Palestine liberation & solidarity work isn’t new…

…and it’s vital for us to follow the lead of established organizations

Source: ANSWER Coalition

I’ll start with this: I consider myself to be fairly new to Palestinian solidarity/liberation work. In retrospect, I know I should’ve been more involved long ago; the best I can do now is work to amplify the voices of those who’ve been fighting this fight for decades.

Earlier this month, with Israel’s US-backed genocidal warmongering rapidly intensifying, I educated myself more thoroughly. In that process, I finally read through BDS’s boycott list. They advocate for a targeted boycott of: HP, Siemens, AXA, Puma, produce made in Israel, SodaStream, Ahava, and Sabra.

Of course, these aren’t the only companies linked to Israel, something BDS addresses in their boycott page’s FAQ:

What about those boycott lists with tens of products?

The global nature of today’s economy means that there are thousands of companies that have links to Israel and are complicit to various degrees in Israel’s violations of international law. However, for our movement to have real impact we need our consumer boycotts to be easy to explain, have wide appeal and the potential for success. That’s why globally, while we call for divestment from all companies implicated in Israel’s human rights violations, we focus our boycott campaigns on a select few strategic targets. We also encourage the principle of context sensitivity, whereby activists in any given context decide what best to target and how, in line with BDS guidelines. There is a lot of information online claiming that some large companies give money to Israel, some of which turns out to be false. BDS has built a reputation for strictly adhering to established facts and producing the most accurate information.

Many of these non-targeted lists are created by anti-BDS organizations, designed to dissuade people from BDS’s targeted boycott strategy by pointing out how many other companies are linked to Israel.

If you’re living on the grid, it’s nearly impossible to boycott every entity connected to Israel.

Interestingly enough, at least one of these lists has been taken down; the link now redirects to the Israeli national anthem on YouTube. In recent weeks I’ve seen a similar list circulating among pro-Palestine activists, potentially drawn from that site. This may explain why they’ve recently taken down the list.

It’s absolutely vital to not share these lists, because they are practically impossible to follow. To illustrate why, here’s a (somewhat outdated) graphic showing the number of brands within eleven of the largest global parent corporations, all of which have some degree of involvement with Israel:

Source: Bruminate, “The Illusion of Choice”

Furthermore, just about every big tech company is involved with Israel to some extent, and arguably the act of paying taxes in the United States is supporting an entity that supports Israel. In short, if you’re living on the grid, it’s nearly impossible to boycott every entity connected to Israel.

But that’s how a globalized economy work, and it’s why BDS encourages a targeted boycott of a few companies who have a clear & direct role in Israel’s system of apartheid:

• Hewlett-Packard (HP): runs the biometric ID system that restricts Palestinians’ movement
• Siemens: working to connect Israel’s power grid to Europe’s
• AXA: invests in Israeli banks, which finance apartheid
• Puma: sponsors the Israel Football Association, including teams in illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
• Israeli produce & wine: generally produced in illegal settlements or otherwise on stolen Palestinian land; easy to boycott due to presence of “Made in Israel” labels
• SodaStream: complicit in displacing Bedouin-Palestinian citizens; formerly operated a factory in the occupied West Bank, now near Israeli border with Gaza; known to discriminate against Palestinian workers
• Ahava: operates out of the occupied West Bank
• Sabra: joint PepsiCo/Strauss Group venture — Strauss Group provides financial support to IDF

These boycotts have impacted several of the targeted companies’ bottom lines, proving the importance of aligning your priorities as a consumer with those of the larger movement.

We must follow the lead of existing pro-Palestine organizations on issues beyond BDS as well. As an individual, it’s incredibly difficult to make a meaningful difference. Collective action amplifies each person’s impact.

If you’re in the United States and don’t know where to start, I’d recommend looking into these organizations:

1. Al-Awda (Palestinian Right to Return Coalition): pro-Palestine coalition supporting Palestinian refugees & organizing for Palestinian liberation; sign up for their email list on their home page here & check to see if they have a local chapter (or if you can start one) here.
2. Americans for Justice in Palestine (AJP) Action & American Muslims for Palestine (AMP): pro-Palestine lobbying organizations; subscribe to their mailing list here & use their action tool to put pressure on your elected representatives here.
3. ANSWER Coalition: a long-standing US-based anti-war coalition with chapters in over a dozen cities; sign up for alerts here & find more information on the November 4th March on Washington here.
4. IfNotNow: a US-based Jewish-led movement (open to allies) organizing to end the US’s support for Israel’s system of apartheid; join their communications list here & find their list of upcoming events here.
5. Palestine Action US: a newly-formed direct action organization connected to Palestine Action in the UK, focused on mobilizing against Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer; find more information including a link to an encrypted intake form here & follow the organization on Twitter here. (Note: it’s difficult to get involved with this org unless you have activist experience & a reference)
6. Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP): student-led organizations present on over 200 campuses; if you’re a student on a campus without a SJP chapter, consider reaching out to the National SJP organization for support starting one.
7. The People’s Forum: a movement incubator for marginalized & working class communities in the US & abroad, mostly utilizing popular education; sign up for their newsletter here & check their calendar for events in solidarity with Palestine, including a session on misinformation & propaganda this Tuesday evening.
8. US Campaign for Palestinian Rights: provides resources & support to US-based Palestinian solidarity movement, working with local organizers/activists as well as policymakers; sign up for their email list here & see if they’ve listed any upcoming solidarity protests in your area here (if you know of a protest that isn’t listed, share it with them).

To sum it up — there are plenty of existing organizations to join; I’ve listed just a handful. If you haven’t done so already, aligning your priorities as an activist with one or more of these organizations will substantially increase your individual impact. Also consider following Palestinians & Palestinian-led organizations on social media & heeding their calls to action.

And most importantly, don’t stop fighting, especially as major holidays approach & winter sets in. Some of us have health conditions that render us unable to spend an extended time outdoors in colder weather, which makes attendance at protests all the more important if you’re able. Keep calling your elected representatives if they haven’t yet signed onto the ceasefire resolution.

If you do absolutely nothing else, please talk to your relatives about what’s happening to the people of Gaza over the holidays. It’ll be uncomfortable — but absolutely nothing compared to the genocide unfolding with the full backing of the United States’ government & military.