We are part of the international network of Women in Black, our action in the world is to oppose war and every kind of violence, in the conviction that every conflict can be dealt with by dialogue and respect for human, social, and political rights.
For more than twenty years, we have been committed to a just peace in the Middle East, a peace that applies international law, putting an end to the Israeli colonial policies and to the continuing violence, suffering and collective punishments that have been imposed on the Palestinian population by the Israeli government, by settlers and by the Israeli army in the framework of the illegal occupation of Palestinian territories , apartheid policies and the siege of Gaza.
We have travelled many times to that land and we have listened to Israeli and Palestinian women, we have worked with them to try to create or strengthen relationships.
The Israeli Women in Black was formed at the very start of the first Intifadah, opposing the occupation that their government was determined to continue, and at the same time founding our movement. In Italy, we have supported their struggle and that of the Palestinian women.
We have been to checkpoints to protest with them, we have taken part in international delegations in support of the peace movement and of the non-violent struggle of the Palestinian population. After the massacre in Gaza in 2008/09, in which the Israeli army were involved in very serious war crimes (1400 dead, including 400 children), the situation became much more serious.
For this reason, we have decided, after a long, considered and often painful discussion, to join the world BDS campaign (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions). Launched in 2005 by Palestinian civil society, the Boycott National Committee (BNC) is made up of more than 170 Palestinian organisations, committees, parties and trade unions. The campaign is supported by associations, movements and even some governmental institutions in Europe and the rest of the world.
We also support the Palestinian Authority's campaign "Your conscience, your choice" for a boycott of products within the occupied territories, enacted by a law that prohibits the distribution and consumption of products from the illegal Israeli settlements and by the mobilisation of thousands of young women and men with whom the BNC collaborates.
Lastly, we support the campaign “Boycott from Within”, launched in support of BDS by a large range of non-violent associations in Israel, including the Coalition of Women for Peace and the Israeli section of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.
- Boycott is a non-violent practice of non-collaboration with injustice.
- Economic boycott is practiced against goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements and on goods produced by firms or multinational companies that support the occupation. Citizens and consumers refuse to buy certain goods produced without respect for human rights, labour rights, or environmental norms, and demand the full application of the terms of commercial agreements between the EU and Israel and respect for international law.
- Cultural boycott denounces agreements of universities, local authorities and other Italian institutions for technological, scientific and cultural collaboration with Israeli institutions who are involved in the occupation. The government of Israel actually uses universities, film, literature and tourism to promote an image of a normal country, living in peace, happy and democratic, which seeks to hide the image of an occupying power that oppresses and systematically violates the rights of the Palestinian people. Of course, cultural boycott should not be applied to those who support the application of international law and the non-violent struggle against military occupation.
- As Italian citizens, we call for the abrogation of the military agreements with the State of Israel. The current collaboration of the Italian state with an oppressive regime is a green light for further crimes and violations of the rights of the Palestinian people.
The boycott is not directed against the Israeli population and certainly not against Jews as a whole, but against the Israeli government, against the occupation of the Palestinian territories, against the ever growing colonial settlements, against the war economy. We also link the boycott to initiatives for the right to study for young Palestinians. We are determined to maintain are links with Palestinian and Israeli women who support the BDS campaign and to promote interventions by them in Italy.
We believe that BDS is necessary instrument to stop the colonial expansionist Israeli policies, a means of holding Israel and the international community responsible for the violations of international law and human rights. We believe it is also a means of communication for spreading the work about what is happening in the West Bank and Gaza.
