The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Activists favour global sanctions against Israel

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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Activists favour global sanctions against Israel

B. Chandrashekhar

‘Isolation best manner to resolve Palestine-Israel conflict'

‘Israel-Palestine conflict political and cultural issue, not development or economic-oriented'
‘Boycott of apartheid regime in South Africa had expected effect after two decades of isolation'

— Photo: Mohd. Yousuf

Mobilising support: Sociologist Lisa Taraki and research associate Thomas Sommer in Hyderabad on Saturday.

HYDERABAD: The way the international community had isolated South Africa for practising apartheid, irrespective of lack of support from the US for long, was the best manner to resolve the Palestine-Israel conflict, activists of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel said here on Saturday.

Lisa Taraki, a sociologist with Birzeit University in Palestine, and Thomas Sommer, a research associate with the Focus on the Global South, were here in connection with mobilising academic and cultural support for the movement. “Though people have various ideas, it's the isolation of Israel by the international community that can build pressure on Israel to respect international laws and human rights,” the BDS activists said in an interview to The Hindu.

Root causes

It was a must to go to the root causes of the problem to resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict as it was political and cultural issue and not a development or economic-oriented, they noted.

The boycott of apartheid regime in South Africa had little impact on it initially, but it had the expected effect only after two decades of the isolation. It would be the same case with Israel, Ms. Taraki and Mr. Sommer explained.

Complete halt of occupation of Palestine areas, removal of all illegal Jewish settlements in the occupied areas, return of refugees and involvement of all sections including the few Palestine people living in Israel with discrimination would be prerequisites for resolving the long drawn conflict, they said.

The BDS movement was gaining support across the world, including in the US, UK and India, they claimed and said a group of academics and authors in New Delhi were planning to establish a nationwide campaign in India in support of Palestine cause.

Initiatives like signing a declaration “We don't want Israel nationality” and “Not in my name” by the Jews in the US and UK were also gaining momentum, they noted.

Stating that India's policy towards Palestine had witnessed a major shift after 1992 and it was supporting Israel morally now, they said the country was providing only lipstick diplomacy for Palestine.

Support of countries like India that had an illustrious anti-colonial history was very much needed for the fight for legitimacy by Palestine, the BDS activists said.

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