HVEM ER VI?
BOIKOTT-LISTE
RESSURSER
OSS/FAG
KONTAKT OSS
FORSIDE
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Does boycotting help at all?
Some times solidarity work can feel dismal, the problems appear numerous and insolvable, no matter what you do it doesn't seem to help. History proves otherwise. When individuals decide to act together and fight injustice and oppression, great things can happen. The collapse of the apartheid regime in South Africa came about because the black South African population rioted against the white minority reign. But the liberation movement in South Africa also depended on help from hundreds of thousands of supporters in Asia, America and Europe. An important part of this support was the boycott of South Africa as protest against the apartheid regime. That boycott also started as a small scale, local consumer campaign.We have no illusions of shattering the Israeli economy, but we think that one way of showing solidarity with the Palestinians is to direct attention towards the frequent Israeli infringements, by boycotting Israel. Ahead in time we hope for our campaign to reach the whole of Norway, there have already been initiatives taken in several cities, among them are Bergen, Tromsø and Stavanger.
A boycott campaign in Norway has so little implication on Israeli economy…
We don't think that Israeli economy will collapse because of us boycotting Israeli products in Norway. But by starting campaigns in Oslo and other towns in Norway, by expanding to Sweden, Denmark, Germany and other European countries, we hope to raise questions about the Palestinian situation and in that manner draw nearer a solution to the more than fifty year long occupation of Palestine. International pressure on the state of Israel can make them change course, and only then can we have real peace between two equal states.We want to influence the Norwegian government to let go of its position as neutral in this conflict and start taking position, so that we can come closer to a solution. One cannot treat occupant (Israel) and occupied (Palestine) as equal, in so doing one freezes the conflict and a solution is hard to see. As long as Palestine is occupied by Israel, as long as the Israeli state and military hold the Palestinian people in an iron grip, and as long as Palestinian refugees are not allowed to return to a free Palestine, the problem will not be solved.
How does one differentiate Palestinian and Israeli produce from Israel?
When boycotting products "made in Israel" in Norway, on often runs in to problem. Because of the Israeli iron grip on Palestine autonomous regions, it is unbelievably hard for Palestinians to produce, import or export goods. One of the many obstacles Israel lays in the way is the decision that all products that are exported overseas are to be labeled "made in Israel". To ensure that our boycott doesn't harm Palestinian products, we are thorough in our investigation of the different products origin.But doesn't this harm the Palestinian workers in Israel?
This argument is frequently used against boycott campaigns. It was much debated especially during the boycott of South Africa. Would not the boycott affect the black laborers and not the apartheid regime? As an answer to this question ANC, the South African liberation movement with Nelson Mandela at lead, sent out a resolution where they stated that this argument was useless, as the fall of the apartheid regime and its positive effect would outweigh the loss the workers might suffer because of the boycott.Exploitation of Palestinian laborers, who more often than not work in terrible conditions and with horrible contracts, can not be used as an argument against a boycott. Also, it was the Palestinians themselves who started the boycott of Israeli products, a fact that actually harms them in two ways. Firstly there emerged a problem for the Palestinians who work in the companies they boycott. Secondly the boycott reduces the already slim range of goods in the Palestinian autonomous regions.
But there is only me…
It is not only you! All the time, we meet people who have been boycotting Israel for years, Arabs, Norwegians, Pakistanis, Muslims, children, youth, grown-ups, and elderly - all kinds of different people. We receive surprising amounts of positive response when we are out on stands, and we have several inquiries every week via telephone or e-mail from people who want to boycott. In Denmark, International Forum has taken initiative to a boycott of Israel, and in quite a few Norwegian towns campaigns are organized.Do you support Palestinian suicide bombers?
No, we are against any form of terrorism against civilians. We see terror from the Israeli state as one of the most serious and bloody form of collective punishment of a whole people. So; if you take a clear stand against terrorism, you should also comdemn Israeli occupation and suppression of the Palestinians.But doesn´t a boycott of Israel support and strengthen anti-semitism?
We are against any form of anti-semitism. We are not against jews (or any other religion), we are against the Israeli state´s occupation and suppression of the Palestinian people. We are against the fact that Israel don´t acknowledge the legitimate rights to the Palestinians. And as clear as we take a stand against anti-semitism, we take a stand against Israel´s attempts to label all critizism against them as anti-semitism.But by boycotting Israel, aren't all the civilians are harmed too…
We are not fighting a battle against the population of Israel in general. We are fighting against the Israeli state. We want Israel to stop its infringements upon the Palestinian civilians, according to the UN resolutions that state that the occupation must come to an end and Palestinian refugees must be allowed to return.We do not believe that this boycott will affect the daily doings of the Israeli much at all. But if we can, through our boycott, raise awareness about the situation of Palestine, in Israel as well as in Europe, we think it is all worth while, and a boycott campaign has its function.