Nora Barrows-Friedman’s blog

Greek BDS activists plant trees in Estee Lauder store

Submitted by Nora Barrows-Fr... on Tue, 05/31/2011 - 21:37

Palestine solidarity activists in Thessaloniki, Greece, engaged in a creative action in support of the Palestinian-led call for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israeli policies of apartheid and ethnic cleansing on 28 May when they entered an Estee Lauder cosmetics store with tree saplings in tow. 

Important victory, court date in case of the "Irvine 11"

Submitted by Nora Barrows-Fr... on Wed, 05/25/2011 - 17:47

Students at UC Irvine and UC Riverside who nonviolently disrupted a speech in February 2010 by Michael Oren, Israeli ambassador to the US, recently won an important victory in their case as another arraignment date is set for tomorrow.

BDS victories: Dexia bank to sell Israeli subsidiary; Veolia loses another contract

Submitted by Nora Barrows-Fr... on Fri, 05/20/2011 - 07:35

Just six weeks after French-Belgian bank Dexia gave notice that it was looking for a buyer for its Israeli subsidiary company, the Israeli business news website Globes reported on 15 May that the bank will sell off its 65 percent stake in Dexia-Israel (established in 2001) “by the end of the summer,” even as the parent company faces a loss with its sale. 

Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh describes his attack and arrest on Nakba day

Submitted by Nora Barrows-Fr... on Thu, 05/19/2011 - 05:32

Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh, a well-known professor and human rights activist based in Bethlehem, took part in Nakba day protests last weekend as Palestinians across Palestine and the global diaspora marched to demand their right of return, 63 years after the start of Israel’s project of ethnic cleansing and forced exile. Dr. Qumsiyeh participated in a march in al-Walaja, a village west of Bethlehem which has been facing aggressive land confiscation since 1948.

Two brand-new videos from Palestinian march of return at Majdal Shams

Submitted by Nora Barrows-Fr... on Thu, 05/19/2011 - 02:35

More video footage has emerged showing scenes of Israeli violence against Palestinian refugees crossing from Syria into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Sunday, 15 May. On Nakba day, Israeli soldiers fired tear gas and live ammunition at a mass march of Palestinian refugees who managed to walk across the militarized area.

Largest student union in Europe joins Palestinian-led boycott call

Submitted by Nora Barrows-Fr... on Wed, 05/18/2011 - 20:13

Exciting news today from the BDS Movement website:

The University of London Union (ULU)  has voted 10-1 to institute and campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) in support of Palestine. The motion called for “thorough research into ULU investments and contracts” with companies guilty of “violating Palestinian human rights” as set out by the Palestinian Boycott National Committee (BNC). 

Nakba Survivor: new website highlights testimonies of the Nakba

Submitted by Nora Barrows-Fr... on Fri, 05/13/2011 - 18:15

A new website was launched today that lets Palestinian refugees who fled (or whose parents and grandparents fled) Israel’s ethnic cleansing project that began in 1948, talk about their experiences in time for the 63rd annual commemoration of the Nakba. 

NakbaSurvivor.com, a multi-media initiative of the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU), features short, personal testimonials of refugees and their direct descendants. 

WATCH: Long trailer for "The Wanted 18: A True Story of Bovine Resistance"

Submitted by Nora Barrows-Fr... on Thu, 05/12/2011 - 17:55

A brilliant new documentary film is being produced in Palestine, focusing on a story that took place during the first intifada in the late 1980s in Beit Sahour near Bethlehem. As Palestinians rebelled against lethal Israeli policies across the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the Israeli military attempted to quash popular uprisings through unmitigated violence, repression and long-term curfews.

BDS VICTORY: German company pulls out of illegal Israeli railway project

Submitted by Nora Barrows-Fr... on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 15:40

In a substantial victory for the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, a major German rail transportation company — Deutsche Bahn, or DB — has pulled out of the $550 million illegal A1 train project, which is designed to connect Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Palestinian rights group submits petition to Israeli High Court to reverse "Nakba Law"

Submitted by Nora Barrows-Fr... on Wed, 05/04/2011 - 16:48

Adalah: The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel has submitted a petition to the Israeli High Court demanding that the government overturn its recent decision to criminalize commemoration of the Nakba — the ethnic cleansing and expulsion of 800,000 Palestinians before, during and after Israel declared itself a state in 1948.

Pages

Subscribe to Nora Barrows-Friedman's blog