Our right to demonstrate in support Palestinian human rights must be protected. Millions of people across the Middle East have been protesting for freedom of speech and freedom to protest, while in Victoria, the Baillieu government is proceeding to criminalise political protest, particularly protest in support of Palestinian human rights.
The government is trying to shut down Palestine solidarity protests by:
· the arrest of 19 protesters for protesting outside chocolate shop Max Brenner in the Queen Victoria shopping centre and the imposition of bail conditions preventing protesters from going within 50 metres of the Max Brenner shops in the Queen Victoria and Melbourne Central shopping centres. Max Brenner is part of the Strauss group of companies which has strong ties with the Israeli military
· the re-arrest of four of these protesters for allegedly going within 50 metres of the Max Brenner shop at another Palestine protest and the imposition of $16,000 in bail payments
· requesting that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission investigate whether organizations supporting the boycott of Max Brenner are in breach of 45D of the Trade Practices Act, the section which bans secondary boycotts. Maritime Union Of Australia, Geelong Trades Hall Council, Green Left Weekly, Australians for Palestine and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign were named by the consumer affairs minister as organisations to be investigated as supporters of the campaign.
The Palestine solidarity protests outside Max Brenner shops are part of an international campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel to draw attention to the ongoing genocidal policies being practiced by the Israeli apartheid regime against Palestinians.
The protests have been smeared by Victorian consumer affairs minister Michael O’Brien and federal foreign affairs minister Kevin Rudd as anti-Jewish.
“Such smears are designed to intimidate and silence Palestine solidarity activists from criticising Israel’s gross violation of international humanitarian law,” said Sue Bolton, one of the arrested protesters and Socialist Alliance state convenor.
“There are many Jewish people, including within Israel, who support the BDS campaign. Max Brenner and other companies have been targeted for protest because of their strong ties to and support for the state of Israel and its violations of the human rights of Palestinians,” she added.
“Even the Victoria police were forced to concede in the Magistrate’s Court that there is no evidence of any anti-Jewish comments by the BDS campaign.
“The BDS campaign is part of a long tradition of using consumer boycotts to pursue justice. Such a campaign of boycotts and sanctions was critical to ending the apartheid regime in South Africa, which has inspired people around the world to seek to use similar measures to end Israel’s apartheid-like policies towards Palestinians.”
Bolton added that “consumer boycotts have been used in countless campaigns - animal rights, protection of native forests, fair trade, and human rights issues in a range of countries. In my 30 years of activism, I have never known a government to threaten a community boycott campaign with secondary boycott action
“Why suddenly target a campaign the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign protests against Israeli-owned businesses that have strong ties to the state of Israel?
“The Victorian government is going to extraordinary lengths to silence any criticism of the state of Israel and its human rights abuses. It is effectively, attempting to make Palestine solidarity protests illegal by its threat to use secondary boycott legislation and the police in the service of Israel.
“The right to protest is a fundamental human right and needs to be defended. Human rights activists will take our inspiration from the uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa. We will continue supporting the BDS campaign while the Palestinians are stripped of their human rights.
“We call on the ACCC to reject the Victorian government’s request to conduct a political vendetta against organisations supporting the BDS campaign and Baillieu government should drop all charges against the Palestine Solidarity protesters.
“Our right to demonstrate in support Palestinian human rights or any other issue must be protected,” said Bolton.
Comments
Re: Middle East protests for democracy while Baillieu ...
It's all about votes the Jewish community has a lot of pull here and every where else in the world.Israel can steal other peoples Passports and bump off people in any ones country and get away with it, what did Australia do when their passports were stolen by Mossad?what they were told thats what!
Re: Middle East protests for democracy while Baillieu ...
I wouldn't expect anything better from "indy media".
BTW, the reasoning Max Brenner is chosen as a target for the BDS movement is for providing chocolate to soldiers who serve in the IDF. Talk about irrelevance. "Pro-Palestinian" organizations in Australia are a joke who think that any press is good press. They are so caught up in their own self-image they do nothing for the Palestinian people, above and beyond trumpetting this invisible Palestinian party line of "oppression, colonialism, and racism".
Also, @Glenn, this doesn't really have anything to do with Jewish votes, as the two major parties have identical lines on Israel, due to their relationship with Israel. This includes important trade and economic ties. One of the areas Israel has helped Australia develope is measures for water saving and conservation. Helping Australian farmers survive the drought, as well as providing technology to help stave off worse drought conditions than Australia would have faced otherwise.
As for Israel "getting away with it", after the passport scandal, the Australian government launched an enquiry and expelled a diplomat from the Israeli embassy. I'm not sure how aware you are of diplomacy, but this is a very major decision. We're currently seeing similar reactions from countries, in reaction to the Syrian government using the army to quell opposition using military force. Still think the Australian government did "nothing?
Re: Middle East protests for democracy while Baillieu ...
Edders Max Brenner chocolate say on there web site in Hebrew (not English because of Pro-Palestinian Pressure)"We see a mission and a need to continue to provide OUR soldiers with support...We have adopted the Golani reconnaissance platoon For over thirty years"sounds like a bit more than just supplying chocolate to me! "Irrelevance" I think not Edders.
The Pro-Palestinian organization in Australia has brought matters about Israels conduct to public attention so for you to say they do nothing is just plain rubbish.It was the Pro-Palestinian Boycotts of Israeli goods that made me get interested in this topic when i started to do research I was disgusted with the attitude of Israel and it's leaders and statements they have made, for example.
"We have to kill all the Palestinians unless they are resigned to live here as slaves"
Chairman Heilbrun of the committee for the re-election of General Shlomo Lahat,The mayor of Tel-Aviv, October 1983.
"The Palestinians"would be crushed like grasshoppers...Heads smashed against the boulders and walls."
Israels Prime Minister Shamir(at the time)in a speech to Jewish settlers, New York Times, April 1988
"Every time we do something you tell me America will do this and do that...I want to tell you something very clear:Don't worry about American pressure on Israel.We,the Jewish people,control America,and the Americans know it."
Former Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon,October 3,2001,to Shimon Peres.as reported on Kol Yisrael radio(May be we can include Australia too)It was a heated discussion over attacking Palestine and Sharon let that one slip latter when Sharon cooled down he denied even saying it oops
Edders you are right both major parties in Australia have the identical lines when it comes to Israel and the Baillieu Government are just showing the Jewish lobby groups that he too is in support of Israels terrorist acts to keep the Jewish vote and contributions on side, which is disgusting.
And Edders before you start saying Israel are not terrorist just remember Israel bombed it's way into existence through terrorism in the 1930's and 40's or how about this spine tingling speech from former Prime Minister Areil Sharon 1982
"Tell me, do the evil men of this world have a bad time?They hunt and catch what ever they feel like eating.They do not suffer from indigestion and are not punished by heaven.I want Israel to join this club.Maybe the world will then start to fear us instead of feeling sorry.Maybe they will start to tremble, to fear our madness instead of admiring our nobility.Let them tremble;let them call us a mad state.Let them understand we are a savage country, dangerous to our surroundings,not normal that we might go wild,that we might start world war three just like that,or that we might go crazy and burn all the oil fields in the middle east.Even if you'll prove to me that the present war is a dirt immoral war(the war in Lebanon},I don't care.We will start another war, kill and destroy many more.And do you know why it is all worth it? Because it seems this war has made us more unpopular among the civilized world.We'll hear no more of that nonsense about that unique Jewish morality.no more talk about a unique people being a light upon the nations.No more uniqueness and no more sweetness and light.Good riddance"
And just think this mad man Ariel Sharon had over 200 nuclear weapons at his disposal,scary stuff.
Edders the passport scandal as you put it,I would have called it the terrorist Hit scandal. Yes I still think Australia did nothing and Australia should have expelled the whole Israeli embassy and cut all ties with Israel until it starts to obey all UN resolutions they continue to break
Re: Middle East protests for democracy while Baillieu ...
It just amazes me Israel gets away with Killing innocent people