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Many people do not know this, but African organisations involved in resisting South African racism and apartheid were labelled as 'terrorists' by US administrations in the 80s. Reagan referred to people like Nelson Mandela and Steve Biko as 'terrorists'. Western governments, corporations and financial institutions all supported and had a stake in Apartheid in South Africa. Yet they were all defeated. How? Simple: international boycott of South African products by ordinary citizens worldwide.
Now we have another apartheid state in the Middle East region, based on a racist premise, and engaged in ethnic cleansing with impunity and supported by another world power that regularly engages in mass murder, namely, the US government. As recently as in 2007, many would have laughed at the idea of any effective sanctions against the US. But that mythical time is long gone. The US is Highly vulnerable. Israel too is highly vulnerable.
So what would this entail? A simple change in shopping habits by ordinary people. despite the pretence to the contrary, Everything that we buy has a 'nationality'. It is easy to find out. Let us do that, and those goods that are clearly of Israeli origin or linked to companies that provide financial support to the state of Israel, boycott them!
organise petitions. write letters, spread the word. make a list of known israeli products and brands and circulate it to everyone who cares.
Yes we can.
It has been done before. We can do it again.
This kind of collective civil society action against genocide is what makes a true 'international community' and helps us revive hope in the human spirit.
Some relevant links:
for campaign ideas and information on interntional solidarity:
http://www.mylinkspage.com/israel.html#BOY
or
http://www.inminds.com/boycott-israel.html
for some of the brands to avoid:
http://www.inminds.co.uk/boycott-brands.html
once you go through the sites, you will note that many of the links there have been sabotaged! Why am i not surprised...!
