Activism and BDS Beat 13 January 2012
Palestinian solidarity organizers in France say they have been receiving death threats and have received a suspicious package by mail containing a white substance according to a statement issued by Campagne BDS France – which works for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) on Israel.
The incident, according to the campaign, is the latest in what it called “unpunished acts by pro-Israel militias involving the display of racist graffiti and posters” at a building which houses several Palestine solidarity organizations.
The latest threat comes on the eve of a conference of BDS activists in France, and follows a significant legal victory in which a French court threw out charges brought by Zionist groups that BDS activists had incited “racial hatred” by calling for the boycott of Israeli goods.
Here’s the statement in English:
Death threats and attempts to intimidate the BDS French Campaign
On Tuesday 10 January 2012 one of the organizers of the BDS French Campaign, while going through the post addressed to the Campaign, opened an envelope containing a white powder together with death threats.
Being alarmed by this incident, she proceeded to a hospital. The head doctor ordered that she be put in quarantine, and alerted the specialist police brigades who, several hours later, finally revealed that the powder was innocuous.
These threats are the latest in a series of unpunished acts by pro-Israel militias involving the display of racist graffiti and posters at the CICP, the headquarters of several associations in the Palestine solidarity movement.
In recent rulings, the French courts have refused to condemn BDS campaign activists who had been falsely and outrageously charged with incitement to racial hatred. The courts thus resisted the pressure applied by the Israeli embassy, the French government and Zionist groups, dashing their hopes of suppressing the boycott of Israeli apartheid by legal means. It now appears that the unconditional supporters of Israeli colonialism have decided to carry out increasingly violent actions.
Complaints will be filed following this criminal act. Our total and unwavering determination to strengthen and enlarge the BDS campaign remains unchanged. With this aim, more than 100 representatives and activists of organisations from all over France will meet this weekend to define our strategies for the new year.
BDS French Campaign
