A surgical strike on Israel's wallet could end the occupation

[bemildred]

What on earth will it take to persuade Israel to leave the occupied territories? Sometimes it seems as if nothing will work. For eight years now, the Arab Peace Initiative, which early Zionist leaders would have seen as a dream-come-true, has been collecting dust. Its terms include two states based on the pre-1967 borders, a mutually agreed-upon solution to the Palestinian refugee crisis, and normalized diplomatic relations between Israel and the entire Arab world. What once would have appeared to many to be Israel's salvation now seems impossible given Israel's entrenched colonial position in the West Bank and the settlers' political power.

Perhaps American college students can help bring Israel to its senses. This past March 18, members of the student senate at the University of California, Berkeley, voted to recommend to the university's governing board of regents that they divest their holdings in General Electric and United Technologies - two companies that have profited from Israel's occupation of Palestinian land, its demolition of Palestinian homes, its aggressive campaign in Gaza last year, and the expansion of settlements. Although Berkeley's student government is not the first in the United States to vote for a divestment recommendation of this nature, it is by far the most significant.

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"In South Africa, we could not have achieved our freedom and just peace without the help of people around the world, who through the use of nonviolent means, such as boycotts and divestments, encouraged their governments and other corporate actors to reverse decades-long support for the Apartheid regime. Students played a leading role in that struggle," Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote in a letter to Berkeley's student government endorsing the current divestment bill.

Whether one sees Israel as an apartheid-like regime or not, certainly the aforementioned history could offer lessons in how to end the occupation. If more American college campuses and local agencies pass divestment measures, eventually members of U.S. Congress may come to see that they must listen to their pro-justice, pro-peace constituents and not only to AIPAC. If that happens, a U.S. anti-occupation act could become a possibility.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1166422.html

[PDJane]

Yes. I do see Israel as an apartheid state.....

and anything that might work is worth the attempt.

[PDJane]

1. Yes. I do see Israel as an apartheid state.....

and anything that might work is worth the attempt.

[stray cat]

2. so the US should attack? After all attacks on an economy can be act of war

[PDJane]

3. All the US needs to do is stop funding the occupation..........

and there are lots and lots of countries that could use the `1/3 of the aid budget that goes to Israel.

[RandomThoughts]

4. Blow The Trumpet!

Many of the past civil rights activist and leaders were and are Jewish.

Blow The Trumpet!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-mStYKXeNU