Palestinian Human Rights Activist Omar Barghouti addressed a standing-room only crowd as he condemned Israel's basic denial of Palestinians' right to water and renewed the call for an international campaign of boycott, divestment, and sanctions against Israeli apartheid. The event at Loyola Law School in LA's Pico Union neighborhood formally launched the "Thirsting for Justice" campaign, which attempts to redress the question of water rights in Palestine by taking aim at an agreement between the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and Israel water technology company called Kinrot. Barghouti spoke at length about Palestinian access to water, citing a just-released Amnesty International report. He also made a strong case why people in Los Angeles and around the US who stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people must take up the boycott/divestment/sanctions movement (BDS) as a central piece of their work.

The event was organized by BDS-LA, a new grassroots coalition dedicated to building the movement for boycott, domestic and sanctions in LA and co-founded in June, 2009 by IJAN-LA, the LA Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, and the Campaign to End Israel Apartheid-Southern California. BDS-LA developed the Thirsting for Justice campaign after discovering a preliminary agreement between the city's water department and the Israel water company -- an agreement directly linked to a trip of Los Angeles political leaders to Israel to promote relations between Los Angeles and Israel. BDS-LA members argue that Los Angeles should not be doing business with companies directly linked to Israeli apartheid. The campaign calls on the city to dispense with any plan to carry forward the preliminary agreement and to commit not to engage in any further business collaboration with Israel around water issues.

IJAN-LA held a 4-part workshop series in October and November of 2009 to educate LA Jews about the history of Zionism, Palestinian resistance, and the reality of current struggle.

Sixteen people attended this work geared specifically for Jews who self-identify as anti-Zionist or are "questioning" Zionism and want to learn more. Three out of the four workshops were 3-hour sessions with readings assigned to participants for each. Each session included one section of a historical timeline of the Palestine-Zionist conflict from 1880's to the present. They also included presentations and discussions on "Basic Principles of Zionism", "The Jewish and Palestinian National Questions" and "Historic and Contemporary Resistance to Zionism." This last segment highlighted tendencies and dynamics in the long history of Palestinian resistance to Zionism as well as contemporary Palestine solidarity organizing and the role of Jews within this movement (emphasizing IJAN's understanding of the role of Jews.) For the fourth "session" of the workshop, we attended the BDS-LA-organized Omar Barghouti speaking engagement at Loyola Law School, which gave participants a very cogent argument for boycott, divestment, and sanctions as a core strategy for challenging Zionism and Israeli apartheid in the world at the moment.

Activists dressed as Israeli Soldiers challenged cars entering AIPAC Fundraiser at the Universal Hilton to draw attention to AIPAC’s support of Israeli war crimes in Gaza and ongoing discrimination and apartheid conditions for Palestinians.  (read more...)

 

 

Early this morning, Jewish activists in a historic first in Los Angeles, chained themselves to the entrance of the Israeli Consulate and blocked the driveway to the parking structure, blocking all traffic in and out of the building.  "We sent a clear message to the world that LA Jews are part of the global majority in opposition to the Israeli siege of Gaza,"  said Lenny Potash a 72-year old protester who was cuffed to eight other activists, blocking the driveway to the consulate.  The activists were joined by 50 other supporters and who chanted "LA Jews say, End the Siege of Gaza" and  "Not in Our Name! We will Not be Silent!"  Protesters also held up signs reading "Israeli Consulate: Closed for War Crimes."

"We succeeded today in letting Jews and other Americans of conscience know that it is safe to speak out against the policies of the Israeli government and that the Israeli lobby does not speak for everyone," said Robin Ellis, a Registered Nurse who also risked arrest to block the consulate entrance. "We are committed to escalating non-violent activities in the future to end the siege and win justice for Palestinians," Ellis said.

The group of activists were an  ad-hoc, multi-generational group of LA Jewish residents, including members of the recently founded International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network.  They shared a commitment to ending the  Israeli siege on Gaza and an end to Israeli apartheid. The demonstration will kick off a wave of demonstrations across the United States uniting Palestinians, Jewish people, and other Americans outraged by the siege.

"We are shocked and outraged at Israeli's latest act of violent aggression against the Palestinian people. Killing over 950 people, including 250 women and children, bombing schools and mosques and then calling it self-defense—that is the worst kind of hypocrisy. It also amounts to war crimes," said Hannah Howard, a local member of the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network. "We shut down the Israeli consulate today because as Jewish people we cannot allow business as usual while violence is being done in our name."

Action participants  also spoke out against the US government's unconditional support for Israel's siege and its ongoing war against the Palestinian people. "While US-funded F16's rain down bombs on the people of Gaza, our elected officials locally and nationally offer unqualified support." said Marsha Steinberg, a retired union representative. "Our government must stop sending billions of dollars in military and economic aid to the Israeli war machine," Goldberg said. In the coming week, concerned Americans from all backgrounds will call on the new Presidential administration to make a 180 degree change in policy.

 

A short video produced by members of IJAN:

Click here for raw and edited video footage and photographs.

Press Coverage so far:

• Huffington Post
• LA Times
• KTLA
• KCAL / CBS 2
• ABC 7
• Fox 11
• The Jewish Journal
• KFWB
• KFI AM
• KPFK (start listening around 45min)
• People's Daily Online (China)
• China View
• Trend News

For background information on the situation in Gaza, click here: 

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