First a part of a Statement of H.E. Father Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann, President of the UN General Assembly, 57th plenary meeting on agenda item 16, The Question of Palestine
United Nations, New York, 24 November 2008 (excerpts):
I spoke this morning about apartheid and how Israeli policies in the Occupied
Palestinian Territories appear so similar to the apartheid of an earlier era, a
continent away.
I believe it is very important that we in the United Nations use this term. We must not be afraid to call something what it is. It is the United Nations, after all, that passed the International Convention against the Crime of Apartheid, making clear to all the world that such practices of official discrimination must be outlawed wherever they occur.
We heard today from a representative of South African civil society. We know that all around the world, civil society organizations are working to defend Palestinian rights, and are trying to protect the Palestinian population that we, the United Nations, are failing to protect.
More than twenty years ago we in the United Nations took the lead from civil
society when we agreed that sanctions were required to provide a nonviolent means of pressuring South Africa to end its violations.
Today, perhaps we in the United Nations should consider following the lead of a
new generation of civil society, who are calling for a similar non-violent campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions to pressure Israel to end its violations.
Action 1: Everyone is encouraged to have Israel apartheid events March 1-8 (part of an international campaign) http://apartheidweek.org
Action 2: Boycott, divest, sanction: Israeli Coalition of Women for Peace sets up a data base of who profits from the occupatiobn http://www.whoprofits.org
Action 3: Carleton University banned a poster that they claim is offensive (a reality that happened hundreds of times in Palestine is depicted by this Carlos Latuff cartoon)
View the poster here
http://www.apartheidweek.org/sites/apartheidweek.org/files/Israeli%20Apartheid%20Week%202009%20poster.jpg
Then email the Carleton University President, Roseanne Runte, at presidents_office@ carleton. ca demanding that she immediately restore the Charter rights of Carleton students and send a copy of your message of support to Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA Carleton) at saia.carleton@ gmail.com
Action 4: Amnesty International urges freeze on arms sales to Israel (write to them and thank them) http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1066231.html
Action 5: Donate to the Gaza University Reconstruction campaign.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10308.shtml
Action 6: President Obama to Sanction Israel? Write to the US government (also protest the appointment of an Israeli lobbyist as senior advisor on Iran, Dennis Ross who worked for AIPAC offshoot WINEP)
http://endtheoccupation.org/article.php?id=1867
Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD
Bethlehem University
A Bedouin in cyberspace, a villager at home
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