When the Israeli embassy offered a £300,- grant it became political. Israel obviously wants to promote itself at the Edinburgh Festival. Although on a personal level I have sympathy for a young filmmaker, who wants to show her film, Ken Loach is right. A state that is subjecting the Palestinians of Gaza to starvation and humilitation, that continues to show contempt for international law and basic human rights, that is a constant threat for durable peace in the Middle EAst needs to be boycotted: economically, socially, culturally.
I know why I am standing in front of supermarkets trying to persuade people to shun Israeli products. It was for the same reason I tried to persuade shoppers not to buy Outspan oranges, the fruits of South African Apartheid. Israel will need to change big time if it wants to get all those people from its back, who never tire to call for a boycott of Israel until it behaves like a civilised state. |
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