EJJP Calls for Immediate Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against the Israeli Occupation

Following an eight day tour of the region,
representatives of European Jews for a
Just Peace (EJJP) held a press conference
in Jerusalem today as part of the local and
international resistance to Israel’s policies
toward the Palestinian people, particularly
the current killings and destruction
in the Gaza Strip.

“Israel’s current military operation has failed and will not bring
security to anyone,” noted Dror Feiler, Chairperson of EJJP.
“The Israeli military operation is a macho show. People
struggling for liberation, as the Palestinians are, cannot be
stopped with force. History has proven this,” added Feiler.

“Non-violent resistance is constantly being developed by the
Palestinians, but is always met with Israeli violence, such as
happens in Beilin, for example,” says Feiler. What kind of
message is Israel thus sending to the Palestinian people?
That there will be no peace, that negotiations will lead nowhere
and that Israel will continue making facts on the ground.”

EJJP (http://www.ejjp.org/) is a network of European Jewish
groups campaigning against the Israeli occupation from ten
European countries, including Germany, Italy, France and the
UK. Describing the organization as “representing a significant
body of opinion within the European Jewish communities,”
EJJP Secretary Dan Judelson noted that this was the group’s
third visit to the area in the past three years.

Following visits to places such as Hebron, Bethlehem,
Ramallah and Jenin, Judelson added that “What’s happening
throughout the occupied West Bank is low intensity ethnic
cleansing in terms of numbers, but is devastating entire Palestinian
communities. We’ve met Palestinian families living in tents under
demolition orders, seen shop doors welded shut by the Israeli army
and seen how Palestinians are being forced from their homes
by settlement expansion.”

During their visit, EJJP delegates further met with representatives of the
Quartet, European ambassadors and consuls, in addition to Palestinian,
Israeli and international NGOs and political activists.

“We advocate for European suspension of the trade association
agreement with Israel as a non-violent way to promote Palestinian
rights and peace,” stated Feiler, “and this is the message we are
taking to parliamentarians and politicians. Diplomats talk,
but now is the time for action.”