MK Ahmed Tibi: World should boycott Israeli companies
In New York Times op-ed, Israeli Arab MK calls for external pressure to end the 'Israeli occupation', grant full equality to Palestinians and Jews, and implement right of return for Palestinian refugees.
By Haaretz Tags: Israeli occupation Israeli Arab Israeli settlements PalestiniansArab MK Ahmed Tibi (Balad) has called on the world to boycott all Israeli companies that help perpetuate the “injustices” of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, in an op-ed published in the New York Times earlier this week.
Tibi wrote the op-ed as a direct response to the Knesset's recent approval of the boycott law forbidding individuals or organizations from publicly calling for a boycott against Israel or the settlements under its control.
 |
Tibi. “In national conflicts there are no angels, but there are victims. The people that is under occupation is the victim.” |
| Photo by: Emil Salman |
In the op-ed, Tibi declared that his support for the right to boycott stems from his belief in ending the “Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory”, in granting “equal rights for Palestinians and Jews”, and implementing the right of return “for Palestinian refugees forced from their homes and lands in 1948”.
According to Tibi, MK Alex Miller (of Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu party) has threatened to sue him overhis calls to “boycott the illegal Jewish settlement of Ariel”, a protest he posits would be “unremarkable in a proper democracy with untrammeled free speech”.
The boycott law will have the opposite of its intended effect, wrote Tibi in his op-ed. Instead of deflecting criticism from Israel, he wrote, the law will merely draw attention to Israel’s military control of the West Bank and “routine violations of international law”.
According to the Tibi, Israel's government will not change its policies without external pressure, despite the hopes of American politicians.
It is thus up to the world to exert pressure on Israel in order to force the Israeli government to change, Tibi wrote, adding and that until that change arrives more “discriminatory and undemocratic legislation” is to be expected from the Knesset.
Why Facebook Connect?
Comment on Haaretz.com articles with your Facebook login, and share your thoughts on your own wall.
- Latest
- Most Viewed
- Most Rated
- Open all
Why the Knesset continue paying the salary of this clown it's beyond me.
!- how many Muslim countries have Jews in the cabiinit. 2-Will the Middle East Countries that forced JEWS TO RUN LEAVING THEIR PROPERTY AND BUSINESS BEHIND PAY THEM FOR THEIR LOSS ?????????
Tibi for wanting to change Israel into a Palastinian state through a bogus right of return to Tel Aviv instead of Nablus and for wanting to boycott companies that have nothing to do with the West Bank Settlements, and the rightest majority in the Knesset for trying to squelch opposition to the settlements, and the ultra orthodox who decry the application of Sharia over others and then try to implement their understanding of Halacha over others. They are all equally deserving of contempt.
There is no other way to describe someone who calls on the world to cause harm to his own country.
If you weren't a traitor you wouldn't be supporting no negotiations, which leads to a one state solution!
This man should have his portfolio revoked as he is an enemy of the State. In Western democracies its one thing to want political changes to benefit the population, but when a member of parliament advocates something that is detrimental for the entire country that is treason. This man should have his Israeli passport revoked, his ability to travel revoked, and have all of his assets frozen pending a formal charges. He is a TRAITOR plain and simple. The usual Talkbackers will have their say, but this man is bent on destructive measures being applied to the country to which he has sworn allegiance. TREASON TRAITOR!!!!
He utilizes the immunities granted to an Israeli member of parliaments and wages war against Israel by calling for boycott. He is not an Israeli who serves his country but just the opposite. Dump him!
Hasbara Rule #6 - If you do not have a rational argument to refute a point, then deflect attention by trying to change the topic to a nation other than Israel that does bad things.
You tell 'em Dug. Just move on the Syrian story, where over a hundred innocent Syrians were today murdered by Assad's Regime and tell the same thing to all your pals. But you won't That's rule no #1 in the Revisionist's manual...No Jews...No comment.
Deflecting the argument shows that you have nothing to constructive to contribute, alas.
What do you call "Lebanon?"
in this "democratic" country.
anyone can speak. The issue is how the authorities react to this speech.
Syria for what they are doing is just and kind.
Once again Tibi acts in a treasonous fashion, and this so called MK should be treated accordingly.
Tibi is a Palestinian in Israel. He can see what you cannot see, which is that 3.5 million people do not live in freedom. He can hardly do otherwise. And this is the best he can do as an MP. Israel is a democratic country, the world is always told!
Tibi is Israeli, not Palestinian. Arabs does not equal Palestinian.
Chaim, I agree. But only Liberman drops his immunity for his absurd and libelous claim that civil society NGOs promote terror. I think that Tibi probaly has the courage to drop his to test the law in court. I doubt Liberman will.
boycott is one of the highest forms of democratic fight against injustice. Israele is not just at all
I think Ahmed Tibi's call for a boycott is completely stupid and counterproductive. Here is a Member of the Knesset calling for a boycott of his country. Hello?
South Africa finally got it.
Boycotts are legal ways of expressing one's views. Let the world show what it thinks of Israel's descent into oppression, lack of freedoms.
Israel's openness, democracy, economic growth and freedoms. What do you think would happen to this MK if he made these statements in Syria?
where they assure themselves of their level of democracy by looking at the other side of the fence, and finding that there it's even worse, they think on their side it must be good.
At the same time you are feeding the enemies of Israel with new arguments. As that what you want ?
People in Syria have been oppressed and are riing up. As you can see, this is what people do when they have no leadershipo which can guarantee their people the rights and dignity which they deserve. This is Tibi's point as well. Boycotts are an effective non-violent means of protest to the continued and unending occupation in Palestine.
As a democratically elected member of the Knesset, Mr. Tibi took an oath of office that states he will obey the laws of the state. What he has done now is a clear and blatant violation of that oath. The Knesset Ethics Committee should look into it.
Is this your real name? It sounds more like Mohamod