Palestine is the barometer of Western integrity
HJFP MONTHLY PALESTINE REVIEW – JANUARY 2014
Don’t call me a Palestinian of the Palestinian Territories because it is called Palestine.
Don’t give me a fraction of my homeland and call it a solution.
Don’t give me oppression and call it peace.
Don’t give me a Bantustan and call it a home.
Don’t give me a prison and call it freedom.
Don’t draw the borders of my existence according to your whims and interests and call it a state.
My Palestine is the home that is mine since the dawn of history till the end of history.
NEWS
BDS
05.01.2014Veolia group negotiating sale of its operations in Israel
A year after Veolia lost its largest contract, £4.7 billion in north London, it is now leavingIsrael. The news of the sale was followed by a spike in Veolia's share price on 23 Dec 13 - see a screenshot attached
of on 5th Jan 14.Translation from Hebrew article published in the Israeli news website Calcalaist by Golan Hazani on 23 December 2013
Extracts:
Global Veolia is acting to sell its interests in Israel.Calcalistlearned that in recent months, representatives of the group met with Israeli and foreign investors to discuss selling its operations....JPMorgan Bank is also accompanying this process vis-a-vis foreign investors.Veolia revenues are estimated at $1.5 billion annually and its net income is estimated at $120 million. ... Sources involved in the talks estimate the scope of overall activities to be $400 million.
Veolia is the largest international group operating in the country in the field of infrastructure, alongside Alstom, and the contacts it is currently conducting apparently derive from the decision ofVeoliaEnvironnement, the French parent company, to reduce its activities in 40 of the 77 countries where it operates today[but previously they insisted Israeli interests weren't for sale]. Veolia Environnement reported in 2012 on its efficiency programme on the backdrop of huge debts carried by the group - about 15.2 billion euros. ... This is in order to reduce the debt to EUR 12 billion by the end of 2013 while cutting EUR 780 million from the current budget by the end of 2015.
However, Veolia Israel denied this news outright, claimingcontacts are being conducted to add investors to the group.Group Chairman Uri Starkman said: "Veolia Israel is amongst the country's leading bodies in the fields of environment, water and energy. The group is negotiating with financial institutions in Israel and abroad concerning their entry as partners to operations in Israel and not for the sale of operations. Veolia Israel is proud to mark 20 years of activity in the country and will continue to contribute to the environment in Israel in the coming years. "
Transport activities sold already last year
The Israeli branch of the group was founded in 1993 by Starkman, who now serves as chairman. Last February CEO Arnon Fishbein resigned unexpectedly after three years on the job on the background of the efficiency program implemented by global Veolia for two years. Since the retirement of Fishbein, no CEO was appointed to the group, and Starkman also serves as the acting CEO.The group, which employs some 2,000 workers in Israel, is involved here in three areas : energy, water and environment . Until recently, the group was also involved in transportation through thesubsidiary Connex, but this was sold several weeks ago to the Ofekim company. Six months prior to this the group sold its holding in the CityPass company, which operates the light rail, of which it held 25 percent.
In the area of the environment, the group holds amongst other things concessions for landfills and the country's sole combustion facility for disposing of hazardous materials, while also working in rubbish collection and removal in dozens of local authorities in Israel and recycling facilities.In the field of water the corporation holds 50 percent of the desalination plant in Ashkelon, the second largest in the country, which provides some 120 million cubic meters of desalinated water yearly. It's partner in the plant is an engineering and desalination company owned by ICL and the Delek group. Veolia also holds wastewater treatment facilities, such as the Elon waste water treatment plant.
In the field of energy the group – throgh its subsidiary Dalkia - holds 20 percent of OPC in Mishor Rotem, the first private power plant in Israel which began operating last July. The group is also a partner in establishing four of the largest solar installations in the country, in cooperation with a subsidiary of the French electricity company.
The original article is avilable in Hebrew at the following link:
07.01.2014OECD to question G4S on how it can justify aiding the occupation.
G4S contracts in Israeli occupied territories face major investigation. OECD to examine the controversial firm’s alleged supply of surveillance kit. G4S, the security company which has lurched from crisis to crisis over the past two years, is facing an investigation by international authorities into its alleged activities in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.Sources said the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) UK staff have indicated that it will be investigating the company’s work supplying Israeli security services.It is alleged that G4S provides Israel with surveillance equipment at its checkpoints in the occupied territories, although the precise nature of the equipment is not known.
The OECD, which operates under the umbrella of the Department of Business in the UK, is expected to investigate whether the supply of such kit is in contravention of its guidelines for multinational enterprises – a set of Government-backed recommendations for “responsible business conduct” overseas.Given the illegality of the settlements under international law, the OECD is expected to question G4S on how it can justify, as a company from an OECD-member country, supplying or servicing kit that aids the occupation.If the organisation finds G4S has acted improperly, it will create another major raft of bad publicity for the company which has already been pilloried for overcharging British taxpayers for its electronic tagging of prisoners and, perhaps most famously, its bungling of the Olympics security contract and its operation of prisons such as Oakwood, where there was a five-hour period of disorder at the weekend.
Only last month, the British Government warned UK citizens of the risks of doing business with Jewish settlements in the occupied territories. The UK Trade and Investment website was updated to warn the settlements are illegal and that operating there was risky.The website warned against carrying out financial transactions, investments, purchases or procurements from businesses there, and tourism. It said EU citizens and businesses should “be aware of the potential reputational implications of getting involved in economic and financial activities in settlements, as well as possible rights abuses of individuals”, and added: “Those contemplating any economic or financial involvement in settlements should seek appropriate legal advice.”That update marked a severe ratcheting up of the British criticism of Israel’s activities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. In a move that enraged Israel, last July the European Union banned grants to Israeli companies or projects with links to the settlements.
The OECD’s national contact point in the UK declined to comment on the investigation, which is likely to take about three months for its first stage. Its decision to press ahead is seen as a victory for campaigners like Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights and War on Want.Under rules signed up to by the British Government last year, G4S and other companies will have to include a section on their protection of human rights.
15.01.2014Jordan Valley Settlements Hit by Boycott Campaign
An international campaign to boycott Israeli settlement products has rapidly turned from a distant nuisance into a harsh economic reality for Israeli farmers in the West Bank's Jordan Valley.The export-driven income of growers in the valley's 21 settlements dropped by more than 14 percent, or $29 million, last year, largely because Western European supermarket chains, particularly those in Britain and Scandinavia, are increasingly shunning the area's peppers, dates, grapes and fresh herbs, settlers say."The damage is enormous," said David Elhayani, head of the Jordan Valley Regional Council, which represents about 7,000 settlers. "In effect, today, we are almost not selling to the (Western) European market anymore.Israel has played down the impact of the campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions launched by Palestinian activists in 2005 to pressure Israel to withdraw from occupied lands."By and large, it's unpleasant background noise," said Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor, arguing that its overall effects have been negligible.
However, the lament of the Jordan Valley famers comes against the backdrop of a growing debate in Israel about the aftermath of a possible failure of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's latest mediating mission. Kerry wants to forge agreement on the outlines of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal despite major disagreements between the sides.Israeli supporters of a land-for-peace deal with the Palestinians have warned that Israel could face a snowballing boycott — of the magnitude that brought down apartheid in South Africa — if it rebuffs proposals Kerry is to present in coming weeks.Finance Minister Yair Lapid, speaking to the news website Ynet, warned Israelis on Friday that "a continuation of the existing situation will hurt the pocketbook of each of us," particularly by hitting exports.The Palestinians, too, could face repercussions if the talks collapse, such as less foreign aid from Europe.The fate of the Jordan Valley has featured prominently in Kerry's meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. The Palestinians want a state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, lands Israel captured in 1967, and the valley would form Palestine's eastern border with Jordan.Kerry reportedly proposed that Israel maintain military control of that border for at least 10 years after a peace deal to address Israeli concerns about a surprise Arab attack or the possible influx of weapons and militants.Israeli security hawks say the valley must remain under Israeli control forever. The Palestinians argue that this would prevent them from establishing a viable state because they need the farm lands and open spaces.Uzi Dayan, a former Israeli national security adviser, said Israel needs the valley, which makes up close to one-fourth of the West Bank, for strategic depth."Being here in the Jordan Valley, it is something existential," he said this week, standing on a mountaintop overlooking sprawling date palm plantations. "The national security of Israel is based on defensible borders, not on boycotts."
But economic worries are growing for some of the valley's farmers.Niva Benzion, who lives in the Netiv Hagdud settlement, used to sell 80 percent of her sweet peppers and grapes to supermarket chains in Western Europe, particularly in Britain. Sales to Western Europe plummeted in the past two years, she said, adding that she now sells mostly to Eastern Europe and Russia, for up to 40 percent less. She reduced her growing area by one-third this season and doubts she can make ends meet in the future. Zvi Avner, head of the agriculture committee in the Jordan Valley, confirmed that sales of peppers and grapes to Western Europe — mainly Britain and Scandinavia — have dropped by about 50 percent and fresh herbs by about 30 to 40 percent.Avner and Elhayani said they are confident they can overcome the difficulties by selling in new markets and by farming more effectively.The European Union says Israel's settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, now home to more than 550,000 Israelis, are illegal under international law, but has not called for a consumer boycott of settlement products.
As part of the U.S.-led peace talks, the EU has promised Israel and the Palestinians an unprecedented partnership, just short of full membership, if they strike a deal. However, if talks fail, the Palestinians might expect a cutback in EU aid, while Israel might have to brace for a tougher anti-settlement stance by Europe. This might include reviving plans for EU-wide guidelines for labeling settlement products. Currently, about half the 28 member states support such labeling, a step that would enable consumers to observe a boycott.Britain issued guidelines to retailers for the voluntary labeling of settlement products in 2009. In December, Britain's overseas trade body strongly discouraged firms from doing business with settlements.In recent years, several British supermarket chains have either begun labeling or stopped selling goods from Israeli settlements. "Supermarkets are now starting to realize . that there's a really big reputational risk involved here," said Michael Deas, a Britain-based coordinator for the international boycott movement. Marks & Spencer said it hadn't sold any products from the West Bank since 2007. Upscale supermarket chain Waitrose said it stopped selling herbs from the West Bank several years ago. Morrisons, Britain's fourth-largest grocer, said it stopped selling dates from the West Bank in 2011. In 2012, the Co-operative Group, the country's fifth-largest grocer, banned Israeli settlement produce from its shelves.Some retailers, like Co-op, said they were taking a moral stand, decrying the settlements as illegal. Others, like Waitrose, said their decision was commercial.In Germany, the Kaiser's supermarket chain said it stopped carrying products from the West Bank and the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights in 2012.
Israeli officials say the boycott has strong anti-Semitic overtones and aims to delegitimize the Jewish state.Supporters of the campaign say they are gaining momentum and have pointed to a string of recent successes. This week, Dutch pension asset manager PGGM said it divested from five Israeli banks because they are involved in financing the construction of Jewish settlements. Other moves, such as a recent decision by an American scholarly group to boycott Israeli universities, invited a broad backlash, in part because it targeted Israel and not just settlements.Jordan Valley settlers say a boycott also hurts about 6,000 Palestinians employed on their farms.Palestinian officials counter that Israel has suppressed virtually all Palestinian economic development in the valley and that Palestinians could create tens of thousands of jobs if freed from Israeli shackles. While some settlers hope to see the valley annexed to Israel, Benzion, 57, said she wouldn't stand in the way of peace, even if it means dismantling her life's work. "Nothing breaks my heart so easy, especially not bricks," she said. "I will not even have a second thought of leaving here, if it's for a peace treaty with our neighbors. I will cherish that."
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Associated Press writers Raphael Satter in London and Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin contributed to this report.
Source:KARIN LAUB Associated Press, NETIV HAGDUD, West Bank 10 January2014 (AP)
19.01.2014Boycott movement now too big for Israel to ignore
The country’s number-one news show runs lengthy piece on the growing movement – and blames it not on anti-Semitism or Israel-bashing, but on settlements.
Boycott goes prime-time in Israel
On Saturday night the boycott of Israel gained an impressive new level of mainstream recognition in this country. Channel 2 News, easily the most watched, most influential news show here, ran a heavily-promoted, 16-minute piece on the boycott in its 8 p.m. prime-time program. The piece was remarkable not only for its length and prominence, but even more so because it did not demonize the boycott movement, it didn’t blame the boycott on anti-Semitism or Israel-bashing. Instead, top-drawer reporter Dana Weiss treated the boycott as an established, rapidly growing presence that sprang up because of Israel’s settlement policy and whose only remedy is that policy’s reversal.
In her narration, Weiss ridicules the settlers and the government’s head-in-the-sand reaction to the rising tide. The segment from the West Bank’s Barkan Industrial Park opens against a background of twangy guitar music like from a Western. “To the world it’s a black mark, a symbol of the occupation,” she reads. “But here they insist it’s actually a point of light in the area, an island of coexistence that continues to flourish despite efforts to erase it from the map.” A factory owner who moved his business to Barkan from the other side of the Green Line makes a fool of himself by saying, “If the state would only assist us by boycotting the Europeans and other countries causing us trouble …” The Barkan segment ends with the manager of Shamir Salads saying that between the European and Palestinian boycott, he’s losing about $115,000 to $143,000 a month in sales. “In my view,” he says, “it will spread from [the West Bank] to other places in Israel that have no connection to the territories.”
Weiss likewise ridicules Deputy Foreign Minister Ze’ev Elkin, who runs the government’s “hasbara war,” as he puts it. Weiss: “Yes, in the Foreign Ministry they are for the time being sticking to the old conception: it’s all a question of hasbara. This week the campaign’s new weapon, developed with the contributions of world Jewry: (Pause) Another hasbara agency, this time with the original name ‘FaceTo Israel.’” She quotes the co-owner of Psagot Winery saying the boycott is “nothing to get excited about,” that people have been boycotting Jews for 2,000 years, and concluding, “If you ask me, in the last 2,000 years, our situation today is the best it’s ever been.” That final phrase, along with what Weiss describes as Elkin’s “conceptzia,” are the same infamous words that Israelis associate with the fatal complacency that preceded the surprise Yom Kippur War.