BOYCOTT ISRAEL/STICHTING RAINBOW FACILITATES AND
ORGANISES SPOT ON ISRAELI THEATRE IN THE NETHERLANDS/LETTER
TO THE DIRECTOR OF RAINBOW FOUNDATION
TO THE DIRECTOR OF STICHTING RAINBOW,
MRS E NETZ
SUBJECT
YOUR FACILITATION AND ORGANISATION
OF THE WEEKEND EVENT ´´SPOT ON
ISRAELI THEATRE´´
See
See for Stichting Rainbow
Dear Mrs Netz,
As you have read above, according to my information
your Foundation is organizing the next weekend (12,13,14 september)
SPOT ON Israeli Theatre with workshops and performances of
Israeli theatre artists. (1)
Your goal in the future is a collaboration between Dutch and
Israeli theatre artists. (2)
I urgently plead with you to cancel this cultural event and not
to cooperate with Israeli artists in the future.
Reason
The continuing and structural warcrimes and human rights
violations of the Israeli occupying State.
THE ISRAELI OCCUPATION OF THE PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES
Since 1967, Israel is the occupying Power in the Palestinian territories
the Westbank, East Jerusalem and Gaza (3), despite UN Security
Resolution 242, calling on Israel to withdraw from the territories
it had conquered during the june war (1967), among which
the Palestinian.
That has not happened untill today, with as a consequence a
47 years occupation.
OPPRESSION
Inherent to every occupation are oppression, human rights violations
and war crimes.
Occupation is terror.
In Israel it has lead to structural human rights violations
and war crimes because of military operations as in the
Westbank as in Gaza. (4)
Recently the Israeli military operation in Gaza
´´Protective Edge´´has caused 2137 Palestinian deadly victims
from who 80 percent civilians. (5)
Houses have been destroyed, schools and hospitals
have been bombed and medical workers have been
attacked. (6)
In january of this year, Amnesty International has
uttered a sharp condemnation of Israeli
military conduct in a report
´´Trigger Happy. Israel´s use of excessive force in the
Westbank. ´´ (7)
To go further
The continuing annexation of the occupied Westbank by expansion
of the settlements, which are illegal to International Law and have led
to mass Palestinian land expropriations.(8)
Discrimination is official, since the settlers enjoy the benefits of
Israeli Law and the Palestinians are subjected to martial Law,
with less rights. (9)
Then there is the Israeli Wall, illegal since the route is within
the Westbankl, not along the Green Line. (10)
Moreover, the Palestinian population is often cut off
from schools, hospitals and their farm lands. (11)
I want to point out to you also the strangling Gaza Blockade,
since 2007, from which the whole population in Gaza became victim,
which makes it a collective punishment, prohibited according
International Law. [12]
EPILOGUE
Since year and day, Israel is violating International Law
by continuing the occupation, expanding the illegal settlements,
continuing the construction of the Illegal Wall and not ending the
Gaza Blockade.
And systematically Israel is committing war crimes.
That’s disgustable and unacceptable, so it deserves a strong answer
of the International Community by taking economic sanctions, untill
Israel is prepared to fulfill International Law and end the
policy of occupation, oppression and human rights violations.
But economic sanctions are not enough.
There must follow a sport and cultural boycot too.
Perhaps you will say
”But cultural colloberation has nothing to do
with politics’.”
Then, dear Mrs Netz, you are wrong, because there is a close
connection.
By connecting the cultural ties with Israel and its cultural
representatives, Israel gets a positive upgrading, which means
bagatellising the Israeli occupation and its crimes.
By giving your cooperation to that, you become morally
responsible for covering Israeli occupation, oppression and
war crimes.
Since I assume that you will not have that on your conscience,
I appeal to you, to cancel this weekend event.
There is still time for that.
I will end with words, which have made a deep; impression
on me.
It are the words of more than 350 Holocaust survivors and their
descendents, who have condemned the recednt Israeli attack on
Gaza ”Protective Edge” and also fight the Israeli occupation
and colonization of Palestine.
´´We must raise our collective voices and use our collective power to bring about an end to all forms of racism, including the ongoing genocide of Palestinian people. We call for an immediate end to the siege against and blockade of Gaza. We call for the full economic, cultural and academic boycott of Israel. “Never again” must mean NEVER AGAIN FOR ANYONE!´´ ¨(13)
Take that as your moral guidance.
Kind greetings
Astrid Essed
Amsterdam
NOTES
[1]
SPOT ON ISRAEL
(2)
SPOT ON ISRAEL
(3)
GAZA IS STILL OCCUPIED TERRITORY
SEE
”Israel maintains effective control over Gaza, controlling all but one of the crossings into the Gaza Strip, the airspace, territorial waters, telecommunications and the population registry which determines who is allowed to leave or enter Gaza. Therefore, Israel is still considered the occupying power and is responsible for the welfare of the inhabitants in the strip under international humanitarian law.”
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
ISRAEL/OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES
´´“Under international law, the test for determining whether an occupation exists is effective control by a hostile army, not the positioning of troops,” Whitson said. “Whether the Israeli army is inside Gaza or redeployed around its periphery and restricting entrance and exit, it remains in control.”
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
ISRAEL/´´DISENGAGEMENT´´ WILL NOT END GAZA OCCUPATION
(4)
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
ISRAEL/GAZA
OPERATION ”CAST LEAD”
22 DAYS OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
RAIN OF FIRE
ISRAEL´S UNLAWFUL USE OF WHITE PHOSPHORUS
IN GAZA
25 MARCH 2009
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
TRIGGER HAPPY
ISRAEL’S USE OF EXCESSIVE FORCE IN
THE WEST BANK
FEBRUARY 2014
(5)
ALAKHBAR/ENGLISH
THE VICTIMS OF GAZA: A LIST OF PALESTINIANS KILLED
IN ISRAEL’S ONGOING ASSAULT
(6)
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
MOUNTING EVIDENCE OF DELIBERATE ATTACKS
ON GAZA HEALTH WORKERS BY ISRAELI ARMY
7 AUGUST 2014
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
URGENT ACTION
DOCTORS, PATIENTS AND HOSPITALS UNDER ATTACK
4 AUGUST 2014
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
URGENT ACTION
DOCTORS, PATIENTS AND HOSPITALS UNDER ATTACK
4 AUGUST 2014
GAZA STRIP
DEATH FORETOLD: THE INEVITABLE OUTCOME
OF BOMBING HOMES AND INHABITED AREAS IN GAZA
12 AUGUST 2014
INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS
GAZA, ISRAEL AND THE WESTBANK
NO END IN SIGHT TO OVERWHELMING
HUMAN COST OF CONFLICT
19 AUGUST 2014
[7]
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
TRIGGER HAPPY
ISRAEL’S USE OF EXCESSIVE FORCE IN
THE WEST BANK
FEBRUARY 2014
[8]
LAND EXPROPRIATIONS AND SETTLEMENTS IN THE
INTERNATIONAL LAW
(9)
´´Although the West Bank is not part of Israel’s sovereign territory, the settlements and the settlers are generally subject to Israeli law. As a result, the settlers enjoy all the rights of citizens in a democratic state, just as Israeli citizens living within the Green Line do. Meanwhile, Palestinians continue to live under martial law and are thereby systematically deprived of their rights and denied the ability to have any real impact on policymaking with respect to the territory in which they live. ´´
LAND EXPROPRIATION AND SETTLEMENTS
[10]
INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
LEGAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE INSTRUCTION
OF A WALL IN THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
9 JULY 2004
[11]
´´The restrictions on freedom of movement also limit the access of Palestinian villagers to hospitals in nearby towns; the educational system suffers because many schools, primarily village schools, depend on teachers who live outside the community and must commute to the school; also family ties and social connections are adversely affected.´´
THE SEPARATION BARRIER
[12]
GAZA BLOCKADE
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
ISRAEL/OPT
GAZA POWER CRISIS HAS COMPOUNDED
BLOCAKDE’S ASSAULT ON HUMAN DIGNITY
1 DECEMBER 2013
BBC
UN OFFICIAL SLAMS ISRAEL ”CRIMES”
10 DECEMBER 2008
THE SIEGE ON GAZA
GAZA BLOCKADE IS A COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT
AND THEREFORE PROHIBITED ACCORDING TO
INTERNATIONAL LAW
ARTICLE 33, 4TH GENEVA CONVENTION
”No protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally committed. Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited.
Pillage is prohibited.
Reprisals against protected persons and their property are prohibited.”
[13]
MORE THAN 350 SURVIVORS AND DESCENDANTS OF
SURVIVORS AND VICTIMS OF THE NAZI GENOCIDE
CONDEMN ISRAEL´S ASSAULT ON GAZA
SEE ALSO
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-AUGUST 24TH, 2014
JEWISH HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
CALL FOR JUSTICE IN GAZA