Over 25 local municipalities and regional governments in the Spanish State, including in Catalunya and the Basque Country, have endorsed the BDS boycott of Israel and similar resolutions. Recent municipalities include Diputación of Sevilla, Badalona, Terrassa, Santiago de Compostela and last month in November, Cabildo of Gran Canaria.
One year ago Palestine solidarity organisations, human rights NGOs and BDS organisations in the Spanish State jointly launched the Apartheid Israel Free Municipalities campaign.
Other recent BDS related victories in Spain, including in the Basque Country and Catalunya, are:
1. In 2014 more than 1400 academic professors and researchers in Spain, including in the Basque Country and Catalunya, endorsed the academic boycott of Israel. This list has grown since then.
2. In May this year, after being called on by BDS supporters in Catalunya, Spanish singer Marinah Abad, cancelled her Israeli gig in support of the BDS cultural boycott of Israel.
3. Earlier this year in June, the University of Valencia’s Faculty of Geography & History unanimously adopted the BDS call while the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), this past week on the 17th of December 2015, also adopted a similar support for the BDS academic boycott of Israel.
4. In October 2015 the football club Sevilla FC rejected a €5 million Israel bid to publicize Israel on players’ T-shirts.
BDS South Africa has completed a two week speaking and work tour of Spain, including the Basque Country. The trip was initiated and largely organized by Mundubat and included a conference in Donotsia titled “The global movement for a campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions. Against colonization, apartheid and the Israeli occupation”. The conference was attended by Palestinians, Israelis and BDS representatives from the UK, Brazil and elsewhere.
While in the Spanish State, BDS South Africa also held several meetings with various organisations (BDS Madrid, Rescop etc.), municipalities, government officials and diplomats including the South African and Palestinian Ambassadors in Spain.
The non-violent Palestinian-led boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel campaign is indeed an international one. Being in the Spain and the Basque Country and learning of their campaigns, victories and achievements in the boycott of Israel as well as sharing our BDS successes from South Africa has motivated, energised and inspired all parties. We will indeed be entering 2016 more confident knowing that our movement spans various continents and includes peoples of all faiths and ethnicities from across the globe.
ISSUED ON 21 NOVEMBER BY KWARA KEKANA ON BEHALF OF BDS SOUTH AFRICA.
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