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About BDS Italia
BDS Italia is a movement supporting boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel's occupation and system of apartheid until Israel respects international law and human rights, comprised of associations and groups throughout Italy that endorse the 2005 call from Palestinian civil society. The BDS movement supports equal rights for all and is therefore opposed to all forms of racism, fascism, sexism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, ethnic and religious discrimination.
Although most of the content of our web site is in Italian, this section contains articles, press releases and action items in English.
Contact information
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On May 27, the City of Venice, Italy sponsored "Join the Stream", a promotional event including the cleanup of the Alberoni beach. The event was organized by Sodastream, an Israeli company producing home carbonation devices, as part of an extensive advertising campaign that includes a series of similar events in several Italian cities.
We are stunned to see the City of Venice involved in a shrewd marketing ploy aimed at creating an image of Sodastream as a company committed to environmental sustainability. In fact, behind this facade of a socially responsible business, Sodastream hides an ugly truth: its main manufacturing facility is in the occupied Palestinian territories in the illegal Israeli settlement of Ma'aleh Adumim. Sodastream is thus an accomplice of the Israeli occupation and profits from the systematic violation of international law and basic human rights of the Palestinian people. [1]
Leggi: "Join the Stream": Sodastream’s phony commitment to the environment and real violations of...
An open letter from BDS Italy
Sign the international petition calling on the Red Hot Chili Peppers to cancel their concert in Israel!
Dear Flea, Anthony, Chad and Josh,
After learning of your planned concert in Tel Aviv, we felt compelled to add our voices to the international chorus of calls to cancel that gig. As a band with a conscience, we can't see you performing in a privileged bubble, surrounded by millions of Palestinians forced to live under Israeli oppression, apartheid and occupation.
The lyrics of your music stand in stark contrast to the policies of Israel, imposing a brutal occupation to drive people off their native land[1], racist laws that rip families apart[2] and violent repression to quell nonviolent resistance[3].
As you must now be aware, having received similar letters from the US, France, Israel, India, Lebanon, South Africa, as well as international collectives "Don't Play Apartheid Israel" and "Artists Against Apartheid," [4] a global movement led by Palestinian civil society is calling on artists to refuse to perform in Israel as part of a campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel[5], a non-violent response to end Israeli policies that bear striking similarities with those under Apartheid South Africa. They are the reason Tel Aviv is considered today's Sun City.
Leggi: Red Hot Chili Peppers: You can’t ‘play for a better day’ in Israel
Dear Yves Béhar,
We recently learned of your collaboration with Sodastream, the Israeli producer of home carbonation devices, and that you will be presenting a new design for the company at MOST in Milan.
As human rights activists and supporters of the BDS campaign, the 2005 Palestinian call for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel[1], we feel compelled to inform you that behind the image promoted by Sodastream of a socially responsible, eco-friendly business is actually a company operating in blatant violation of human rights and international law.
As evidenced in the company’s own annual report, Sodastream’s main manufacturing facilities are located in an Israeli settlement built illegally in the occupied Palestinian territories.[2]
Leggi: Yves Béhar, Sodastream is not ethical, so it cannot be beautiful!
The Italian Coalition Stop That Traincelebrates the news that the City Council of Naples, Italy has approved a motion condemning Pizzarotti for its involvement in a project in blatant violation of international law, the Israeli high-speed train cutting through the occupied Palestinian territories. The decision of the Naples City Council, which follows that of Rho (Milan) on November 30, 2011, is a strong sign for responsible action by local authorities, in this case one of Italy’s largest cities.
Stop That Train congratulates the Committee “For a Pizzarotti-Free Naples!” for the work done to mobilize citizens in support of the Campaign and in establishing dialog with the local administration in order to encourage it to take a stand on the issue.
In re-launching the press release from Naples, we call on all local administrations to endorse the “Pizzarotti-Free Cities” campaign and pass similar resolutions against Pizzarotti, until it ceases involvement in projects in violation of international law.
PRESS RELEASE
NAPLES STANDS FOR PALESTINIAN RIGHTS
THE CITY COUNCIL CONDEMNS THE PARTICIPATION OF PIZZAROTTI IN THE TEL AVIV-JERUSALEM RAILWAY
On February 13, 2012, the City Council of Naples, Italy voted and approved by majority the motion presented by Council Members Fucito (FDS), Vasquez (N è t), Moxedano (IdV), Borriello (SEL), Fiale (PD) which “expresses moral and political condemnation of Pizzarotti & C for the firm’s participation in the construction of the A1 Jerusalem-Tel Aviv “. The new high-speed rail line, which is reserved “for the exclusive use of the Israeli population, runs for 6.5 km through the occupied West Bank, resulting in the confiscation of private property in the Palestinian villages of Beit Iksa and Beit Sourik, including agricultural land recognized by the Israeli Supreme Court as a ‘key resource for subsistence’ of the community.”
Over the weekend of January 21-22, the third national meeting of the BDS movement (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) against Israel was held in Bologna, Italy. Roughly 80 activists from over 20 Italian cities representing groups, associations and political parties throughout Italy participated. The scope of the meeting was to evaluate the progress of ongoing campaigns, establish strategic objectives and shared work methods, exchange information between the various Italian groups working on BDS and reassess organizational aspects of the BDS movement in Italy.
The atmosphere of the two-day meeting was one of enthusiasm and collaboration, where information and practices were shared and future strategies and objectives of the movement were outlined. The four most prevalent national campaigns, Stop Agrexco, Stop Sodastream, Stop That Train and academic and cultural boycotts, were examined. For each campaign, material, strategies, legal implications and a specific action plan were identified. It was decided to temporarily suspend the campaign against Agrexco pending clarification on the future of the company, which was ordered into liquidation in 2011. In the months ahead, work will be carried out nationally on the three remaining campaigns, for which a clear action plan was detailed, to be launched in parallel on both the local and national level.
The Italian Stop Sodastream campaign exposes the Israeli company's deceptions
The Stop Sodastream campaign received a response from Sodastream Italy, via the public relations agency Edelman, to the letter signed by over 1100 individuals and 30 groups calling on retailers and advertisers to terminate relations with the Israeli company due to its violations of international law.
We consider the points raised by Sodastream completely irrelevant as they fail to address the central question of violations of human rights and international law and complicity with the Israeli occupation of the occupied Palestinian territories.
We would, nonetheless, like to go through, point by point, the statements made by Sodastream to demonstrate the basis for our campaign.
Campaign to take the fizz out of Sodastream
In December, human rights activists in Italy targeted the Israeli company Sodastream, a manufacturer of home carbonation devices. The company's primary manufacturing facilities are located in an Israeli settlement built illegally in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The initiative coincided with Sodastream Italy's 500,000 euro advertising campaign promoting their products as Christmas gifts.
A letter documenting the many ways in which Sodastream profits from violations of international law and human rights, signed by over 900 individuals, together with nearly 30 groups, NGOs and associations, was sent to local and national retailers as well as publications and Internet sites promoting Sodastream products, demanding they terminate relations with the company.
The initial reactions to the letter have included several blogs removing articles regarding Sodastream from their sites and Italy's top weekly magazine, OGGI, publishing the letter in full stating it had been forwarded to their advertising department. (http://www.oggi.it/posta/lettere/2011/12/20/stop-alla-sodastream/).
In addition to the online initiative, actions were organized in several Italian cities, including Naples, Varese and Bologna. In Rome, twenty activists took part in a "deshelving" action in a COOP supermarket, removing all Sodastream products from the shelves. Video deshelving
Sodastream sent a response to the campaign, explaining that the factory at Mishor Adumim, in the occupied Palestinian territories, is just one of many around the world and that the company creates jobs for Palestinians suffering from a 30 % unemployment rate.
The Stop Sodastream campaign responded saying that even if they were hundreds of factories in the world, it would not change the fact that Sodastream has a plant operating in violation of international law, not to mention that it is also the main production facilities as noted in the company's own annual report. In addition, the high rate of unemployment in the occupied Palestinian territories is a direct result of the Israeli occupation from which the company draws its profits.
Stop Sodastream
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Letter to Italian retailers/advertisers of Sodastream products
Add your signature in support of Rho City Council
Occupied Palestine, December 16 2011
As Stop the Wall we thank the municipal council of Rho for the passing of its motion that morally and politically condemns the Italian company Pizzarotti for their participation in the construction of the Israeli A1 train line and highlights that Pizzarotti has clearly committed sufficiently grave errors in the conduct of their professional activity so as to justify the exclusion from public tenders.[1]
Since its inception in 2002, the Stop the Wall Campaign has been the main national grassroots body mobilizing and organizing the collective efforts against the Wall. It is the coordination body for dozens of popular committees in the villages affected by the Wall, including in Beit Surik, 13 Palestinian NGOs and Palestinian progressive political forces.[2]
Steps such as yours are an important support in our efforts to hold Israeli and international companies accountable for their complicity in Israeli violations of international law and human rights.
December 15, 2011
To: City Council of Rho – Italy
CWP Support for the resolution to condemn Pizzarotti’s activity in the occupied West Bank
The Coalition of Women for Peace[1] would like to express its support and appreciation for the City Council of Rho’s resolution to condemn Pizzarotti for its activity in the occupied Palestinian territories. It is a brave and necessary step towards raising the awareness of the international community to the participation of companies like Pizzarotti in the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and the continuing oppression of the Palestinian people.
In October 2010, Who Profits from the occupation[2] published a report on the new Israeli Tel-Aviv-Jerusalem fast train project, in which Pizzarotti is involved[3]. As indicated in our report, the route of this train line, sometimes referred to as the A1 train, crosses official state borders into the occupied West Bank using occupied Palestinian land, some of it privately owned, for a transportation project aimed exclusively for Israelis.
Leggi: Coalition of Women for Peace – Israel in support of Rho
Add your signature in support of Rho City Council
December 11 2011
To whom it may concern,
AS municipal council of Beit Surik we are writing to express our deep gratitude to the decision of the municipal council of Rho to morally and politically condemn the Italian company Pizzarotti for their continued involvement in the Israeli A1 train project.
We declare our objection to the proposed route of the Jerusalem – Tel Aviv train line, which passes through land belonging to the village of Beit Surik, in the district of Jerusalem in the West Bank.
The proposed route of the train line passes through agricultural land that even the Supreme Court of Israel ruled necessary to be preserved as part of Beit Surik for the wellbeing of the village population as part of a ruling regarding the construction of the Apartheid Wall on our land.