A toxic company and rotten tomatoes

Campaigners outside Camden Town Hall. Cllr Clyde Loakes is the Chair of the NLWA.

On Friday 10 February, the following letter was published in the Islington Tribune:

Race for £1bn deal

Burning our rubbish is a nice little earner. For this service Islington, along with six other boroughs, will each pay £170m over 25 years.

There are three companies in the race to get their hands on this colossal £1.2bn contract. Today (Friday) one of them will be thrown out.

We hope it will be Veolia.

North London Waste Authority has given very little information on the three tenders. Only two of the bidders included practical solutions to the authority’s objective of combining heat usage in the project, known as CHP. On the other hand, Veolia’s solution is not and could not be CHP.

To confirm this, we researched information from other bodies, including the Infrastructure Planning Commission and the Environment Agency.

Does it surprise anyone that Veolia, which has been accused of profiting from illegal Israeli settlements, shows such disregard for environmental objectives?

Veolia is also bidding to get a £3.5bn contract to process the waste, but the decision on this, involving £500m worth of Islington taxes, will be voted on later this year.
 
Yael Kahn
Islington Friends of Yibna

That very same day, members of the ‘No to Veolia Action Group’  (No2VAG) were outside Camden Town Hall where the North London Waste Authority (NLWA) met to discuss Veolia’s tender for the £1.2 billion contract serving the North London boroughs of Camden, Barnet, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington and Waltham Forest.

It appears that the NLWA does not believe in transparency as the public, who the NLWA are supposed to represent, have not been informed of any decision whether or not Veolia will be excluded. Had the NLWA truly acted in accordance with its own objectives, it would have recommended last December not to shortlist Veolia for the billion pound fuel contract. Hopefully, the NLWA’s decision should be announced sometime next month and will be the right one.

The CHP on the placard refers to "Combined Heat & Power," something that's lacking in Veolia's bid.

Both human rights organisations and campaigners have called for Veolia to withdraw from projects in the occupied territories and cease supporting the infrastructure of settlements that the international community regard as illegal under the 4th Geneva Convention and most people see as morally wrong.

Veolia’s complicity in supporting Israeli war crimes and apartheid runs deep. In addition to building and operating a tramway that links settlements cementing Israel’s hold on occupied East Jerusalem, Veolia also transports settlement refuse to its Tovlan landfill site in the occupied Jordan Valley and operates settler-only bus services under the guise of its subsidiary Connex along Highway 443. This road is often referred to as an apartheid road, since Palestinians are prohibited from using most sections of it.

Thanks in part to pressure from activists and campaigners, Veolia has been losing contracts hand over fist both in the UK and throughout Europe.

In 2011, Ealing Council failed to select the Veolia bid for its domestic refuse, street cleaning and parks maintenance contract that would have been worth about £300m to the troubled company. Later that year, Veolia lost their bid for a £485 million contract for treatment of domestic waste in West London. In addition, Tower Hamlets Council passed a motion calling for its mayor to review its contract with Veolia, the National Union of Students called on its members to campaign against the company and grassroots anti-Veolia campaigns have sprung up in both South and East London.

Veolia also submitted a bid for the colossal £3.5 billion NLWA waste processing contract, but the decision which bid to de-select has been delayed again. The company has since acknowledged the campaign against it, but has refused to withdraw from Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, a decision that has cost it billions.

The next meeting of the NLWA is scheduled for Friday 9th March when members of No2VAG will again be present. In the meantime, if you live in North London (or even if you don’t), it’s worth checking out the Hackney Palestine Solidarity Campaign site for more information about No2VAG.

By artist Ellen Graubart of No2VAG

On Saturday February 11th, campaigners were outside London’s Natural History Museum during the fortnightly protests to raise awareness of Veolia’s corporate complicity in Israel’s violations of international law. Veolia, in an attempt to whitewash their corporate complicity, sponsors the Natural History Museum’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition, which runs until 11 March 2012.

Despite the bitterly cold weather, activists distributed flyers and successfully engaged with museum visitors, the vast majority who expressed their support for the campaign and bitter disappointment with the NHM for their continuing corporate partnership with Veolia.

Here are a few images of the day:

Finally, we were pleased (but not surprised) to find this subvertised package of Israeli vine tomatoes in a Co-op supermarket:

People of conscience are increasingly taking action. Whether it’s in the town hall, on the street, at home, online or while out shopping (especially in a supermarket!), BDS is something that everyone can participate in.

Let’s keep the resistance continuous.

All the hallmarks of Zionism

Report by Steven Fung

Last Saturday, I and a group of other concerned citizens from all over Britain and Ireland went to Hatton Garden, the centre of London’s diamond industry, to protest about its complicity in the blood diamond trade. Specifically, we wanted to highlight the fact that the diamond industry relies on the flawed Kimberley Process, which only monitors where diamonds are mined, but is crucially silent on where these diamonds are cut and polished.

This means that the Kimberley Process can and does label diamonds processed in states with highly dubious human rights records such as Israel, as “conflict free”. We believe that this practice is dishonest and deceptive and provides cover for countries like Israel to persist in their human rights violations with impunity. It lulls ethical shoppers into a false sense of security with regard to their jewellery purchases.

Whilst the general public may well be aware that Israel’s leading exports are agricultural produce such as avocados, various citrus fruits and herbs and is famed for its IT industry, not many people are aware that its biggest export is actually diamonds. In fact, Israel is the world’s leading diamond exporter, accounting for nearly half of all diamonds imported into the United States.

These are most often mined from various African countries who themselves have abysmal human rights records. Israel imports these rough diamonds, paying those African countries a pittance. The diamonds are then cut and polished in Israel, and exported to European and North American markets at a far higher price. Therefore, Israel earns most of the profits. Worst of all, the profits from these blood diamonds go directly to funding its multi-billion dollar arms industry and its ongoing oppression of the Palestinian people.

We have seen how destructive Israel’s mighty military can be, when as recently as December 2008, under cover of the Christmas holidays, missiles and banned weapons such as white phosphorous bombs were unleashed on Palestinian civilians. Most of the 1,600 people killed by these bombs directly funded by blood diamonds were children and women (“terrorists” in the eyes of the Israeli media).

So, in time for Valentine’s Day, when people often buy gems for loved ones, we wanted to expose this deeply unethical trade to shoppers at Hatton Garden. The response to our leafleting and protest was generally very positive, with many passersby coming forward wanting to know more about the UK diamond retailers’ complicity in blood diamonds.

There was, however, one notable exception. An employee from Alexander Craig Jewellers, who clearly was not pleased with our campaigning stood outside and harangued us. He was unable to engage us in a rational and civilised discussion, so instead he resorted to a racist slur. This is what he had to say to Seán Clinton, of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign:

“I can see you’re Irish…(smirks)…so there’s not much point in arguing, is it?”

When Seán asked him what he meant by that, he continued with his racist slur:

“You’re potatoes aren’t you?…a stupid comment for stupid people!”

So there you have it, as we have seen with the Ahava campaign, Israel’s supporters and bedfellows these days are the English Defence League (EDL) and now racist shopkeepers from Hatton Garden.

You have to wonder why these shopkeepers are so defensive about diamonds from Israel that they are prepared to make such incautious remarks. Clearly, if the industry has nothing to hide they would have no problem clarifying to members of the public exactly how these diamonds are “conflict free”.

The fact that they are unable to  – and have to resort to racial insults – instead speaks volumes.

For further information:

Electronic Intifada articles by Seán Clinton:

Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign – Boycott Israeli Diamonds

No Valentine for Israeli blood diamonds

Report/photos by London BDS and IPSC

Saturday 4 February 2012

Members of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign joined London human rights campaigners in Hatton Garden, the centre of London’s jewellery trade, to raise awareness among shoppers and jewellers about the continuing sale of Israeli blood diamonds.

Israel is one of the world’s leading manufacturers and exporters of cut & polished diamonds which generate more than US$ 1 billion (about UK£ 600 million) a year for the Apartheid State. Many jewellers falsely claim Israeli diamonds are “conflict-free” which is totally unjustified, given Israel’s blatant violation of international laws.

Campaigners successfully engaged with and distributed flyers to both shoppers and jewellers informing them why they should avoid purchasing diamonds that were processed in Israel.

Large, colourful banners reading “ISRAELI BLOOD DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER…ON YOUR CONSCIENCE” and “DON’T ENGAGE WITH ISRAELI BLOOD DIAMONDS” were also displayed that attracted attention from both pedestrians and motorists.

Sean Clinton, a leading campaigner against Israeli blood diamonds and one of the activists present said:

“While there is some public awareness about the trade in blood-tainted, rough diamonds from Zimbabwe, the media in general ignores the far larger trade in blood tainted diamonds from Israel. 

According to evidence presented at the London session of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine last year, the Israeli diamond industry generates about US$1 billion in funding for the Israeli military each year. So when someone buys a diamond from Israel they are helping to fund war crimes and other human rights violations in Palestine.”

WHAT YOU CAN DO

  • Urge people who are shopping for jewellery not to purchase a diamond that was processed in Israel. Diamonds that are cut and polished in Israel help fund war crimes, apartheid and oppression.
  • Find out more in Sean’s Electronic Intifada article here.
  • Visit the Boycott Israeli Blood Diamonds Facebook page.

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London’s Natural History Museum is out in the cold

Putting a human face on one of the countless victims of Zionist oppression and apartheid. 17-year-old Yousef Ikhlayl was shot in the head by Israeli settlers near Hebron on 28 January 2011. Natural History Museum take note.

Report/photos by Bruce, London BDS

Saturday 28 January 2012

Despite the bitterly cold temperature, there was a respectable turnout outside London’s Natural History Museum (NHM) with about twenty human rights campaigners, including a few new faces, who engaged with visitors to publicise the NHM’s partnerships with French multinational Veolia and illegal Israeli settlement company Ahava.

Once again, overwhelming public opinion called for the NHM to dump Veolia, who are sponsoring the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition and also sever ties with Ahava, who are partners with the NHM in an EU-funded research project.

2012 has not started on a high note for the NHM. On 17 January, UK newspaper The Independent, published an article entitled Natural History Museum attacked over links to ‘illegal’ Israeli company after a letter was published, signed by 21 leading scientists and film directors, including Mike Leigh and Ken Loach, who condemned the NHM for its partnership with Ahava in a project funded by an EU science grant. This was followed throughout the week by additional negative coverage in publications including The Scientist, ScienceInsider and Nature, as well as by major news agency Reuters.

The NHM, despite having no qualms about accepting government funding and soliciting donations from members of the public, has refused to listen to public opinion and reconsider its decision about its choice of corporate partners. The museum, eager to stifle any debate of the accountability of publicly funded cultural institutions, has also unashamedly banished discussion of the subject from their Facebook page.

Even though flyers were eagerly snapped up by those waiting in the queue desiring additional information, many visitors also welcomed the opportunity to express their disgust with apartheid Israel’s flagrant violations of international law as well its brutal, heavy-handed and inhumane treatment of Palestinians.   

The campaign drew support from people of all ages, cultures and backgrounds ranging from several teenagers to an elderly Jewish man.  “Well done”, “Good for you” and “Thanks for being here” were just a few of the many comments of people who stopped to talk.  

Protesters also remembered 17-year-old Yousef Ikhlayl, a regular participant in Beit Ommar’s non-violent demonstrations against Israeli settlements, who was murdered by Israeli settlers while working in his family’s fields near Hebron on 28 January 2011. One year later, there still have been no arrests in Yousef’s case, thanks to unnecessary delays by Israeli authorities who are not too keen on seeing justice be done.

The rotund Co Vice-Chair and pariah of the Zionist Federation, Jonathan Hoffman was also present outside the NHM to do his bit for the Palestinian cause by proving an excellent Zionist ambassador-at-large by thrusting flyers, shouting at and arguing with the many people he encountered who expressed disgust and outrage over the actions of the Apartheid Zionist State.

Even prior to associating himself and his organisation with the Islamophobic English Defence League, Hoffman has become more and more of an outcast, with many within the UK’s Zionist community taking great pains to distance themselves from him. Aside from one other person, no other Zionist joined Hoffman to defend Israeli racism and apartheid.  

Veolia’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year is currently on tour at venues throughout the UK, including the Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, where campaigners gather every weekend to expose Veolia’s corporate whitewashing.  Campaigners in Oxford and Aberystwyth have also been staging regular demonstrations (see photos below).

Afterwards, it was a trip across town to the ‘Don’t Attack Iran’ rally outside the US Embassy on Grosvenor Square where a statue of a past President warned against getting involved in any future imperialist wars…

Outside the US Embassy, President Eisenhower warns against any more US imperialist military adventures.

The next protest outside London’s Natural History Museum will be on Saturday, February 11th. All welcome!

Here are some images of the day:

Campaigners outside London's Natural History Museum remember 17-year-old Yousef Ikhlayl who was murdered by an Israeli settler.

Being interviewed outside the Natural History Museum.

'Palestine Pete' was 'on hand' (pardon the pun) to entertain young & old alike.

A T-shirt appropriate outside the Natural History Museum AND at the US Embassy rally later that day.

"Palestine Pete" & friends pose for photographers.

Remembering Yousef Ikhlayl outside the US Embassy.

We are not alone: Protest against Veolia's Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition...

...by campaigners outside the Bristol Museum & Art Gallery. Photos: Bristol PSC.

Protesters outside Science Oxford, where Veolia's Wildlife Photographer of the Year is also on tour. Photos: PSC.

Campaigners in Oxford exposing Veolia's corporate whitewashing.

Highly encouraging is the presence of other groups, including Oxford's Women in Black.

Last and certainly least, here's Zionist activist Jonathan Hoffman...

...and his association with the ultra-right, Islamophobic English Defence League that will forever stigmatize him and the UK Zionist Federation. Thanks Jonathan!

The INDEPENDENT: Natural History Museum attacked over links to ‘illegal’ Israeli company

London's Natural History Museum

UPDATED: 23 January

 EXTRA, EXTRA!

 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.  

ARTICLE: Natural History Museum attacked over links to ‘illegal’ Israeli company
The INDEPENDENT, Tuesday 17 January 2012
 
By Cahal MILMO
 

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.

LETTER: Museum must drop West Bank link
The INDEPENDENT, Tuesday 17 January 2012
 

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!

A new year to BIN VEOLIA at London’s Natural History Museum

'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!

“The resistance must be continuous”

London BDS 2011 year in review

By Natasha Lewis and Bruce Levy

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 28th 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.

Zionist Federation Israel Advocacy Training Conference: Another fine mess

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 11th.

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.

Operation Cast Lead massacre in Gaza remembered in London

AWAY AND IN DANGER
Tune: Away in a Manger
Lyrics: Deborah F, Naomi W-I, Sue B and others.
 
Away and in danger, no roof over head,
Their homes were destroyed in Operation Cast Lead, 
The bombs in the bright sky, rained down where they lay,
And for three hundred children ’twas their very last day.
 
The bombing and shelling came time after time,
Is the most moral army ashamed of this crime?
The settlers on hilltops applaud every blast,
World leaders stay silent, their people aghast.
 
It’s time to raise our voices, end the violence and hate,
For people of conscience can no longer wait.
The siege must be broken and justice appear,
So the children of Gaza can live without fear.

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.

Don’t buy the racism of Lacoste

Artwork courtesy of Latuff

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 23rd, 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