Looking for Trouble

Canadians, Europeans take lead in campaign to boycott Israeli goods

I’ve been posting a lot about Gaza and Israel lately, and, yes, I do know there are many more issues out there worthy of consideration. But I just can’t seem to help myself. It is, after all, one of the most important conflicts the United States is involved in, along with Iraq and Afghanistan.

And, if you don’t think we are up to our necks into this conflict, then I can’t tell you much. You shouldn’t even be here. Israel receives around $3 billion in direct foreign assistance every year from the United States, about one-fifth of our foreign aid budget.

That said, I do plan to write about some other countries – right after this.

There has been a growing movement in Canada and Europe, mostly, to boycott goods made in Israel in an effort to get the Israeli government to restart serious negotiations toward a lasting peace in the Middle East. So far, efforts by some groups here in the United States haven’t gained the momentum seen elsewhere.

Click here to view the site for the U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel. It has links to boycott sites around the world.

Meanwhile, yesterday, the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA), a Canadian group, staged some creative nonviolent, and sometimes very entertaining, demonstrations to focus public attention on a couple of companies who deal in Israeli products.

Here is a video of those demos:

While I’m posting, I should mention the International Campaign in Support of Palestinian Political Prisoners. Addameer and other human rights and activist groups are calling for “days of action” during the week of April 11 – 17 in support of Palestinian political prisoners.

April 17, 2010 marks the 34th anniversary of Palestinian Political Prisoners Day. Several Palestinian organizations and solidarity groups feel it is a critical time to focus on these sometimes forgotten “heroes” of the struggle to liberate Palestine.

There are a total of 7,300 Palestinian prisoners, including 33 women and 300 children.
For more information visit:
www.freepalestinianprisoners.com