Palestinian Authority VP: Our People Are Working in Israel Boycott Movement
The vice president of the Palestinian Authority said the body has "our people work[ing]" in the anti-Israel boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement, according to audio exclusively obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.Anne Bayefsky: Protect American business from blackmail – Congress, pass the Israel Anti-Boycott Act
Mahmoud al-Aloul, who assumed the position as PA President Mahmoud Abbas's first-ever deputy in February, said in a recording dated to March: "We have relations with BDS, our people work there and we have delegates there. We cooperate with BDS on all levels, and not only with the BDS, but every group whose aim is to boycott Israel, we are with. Every group working to lay siege on Israel and isolate it from the world, we are with it."
In a second audio recording, from August, a reporter with an Arabic-language news outlet asked al-Aloul, "Do you, as the PA, support BDS?"
"Yes, of course," said al-Aloul.
Asked how the PA shows that support, al-Aloul said, "In every way … We actively participate in the events they organize."
Al-Aloul stopped short of acknowledging financial support for BDS initiatives, but said the PA is "very pleased with their activity and endorse it."
These comments mark a departure from past statements by PA leadership distancing itself from the BDS movement, including a 2013 comment by Abbas stating, "We do not support the boycott of Israel."
The two goals of the U.N. blacklist are first, devastating Israel’s economy, and second, circumventing a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. For according to existing legal agreements, ownership of disputed territories is to be determined through negotiations between the parties – not by U.N. bullies.Neil Macdonald: Israel is an Apartheid State
Asked about the blacklist on Aug. 22, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert, told reporters: “We have made clear our opposition regarding the creation of a database of businesses…and we have not participated and will not participate in its creation or contribute to its content.”
The response is disingenuous. Last December the Obama administration agreed in the General Assembly to the overall U.N. regular budget, knowing full well that the budget included funding for the blacklist. Hence, American taxpayers are currently paying 22 percent of all the costs of creating the blacklist. That sounds like a “contribution” to those of us who don’t speak diplo-babble.
Which brings us to the bottom line.
U.N. High Commissioner Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein is the last person on Earth who should be telling American companies how to run their businesses.
And on the off-chance that U.N. letterhead makes American CEOs nervous, they need to be reminded that they owe their allegiance to American law and public policy.
It is past midnight for Congress and President Trump to step up and answer this U.N. assault on American businesses and our ally Israel.
Three simple, morally unambiguous steps will do it:
- The expeditious adoption of the Israel Anti-Boycott Act.
- The immediate resignation of the United States from the specious Human Rights Council
- The refusal to send Prince Zeid another penny.
Serial offender of journalistic ethics Neil Macdonaldwrites in Canada’s CBC News that Israel is an “apartheid state.”
Just one problem: it isn’t. Not by any accepted international standard nor by the dictionary definition.
So how does Macdonald come to this conclusion? By misrepresenting facts.
While a columnist is entitled to express an opinion (no matter how absurd it may be), changing facts, misquoting sources, and taking information out of context is never allowed, not even in an opinion piece.
Where is Macdonald’s support?
Littered with a litany of links, Macdonald’s article seems to have lots of support. Except that most of the links actually say the opposite of what he claims.
…with a long list of Israeli political leaders, academics and public figures … all of whom have warned that the Jewish state is becoming, or already is, an apartheid state.
Most of the people referenced specifically say that Israel is not an apartheid state.