Boycotts beginning to hurt Israel
Boycotts of Israeli products and services by governments gives a boost to boycotts by non-government bodies around the world. Human-rights organizations in Europe are running campaigns to boycott Israeli products. They note that boycott is an especially effective weapon against Israel because Israel is a small country, dependent on exports and imports. They also point to the success of the economic boycott against the apartheid regime in South Africa. The world watched Israel pound Gaza with bombs on live television in Operation Cast Lead. No public-relations machine in the world could explain the deaths of hundreds of children, the destruction of neighborhoods and the grinding poverty afflicting a people under curfew for years. They were not even allowed to bring in screws to build school desks. Then came the flotilla, complete with prominent peace activists, which ended in nine deaths, adding fuel to the fire. Underlying the anger against Israel lies disappointment. Since the establishment of the state, and before, we demanded special terms of the world. We played on their feelings of guilt, for standing idle while six million Jews were murdered. But then came the occupation, which turned us into the evil Goliath, the cruel oppressor, a darkness on the nations. And now we are paying the price of presenting ourselves as righteous and causing disappointment: boycott.
Israeli law to criminalise boycotts
A bill has been introduced in the Israeli Knesset that would criminalise all boycott activities or boycott advocacy inside or outside Israel. The bill would target those that initiate, encourage, or provide assistance or information about boycotts against Israel. Israeli citizens or residents of Israel could be sued by whoever was harmed by the boycott and would have to pay up to ILS 30,000 (EUR 6,500) in restitution and an additional amount according to the harm established by the Israeli courts. Those that are neither citizens nor residents of Israel would lose the ability of entering Israel for at least ten years and would be forbidden from economic activity in Israel, such as holding an account in an Israeli bank or owning property in Israel.
Elvis Costello joins boycott of Israel
It is after considerable contemplation that I have arrived at the decision that I must withdraw from two performances scheduled in Israel. Some will regard [my arguments] unknowable without personal experience but if these subjects are actually too grave and complex to be addressed in a concert, then it is also quite impossible to simply look the other way. One lives in hope that music is more than mere noise, filling up idle time, whether intending to elate or lament. Then there are occasions when merely having your name added to a concert schedule may be interpreted as a political act that resonates more than anything that might be sung and it may be assumed that one has no mind for the suffering of the innocent.
http://www.elviscostello.com/news/it-is-after-cosiderable-contemplation/44
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