Palestine-zionism and Peace

8/7/2019 Palestine-zionism and Peace

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The Federation of Student Islamic Societies in the UK and Ireland 'This booklet has been designed to counter some of t t i c b 11t11titsthat have Ibeen raised on campus during the past year wit h recj~i lr l .~ Palestine,Israel an d Zionism. British campuses have seen a grtBcll111~~i lof

misinformation and forceful propaganda; the balanccl I11t't ~ ' I ~ I It' must beredressed by providing arguments and facts. This booklt.l I . . , I~owever,

II

only skeletal and more research is required by t he i n d ~ v l t l ~ ~ ~ ~ lIII order tobe more fully equipped on the issues.

8

Q. WHY DID THE PALESTINIANS REJECT THE 'PEACE

PROCESS'?

A. Since the collapse of the 'peace' talk s at Camp David, Is rael has

successfully waged a propaganda war to persuade the world that the

Palestinians are to be blamed for the collapse of the talks. Despite the

claims by the Israelis that 96% of th e Occupied Territories were

turned down by th e Palestinians, Robert Malley - President Clinton's

special advisor on Palestinian-

Israeli affairs-

says th at Clinton andBarak were equally responsible for the failure of the Camp David ini -

tiat ive (The Price of Camp David, Edward Said).

Firstly, Barak failed t o honour previous Isra eli agreements, assurances

which Clinton had guaranteed to Arafat personally. Barak had failed to

fulfil the promise to withdraw f rom three villages around Jerusalem

and to release Palestinian prisoners: instead, he allowed the rapid

construction of new illegal settlements on Palestinian land.

Further, the media reported that the Palestinians demanded the return

of 100% of the Occupied land and, failing this, opted for the Al -Aqsa

Intifida. I n reality, the 96% figure refers to th e portion of land over

which the Israelis were prepared to negotiate, and not the entireOccupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. Left out of the equation were

East Jerusalem - illegally occupied by Israel since 1967 - the huge

belt of Jewish settlements around the city and a 10 mile wide military

buffer around the Palestinian territories, along with the obligation to

lease back settlements built illegally under international law on

Palestinian land. The total Palestinian land on offer was actually

46% of the Occupied Territories (The Independent, 23rd July

2001).

The Israelis only offered 'control' over some Palestinian streets in

Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque, the territory above and below Al-Aqsa

being under Israeli sovereignty. Because Al-

Aqsa is of great signifi-

cance to Muslims, t his agreement could not have been accepted even

on the sole basis of what was being offered in terms of Jerusalem.

This 'Peace Process' was simply a repackaging o f the m ilitary occupa-

tion. The Occupied West Bank and Gaza are 22% of pre-1948



Palestine. When the Palestinians signed the Oslo Agreement, they

accepted only 22% and recognised Israel within the green line bor-

ders, conceding 78% of historic Palestine. This is the gr eat compro-

mise tha t the Palestinians made; in return, Israel has not recognised

Palestine as a nation, only the Palestinian Authority and Arafat. To

demand 100% of only 22% of Palestinian land is not unreasonable.

For a just and lasting peace, the Palestinians must be given their

basic human rights, Israelis must withdraw from Occupied Palestineand the question of the mill ions of Palestinian refugees mu st be

addressed.

Q. DOES ISRAEL USE EXCESSIVE ffQRCE?

A. It is claimed by Zionists th at Israeli police and soldiers often have

no choice but t o defend themselves by firi ng bullets and, in life-

threatening situations, live ammunition. They claim this is in self-

defence and not excessive.

However, in th e past two years ther e have been.fifteen U.N. resolu-

tions/reports condemning Israel fo r disproportionate and excessive

use of force against Palestinian civilians and failure to adhere to inter-national laws. Other organisations to

condemn Israel include Amnesty International, Human Rights

Watch, International Red Cross and many others.

The Israelis have one of the worst human right s records in the world.

Under the pretext of security, the Israel i Defence Forces [IDF] ter-

rorise, tortu re and violate elementary legal and human rights obliga-

tions which are well documented. Amnesty has noted that Israel is the

only state in the world in having "effectively legalised the use of tor -

ture". One of the worst methods of punishment are curfews and

whenever an atroci ty occurs, Palestinians are placed under curfew.

A striking illustration was the massacre of 29 Palestinians praying ina mosque by an illegal settler i n 1994: this was followed by a severe

curfew o f Palestinians and th e killing o f more Palestinians (The Fateful

Triangle, Noam Chomsky).

The occasional trials of military officers do at timcrf, c,hcd l ~ g h ton prac-

tices in the Occupied Territories. For example, Ma]ot I )av~dMofaz tes-

tified "Israeli soldiers were given orders to harar," c t l ~ l c lheat up

Palestinian residents" and that they "viciously stttlc I( r l I \ ( l kicked

defenceless young Arab prisoners". He further 5 t i ~ ( l"C11' wclspersonallyordered to beat up Arabs by the West Bank cortltl1~111tl6~1the orders

came from higher up, f rom the Chief of Staff". He added that "the

army had orders to harass the West Bank population in general, not

just those involved in anti-Israel demonstrations" (Jerusalem Post,

24th December 1982).

Today, increasing numbers of combat soldiers and officers of t he IDF

are refusing to serve in the Occupied Territories as they refuse to

"dominate, expel, starve and humilate an enti re people" (Courage to

Refuse, www.seruv.org. i l /defaulteng.asp).On December 24th 2002, the death toll of Palestinians since the out-

break of the current Intifida was 2103, with more than 41 000

injured (HDIP, based on information available at t he time) by the IDF

who routinely use F-16 fighter jets, helicopter gun ships and tanks to

bomb and shell densely-populated Palestinian residential areas.

Since the beginning of t he Intifida, the IDF attacks on residential

areas, a form of collective punishment, has affected 73 000 people

and damaged large areas of agricultural land and other public and pri -

vate properties as well as water and electricity infrastructure

(Palestinian Humanitarian Disaster, U.S. Agency for Inter national

Development, July 10th 2002).

The IDF retook control earlier in 2002 of most areas under the juris-diction of the PA. It has imposed prolonged closure and curfews on an

unprecedented scale throughout the Occupied Territories. These

sweeping measures of collective punishment affect millions of

Palestinians whose access to work, education and medical care has

continued to be denied or severely restricted.

Furthermore, i t is estimated that since 29th March 2002, 1 5 00 0

Palestinians have been detained. Of these 1 7 00 have not had a trial

and are imprisoned without charges being brought against them (LAW

Society, 17th July 2002).

Until this excessive use of force against the Palestinians is ceased,

there can be no talk of peace.

WAS THE CREATION OF ISRAEL THE CAUSE OF THE

REFUGEE PROBLEM?

A. Zionists claim that the Palestinians left their homes in 1948 of their

own accord and tha t the Arab leaders stimulated the departure with



radio broadcasts because they wanted the Arab world to declare a

holy war against the Jews. Further, they claim that the Palestinians

were asked to stay and live as citizens in the Jewish state.

It was only in 1 961 that t he tru th became clear, aft er months spent

by an Iri sh journali st retracing the evidence supplied by th e Zionists

in order to verify and establish the true story. He found that not a sin-

gle order, appeal, or even suggestion about evacuation from any Arab

radio station existed. Evidence was found, however, of Zionist stat ionsbroadcasting in Arabic in 1948 urging the Palestinians t o leave their

homes (The Spectator, 12th May 1961).

The expulsion of Palestinians was a resul t of Plan Dalet, the aim of

which was to clear the Palestinian population f rom th e areas of the

U.N. proposed partiti on plan. I n the words of Zionist historians,

the fa te of Palestinian villages that resisted was for them t o be

"destroyed and their inhabitants expelled beyond the borders

of the Jewish State". (Sefer Toldot Ha-Hagnah, Benzion Dinur)

Furthermore, in a report dated 30t h June 1948, written by the IDF

Intelligenc e Branch for the Israeli Prime Minister, i t is stated tha t the

Palestinian exodus was a result of three thi ngs primarily:

1. Direct, host ile Jewish operations against Arab settleme nts.

2. The effects of hostile operations on nearby Arab settlements.

3. Operations of Zionist terrorist groups such as the Irgun.

The report goes on to say that "witho ut a doubt, hostile operations

were the main cause of the movement of population " (Facts & Fables:

The Arab-Israeli Conflict, Clifford A. Wright).

The description of former Isr aeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of the

conquest of Lydda, af ter th e completion of Plan Dalet, was so damag-

ing that portions of his memoirs were cut out by

the official Israeli censors. I n the version leaked to th e New York

Times and published in 1979, Rabin wrote: "We walked outside, Ben-Gurion accompanying us. Allon repeated his question, 'What is to be

done wi th the [Palestinian] population?' Ben Gurion waved 'his hand in

a gesture which said 'Drive the m out!"'.

Plan Dalet went into effect the first week of April 1948; by 1949, 700

000 Palestinian refuges and 513 Palestinian villages had been com-

pletely destroyed. Many atrocities and massacres occurred which are

now forgotten, the most infamous of them being the massacre of 254

Palestinians at Dier Yassin village (Al-Awda, Palestine Wight of

Return).

I n the words of Moshe Dayan: "There is not one place built in this

country that did not have a former Arab population" (Ha'aretz,

April 4, 1969).

QmDQ THE BALESUIZNEAMS WAVE A REGHUTo RETURN 80

1 THEIR LAND?

A. The Palestinian refugee population is the largest and one of the

longest-standing cases of forced dispersal in world history. There isnot j ust one, b ut four sets of Palestinian refugees in existence:

1.Those that fled prior to Israel's Declaration of Independence on

15th May, 1948.

2. Those made refugees by t he Zionists after th at date unt il t he end

of the year. By 1949, there were 726 000 refugees according t o th e

U.N.

3. Those forced out by the illegal occupation of the West Bank and

Gaza in 1967. Many of these were made refugees twice over.

4. Those being expelled every day in the West Bank and Gaza as the

Israelis continue t o confiscate Palestinian land t o build illegal

settlements and cancel Palestinians' residency rights.

Three quarters of the Palestinian population of today is externally o r

internally displaced. The U.N. General Assembly set forth the basic

framework f or a durable solution in Resolution 194 (111),

December 1948. The resolution affirms the righ t of each

refugee t o choose to ret urn t o his or her home and receive

compensation for losses and damages. The principles of R

194 have been reaffirmed annually now 135 times by t

U.S.A. and U.K. (Al-Awda, Palestine Right of Return).

The rights of the Palestinian refugees are considered inali

international law, which means that they ar e not invalidat

political negotiations and agreements between Israel, the

and America.

It is claimed by Zionists that Israel is a very small country

could not possibly absorb all th e Palestinians back t o the ir I

However, 78% of Israel i Jews are concentrated in 14% ofI territory, while 78% of the land - including those areas fro

the majo rit y of the refugees originated - has remained sparsely

populated. I n occupied Gaza, population densi ty is 4400 persons per

square mile, compared with 82 per square mile in 86% of Timet

(BADIL Resource Centre).



Furthermore, between 1989 and 1997, Israel absorbed some 800 000

Jewish immigrants f rom the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia, while

claiming - at the same time - that Palestinian refugee repatriation was

impossible due to the lack of available space in the country. Those

who refuse to consider repatri ation as a solution should take not e that

unlimited Jewish immigration according to the Israeli "Law of Return",

together wi th the denial of th e Palestinians' r ight of r eturn is a sure

recipe for continued conflict, instability and war in the Middle East.

The fact that, according to Israeli press reports, over 27 percent of

Russian im migrants t o Israel are not Jewish, makes the continued

exclusion of Palestinians even more indefensible (Reclaiming the Right

of Return, Friends of Al-Aqsa).

This refutes all claims that Israel cannot absorb the Palestinian

refugees which i t is obliged to do under international law. This

injustice can only lead to continued conflict and instability in the

Middle East.

Q.DOES I S U E L DPSCWIMHNAVEAGAINST IT S PALESTINIAN

A M B CITIZENS?

A. Out of an Israeli population of 6 million, 18% are non-Jews.Zionists claim that the sole legal difference between Jews and Arab

citizens of Israel is that the latter are not required to serve in the

army.

However, since 1948, Zioni sts have employed Apartheid policies in

order to drive out the Palestinians and consolidate a purely 'Jewish'

presence in the whole of Palestine.

Those Palestinians who remained in Israel after 1948 did not

automatically become Israeli citizens. A non-Jew can never be a

national of Israel although he or she can be.a citizen. A non-Jew is

considered a citizen only if:

1. They were registered under the Registration of Inhabitants

Ordinance on 1March 1952, and

2. They were living in Israel on 1April 1952, and

3. They were living in Israel or in an area which subsequently became

Israeli territory from the date of the State's establishment until 1 April

1952.

All the land and buildings belonging to Palestinian refugees was

formally seized though the Abandoned Areas Ordinance of 1948. It

was followed by the Cultivation of Waste Lands Regulation which not

only applied to all land owned by t he refugees but also lands owned

by Palestinians who were (and are) citizens of the state.

Those Palestinians who were not expelled suffered as a result of

further laws. The Absentee Property Law of 1950 extended the

definition of absentee to include those Palestinians who lef t th eir place

of residence temporarily (to escape bombardment or to work in

another town). The Land Acquisition Law of 1953 completed the

Palestinian dispossession of 1948.

The Law of Requisitioning of Property in Times of Emergency of 1949

(which remained in force until 1958) allowed the Zionists to

'requisition' Palestinian land under th e pretex t of security and national

defence. The land seized under the pretext of these laws was then

transfer red to state ownership, and cannot, under Israeli law, be

resold to Palestinians. Through a complex system of legal and

administrative arrangements, public land is in the control of the

Jewish National Fund, an organisation committed to use funds in ways

"directly or indirectly beneficial to persons of Jewish race or religion".

These "national institutions" serve the interests of Jews, n ot th e

interests of citizens o f Israel, 18% of whom are non-Jews. Similararrangements would hardly be accepted in a "White State" by the

international community (The Fateful Triangle, Noam Chomsky).

There are other examples, such as tha t the state offers benefits to

large families, but restricts benefits to families of those who have

served in the ar my: hence discriminating against Palestinians wi thin

Israel. However, since religious Jews are also exempt from army

service, the legislation incorporates a special provision for families of

students in yeshivas (Jewish religious schools).

Discrimination affects numerous aspects of life, including education. A

report by Human Rights Watch highlighted the fact that the Israeli

government operates tw o separate school systems, one for Jewish

children and another for the Palestinian Arab children. The difference

between the systems is "stark": Palestinian children attend schools

wit h larger classes and fewer teachers, and frequently lack basic

learning facilities such as libraries and recreation space.

The claim tha t Israel does not discriminate against its PalestinianP

population is simply untrue.

Those Palestinian civilians who had been expelled or who had fled

from the war zone were not allowed to return to their homes when

hostilities ceased.



Q. WHAT I S ISRAEL'S TREATMENT OF PALESTINIANS I N THEOCCUPIED TERRITORIES?

A. Since 1967, Isra el has illegally occupied th e West Bank and Gaza.

The Israelis claim that this occupation was due to security reasons, as

they were attacked by hostile neighbours who could attack again.

They say that Israel had no choice but to remain there and use force

and punishment where necessary.

However, according to Menachem Begin, the Prime Minister o f Israel

at the time of the 1967 war: "We had a choice. The Egyptian Army

concentrations in Sinai approaches do not prove that Nasser was

really about to attack us. We must be honest with ourselves. We

decided to attack him." [Jerusalem Post, 29th August 19821

Further, General Peled of th e IDF has said: "To pretend that t he

Egyptian forces massed on our frontiers were in a position to threaten

the existence of Israel constitutes an insult no t only to the intelligence

of anyone capable of analysing this sort of situation, but above all an

insult to the Zahal [Israeli army]." [Ha'aretz, 19th March 19721

Since the invasion of 1967, Israel has refused to comply withinternational law and has remained illegally in the West Bank and

Gaza. I n the name of security, i t has successfully demolished or

sealed over 8500 homes, of which 2500 were in East Jerusalem

alone. There are currently 2000 demolition orders in effect.

Houses are demolished as punitive measures or under the pretext of

"lack of building permit", while permits are rarely granted.

Palestinians are prohibited from building in 60% of the West Bank

and 87% of Jerusalem.

Perhaps most harmful to Palestinian human,.civil, and economic rights

has been Israel's policy of closure, in effect since March 1993. This

policy severely limits Palestinians' freedom of movement. B'Tselem, a

leading Israeli huma n rights monitoring organization states that

Israel's neglect of the educational, health, economic and cultural

infrastructure of the West Bank and Gaza during more than 33 years

of military occupation rendered Palestinians overly dependent on

services and resources accessible only within Israel or Jerusalem.

Thus, closure constitutes a chillingly effective fo rm of collective

punishment, as it brings Palestinian economic, medical, and

educational life to a virtual halt. Israel's draconian closure policy,

which denies Palestinians the freedom to travel easily -

or at all - between various areas and into Israel or Jerusalem to

pursue work, education, or medical care, has crippled the Palestinian

economy and caused significant economic suffering to scores of

Palestinian families, who now find themselve s in much worse straits

than they did during the days of outrigh t Israeli Military

Administration. I n Gaza, fully 40°/o of all households are living well

I

below the poverty line. According to the World Bank, the direct cost of

Israel's closure to the Palestinian economy is over five million dollars

per day.

Furthermore, renewable water resources in Occupied West Bank and

Gaza are under the control of the Israelis. Palestinians are only

allowed 83 cubic meters for each Palestinian per year, whereas th e

Israelis use 333 cubic meters for each Israeli per year i.e. one Israeli

consumes four times th e water of a Palestinian. Many towns and

villages are suffering from a severe water shortage as a result Israel'sclosure policies. Most Palestinian:; livi ng in refugee camps do not have

running water taps in their homes. A single water tap at the end o f

the street serves 30 to 50 homes.

I n the Gaza Strip, the problem o f water shortage is compounded by

the poor quality of water flowing through the pipes. This seriously

affects the quality of life of the local residents and exposes them to

severe heath risks. Continuous attacks by Israeli settlers onPalestinian water tankers prevent them from reaching their water

supply source-taps, which have been cut off by local Israeli settlers

who solely own and control the flow of water in t he region. Of the

water supplied to the Palestinians, th e quality is sub-standard and a

danger to health.

Jeff Halper of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions has

remarked: "The essential elements of Apartheid - exclusivity,inequality, separation, control, dependency, violation of humanrights and suffering - define the relationship between Israeland the Palestinians" (Middle East Report 216, 2000).

Further, according to Nelson Mandela: "Apartheid is a crime against

humanity. Israel has deprived millions of Palestinians of their liberty

) and property. It has perpetuated a system of gross racial

discrimination and inequality. It has systematically incarcerated and

) tortured Palestinians, contrary t o the rules of international law. It has,

in phicular, waged a war against a civilian ~ ~ p u l d t i o n ,in particular,I

I children."



of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, Northwestern University Press)

Zionists oft en claim that Ottoman Turkish sovereignty over Palestine

had been ceded to Britain after the First World War. They refer to the

Sevres Peace Treaty, where reference t o the Balfour Declaration

occurs. However, this Treaty was never ratifi ed by the Otto man Turks:

it was aborted. The final trea ty signed between the Turks and the

Allied Powers omitted any reference to the Balfour Declaration.

I n conclusion, neit her the Bible nor t he Balfour Declaration confirm

any legitimacy upon Zionist claims on Palestine.

"Palestine belongs to the Arabs in the same sense that

England belongs to the English, or France to the French. I t is

wrong and inhumane to impose the Jews on the Arabs. What is

going on in Palestine today cannot be justified by any moral

code of conduct" - Ghandi (Mahatma, Tendulker)

A. Zionists claim that Zionism is the national liberation movement of

th e Jewish people, rooted in freedom and equality and oppcsed to

racism. Further, any critici sm of Zionism is deemed by them to be

anti-Semitic.

Zionism is a political ideology of complex European origin rooted in

the socio-economic realities of the Eastern European Jewish

community and the trai l of Captain Dreyfas in France. An Austrian

newspaper dispatched a journalist called Theodor Herlz to cover the

story. Until then, Herzl had believed that the solution of t he 'Jewish

problem' lay i n the assimilation of Jews into their resident countries.

However, the Captain who was unfairly convicted of treason, and the

wave of anti-Jewish sentiment tha t followed, changed Herlz's views.

I n 1896, Herlz wrote The Jewish State, in which he argued

assimilation was impossible, and the only real solution was a Jewish

state.

The plan for this 'ingathering' to be established in Palestine not only

blurred the distinction between Judaism and Zionism but also forged a

political identity out of a historical-religious ethnicity of which Zionism

would be the only legit imate expression.

I n 1975, th e U.N. described the ethnic exclusivity of Zionism as a

form of racism and racial discrimination. Although the U.N. Resolution

caused an outcry leading to the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.

declaring i t to be anti-Semitic, none of its critics addressed the issues

behind the arguments considered for th e passage of the resolution.

The question is simple: are non-Jews in Israel legally discriminated

against because they are not Jews? Zionists argue that they are not

racist and point to the fact that non-Jews have the right to vote and

to be elected to th e Knesset. Zionists also cite the anti-racist law

which prohibits discrimination on t he basis of race, colour or ethnicity;

religion was left out so that religious discrimination is not illegal in

Israel.

Palestinians in Israel have a righ t to vote and hold citizenship; howev-

er, unli ke anywhere else in th e world, citizenship in Israel is distin-guished fro m nationality, and mere citizenship does not give an indi-vidual equal rights.

Israel was declared a state of the Jewish people: a state for all Jewish

people wherever they live. This is diff erent fro m state religion. For

example not any Anglican may come to the U.K. and automatically

become a national by mere virtu e of a shared religion.

Such, however, is the case in Israe l and only the Orth odox Rabbinate

definition of a Jew is followed and recognised. The Orthodox

Rabbinate insist th at Jewish ethnicity and religion are inseparable and

that a Jew is only bor n of a Jewish mother or converted to Judaism in

a conversion authenticated by the Orthodox Rabbinate. The Zionists

do not accept conversions done by the other two schools of Jewishthought. The Orthodox Rabbinate is not concerned with a Jew's beliefs

or lack thereof, but only his biological status. I n this manner, the

Orthodox Rabbinate have created an equation between religion and

race, w ith Israel being a state fit only for t he Jews.

"There can only be one national home in Palestine, and that a

Jewish one, and no equality in partnership between Jews and

Arabs" (Montague David Eder, President of the Zionist Federation of

Great Britain, 1931).

This policy results i n widespread discrimination against t he

Palestinians in all of t he professions at all levels of society from birth .For example, Jewish birth certificates have "Israeli" on them whereas

non-Jewish certificates have "NIA". Palestinians are urlrepresented

in acadaemia, medicine, law, politics and business. Arab

Israelis are among th e poorest of the country's population.

They are denied benefits such as the "retireme,litg' eeyivalent because

in the&@~try's mil i t

g ~ ~ ~ r n $ & tfrom d

iy pre-1967 Israel

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by the government. As a result, the inhabitants of these villages have

no municipal services and are not allowed to vote, however they must

pay taxes (Jenin, Lebanon, and t he only democracy in the Middle

East, Jennifer Loewenstein).

Whenever Zionism or t he actions of th e Zionist state are criticised,

Zionists label th e critics anti-Semitic, as to suggest that only racists

and those who are non-Jews could ever criticize Israel and Zionism.

This is very misleading, as there are Jewish criticisms of both Zionism

and Israel.

Rabbi Hirsch (of Jerusalem) has stated: "The 12th principle of our

faith, I believe, is tha t the Messiah will gather th e Jewish exiled who

are dispersed throughout the nations of th e world. Zionism is diamet-

rically opposed to Judaism. Zionism wishes to define the Jewish peo-

ple as a nationali stic entity. The Zionists say, in effect, 'Look here,

God. We do not like exile. Take us back, and i f you don't, we'll ju st

roll up our sleeves and take ourselves back.' This, of course, is

heresy. The Jewish people are charged by Divine oath not to force

themselves back to the Holy Land against the wishes of those residing

there" (Washington Post, 3 October 1978).

Q. I S A BOYCOTT OF ISRAEL JUSTIFIED?

A. Since the call for the academic boycott of Israel, t here has been

much controversy. It s critics view i t as a violation of academic free-

dom.

Firstly, boycotts need to be put into a context. The first time th at the

academic community imposed a boycott on a state was during the

Apartheid regime in South Africa. The second time such an action has

been called is against Israel.

I n May 2002, a t the time of the Jenin controversy, Professor Steve

Rose, direc tor o f the Brain and Behaviour Research Group at t he Open

University, sent a letter t o the Guardian signed by 125 prominent aca-

demics stating that "the Israeli government appears impervious to

moral appeals from world leaders...However, there are ways of exert -

ing pressure fr om wi thin Europe."

"Many...research institutions, including those funded from th e EU and

the European Science Foundation, regard Israel as a European state

for the purposes of awarding grants. Would it not therefore be timely

if. ..a moratorium was called upon any furth er support unless and until

Israel abides by U.N. resolutions and opens peace negotiations with

the Palestinians?"

The Association of University teachers (AUT) has adopted a resolution

echoing Professor Rose's call.

So far, Israel has convinced the world tha t it is possible for the

Palestinians to live w ithout l and and water in isolated ghettos sur-

rounded by illegal sett lements and fences, bypass roads and IDF

posts. Despite 'peace talks', Israel now exceeds the crimes of thewhite South African regime.

No doubt, i f the boycott is successful, it wi ll affect researchers and

*,eholars: but th at is the logic of sanctions, which are meant to hurtthe political and economic systems. I n South Africa, t he firs t to suffer

were the Blacks; yet they still pleaded with the West to continue. A

leading South African vice-chancellor, Professor Brian Figaji, has

pledged support to t he British academic boycott of Israel, comparing

the Middle Eastern country's regime t o that of apartheid South Africa.

Professor Figaji said he had recently turned down invitations to take

part i n conferences in Israel. " I will not go there under the present

circumstances - this is a political statement against the Israeli state.

I t looks too much like South African oppression." Referring to t he

British boycott, he added: "So little is being done internationally vis-a-

vis the plight of t he Palestinians; a boycott is a way of signaling to the

world that what is happening is unacceptable and inhumane" (TheGuardian, 11July, 2002).

The boycott itself is being supported by academics even within Israel,

who feel that it is justified and in the long term will produce positive

result. Israel also enjoys a preferential trading relationship with the

E.U., its second most impo rtant tradi ng partner aft er the U.S. The

most substantial exports are fruits, vegetables and clothing (supplying

to Marks & Spencer, Donna Karen and Calvin Klein t o name a few).

When goods are manufactured or produce grown in the Occupied

Territories, illegally by settlers, they are labelled "Made in I srael" and

exported as coming from within Israel's pre- 1967 borders, hence

enabling Israel t o avoid E.U. excise duty. I n July 2001, a boycott cam-

paign was launched in the U.K. called "Boycott Israeli Goods" (B.I.G.)to highlight the activities of the Israeli government. This campaign is

Europe-wide and growing.

After 36 years of occupation, it is clear that Israel has no intention of

withdrawing and expects the Palestinians t o live with Apartheid or



'transfer': which means mass expulsion from the Occupied West Bankand Gaza.The facts are that Israel is in violation of over 80 U.N. reso-

lutions and has continued a policy o f oppressive, expanding and illegal

occupation of another people's land.

Such a record would not be tolerated if the country in question were

France, Germany or any other member of the European Union.

Indeed, "If Palestinians were black, Israel. would now be a pari-ah state subject to economic sanctio dStates" (The Observer, 15th October

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"And hold fast to the rope of Allah, all of you tcigether,

and be not disunited" "(~o~yCtufan 3 1031

.- ------ -- - - - - .-.-THE FEDERATION OF STUDENT ISLAMIC SOCIITIES (FOSIS)

FOSIS, the Federation of Student

lslami c Societies in UK and Ireland, is

an independent voluntary student

organisation and is one of the leading

Muslim student organisations in Europe.

It has links with over 10 0 lslamic

Societies and has established

relationships with the National Union of

Students (NUS) and other key student

organisations in t he UK and Europe. As

one of the oldest and most established

organisat ions in the UK, FOSlS has

developed a variety of resources andspecialised teams to assist and

represent Muslim students within

universities and other educational

institutions, making it a primary source

of reference for Muslim as well as

non-Muslim organisations.

As an independent body, FOSlS enjoys a

unique position allowing different

Muslim and non-Muslim groups to work

for the betterment and needs of lslamic

Societies, Muslims and the wider

student body.

FOSlS Office

3 8 Mapesbury Road

London

NW2 4JD

The work of FOSlS is guided principally

by the following aims and objectives:

* To unite all existing student lslamic

societies in the UK and Ireland on

lslamic principles;

* To represent Muslim Students

and lslamic Societies at al l levels;

* To protect and promote the interests

of Muslim students;

* To encourage the format ion of new

lslamic societies on campuses and to

support the activities of existing ones;* To facilitate communication and

co-ordination among lslamic Societies;

* To develop the Muslim student's

understanding, character and skills in

line wit h lslami c principles;

* To promote understanding of Islam

and Muslims, in an effort to eradicate

intolerance and lslamophobia fro m

campuses and our British society;

* To encourage understanding between

Muslim 81non-Muslim students.

Tel: 02 08 45 2 4493

Fax: 0 208 2 08 41 61

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.fosis.org.uk

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