BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) is Free Speech

Download the App buycott on your iPhone or iPad or on whatever app supports it to scan barcodes while shopping
Download the App buycott on your iPhone or on whatever app supports it to scan bar codes while shopping

BDS Movement Full List: here is an up-to-date and handy reference to the players: who they are, where they are and why they matter. Their game is gaining your participation through witting or unwitting complicity.

BDS Marin: here is one of the many local groups thinking global. The list above does not include Nestle among boycotted products but this Marin County movement does include them. So it’s good to cross compare.

BDS Movement on Twitter: here is another social media avenue for learning, teaching or contributing.  I’ve just received an article that delves into the HP security matrix. Life is an ongoing dystopia for Palestinians. HP has really earned it’s place on the BDS list. I’m looking into their other products but do not want to make it overly complex, or less focussed, at this moment.

Please feel free to contact me (ziegler.bill@gmail.com) or leave a comment on this post. Truth and accuracy are important, let me know if something isn’t correct. Participation is vital.

Methodist BDS Consultation
Methodist BDS Movement Consultation

Yesterday I attended a screening of Ghost Town – The Story of Hebron. A well attended event successfully delivered by the Cincinnati Palestine Solidarity Coalition. A fellow supporter of the Palestinian cause noted that I had a bottle of Tradewinds Tea in front of me. Nestle, a Swiss company of notable size, owns Tradewinds: they have plants in the West Bank.

We are presently working on a locally based BDS Movement for the Cincinnati area. Look for us at local businesses that unknowingly contribute to the massive human rights violations in territories occupied by Israel since 1967: the Naksa.

I was a sophomore at the University of Cincinnati at the time of the Six Day War, working on my B.A. in Geography: it was a subject topic in Human Geography that became the stuff of current events in the classroom. In 1971 I completed my M.A. in the same field at Kansas State University. I was born 8 months before the Nakba, so my personal hallmarks coincide in memory with the hallmarks of Palestine these 68 years now. A difference: I have never been a refugee but 6 million Palestinians from Palestine still are. BDS helps everyone.

https://boycottzionism.wordpress.com/2010/08/01/carlos-latuff-images-for-bds-activists/
Cultural boycotts are an integral part of BDS

No time is a good time to support an Apartheid state. I am personally complicit in supporting Apartheid by continuing my American citizenship. Rather than renouncing my home land I am at this moment exercising First Amendment rights, rights that are not available in the State of Israel. Lucas Koerner learned firsthand what may occur if you stand on a public square in Jerusalem. No one should feel discomfort at taking a stand, whether by #StandWithIsrael or #StandWithPalestine.

The First Amendment is one resilient set of words. I like its resonance. It’s available to the most marginalized people. Majority rule makes the world safe for the already comfortable. The Tyranny of the majority (dated 23 February) seeks to restrict basic human rights that already belong to the marginalized, on those less powerful. Just keep repeating this lie: “Majority Rules” from the playground to adulthood and you’ll think it’s truth.

Meanwhile, in this age of one dollar one vote you can still use the dollars at your discretion to cast a BDS vote.See you in the marketplace.

 

http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.702383
Tyranny of the majority taking place in the Knesset. In this case Arab-Israelis, the one who “came out in droves” according to Binjamin N.

Author: Bill Ziegler

I am a former resident of Delhi Township. These are memories of my life and times in that community during the 1950s and 1960s. A time capsule.

3 thoughts on “BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) is Free Speech”

  1. Q: Hewlett Packard is listed under “security.” Does that mean the boycott is lmited to HP “security” products (whatever they are) or does it include the entire product line of HP, including printers and ink?

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Hi DK, Thanks for the timely response. I’m a member of the Cincinnati Palestine Solidarity Coalition. We are trying to anticipate the questions that will arise as we become better known in the community, so this question ties in directly with the individual consumer, and shopping decisions that are already complex.
    At the same time, people presented a brochure deserve an informed answer on BDS questions. Focus is important, as first impressions are critical.
    Just yesterday a fellow member of our solidarity group sent me a link to an intriguing look at the breadth of Hewlett Packard’s presence in the everyday life of Palestinians:

    Click to access hp_report-_final_for_web.pdf

    It appears that the scope of their mission is genuinely dystopian.

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  3. Yes, the report describes a truly shocking use of HP technology. I am certain that the vast majority of Americans are unaware how invasive Israel’s illegal occupation is let alone how complict US corporations are in it. The answer to my question must be: boycott all their products. But why is the company listed under “security” in the list. I relaize that’s what HP provides, but to show what to boycott, it is confusing to the consumer (or at least to me). Thanks for the list. It came jkust in time. My ancient printer is on its last legs. Looks like you persuaded me to go with Epson.

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