Action targets Israel, gas industry

May 20, 2011

Issue

“No trade with apartheid Israel” was the main theme of a protest outside the “Water Solutions for the Coal Seam Gas Industry Breakfast”, held at Brisbane's Sofitel Hotel on May 18.

A trade delegation from Israel was hosted at the breakfast, sponsored by the Australian Israel Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland.

The protest, organised by Justice for Palestine Brisbane, attracted about 20 people who held placards supporting Palestinian rights and calling for Australia to impose economic sanctions against Israel.

The protest was part of the growing international boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign against apartheid Israel.

Arab-Australian activist Phil Monsour spoke about Israel’s theft of Palestinian land and the policies which deny the Palestinian people access to water in the Israeli occupied West Bank and Gaza.

Resistance and Socialist Alliance member Hannah Reardon-Smith linked the issues of ending economic ties with Israel with the developing campaign opposing the environmentally destructive coal seam gas industry in Queensland and around Australia.

For more information on the boycott Israel campaign, visit http://www.justiceforpalestinebrisbane.org/

Environment

Middle East

Australia

Comments

Anonymous replied on Mon, 05/23/2011 - 16:19 Permalink

you had less then 10 pepole not 20

Anonymous replied on Tue, 05/24/2011 - 10:02 Permalink

1: You were there, so you would probably have been a part of the breakfast, hence your "I was there is kind of biased". 2: wow, good job. 10 instead of "about 20", what is the point? people were still there protesting.

Anonymous replied on Tue, 05/24/2011 - 18:35 Permalink

How about a no trade with homophopic, murderous, Islamofacist regime boycott?

Anonymous replied on Wed, 05/25/2011 - 13:42 Permalink

Gaza is under a blockade and is severely limited in what comes in and out, so I dont see what a boycott would do when there are no Gaza companies to boycott. Also Israeli civil society has not called for a boycott, unlike Palestinian civil society, so why would we initiate one? As much as you may hate Hamas, it is not about them, they did not create an apartheid situation. They commit random acts of violence against Israel sometimes in response to Israeli actions, sometimes just randomly, which we condemn. But they had set up a basic welfare service for Palestinians and were the only ones, in Palestinian eyes, doing anything to fight against daily attacks and discrimination by the Israeli state, hence why people voted for them. When the boycott is successful and Israel ends its apartheid policies and imperialist expansion then Palestinians will have a chance to have a better life and support for extremist organizations will fall. People turn to terrorism because they feel they have no other option of fighting back, one example, the first female Palestinian suicide bomber was an ambulance volunteer who spent all her days helping people wounded by the Israeli military. That is why there is a boycott on Israel, Israel has the power the change the situation and stop its aggressive expansion, even if Palestinians stopped fighting back or committing terrorism tomorrow this would not stop Israeli expansion and discrimination. Expansionists within the Israeli government seek to destroy the Palestinian people, so no concessions by Palestinians will ever stop that expansion. The boycott, like the boycott against South Africa, is aimed at ending discrimination and an apartheid situation.

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