Wednesday, September 03, 2014

Boycott Israel

Boycott Israel
1. What is the boycott? The boycott of Israeli products and companies supporting the zionist entity is about ordinary people around the world using their right to choose what they buy in order to help bring about an end to oppression in Palestine. Its a peaceful means of putting international pressure on the racist state of Israel and follows in the footsteps of the successful boycott against South African racist apartheid.
2. Are you boycotting all Jews? Certainly not! The boycott is not directed at any religious or ethnic group, but rather it is directed at those companies that are supporting the racist occupation of Palestine. A quick glance at the boycott list will testify to this. We do not discriminate between the supporters of Israel - if a Muslim company is caught collaborating with Israel we will boycott it just as vigorously as any other company.
3. Who supports the boycott? People of good conscience all around the world support the boycott.
Trade Unions around the world, including the UKs biggest trade union UNISON with its 1.4 million members, have called for a boycott of all Israeli goods. Christian groups like Christian Aid have joined the boycott demanding an end to EU - Israel trade agreements. And Jewish groups such as B'Tselem and Gush Shalom have launched their own boycott Israeli goods campaigns.
4. Are you sure these companies support Israel? Many people wanting to boycott Israeli products and companies supporting the zionist entity have been frustrated with the lack of accurate information as to which companies to boycott.
To this end we have carried out extensive research to identify the guilty companies. All our findings are backed with references so that you can independently check the facts and understand exactly how each company is contributing its support to Israel.
http://www.inminds.com/boycott-israel.php website have dedicated a whole page per company. Each page is divided into three sections -
(1) the company's product list,
(2) research findings and
(3) reference/additional info section.
You can see the evidence against a company given in the research findings section and next to each piece of evidence is a reference number which you can look up in the reference section to find out the source for the evidence - most items are sourced back to Israel's own newspapers and journals.
5. Surely wherever we spend our money, even our taxes support Israel, so why pick on these companies?Whilst it is true that the cancerous zionist entity has got its tentacles hooked into numerous markets and economies - sucking each one to nourish itself, but this is no excuse for us not to do anything. The companies on our list are chosen for being the major supporters of Israel - those that Israel itself has honoured and bestowed awards upon in recognition of being its key supporters in   the world. If we can successfully campaign against these then the support of the others will, inshallah, evaporate.6. These companies operate in Muslim countries providing Muslims with Jobs - isn't boycotting them going to harm ourselves?It is true that most of the companies on the list have operations in Muslim countries and employ Muslims who would loose their jobs if the companies collapsed or pulled out. But we have to look at this as a opportunity, not a loss.
Take the example of Coca-Cola in the middle east, the boycott has hit them so hard that their sales are down 60%. This has created an opportunity for a Muslim alternative, ZamZam Cola of Iran, which is owned by the religious charity the Foundation of the Dispossessed, to take Coca-Colas share of the market. Zam Zam Cola is struggling to keep up with demand - it exceeded all expectations by selling four million cans in its first week. It is now planning to expand by build factories in the gulf states, helping provide local employment. And for the first time even European countries like Denmark, are importing ZamZam Cola.
Similar success stories can be told of Sainsburys closer in Egypt in April 2001, which resulted in a blossoming of local stores which would not have otherwise survived in an unfair market monopolised by a foreign giant.
6 - the Israeli textile giant whos cloths are sold under the labels GAP, Banana Republic, Calvin Klein, BOSS, M&S and DKNY among others. The Israeli company has factories in Jordan and Egypt in addition to Palestine. Their treatment of workers is such that Sweatshop Watch has denounced Delta-Galils exploitation of Arab labour, calling it a "Sweatshop Czar". Is it really a loss to us to see such companies go?
7. Does the boycott work? Oh yes! For example, one of the companies hardest hit by the boycott is McDonalds.
McDonalds is a "major corporate partner" of the Jewish United Fund. In its own words, the Jewish United Fund "works to maintain American military, economic and diplomatic support for Israel; monitors and, when necessary, responds to media coverage of Israel." Also, McDonalds chairman and CEO Jack M. Greenberg is a honorary director of the American-Israel Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Also lets not forget that the reason why the multinationals have set up in Muslim countries is not out of benevolence for us, but rather exploitation. Take the example of Delta GaliMcDonalds has just announced it is closing down its operation in the middle east due to loss of revenue as a direct result of the boycott (Oct 2002), and is replacing Greenberg as its chairman and CEO (Dec 2002). Since the launch of the boycott campaign, two of Jordan's six McDonald's franchises have closed due to lack of business. In Egypt, McDonald's decided to change its brand name to Manfoods this past March, in an attempt to dodge the boycott. It had no effect and Egyptian police forces were ordered to guard the entrances to McDonald's restaurants, after stone throwing incidents took place. A total of 175 restaurants will be closed at a loss of $350 million.
In the face of giants like McDonalds crumbling under the pressure of the boycott, smaller companies are weary of supporting Israel and are steering clear in fear of being boycotted.
Amidst calls for a boycott of Amazon.com, the internet bookstore Amazon.com terminated its association with the Jerusalem Post (Nov 2002). It was revealed that the Jerusalem Post was donating its slice of the profits derived from the amazon.com partnership to Israeli soldiers returning home after committing massacres and other abuses of human rights on the occupied territories.
Their advert, which appeared on most of their pages, read "Buy Amazon.com & Support Israel". Inundated with complaints, amazon.com severed its ties to the Jerusalem Post, demanding they remove all the adverts and vowed not to hand over any more profits.

Friday, February 14, 2014

Christian Militants are Killing Muslims in Central Africa Republic



International peacekeepers have failed to prevent the ethnic cleansing of Muslim civilians in the western part of the Central African Republic, Amnesty International said in a report issued today.

To protect the country’s remaining Muslim communities, international peacekeeping forces must break the control of anti-balaka militias and station sufficient troops in towns where Muslims are threatened.
“Anti-balaka militias are carrying out violent attacks in an effort to ethnically cleanse Muslims in the Central African Republic,” said Joanne Mariner, senior crisis response adviser at Amnesty International.

“The result is a Muslim exodus of historic proportions.”

Amnesty International criticized the international community’s tepid response to the crisis, noting that international peacekeeping troops have been reluctant to challenge anti-balaka militias, and slow to protect the threatened Muslim minority.

“International peacekeeping troops have failed to stop the violence,” said Donatella Rovera, senior crisis response adviser at Amnesty International.

“They have acquiesced to violence in some cases by allowing abusive anti-balaka militias to fill the power vacuum created by the Seleka’s departure.”

In recent weeks, Amnesty International has taken over 100 first-hand testimonies of large-scale anti-balaka attacks on Muslim civilians in CAR's northwest towns of Bouali, Boyali, Bossembele, Bossemptele, and Baoro. International troops had failed to deploy to these towns leaving civilian communities without protection.

The most lethal attack documented by Amnesty International took place on 18 January in Bossemptele, where at least 100 Muslims were killed. Among the dead were women and old men, including an imam in his mid-70s.

To escape the anti-balaka’s deadly attacks, the entire Muslim populace has fled from numerous towns and villages while in others, the few who remain have taken refuge in and around churches and mosques.

International concern over the sectarian nature of the violence in the CAR led the UN Security Council in December 2013 to authorize the deployment of peacekeeping forces to the country. Those forces—comprised of about 5,500 African Union troops, known as MISCA, and 1,600 French troops, known as “Sangaris”—have been deployed within Bangui and to several towns north and southwest of the capital.

Even in the PK 5 neighbourhood at the centre of Bangui's Muslim community, thousands of frightened people are packing up and leaving home.

The journey to safety is difficult and dangerous. Convoys are frequently attacked by anti-balaka militia. A small boy called Abdul Rahman told Amnesty International how, on 14 January, the truck he was travelling on was stopped at an anti-balaka checkpoint. They demanded that all the Muslim passengers get off. Six members of his family were then killed: three women and three small children, including a toddler.

Is the Central African Republic at breaking point?

After several weeks of bloody violence in Bangui, hundreds of thousands of people have now been displaced. Although the city is patrolled by French and African peacekeeping forces, the situation is still not under control. Our reporters on the ground witnessed the daily clashes and met the Christian and Muslim communities who now live in fear of each other.
The situation in the Central African Republic is extremely complex; many different forces are involved. In March 2013 the Seleka rebels toppled the former president François Bozizé and replaced him with Michel Djotodia.

The Seleka are mainly Muslims. After they came to power they carried out atrocities, and this led to the creation of self-defence groups called the anti-Balaka. Throughout December there were many clashes between the anti-Balaka and the former Seleka rebels. Last month more than one thousand people are believed to have been killed.

Another problem comes from the presence of different international forces in the country. The UN-mandated African force MISCA has nearly 4,000 troops. Among them are the Burundians, who last month accused the Chadians of having opened fire on them. Chad denies this.

In the Muslim districts many feel that the French forces (1,600 men) disarm the Seleka but not the anti-Balaka; France rejects the allegation. And in the Christian areas residents say Chadian forces are siding with the Seleka.

All the fighting has led to a dire humanitarian situation. Some 800,000 people have fled their homes, half of them in Bangui. In the capital, the largest camp is around the airport where 100,000 residents now live under tarpaulins, with no running water. One of the few NGOs there, Doctors Without Borders (MSF), said Thursday it was reducing its activities at the camp because of the violence in the area. MSF says there is an urgent need for more humanitarian aid. The most shocking aspect, they said, is that this camp is not isolated in the jungle, but beside the airport of an African capital. (Text by Nicolas Germain)