Last month, the Coalition of Women for Peace issued a statement reaffirming its call for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) of Israel. The Coalition is an Israeli feminist group fighting to end the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
In July 2011, Israel made it illegal to call for BDS. The Coalition sued, saying that the law violated the freedom of speech and political expression. The group condemned the law as “a clear political attempt to silence legitimate and justified criticism against…the ongoing occupation and oppression of the Palestinian people.” The Israeli High Court upheld the law in April of this year.
The Coalition’s statement defies this law, repeating the call for boycott, divestment and sanctions of Israeli businesses and institutions. It condemns the law as undemocratic, emphasizing that BDS is recognized as a legitimate tool of nonviolent movements around the world. The Coalition calls on all organizations opposing the occupation of Palestine, particularly feminist movements in Israel, to resist the anti-BDS law.
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How will the latest anti-boycott law ruling affect BDS?, The Jerusalem Post, 17 April 2015.
Israel’s anti-boycott law to ‘muzzle’ Palestinians, Aljazeera, 12 May 2015.