BNC Statement

BDS Global Day of Action - March 30 2011

Read the latest reports from the day of action here. Occupied Palestine-March 31st, 2011 - The Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC) is heartened by the BDS actions that took place in over 60 cities around the world in commemoration of Land Day and the Third Global BDS Day of Action. Palestinian Land Day commemorates the day in 1976 when Israeli military forces shot and killed six young Palestinian citizens of Israel.

Read the latest reports from the day of action here.

Occupied Palestine-March 31st, 2011 - The Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC) is heartened by the BDS actions that took place in over 60 cities around the world in commemoration of Land Day and the Third Global BDS Day of Action.

Palestinian Land Day commemorates the day in 1976 when Israeli military forces shot and killed six young Palestinian citizens of Israel. They were among thousands protesting the government’s expropriation of  Palestinian land to build new Jewish-only settlements and expand existing ones. Today, Land Day symbolizes Palestinian resistance to the ongoing Israeli occupation, colonization and apartheid against all segments of the Palestinian people.

In response to a call issued by the BNC, activists in over 60 cities around the world, including New York, Gaza, Berlin, London, Toronto, San Francisco, Lisbon, Paris, Rabat, Buenos Aires, and Melbourne, have taken action or organized special events in support of Palestinian rights. Actions included:

-         New York: A flash mob at the Grand Central Station, where more than thirty activists sang for BDS and Palestinian rights to the tune of Journey’s ‘don’t stop believing.’

-         Gaza: A special panel co-organized by Al-Aqsa University (Gaza) and the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) that featured (via internet) leading South African author and activist, Ronnie Kasrils, editor of the Electronic Intifada, Ali Abunimah, and PACBI Steering Committee member, Dr. Haidar Eid.

-         Berlin: A protest outside the offices of Deutsche Bahn urging them to pull out of Israel’s A1 train line, which passes through occupied territory in violation of international law. The German government recently announced that it may force Deutsche Bahn to pull out of the project.

-         London: A creative protest action at the UK headquarters of Veolia, a French multinational that has been excluded from public procurement contracts throughout Europe as a result of itsinvolvement in infrastructure projects for Israel’s illegal colonial settlements inside occupied Palestinian territory.

-         Paris: A flash mob in front of Tour Eiffel, where more than thirty activists sang for BDS and Palestinian rights.

-         The launch of the new BDSmovement.net website, a portal for the global movement for Palestinian rights.

-         The release of a potentially explosive report produced by Stop the Wall on the disconcerting growing military relations between Brazil and Israel.

-         The launch of an international campaign to stop the Jewish National Fund, a key pillar of the colonization of Palestine, and to strip of it of its charitable status.

More action reports are still flooding in and further actions will take place this coming Saturday. See www.bdsdayofaction.net for further details.

The BDS Day took place as the global BDS movement continues to expand at an unprecedented rate. Earlier this month, the University of Johannesburg set a historic precedent when it severed links with Ben Gurion University, and activities for the seventh global Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) took place in more than 100 cities around the world. Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters recently endorsed BDS in a Guardian op-ed.

“We are buoyed by the creative and principled actions taken by activists worldwide to commemorate Palestine’s Land Day and the Global BDS Day of action,” said BNC Coordinator in Palestine, Hind Awwad.

“There is no doubt that the spectacular revolutionary transformations taking place in the Arab region, particularly in Tunisia and Egypt, have inspired many more social movements, activists, artists, academics, feminists, faith-based organizations and students around the world to join the BDS movement for justice and Palestinian rights. The spread of BDS actions in over 100 cities during Israeli Apartheid Week, and 60 during the Global BDS Day of Action, is a strong indicator of this exponential growth of the movement.”

“Today, we urge people of conscience everywhere to join the global BDS campaign until Israel ends its occupation, colonization and apartheid and complies with international law,” Awwad added.

www.bdsdayofaction.net

For more information, please use the contact form.

 


SHARE

Stay updated!

Sign-up for news, campaign updates, action alerts and fundraisers from the BDS movement.

Subscribe Now