Omar Barghouti speaks about Boycott-Divest-Sanction, the BDS movement, now in its tenth year and growing. He talks about its ethical foundation to ending State oppression of human beings, specifically Palestinians.
The non-violent campaign has diminished Israeli hegemony over its narrative that normalized State violence, such that people recoil to understand what is at Israel's Zionist core and the injustice they are complicit in should they not stand in opposition. He addresses the complexities of coalition building and "context sensitivity" central to working with the wide range of groups that are moving to support the Palestinian cause and mentions recent support coming from scientists and a major US labor conference.
Barghouti mentions Israel's experiment at undermining the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, a new " McCarthyism", by influencing State governments and the precedent it sets for other interests seeking to suppress decent. Boycott is a First Amendment protected act.
In Illinois, for instance, BDS was attacked by the passage of a law directing the State pension system to divest from companies that support BDS, that is to undermine free speech, following a unanimous vote in the Illinois State Legislature. Barghouti offers a few observations on the political system and the poverty of politicians.
Israel-Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church-USA http://www.israelpalestinemissionnetwork.org
The questions in the Q&A were off mic. The speaker was kind enough to parse and repeat them for listeners.
Omar Barghouti was introduced by Bob Ross, Chair of the Advocacy Committee of the Israel-Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church-USA
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Oct. 30, 2015
Church Of Our Saviour Episcopal, Chicago, Illinois
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