Saturday May 11 is International Boycott Israeli Goods (BIG) day. This is a global initiative, which aims to bring pressure on the Israeli government to 1)end its illegal occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem 2)stop its human rights violations and 3)comply with UN resolutions. We aim to bring awareness to the consumer that the choice of goods purchased can make a difference as it did to South Africa. By boycotting Israeli products and leisure tourism we are also letting the besieged Palestinian people know that they are not forgotten.

As well as the Boycott of Israeli goods and services, the Campaign aims to persuade businesses to stop trading with Israel and to lobby for an end to European Union and national trade agreements with Israel.

The fact is that money talks. Businesses will abandon their support of Israel if their economic interests are threatened. These boycott campaigns will continue to grow until Israel withdraws from the occupied territories, respects human rights, and obeys International law.

THINK GLOBALLY AND ACT LOCALLY

In addition to their economic effects, activists can and have used boycotts and divestment campaigns as educational tools. We must educate universities, corporations, and consumers about the support we provide Israeli aggression by our purchases and investments. Reports from activists have been encouraging and are similar to the early successes that grew quickly into the pressure on South Africa that ended Apartheid. Let us do for the Palestinians what the world did for the South Africans.



TAKE IT FROM THE SOUTH AFRICANS

To mark the UN anti-racism conference in Durban, the South Africa Palestine Solidarity Committee recently issued a statement, which said:

"We, South Africans who have lived through apartheid cannot be silent as another entire people are treated as non-human beings; people without rights or human dignity and facing daily humiliation.

"We cannot permit a ruthless state to use military jets, helicopter gun ships and tanks on civilians. We cannot accept state assassinations of activists, the torture of political prisoners, the murder of children and collective punishment