After Gaza & before Durban II, NGOs wage BDS war on Israel
In the wake of the Gaza war and in preparation for the Durban Review Conference, BDS (boycotts, divestment, and sanctions) is the campaign of choice for NGOs.
In commemoration of “Land Day”, the Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign (PGAAWC) claims that “people in Palestine and around the world are focused on the Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions…as the most effective tool to stop Israeli policies of land theft and colonization and the discrimination, massacres and ethnic cleansing that have been carried out against the Palestinian people in pursuit of these goals.”
In April 2008, PGAAWC was accredited to participate in the Durban Review Conference. According to the PGAAWC website, the BDS “efforts are focused upon stopping and dismantling the Apartheid Wall, and resisting Israeli occupation and colonization.”
The global BDS movement has also launched the “Israel Review Conference” to be held in Geneva for two days before the UN conference begins. The conference slogan is “United Against Apartheid, Colonialism and Occupation, Dignity & Justice for the Palestinian People” and aims to “develop practical recommendations on how to make Israel accountable to international law and protect the rights of the Palestinian people”. While this parallel event may turn out to be insignificant, PGAAWC’s official accreditation to the conference will allow this apartheid rhetoric to enter the UN forum.
