israel crimes and boycott

Israel’s war crimes warrant an economic boycott
January 18, 2006
tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=1/18/2006&Cat=4&Num=7

The recent proposal by the Socialist Left Party in Norway to boycott Israeli products has sparked debate. A rational analysis of the situation should cover two questions: Do Israeli human rights violations warrant an economic boycott? and can such a boycott end these violations?

Although Israel’s human rights violations have been addressed by several rights groups, its real record on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory is not well known. This is mainly due to the great efforts by Israel’s public relations industry as well as its use of intimidation tactics, such as labeling critics of Israeli policies anti-Semitic.

However, international human rights organizations have documented the series of Israeli rights violations against the Palestinians, describing them as amounting to the level of war crimes and crimes against humanity. These include; Illegal killings.

While the media focuses on the attacks by the Palestinian resistance against Israeli targets, it rarely mentions Israel’s record of killing civilians. ....

If singling out South Africa for an international economic boycott was defensible, it would seem equally defensible to single out Israel, which resembles the apartheid regime.

The burden now falls on individual states that want to respect their obligations under international law. In a bold move, the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch recently called on the U.S. government to reduce its financial aid to Israel until it ends it illegal policies in the occupied territories.

An economic boycott is a fair decision to pressure Israel. It is a nonviolent tactic that could achieve a just and lasting settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; a move that Israel cannot label anti-Semitic.