About
This summer, 10-15 students from colleges and universities throughout North America will travel to Palestine on a trip designed to strengthen the student Boycott/Divestment/Sanctions (BDS) movement in North America, and to develop long-term relationships with activists in Palestine, particularly student activists.
The trip will include travel within the West Bank and ’48 Palestine (Israel), and as much connection as possible with Gaza (likely through video conference). The travel portion of the trip is intended to give participants the necessary tools to understand and speak about occupation in Palestine and the need for BDS. We will meet with individuals and organizations, visit universities, and participate in a 3-day workshop with Palestinian students designed to share experiences and strategies for further campus organizing. The workshop will be largely student-led, and will include discussions, presentations, and activities about the right to education, academic and cultural boycott, and divestment campaigns.
After the program, students will return to their universities to start or strengthen BDS campaigns, and to organize for Israeli Apartheid Week 2010.
BACKGROUND:
In 2005, a broad base of Palestinian civil society organizations called on the international community to apply boycott, divestment, and sanctions against Israel until it complies with international law and recognizes the rights of Palestinian people. The call has three
demands relating to three different (but overlapping) groups of Palestinian people. The demands are:
“1. Ending its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the Wall;
2. Recognizing the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and
3. Respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194.”
This BDS strategy is based in part on the BDS strategy of the movement in South Africa and around the world that helped bring an end to Apartheid there. Although the Palestinian BDS call is relatively new, we have already seen dozens of successes throughout the world, from academic institutions to unions to municipalities to companies and more.
In 2005, Toronto activists started Israeli Apartheid Week, an annual week of actions and events that has grown to more than 25 cities and has become an important tool for supporting and strengthening the global BDS movement.
For more on the BDS call and the successes: www.bdsmovement.net
For more on Israeli Apartheid Week: www.apartheidweek.org
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