An Open Letter to U.S. Senator Ron Wyden
Dear Senator Wyden,
We, the undersigned organizations, represent Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and secular residents of the state of Oregon who are struggling for peace in the Middle East through justice for Palestinians who have been denied equal rights and the right to self-determination for far too long.
In a recent letter to constituents, you stated that you are both "pro-Israeli" and "pro-Palestinian." Unfortunately, your record shows that you are neither.
For Israelis who hope for peace, you have nothing to offer but the status quo, which you back unequivocally every year by voting for $3 billion in military aid to the Israeli government, ensuring that it will continue its policies of settlement expansion, colonization, and authoritarian military rule over millions of Palestinians. You back the most right-wing government in Israel's history, and you gave its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, 37 standing ovations when he recently addressed Congress. He thanked you by openly supporting Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election.
For Palestinians who hope for justice, you are silent in the face of Israeli massacres that have killed hundreds of children and thousands of civilians in attacks that even an American general has called "absolutely disproportionate," a violation of the Geneva Conventions. You are silent in the face of an apartheid legal system and an apartheid system of roads, housing, and water rights in the West Bank. You are silent about the more than 50 laws that discriminate against Palestinians who make up 20 percent of Israel's population. And you say nothing about the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes, even though this right is guaranteed by the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Senator Wyden, you say you oppose the influence of Big Money in our elections, but you dutifully support every resolution proposed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which has a donor network that rivals Wall Street and the National Rifle Association. AIPAC supports every action of the Israeli government. It pushed for the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and it promotes an aggressive military approach toward Iran. It is a racist, militarist lobby that opposes fundamental human rights for Palestinians simply because they are not Jewish. AIPAC does not speak for the Jewish community. Read more: An Open Letter to U.S. Senator Ron WydenPSR Delegation to Gaza includes two Oregonians.
Maxine and Ned of Jewish Voice for Peace - Portland are in Gaza
right now as part of a Physicians for Social Responsibility
delegation!
There are not many organizations able to get into Gaza right now and
we wish Maxine and Ned a safe and successful journey.
You can read more on Maxine's blog:
Activists Welcome SodaStream Decision to Shut Down Settlement Factory
[See original article for links]
For Immediate Release: October 29th, 2014
Activists Welcome SodaStream Decision to Shut Down Settlement Factory
Contact Ramah Kudaimi at 202-332-0994 or
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.
Washington, DC-- Palestinian rights activists are welcoming today's announcement by SodaStream that it will be relocating its factory currently based in an illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank.
SodaStream, which manufactures home carbonating devices, has been the target of boycott campaigns worldwide due to the location of its main production site in the Mishor Adumim Industrial Zone and concealing the fact that its products are manufactured in a settlement by using "Made in Israel" labels.
The company has also come under fire for exploiting Palestinian land, resources, and labor, paying its Palestinian workers far less than their Israeli counterparts. In July the company fired 60 of its Palestinian workers over a Ramadan meal dispute.
"We have witnessed a tremendous growth in boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) efforts this year to pressure Israel to ends its denial of Palestinian rights. Today's news is just the latest sign that these global BDS campaigns are having an impact on changing the behavior of companies that profit from Israeli occupation and apartheid," said Ramah Kudaimi of the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, a national coalition of more than 400 groups.
Read more: Activists Welcome SodaStream Decision to Shut Down Settlement Factory
SodaStream boycott - Your chance to complain and feel great about it!
SodaStream boycott - Your chance to complain and feel great about it!
SodaStream Boycott Advocates,
We’re writing to ask that you stop by a local Kitchen Kaboodle store to request that they stop selling SodaStream products. You won’t be the only one stopping by to register your complaint. We’re asking all SodaStream boycott advocates to join in a Marathon Complaint Session in late October & early November. For three days, we’ll flood Kitchen Kaboodle with personal requests to stop selling SodaStream products. We’re doing this to send the store owners a strong message about the importance of de-shelving SodaStream products, and a strong message about our ability to mount a serious public boycott effort should they continue selling SodaStream products.
The Marathon Complaint Session is scheduled for Friday, October 31st, Saturday, November 1st and Monday, November 3rd.
To participate in the Marathon Complaint Session, simply decide which Kitchen Kaboodle store you wish to visit, then click on the link for that store:
Ø To select the Northeast Portland Store at 1520 N.E. Broadway Street at 16thAvenue, click here: Sign-up sheet for Northeast Portland Store
Ø To select the Northwest Portland Store at 404 N.W. 23rd Avenue at Flanders Street, click here: Sign-up sheet for the Northwest Portland Store
After you register for a time slot at one of these stores, we’ll send you specific instructions for the event, including suggested wording for your verbal complaint.
Read more: SodaStream boycott - Your chance to complain and feel great about it!
Survey: Nearly one-quarter of Jewish-Israelis boycotting Arab businesses
Some 51 percent of those surveyed also said that businesses that do not fire employees who criticize the Israel Defense Forces should be boycotted
JERUSALEM (JTA) — One in four Jewish-Israeli consumers is boycotting Arab businesses in the wake of the summer’s Gaza conflict, according to an Israeli business daily.
The 24 percent is down from the 29 percent who said they were boycotting Arab-owned businesses during the 50-day Operation Protective Edge, Globes reported, citing a telephone survey by the Tel Aviv-based Geocartography Knowledge Group research institute. The number was down significantly from the 47 percent of Jewish-Israelis who said during the operation that they planned to boycott such businesses.
Some 51 percent of those surveyed also said that businesses that do not fire employees who criticize the Israel Defense Forces should be boycotted, and that some 11 percent of Jewish-Israelis are boycotting such businesses. Another 40 percent said they would boycott such businesses if they could identify them, the survey found.
Globes quoted unnamed sources among suppliers who said that sales to Arab-owned markets are down substantially in recent months.
Read more: http://www.jta.org/2014/10/01/news-opinion/israel-middle-east/survey-nearly-one-quarter-of-jewish-israelis-boycotting-arab-businesses
- Move on? Work to reclaim Univ. of Illinois has has only just begun
- Israel’s N.S.A. Scandal
- 7500 New Settlers Moved Into West Bank, Jerusalem, Settlements In Six Months
- Israeli intelligence veterans refuse to serve in Palestinian territories
- Israeli military demolishes West Bank dairy factory benefitting orphans despite court appeal
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