“You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.”
Mahatma Gandhi
Gaza and the West Bank: scenes of a post-apocalyptic Palestine. You’re horrified at the videos of the real-time genocide of the Palestinians. Some 62,000 dead, including at least 18,000 children.
By April the bombs dropped on a Gaza where no-one can leave were equivalent to six Hiroshimas. Gaza has been declared by the UN as an official famine. Starving people are shot by snipers at aid points as they scramble for flour.
Foreign reporters are banned, local reporters slaughtered – over 224 so far.
Over in the West Bank, civilians are kidnapped and tortured to death. Palestinian property is regularly stolen by Israeli “settlers” who kill Palestinians with impunity.
Israel has broken international laws concerning war crimes, crimes against humanity, crimes of aggression and genocide.
Yet the inaction of our UK government reeks of complicity.
You might be forgiven for believing there’s nothing you can do after 23 months of horrors, beyond sharing the Facebook posts and going on the occasional demo.
But there’s strength in numbers and plenty more we can all do. It boils down to three words: Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions – or BDS.
Boycott
Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) has a Don’t Buy Apartheid campaign. They are heavily promoting a boycott of fresh fruit and vegetables from Israel. Many of these export cash crops are grown on newly-stolen land in the West Bank.
The latest Private Eye (Issue no 1656) reports Office for National Statistics data showing fruit and vegetable imports from Israel for April to June were less than half that of the previous quarter.
But given that the reduced import value still amounted to £20.3mn, there’s more to be done.
PSC targets companies that are involved in the violation of Palestinian human rights and enabling the Zionist regime.
The Don’t Buy Apartheid campaign includes a boycott of Coca Cola, HP, AXA, AHAVA, Sabra and McDonald’s.
Their Boycott Barclays campaign focuses on the bank’s financial ties to companies supplying Israel with weapons.
PSC has a boycott toolbox on their website.
Campaigners are also encouraged to inform retailers that their Israel-origin goods are being boycotted.
Cooperative Party members went a few steps further, pushing through an AGM motion in May (with 73% support) for their retail wing to cease selling Israeli goods. So shopping at the good old Co-op is also an option.
If you want to go further and boycott a broader range of Israeli goods and services then check out the global BDS website which is run by Palestinians.
Divestment
We don’t have to be rich to have an impact on investment in Israeli companies or other firms that facilitate the genocide. The vast sums managed by local authority pension schemes can make us all act like billionaires.
Over the last few years there has been an obstacle to divestment in the shape of the anti-Boycott Bill (officially the Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill ) which would limit decisions public bodies could make on political matters. But the bill failed to complete its progress through Parliament before the General Election and the current government has dropped it.
This means that pension schemes can divert their investments from Zionism to, say, financing local social housing projects or other low-risk local investments.
PSC tell us that nationally 17 councils have already committed to directing their pension funds to divest from Israel-linked companies.
You can lobby your councillors to introduce a council motion requiring their pension scheme to divest from companies involved with Israel.
If you’re connected to an educational institution, find out if they’re invested in Israel and if so launch a divestment campaign if one doesn’t exist already.
There’s another way of lobbying companies connected to Israel and that’s by AGM action on the few PSC-selected companies that are headquartered in the UK.
It involves buying one share in the company and turning up to their AGM with pertinent questions. PSC already do this with Barclays.
Sanctions
The government talks the talk on sanctions but does very little in practice. The major Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems is expected to win a UK government training contract worth £2bn.
You can write to your MP to pressure the government to take action against the genocide.
For example, the UK could cancel their preferential trade agreement – which includes a clause on human rights!
The UK-Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement “provides that respect for democratic principles and human rights constitute an essential element of the Agreement. The Agreement also adopts, as a main objective, the encouragement of regional cooperation with a view to the consolidation of peaceful coexistence and economic and political stability.” says the government website.
You could also lobby your MP to go further and push for a trade embargo and removal of intelligence support.
PM Starmer could put pressure on Trump who could end the horror with one phone call to Netanyahu.
Don’t write directly to David Lammy the Foreign Secretary or Starmer, instead send your letter to your MP and ask for it to be forwarded to them.
That’s because there’s an unwritten parliamentary convention that Ministers of State must reply to all MPs’ letters. If Lammy or Starmer don’t reply, or your MP fails to forward your letter, you can slap them with a parliamentary Code of Conduct complaint.
You can also check if your MP is a “Friend of Israel” (Conservative or Labour. Watch the Al Jazeera documentary ‘The Lobby’ available on YouTube for more on the Friends of Israel connection to the Israeli Embassy.
Does your MP accept donations from Israel-linked companies? Check on the parliamentary Register of Financial Interests.
At Companies House you can check if your MP is a director of Israel-linked firms.
PSC is organising a mass lobby of Parliament on Wednesday 10 September from 2 – 5.30 pm. Click here to register.
And what about..
And don’t stop writing letters and making formal complaints: about the BBC’s bias, or MP comments, or police behaviour at demonstrations. Copy your letters onto social media. It might seem a small gesture but, like votes, enough can move mountains.
Has every group and organisation you’re a member of protested? Can you get them to send letters? Your union, church, education institution all have a part to play.
Of course you can also join PSC for up to date action in your area, join Amnesty and local Facebook groups, donate to Medical Aid for Palestinians. And keep sharing the social media and joining the demos.
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