links illegal Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem with Israel. The tram tightens the apartheid state’s hold on occupied East Jerusalem and undermines chances of a just peace for both parties.

In the occupied Jordan Valley, Veolia has long supported Israel’s illegal settlements by transporting refuse to its Tovlan landfill facility. Even though Veolia has since sold Tovlan to an illegal settlement, it still maintains an advisory role.

Veolia also operates bus services that connect illegal Israeli settlements to Israel.

Palestinians were – until recently – forbidden from using the apartheid roads on which these buses travel. However, Palestinian use of these roads are still restricted.

Not only do the Israeli Settlements contravene Article 49 of the 4th Geneva Convention forbidding an occupier transferring its own civilians into the territory it occupies, but in most cases the establishment of the Israeli settlements involves war crimes too.

In an attempt to whitewash its unsavoury activities, Veolia is sponsoring the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2011 exhibition at London’s Natural History Museum.

This Saturday, December 17th between 12-2pm, join human rights activists at their fortnightly gathering outside the Museum on Exhibition Road as they inform both visitors and the public about why London and the rest of the UK should bin Veolia. All welcome.

The resistance must be continuous.

Veolia Material Used By Palestinian Rights Campaigners

Report By Isvestia London UK

On Saturday 3 December seventeen human rights campaigners continued the two-weekly protests which have been held outside the Natural History Museum in London. The campaigners were there to alert museum-goers to French multinational Veolia’s sponsorship of the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition and the company’s complicity in helping Israel to commit grave breaches of international and humanitarian laws in Jerusalem and the West Bank. Over the course of two hours, campaigners handed out hundreds of flyers and postcards and talked with many of the passers-by.  Campaigners explained that they were not against the museum or the exhibition itself but were against the museum’s choice of sponsor. They asked members of the public to complain to the museum about Veolia’s sponsorship using the museum’s feedback forms. As on the other occasions, many people said they would do this and expressed their disappointment that the museum could not find a sponsor who is ethical.

While human rights campaigners went about their work, seven Zionist Federation (ZF) supporters gathered to oppose the Palestinian rights campaigners. The Vice Chair of the ZF- Jonathan Hoffman- shouted “Support Veolia! Support Israel!” and something unintelligible about “hospital” and “medication” as he waved a large Israeli flag. This was followed by Hoffman’s usual shouting of “Terrorists” and “Fascists” at the Palestinian rights campaigners. As a result, museum-goers moved to pass him at a distance; others shook their head in disbelief and many just laughed. Hoffman’s fellow ZF supporters also seemed to find his behaviour both bizarre and disturbing because they moved away from him and spent a great deal of their time talking to themselves in small huddles.

For more information about Veolia and why it is a key target of the global Boycott Divestment and Sanctions campaign please go to http://www.bigcampaign.org/veolia/