Latest news with #BoycottDivestmentandSanctions
Morocco World
27-03-2025
- Business
- Morocco World
Oxford City Council Backs Movement to Boycott Israel
Rabat — Oxford City Council unanimously voted in favor of boycotting Israel, signaling a growing international pressure on the Israeli government. The motion, introduced by independent councillor Barbara Coyne, called for the council to cut trade and investment ties with entities involved in human rights violations and breaches of international law. 'As Oxford city residents recognise, Britain's historic and ongoing ties to colonial oppression and lack of decisive action to uphold international law make us complicit in crimes against humanity,' said Coyle, who argued in favor of the motion as a 'city councillor, a teacher, a special needs teacher, a parent, and a grandparent, but predominantly as a human being.' The councillor then went on to detail the scope of death and destruction in Gaza that she says must be directly addressed instead of engaging in 'intellectual or verbal acrobatics' to deny Israel's crimes in Gaza. Read also: Councillor Hosnieh Djafari-Marbini announced on Monday that the motion had been unanimously approved. She described the decision as a step towards severing financial links with institutions complicit in settler colonial genocide, occupation, and apartheid. Efforts would continue to push for the divestment of institutional investments and pensions from companies accused of war crimes, the councillor pledged. The unanimous decision cited the interim ruling by the ICJ in January 2023, which stated that it was plausible that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza. It urged the country to ensure the unhindered delivery of aid and to take measures to prevent acts of genocide, all of which Israel has repeatedly and deliberately failed to do. Oxford City Council currently banks with Barclays, a target of the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement due to its financial ties to arms companies supplying Israel. A 2024 report by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign uncovered that Barclays held £ 2 billion in shares and provided £6.1 billion in loans to companies 'whose weapons, components and military technology are being used by Israel in its attack on Palestinians.' Meanwhile in Gaza, after the end of a ceasefire that was violated almost 1,000 times by Israel, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) recently launched a new ground offensive. The Gaza health ministry reports that 792 people were killed in the past week, bringing the total death toll since October 7, 2023, to over 50,000. As Israeli troops continue to wreak chaos and destruction in Gaza, many experts estimate the death toll in Gaza at over 186,000. Tags: death toll in GazaOxfordUnited Kingdom
Memri
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Memri
Community Leaders Discuss and Activists Discuss Gaza Ceasefire, Linda Sarsour: I Was Overwhelmed with Joy; Hatem Bazian of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) Slammed AIPAC, Promoted BDS; Nihad Awad
American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) held a webinar on January 28, 2025, where community leaders discussed the ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel. AMP chair Dr. Hatem Bazian criticized AIPAC, stating that the organization should not have influence over U.S. policy in the Middle East. He urged American Muslims to press politicians not to accept money from AIPAC and emphasized the importance of recommitting to a "broad strategy" on Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel. Phyllis Bennis of the Institute for Policy Studies remarked on the resilience of Hamas and Palestinian steadfastness, calling it extraordinary. Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), called for an expansion of BDS, describing the situation in Gaza as 'unprecedented genocide' and criticizing Germany's support for Israel, because the Holocaust took place mainly in Germany. Marium Uddin of the Muslim Legal Fund of America stated that the only thing keeping the ceasefire intact were the Israeli hostages held in Gaza. Activist Linda Sarsour of MPower Change expressed joy over the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza, while Basim Elkarra of CAIR Action noted that this marked the first time since 1948 that Palestinians had returned in such large numbers. The webinar was hosted by Mohamad Habehh of AMP.
