US Green Party Calls for Full Divestment & Boycott of Israel
The US Green Party has issued a press release stating:
The Green Party of the United States has endorsed a statement calling for a comprehensive strategy of boycott and divestment that would pressure the government of Israel to guarantee human rights for Palestinians.
The resolution, introduced by the Wisconsin Green Party and passed in the Green Party’s National Committee, seeks reversal of Israel’s current policies.
[…] “Israel’s treatment of Palestinians — those who are Israeli citizens as well as those in the territories — is comparable in many ways to South African apartheid, and has resulted in a cycle of violence and lack of security for both Israelis and Palestinians,” said Mohammed Abed, a member of the Green Party of Wisconsin. “A stable and just resolution of the conflict requires the full realization of the human rights of Palestinians and Israelis.”
Read the full text of their press release and the boycott resolution here.
Boooo! Down with the Green Party. Okay who am I kidding, they suck and no one listens to them anyway.
Well, I was a Green. What’s the color of shame?
Second rate amateurs who don’t know their ass from their elbow.
Though they’re wrong on this issue, Green Party often has decent platforms, was reasonable enough not to associate themselves with Nader in 2004, and, in other countries’ versions at least, has done a lot of good at the national level. It’s worth mentioning that Joschka Fischer, the head of the German Greens until recently, is probably the most pro-Israel politician in Europe:
http://umkahlil.blogspot.com/2…
Because of the US’s electoral system, the Greens are more or less doomed to irrelevance anyway. Hopefully they’ll stick to local politics, where they can actually get elected and make a difference.
the issue with that abel, is that on the local level they’ve been calling for divestment too.
i personally am in favor of divestment from and boycott of all businesses operating in the occupied territories. but blanket measures which punish the entirety of israel, a country with an average household income of $12,000/yr (which is beneath the poverty line), to me is unfair.
i think most people are against the occupation and in favor of giving arabs greater rights. they simply fear their own destruction, which is hard not to do when you have four years of suicide bombings behind you, rockets dropping on sderot every day, al qaeda blowing up hotels in your neighbors’ tourist areas, and iran calling for you to be wiped off the map.
people should boycott products made by israelis in the territories and they should boycott international business providing supplies to settlers. that’s fair, entirely justifiable, and appropriate. even calling for a reduction in u.s. military aid to israel is appropriate, because israel gets an eggregious amount of money which it misuses, building weapons which it sells to other countries, worsening the issue of proliferation. the public doesn’t benefit in any way from this. only private weapons contractors do.
ie., if collective punishment is a war crime, don’t punish all israelis as being occupiers and war criminals. punish the occupiers and the war criminals directly.
So does that include products and businesses run by Jews/Israelis in French Hill, Ramot, East Talpiot, East Jerusalem etc? As for international businesses providing supplies to settlers, would that include, I dunno, Microsoft and Apple (settlers use computers), Nokia, Samsung and Motorola (settlers use cell phones), BMW, Chrysler, Ford, Toyota etc. (settlers use cars), Kleenex and Marlboro (settlers smoke and wipe their noses) and on and on … And then there’s the notion of the reduction of US military aid to Israel as an attempt to reduce international weapons proliferation?? Oy. I’ll heed the lessons of the Chofetz Chaim (especially since he’s all looking at me) and just say that I think your comment grossly oversimplifies the issue. To say the least. The measures you are advocating are in fact dangerous to the continued viability of Israel, and I would uh… urge you to reconsider.
I don’t want to bother checking their website…but are they also calling for a boycott of China? It would only make sense. If not, then I’m just going to assume they hate the JOOOOOS. Screw them.
I just send letters to my local Green Party officials explaining my concerns with this as a long-time Green supporter. The divestment campaign seems to be the project of this college kid in Wisconsin. Maybe with enough Greens showing they don’t support this kind of “solution” to the conflict, it will be reversed.
Here’s irony.
What’s the one country in the world that increased it’s number of trees during the 20th century?
OK- Lets boycot ALL countries that suppress human rights, which would include ALL muslim countries. Where are the divestment resolutions for that?
I still think R. Hertzberg offered the most reasonable solution: for the US to put 25% (the approximate amount of US tax dollars supporting the settlements) of it’s finacial support for Israel, in escrow, and releasing it as soon as the occupation ends.
Jack: wait, what does being able to distinguish ones ass from ones elbow have to do with anything?
I do feel the divestment campaign is a valid strategy, but it needs to be applied selectively so that it won’t cause undue harm to Israeli citizens. The most important thing is for the occupiers to fully understand the nature of the system of oppression they are supporting, but punishingthem economically may have the opposite effect. As far as terrorism is concerned, I have always thought that the best strategy for the Palestinians would be massive nonviolent direct action supported by the Peace camp in Israel, but time and time again the occupation’s response has been quite brutal. People shouldn’t forget that it was Israel that supported the growth of Hamas during the 1st intifada in order to undercut the support of the leftist/nationalist Palestinian groups, a policy that has come back to bite thembig time.
but Palestinians talk about occupied Tel Aviv and Ocupied Afula and occupied Haifa.And honestly they are right.Why not divest from them as well? I just dont understand what the difference between the 1949 armistice line and 1967 armistice line.Also what about the Golan Hights ? They are ocupied as well,right?I mean the were conquered in the same war.
The Wisconsin Greens should easily liberate Tibet and end genocide in Sudan once they get the Zionist usurper out of the Arab East.
n other countries’ versions at least, has done a lot of good at the national level.
I don’t think the U.S. Green Party is affiliated with the European Green Parties, is it?
Singling out Israel and only Israel is always fun, but I still wish there was a party that worried about things like getting our sorry asses off the oil addiction that is destroying our planet. But I guess that’s boring, cause it affects everybody.
V
Despite the circulation of that story, it’s untrue (or at least highly inaccurate). Israel did not support Hamas during the first intifada. Roughly a decade earlier, it did support the organiation which would, in 1987, become Hamas, but that group was, at the time, nonviolent and mainly concerned with social issues.
groenman: the green party of the united states is part of a global network of green parties, which includes lots of european green parties. green parties worldwide share similar ideas and principles, but i guess they don’t agree on everything.
http://www.globalgreens.info/
Eyal…
I’ve read this claim time and again i.e. Israel supported Hamas, but never a debunking of the claim. Could you provide a link supporting your claim. Thanks.