3-6-2017 Knesset Bill Banning BDS Supporters from Israel Damages Israel’s Democracy - And Helps BDS Movement, J Street Press Release



http://jstreet.org/press-releases/knesset-bill-banning-bds-supporters-israel-damages-israels-democracy-helps-bds-movement/#.WL-BooW_5Oh


 

"J Street is alarmed by the Knesset's passage of a bill that bans entry to Israel of foreign nationals who call for economic, cultural or academic boycotts of either Israel or the territory it controls beyond the Green Line. The bill is the latest piece of Israeli legislation to undermine Israel's own democratic principles and its international standing. As a liberal democracy, Israel should be able to tolerate non-violent political protest and dissent, no matter how much it disagrees with the ideology or goals of BDS supporters…..We note that there are strong supporters and friends of Israel who participate in or advocate for targeted boycotts of the settlement enterprise beyond the Green Line, motivated by a desire to oppose the occupation and support the two-state solution. While J Street does not share their views, we respect their motivations and we are outraged by the idea that they would be denied entry to Israel on the basis of political discrimination. We hope that all those who care about Israel's future and about its democracy will oppose this bill, and we urge the the Knesset and the Israeli government to take steps to overturn or revoke this dangerous and counterproductive legislation."

 

 

 

Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

6-22-2017 Gaza power plant back on, with help of alliance of old foes - FARES AKRAM AND MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH Times of Israel

http://www.timesofisrael.com/gaza-power-plant-back-on-with-help-of-alliance-of-old-foes/   Egypt, Hamas and Abbas's former ally Mohammad Dahlan reportedly join forces against the Palestinian Authority to restore electricity to Gaza… The sole power plant in electricity-starved Gaza Strip sputtered back to life Thursday after receiving fuel from Egypt — a shipment that resulted from a surprising alliance between bitter ex-rivals, including the territory's ruling Hamas and an exiled former Gaza strongman.   Egypt's shipment of 1 million liters of fuel undercut a high-stakes campaign by Western-backed Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas who is trying to weaken Hamas by gradually reducing the flow of electricity to the territory he lost to the militants in 2007…   ...Dahlan helped persuade Egypt to send the badly needed fuel to Gaza, in exchange for Hamas allowing him to broaden his political presence in Gaza, according to officials involv...
Read more

5-29-2019 Israel Is Using Archeology To Erase Non-Jewish History - Talya Ezrahi and Yonathan Mizrachi Forward

  https://forward.com/opinion/425059/jerusalems-archaeological-sites-are-now-a-battle-ground-for-israeli/ …The exploitation of archaeology in Jerusalem has been spearheaded by the Elad Foundation , a group of settlers turned archaeology entrepreneurs, who are using ancient sites to take over land and shape the historical narrative. Elad, which emerged 30 years ago with a mission to settle Jews in Palestinian homes in the neighborhood of Silwan, manages the popular archaeological park, the City of David. …Jerusalem's history is as varied as it is long. While there is no doubt that there is awealth of finds to excite one's sense of Jewish continuity, there are many layers to this city which appeal to a variety of cultural and religious communities. Claiming exclusive ownership based on archaeological finds is not a reflection of archaeological discoveries but an act of story-telling where large pieces of history are edited out.   Posted by Judith Fe...
Read more

10-5-2018 The Trouble With ‘Preventing Palestine’ - As’ad AbuKhalil Consortium News

  https://consortiumnews.com/2018/10/05/the-trouble-with-preventing-palestine/   Seth Anziska's new book on the Arab-Israeli "peace process" is a useful primer on the conflict, but it does not fully examine the paradox of the Carter administration's solution that we are still living with, argues… This book will serve as a useful introduction for courses on the Arab-Israeli conflict on college campuses. It provides an interesting and comprehensive chronicle of the peace process since Carter's administration.   But the paradox of the Carter administration (and of this book) is that the administration that did the most (in theory) to find a comprehensive solution (on terms that are far more agreeable to the Israeli side than to the Palestinian side) is the same administration paved the way for greater Israeli occupation and aggression by taking Egypt out of the equation so Israel could fight on one front for the first time… Posted by Judith Ferste...
Read more