Tag Archives: BDS

DSA votes for BDS. NYT’s Jerusalem bureau chief says they self-censor and Israel practices apartheid.

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

90% of the delegates to the Democratic Socialists of America 2017 convention voted to adopt Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS). The text of the resolution read: 1. Democratic Socialists of America declares itself in solidarity with Palestinian civil society’s nonviolent struggle against apartheid, colonialism, military occupation and for equality, human rights, and self-determination. 2. Democratic Socialists of America responds to Palestinian Civil Society’s call by fully supporting BDS. 3. Democratic Socialists of America affirms that any political solution to the ongoing crisis must be premised on the realization of basic human rights, including all rights outlined in the BDS call. … Continue reading →

Democratic senators murmur openness to altering language of Anti-BDS bill & Open Thread

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Happy Saturday progressive friends! A blustery one here today in CT. We are just north of the real action, weather-wise, today. Cool and great for the yardwork and housepainting I’m about to tackle. Saw this just now and wanted to share what I think is a misleadingly-titled story from The Intercept: Senators Promise to Amend Israel Boycott Bill After Backlash First of all, I don’t read any ‘promises’ in the story and, second of all, forget amending the bill, scrap it! Sen. Ben Cardin (MD): “A lot of the co-sponsors are pretty strongly committed to the freedom of speech,” Cardin … Continue reading →

Senate/House bill would make it a felony to support a boycott of Israel.

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Senate bill 720 seeks to criminalize speech supporting a boycott of Israel. The bill is meant to target the growing BDS movement. Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) is a Palestinian-led movement for freedom, justice and equality. BDS upholds the simple principle that Palestinians are entitled to the same rights as the rest of humanity. Inspired by the South African anti-apartheid movement, the BDS call urges action to pressure Israel to comply with international law. This anti-boycott bill is part of a long tradition that seeks to undermine labor, civil rights and liberation movements employing non-violent protest. I’ll explore the history of anti-boycott laws … Continue reading →

Israel’s occupation has lasted 50 years, it’s on track to run for 50 more.

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

As the 50th anniversary of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza approaches, there will be several lengthy retrospectives. One of the better ones was, surprisingly, published by the NY Times today. Nathan Thrall is a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group. He’s also the author of “The Only Language They Understand: Forcing Compromise in Israel and Palestine.” he makes a persuasive case that the Israeli occupation is on track to run another 50 years, aided and abetted by the US. The widely held misconception that the occupation is unsustainable and prone to collapse any minute now, under the weight … Continue reading →

#BDS, New Sign of Hope as Lutherans Take Action

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

In the interest of full disclosure, I must say that I was raised as a Lutheran.  Because of that, I have been keeping a close eye on what the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has been doing up until now about BDS, the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement, that brought down apartheid in South Africa, as it applies to the Occupation of Palestine and the grossly discriminatory system of apartheid that the Israelis use today. It was the huge American churches divesting from South Africa which finally brought an end to apartheid (to oversimplify the situation), and many US churches have … Continue reading →