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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.
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Pressure on Pizzarotti may thwart the plans
by Yehoshua Breiner, Walla.co.il
As Israelis eagerly await upgrades to Israel's railway lines, the boycott locomotive in Europe keeps moving: left-wing groups and human rights activists in Italy are exerting heavy pressure on the Pizzarotti company from Parma, to cease its involvement in the ongoing construction of the railway line between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, since 6.5 Km of the route are inside Palestinian territory, near the villages of Beit Sourik and Beit Iksa, on the outskirts of Jerusalem. It should be noted that the company is responsible for the construction of 1.5 Km of the aforementioned 6 Km section.
The new rail line is supposed to shorten travel between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to 28 minutes. The Civil Administration has confiscated 50 Dunam for the construction of the tracks, and the Italian company's involvement in the project has caused a stir in the land of the boot.
Leggi: Pro-Palestinian Activists against the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv Rail Line
The Italian company condemned for involvement in the Israeli high-speed railway that crosses the occupied Palestinian territories
Press release from the Italian Coalition Stop That Train. Sign in support of the Rho City Council!
On 30 November, the City Council of Rho, in the province of Milan, approved a resolution expressing "moral and political condemnation of Pizzarotti & C. S.p.A. for its participation in the project for the construction of the A1 Jerusalem - Tel Aviv railway".
Pizzarotti is a contractor for the Israeli project for the new A1 high-speed railway that will connect Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The new railway cuts through the occupied Palestinian territories for 6.5 km in clear violation of international law and human rights, including illegal Israeli confiscation of Palestinian land in the villages of Beit Iksa and Beit Sourik. In addition, the logistics center and road network for the massive tunnel boring machines and the transport of material from the tunnels excavated by Pizzarotti are causing the destruction of ancient olive groves and agricultural land recognized by the Israeli Supreme Court as a "fundamental resource for subsistence" for the communities. Art. 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits the occupying power from destroying real or personal property except in cases of absolute military necessity.
Leggi: Rho City Council approves resolution condemning Pizzarotti
Activists from the group "Stop Agrexco Roma" brought the European "Take Apartheid Off The Menu 2011" wave of actions to a public march against the privatization of water today in the Italian capital.
Activists dramatized Israel's apartheid water policies by performing street theatre in which Israeli soldiers confiscate a Palestinian water well and chain droplets of Palestinian water who attempt to escape.
The theatrical action generated great interest from passersby and was very well received by other marchers. More than 1,000 flyers calling on Italians to boycott Israeli produce were distributed and activists were interviewed by RAI, Italy's national news channel.
Over 60 actions were organized in 10 countries. For more info, see Take Apartheid off the Menu 2011
Pizzarotti: Stop Building an Israeli-only Train through the Palestinian Territories
On September 6, 2011, Israel's High Court rejected an appeal from the Palestinian town of Beit Iksa against the expropriations of their lands for the construction of an Israeli railway. Take action in response to the Palestinian appeal. Call on the Italian firm Pizzarotti & C. SpA to withdraw from this illegal project!
Israel is constructing a new high-speed railway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, which crosses into the occupied West Bank, confiscating Palestinian land. The villages of Beit Surik and Beit Iksa, which have already been deprived of much of their agricultural land due to the construction of the Wall and settlements, will be hit particularly hard.
The construction of the railway line is in clear violation of international law and private companies involved the project become themselves complicit in these violations. Palestinians are calling for pressure on these international companies to withdraw from the project.
Dear Moby,
We have recently learned of your concert in Israel on July 12. We are writing to ask you to cancel your performance in Tel Aviv.
As you are no doubt aware, since 2005 Palestinian civil society has been calling on international artists to refuse to play in Israel as part of a campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel. The BDS campaign is a non-violent response to Israeli policies of colonialism and apartheid. The campaign takes inspiration from the boycotts that helped end apartheid in South Africa. In addition to support from solidarity movements around the world, many artists have canceled their concerts in Israel, including Elvis Costello, Roger Waters of Pink Floyd, Carlos Santana, August Burns Red, Gil Scott Heron, Gorillaz Sound System, The Pixies, Vanessa Paradis and Devandra Banhart.
We know you received letters from a number of youth groups in Lebanon as well as a group of Israelis who support the BDS campaign, asking that you cancel the concert in Tel Aviv.
Leggi: Moby: Make Love, Fuck War and Don't Play for Apartheid
But the Italian firm Pizzarotti remains a partner in the project
JERUSALEM - Get off that train. If diplomacy is the longest distance between two points, as Decourcelle once said, in Berlin they have decided that, sometimes, it is best that the two points not be connected at all. The Merkel government commands, the German railways comply: they will no longer participate in work on Israel's high-speed rail line that in 2017 will connect Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, crossing the Green Line and traversing for 6 km the Palestinian territories. Too many protests, the Minister for Transport, Peter Ramsauer closed the matter: the project violates the Geneva Convention because it passes through an area occupied by the military and creates an embarrassment for European policy, which calls for those areas to be returned. Forget the contracts for the electrification and communications systems: Deutsche Bahn's withdrawal comes after months of pressure from NGOs in Europe and Israel, and after the Parisians of Veolia and an Austrian group had already closed up shop.
Leggi: Israeli Train in the Occupied Territories: Deutsche Bahn withdraws
JERUSALEM — Israel Railways says a German company has quit a project to build a high-speed rail link between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem because the line cuts through the occupied West Bank.
Spokeswoman Liran Gordon says German railway operator Deutsche Bahn played a minor role in the project and that its departure won’t affect the link’s scheduled 2017 launch.
Deutsche Bahn confirmed Monday that it backed out of the project amid political pressure.
Several German lawmakers had criticized Deutsche Bahn’s participation.
A separate light rail project in Jerusalem has generated similar concerns. An Israeli partner in that project has said pressure from pro-Palestinian groups forced French multinational Veolia to drop out.
Veolia says it dropped out because of financial considerations.
Source: Washington Post
Deutche Bahn to stop construction work on Tel Aviv-Jerusalem track because it passes through Palestinian territories, German magazine Der Spiegel reports. Decision influenced by pro-Palestinian campaign headed by Israeli feminist group
German national railway company Deutche Bahn will cease working on the Tel Aviv- Jerusalem train line because it passes through the West Bank, German newspaper Dr. Spiegel reported this week.
According to the report, the railway company decided to abandon the project following mounting pressure from German, Palestinian and Israeli elements, headed by the Coalition of Women for Peace – an Israeli feminist organization.
In their campaign, the pro-Palestinian organizations claimed that parts of the track are located beyond the Green Line, in violation of international law, and therefore called on the German company to withdraw from the project.
An official at the German Transportation Ministry expressed concern over the project on March 14, saying it potentially violates the rules of international law.
Deutsche Bahn, the German railway operator, has pulled out of an Israeli project that cuts through the occupied Palestinian West Bank, after pressure from activists and Berlin.
The move marks a victory for pro-Palestinian groups and their so-called boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign, which tries to use economic pressure on Israel to help the Palestinian cause.
Campaigners were angered by the activities of Deutsche Bahn's international consulting arm, which provided advice on the electrification of the new track linking Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The high-speed line, due to be completed by 2017, has attracted sharp criticism from Palestinian officials because a 6-km stretch cuts through the West Bank.
Opponents said the project was illegal because it used occupied Palestinian territory for a project that would be used primarily, or solely, by Israeli citizens. They also argued that the new line could have easily been built on Israeli territory alone, making land confiscations in the West Bank unnecessary.