Tag: BDS

Prevent Alstom from building the Haramain Express Railway

Saudi Arabia awarded French company Alstom a multi-million dollar contract for the construction of Haramain Express Railway, to link the holy cities of Makkah and Madina. Alstom is in violation of international law for its part in the construction of the Jerusalem Light Rail, which will link illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory (including East Jerusalem) with the city of Jerusalem. The construction of the light rail is part of a wider Israeli policy to ethnically cleanse the Palestinians from Jerusalem and turn permanent the illegal occupation of the city.

The decision by the Saudi Arabian authorities is in violation of its own international commitments. The Arab League barred member states from dealing with companies involved in the construction of Jerusalem Light Rail project. The Saudi contract sends a signal of approval for Alstom’s actions in Jerusalem and highlights the lack of integrity of the Haramain project: the Saudi Arabian government has chosen to link two of Islam’s holiest cities by sponsoring the colonization of another.

Across the world a divestment campaign is taking pace against Alstom and its partner company Veolia, with victories in Sweden and France. In 2006, Dutch ASN Bank took the responsible decision to divest from the project. Alstom and Veolia are accused by Palestinian civil society, represented by the BDS National Committee, BNC, of complicity in grave violation of international law and Palestinian rights for their role in the JLR project. Despite the pressure, the two companies have refused to end their participation in the project. With construction at an advanced stage, Alstom and Veolia are guilty of actively colluding with Israeli apartheid.

  1. Write to the Saudi Railway Organization and to the Saudi Arabian diplomatic representation in your country demanding immediate cancellation of the contract with Alstom.

    karni@saudirailways.org (Vice President)
    shafqatrabbani@sro.org.sa (Project Manager)
    salim@sro.org.sa (Project Manager)
    sohail@sro.org.sa (Project Engineer)

    Please bcc us on your correspondence: saudialstomdivestment@gmail.com

  2. Sign the petition: http://www.petitiononline.com/BDSaudi/petition.html
  3. Write about this issue in your local media. Discuss it in your local mosque and community centers. Participate in actions for boycott, divestment and sanctions of Israel.

Find Out More!

The Case Against Veolia and Alstrom:

The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestinians From Jerusalem:

Dubai, jewel in Israel’s sales crown

Alain Gresh | Le Monde

27 May 2009

With the exception of Egypt, all Arab states officially boycott Israel, blacklist Israeli companies and ban imports of Israeli products. The same countries frequently lead the voices calling for sanctions against Israel. But sometimes life gets in the way.

Just a few weeks after the world financial crisis broke, a super-luxury hotel, the Atlantis, opened its doors in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The French chatter website LePost.fr of 21 November 2008 trumpeted the headline: “2000 stars at the inauguration of Dubai’s Atlantis Hotel”. It wrote:

“Dubai, Dubai, Dubai! Arab princes, flying carpets, oil, dollars… and the Atlantis Hotel! An extraordinary palace, which cost more than $1.9bn to create, celebrated its opening yesterday in high style.

“This little junket cost a trifling $38m! That’s what it took to tell the entire world about the arrival of a luxury hotel which sees itself as the planet’s most incredible palace, with its giant in-house aquarium…

“The Atlantis is at the heart of Dubai’s Palm Island, an artificial island built in the shape of a palm tree. The world’s greatest architects and designers worked on the Pharaonic project.”

Like the hotel itself, the event bore all the hallmarks of mad money climaxing a spendthrift era. You need only to walk down its vast corridors, as I did earlier this month, to realise just how foolish an exercise this is, what bad taste it represents, and of course that it’s very empty. The expected tourists vanished with the crisis.

The corridors bulge with luxury boutiques, the sort of shops which sell priceless clothes and diamond jewels. One of them is called Levant. Its display cases promote Leviev diamonds, as shown in this photograph.

But just who is Leviev? Abe Hayeem, who is from Bombay, of Iraqi Jewish origin, knows. He wrote an article headlined “Boycott this Israeli settlement builder” in The Guardian of 28 April 2009. Hayeem points out that the British Foreign Office decided to cancel its rental contract for the British Embassy in Tel Aviv because the building was owned by Leviev.

Far from only selling diamonds, Leviev is busy inside the occupied territories, principally constructing a road which links the illegal settler colony of Zufim, which he owns, to Israel – part of the ongoing process of confiscating Palestinian land. His company is also active in Bil’in where, on 17 April, the Israeli army killed a peaceful protestor, Bassem Abu Rahmeh, 29. This same company now has two boutique outlets in Dubai.

Their presence in the UAE has raised eyebrows. On 30 April 2008 an article by Abbas al-Lawati in Gulf News, the English-language daily, headed “Israeli jeweller has no trade licence to open shop in Dubai”, quoted a top official denying that the UAE had ever granted Leviev a licence and saying that if an application came it would be rejected.

Gulf News followed up the story on several occasions, including one report of demos against Leviev, “Call to boycott Israeli jeweller” on 14 December 2008, also by al-Lawati.

During the Dubai Arab Media Forum meeting I attended in May I raised the issue with journalists from various Arabic-language dailies. They told me they were not allowed to reply to such questions.

At a time when Israel violates with impunity all the UN Security Council resolutions, a growing movement calls for sanctions, boycotts and disinvestment (withdrawing overseas investment from Israel and the occupied territories). It’s similar to the French campaign against Alstom and Veolia for their role in a tram project in occupied Jerusalem “Tramway à Jérusalem, mensonge à Paris”, 24 October 2007. It’s astounding, in the circumstances, that Arab countries collaborate with the very same companies which operate in the occupied territories.

France’s trade minister Christine Lagarde visited Saudi Arabia in mid-May principally to promote the bid by Alstom and the SNCF for a TGV-type fast rail link between Mecca and Media. One must hope that the Saudi authorities make it a condition of any agreement that Alstom backs out of the Jerusalem tram project.

Palestinian students call for the BDS of Israel

Palestinian Students’ Campaign for the Academic Boycott of Israel (PSCABI)

29 May 2009

“Gaza today has become the test of our indispensable morality and common humanity.” – Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) National Committee

The Palestinian Students’ Campaign for the Academic Boycott of Israel (PSCABI) calls upon freedom-loving students all over the world to stand in solidarity with us by boycotting Israeli academic institutions for their complicity in perpetuating Israel’s illegal military occupation and apartheid system. We note the historic action taken by thousands of courageous students of British and American universities in occupying their campuses in a show of solidarity with the brutally oppressed Palestinian people in Gaza. We also deeply appreciate the decision by Hampshire College to divest from companies profiting from the Israeli occupation. Such pressure on Israel is the most likely to contribute to ending its denial of our rights, including the right to education.

In this regard, we fully endorse the call for boycott issued by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, PACBI, in 2004.

We emphasize our endorsement of the BDS call issued by more than 170 Palestinian civil society organizations in July 2005.

We also support the call from Gaza issued by a group of civil society organizations in the second week of the Gaza Massacre (Gaza 2009).

Our goal, as students, is to play a role in promoting the global BDS movement which has gained an unprecedented momentum as a result of the latest genocidal war launched by Israel against the occupied and besieged Gaza Strip. We address our fellow students to take whatever step possible, however small, to stand up for justice, international law and the inalienable rights of the indigenous people of Palestine by applying effective and sustainable pressure on Israel, particularly in the form of BDS, to help put an end to its colonial and racist regime over the Palestinians.

We strongly urge our fellow university students all over the world to:

  1. Support all the efforts aimed at boycotting Israeli academic institutions;
  2. Pressure university administrations to divest from Israel and from companies directly or indirectly supporting the Israeli occupation and apartheid policies;
  3. Promote student union resolutions condemning Israeli violations of international law and human rights and endorsing BDS in any form;
  4. Support the Palestinian student movement directly.

To break the medieval and barbaric Israeli siege of Gaza, people of conscience need to move with a sense of urgency and purpose. Israel must be compelled to pay a heavy price for its war crimes and crimes against humanity through the intensification of the boycott against it and against institutions and corporations complicit in its crimes. As in the anti-apartheid struggle in solidarity with the black majority in South Africa, students concerned about justice and sustainable peace have a moral duty to support our boycott efforts.

The Palestinian Students’ Campaign for the Academic Boycott of Israel (PSCABI)

Endorsed by:

Progressive Student Union Bloc;
Fateh Youth Organization;
The Progressive Student Labor Front;
Islamic Bloc;
Islamic League of Palestinian Students;
Student Unity Bloc;
and Students Affairs (University of Palestine).

Palestine urges withdrawal of rail contract

Abbas Al Lawati | Gulf News

31 May 2009

Dubai: Palestinian officials have intensified diplomatic efforts to persuade Saudi Arabia to withdraw a multibillion dollar rail contract awarded to a firm alleged to be complicit in Israel’s expansion in Occupied East Jerusalem, Gulf News has learnt.

Palestinian National Authority officials have said that they are in talks with the Saudis to find ways to block the Occupied Jerusalem light rail project.

The light rail project will link Occupied West Jerusalem to Occupied East Jerusalem and Jewish colonies in the Occupied West Bank when completed.

It has been described by Israeli leaders as the fulfillment of the Zionist dream and will be partly built by the French firm Alstom.

Alstom is part of a consortium awarded a $1.8 billion (Dh6.6 billion) civil works contract in March for the Makkah-Madinah railway, the Haramain Express.

“Back-channel talks with the Saudis are ongoing.” said a high ranking official at the Palestinian foreign ministry, speaking to Gulf News on condition of anonymity. He refused to divulge further details.

However, while Palestinian officials fear that Alstom’s Makkah contract will undermine their efforts to block the Occupied Jerusalem tramway, they also see it as an opportunity to put pressure on the company through Saudi Arabia.

They say that although the Occupied Jerusalem project is expected to be completed next year, Saudi Arabia could use its influence to derail its further expansion as well as its 30-year maintenance plan.

Palestinian efforts to fight the project started following a 2006 Arab League ministerial decision in Khartoum calling on states and international organisations to “stop the Occupied Jerusalem tram project and refrain from assisting in its execution”.

Since 2007 the Palestinian foreign ministry has been pressing Arab states to use their political and economic weight to pressure France into taking action against the companies that are involved in the Occupied Jerusalem project, but apparently has not had much success.

The foreign ministry requested Saudi Arabia to intervene in the matter in a letter dated December 2007.

“We received a reply from the ministry in early 2008 stating that Saudi officials intend to speak to the French on the matter,” said the Palestinian official.

Since the letter the Saudi government has awarded two contracts to Alstom. The company won a $2.6 billion contract to build a power plant in the kingdom last year.

This was followed by the Haramain Express contract earlier this year by the Saudi Railway Organisation (SRO).

The consortium is now bidding for two more contracts to supply the trains and maintain the stations. The SRO did not respond to Gulf News’ questions.

Alstom, Alstom Transport and Veolia are also facing a lawsuit in France for their involvement in the Occupied Jerusalem project, brought by French advocacy group Association France-Palestine Solidarité, which is working closely with the Palestinian Liberation Organisation’s (PLO) representative office in Paris.

Ambassador Hind Khoury, PLO representative and former minister of Occupied Jerusalem affairs, called the case a ‘breakthrough’. She said she often reminded Arab counterparts of their obligations as per the Arab League decision.

“I have a new mandate from the [Palestinian National Authority] president [Mahmoud Abbas] to pursue this case,” she said.

In an effort to avoid embarrassment, the French government reportedly distanced itself from the project when pressed by the Palestinian National Authority to intervene in 2005. It said it had nothing to do with projects private companies were involved in.

However, Alain Gresh, editor of Le Monde Diplomatique, said that the Occupied Jerusalem contract was signed in the office of the then French ambassador to Israel, Gerard Araud. “They can’t ignore that,” he said.

Such contracts are often politicised, with high level delegations often including heads of governments, being sent to the region to lobby on behalf of the bidding companies.

Palestinian officials have said that their discussions with Saudi Arabia will be based on the 2006 Arab League decision.

Eric Lenoir, communications manager at Alstom Transport said Gulf officials had not cited the Occupied Jerusalem project as a concern.

“Our job is to be compliant with specifications defined by local railway authorities. We don’t make politics,” he added.

Lenoir said that the Gulf region was an attractive market for Alstom due to congestion problems in its cities and a realisation by its governments that rail transport was a viable solution as the countries develop.

The company is currently eyeing projects in Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and the planned GCC railway.

The credible case against Alstom

Dubai: Critics of French-based Alstom have accused it of violating international law for what they see as the company’s complicity in Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory.

The company faces a lawsuit in France brought by French advocacy group Association France-Palestine Solidarité and the Palestine Liberation Organisation for its involvement in the Occupied Jerusalem light rail project which connects Occupied West Jerusalem to Occupied East Jerusalem and Jewish colonies in the West Bank.

Alstom and Veolia have repeatedly come under fire by advocacy groups in Europe for the project.

The Dutch ASN Bank decided in 2006 to exclude Veolia from its investment portfolios, and the Swedish national pension fund AP7 has blacklisted Alstom from its $15 billion (Dh55 billion) portfolio, according to media reports.

While the lawyers for the parties taking Alstom to court have avoided speaking to the media, Dubai based international humanitarian law expert Urs Stirnimann assumed that the Geneva Conventions are the principle basis in taking the company to court in France.

He said Israel’s practice of settling its population on occupied territory is widely considered to be a violation of Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which, in accordance with article 147 is a grave violation of international humanitarian law.

“In other words, [it is] a war crime. Article 146 clearly stipulates that it is the responsibility of each country to act against grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions,” he said.

Alain Gresh, editor of Le Monde Diplomatique, said that while it is unlikely that the French court would force the two companies to withdraw from the project, it sets a precedent which will prevent firms from operating in occupied territories for fear of a backlash. Alstom and Veolia have won contracts worth billions in all six Gulf Cooperation Council states.

Adri Nieuwhof, a human rights advocate who has written extensively about the Occupied Jerusalem tramway, says that the project is part of an Israeli “master plan” for Occupied Jerusalem, which includes the confiscation of privately owned Palestinian land.

She said the tramway would consolidate Israel’s hold on occupied Palestinian territory.

“For colonists living in the Occupied West Bank, travel to Occupied Jerusalem can become faster and more efficient with the light rail, so the colonies can become more attractive for colonists to live in, besides being cheap.”

Why Palestinians are calling for a boycott of Israeli universities

Amjad Barham | The Guardian

26 May 2009

Palestinian academics have been heartened by the outpouring of solidarity with our people on the part of British academics and students – the latter attested to by the creative “student occupation movement” in the wake of the brutal Israeli war against the Palestinian people in Gaza last December and January.

What does the Palestinian academic community expect from international colleagues?

It has sometimes been suggested that solidarity with Palestinian academics is best expressed in fostering academic links between British and Palestinian universities, with the aim of strengthening the capacity of Palestinian academic institutions that have suffered from the long siege imposed by Israel’s colonial regime.

While we value academic and institutional forms of support, we feel that this is not sufficient. Decades of life under military occupation have taught us that no sustainable development, including in the academy, is possible without freedom from occupation and oppression.

We are keenly aware that British intellectuals and academics have been at the forefront of many international campaigns for justice, the most illustrious and successful of which was the fight against the apartheid regime in South Africa. What we ask for is moral consistency: if it was acceptable for British academics to support unreservedly the academic boycott of South Africa with a view to ending the system of apartheid, then the same should apply in the case of Israel.

It is the duty of civil society to shoulder the moral responsibility of isolating Israel in the international arena through various forms of boycott and sanctions to compel it to obey international law and respect Palestinian rights.

It is well documented that Israeli academic institutions are deeply complicit in Israel’s colonial and racist policies against the Palestinian people. Not only do Israeli universities and research institutions co-operate closely with the security-military establishment through research and other academic activities, they have never dissociated themselves from the occupation regime, despite the more than four decades of the systematic stifling of Palestinian education.

Israeli universities have never condemned the entrenched and institutionalised system of discrimination against Palestinian citizens of Israel within the Israeli polity, society and even the academy.

Israel and its supporters have argued that the Palestinian call for institutional boycott infringes the universal principle of academic freedom. Palestinians find this argument biased and hypocritical – not to mention based on false premises.

The privileging of academic freedom above more basic human rights conflicts with the very idea of universal human rights, as it assigns far more importance to the academic freedom of a sector of Israeli society than to the fundamental rights of all Palestinians to live in freedom and dignity. Is upholding the academic freedom – in our view, the privileges – of Israeli academics a loftier aim than defending the freedom of an entire people living under a brutal and illegal occupation?

“Constructive engagement” with the Israeli academy is often suggested to us as a more effective mechanism to address the injustice inflicted upon us by Israel. We have tried this method, only to realise that as long as the terms of the relationship between the Israelis and the Palestinians are those of occupier and occupied, and oppressor and oppressed, the engagement process only results in normalising the occupation on the ground and whitewashing Israeli atrocities abroad.

I can give an example from my own personal experience. Once, as I was crossing one of the hundreds of military checkpoints on my way to my university, I was stopped by an Israeli soldier who turned out to be a fellow mathematician at an Israeli university. But our collegiality ended here: he told me that I could cross the checkpoint if I was able to answer a mathematics question correctly! What kind of engagement can be possible here?

As to the charge that the boycott is discriminatory, it is completely false. The Palestinian boycott call is institutional; it simply does not target individual Israeli academics and cannot, therefore, be “discriminatory” in any real sense of the term. Endorsing and applying the boycott does not in any way prevent individual Israeli academics from participating in international academic conferences and research projects, so long as the projects themselves are not based on institutional links with Israeli universities and research centers.

Moreover, being enshrined in universalist values and principles, the boycott call adopted by an overwhelming majority in Palestinian civil society categorically rejects all forms of racial discrimination and racism, including Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.

Finally, we of course recognise and deeply appreciate the steadily increasing support for the boycott we are witnessing among Israeli academics, who have reached the conclusion that only sustained pressure on Israel and its complicit institutions can bring about a just peace.

Our struggle for justice and peace is best supported through actions that aim at ending Israel’s impunity by compelling it to respect international law and our rights. Boycott is the most effective among those.

Dr Amjad Barham is president of the Palestinian Federation of Unions of University Professors and Employees (PFUUPE)