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5 March, Toulouse: Rally — No to the dissolution of Collectif Palestine Vaincra!

Saturday, 5 March
11 am
Metro Jean Jaurès – Toulouse, France
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/450304706785527/

Gérald Darmanin, French Interior Minister, has just announced his desire to dissolve the Collectif Palestine Vaincra and another pro-Palestinian organization at the request of Emmanuel Macron. This scandalous decision is the result of a relentless campaign of defamation led by the Israeli far right and its agents in France against the Collectif, while we work to build solidarity with the Palestinian people against colonialism, racism and apartheid.

This announcement is a new step in the authoritarian escalation of the French government which has already dissolved, or threatened to dissolve, several Muslim, anti-racist or radical left media organizations. We will not be intimidated. Solidarity with Palestine is not only a right but a duty. We are already calling for a broad response from political organizations, trade unions, associations and collectives in support of the Collectif Palestine Vaincra and against the criminalization of the solidarity movement with Palestine.

GATHERING
Saturday March 5, 2022 from 11 a.m.
Metro Jean Jaurès – Toulouse

With the support of: AFA Tolosa, ATTAC Toulouse, Couserans-Palestine Association, BRIC, Toulouse BDS Campaign, CGT 31, Center of the Kurdish Democratic Community of Toulouse, CLRR 31, Collectif Palestine Vaincra, Truth and Justice Committee 31, CNT 31, FSU 31, Peace Movement 31, NPA 31, Permanent Revolution 31, Sud Education 31/65, Secours Rouge Toulouse, Solidaires 31, Survival Toulouse, Union of Students of Toulouse

Introducing the International People’s Tribunal on U.S. Imperialism: Sanctions, Blockades and Economic Coercive Measures — Webinar 18 March

This document has also been translated into Spanish, French, Arabic, Farsi, Mandarin, and Korean.

INTRODUCING THE INTERNATIONAL PEOPLE’S TRIBUNAL ON U.S. IMPERIALISM: SANCTIONS, BLOCKADES & ECONOMIC COERCIVE MEASURES

TAKING LEGAL ACTION TO CHALLENGE U.S. ATROCITIES

Introductory Webinar March 18 —  Register: https://bit.ly/launchtribunal

March 1, 2022 – Presently, the United States, with the support of the United Nations and European Union, has imposed sanctions and other economic coercive measures on over 30 percent of the global population, mostly located in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Sanctions are one of the key tools of U.S. imperialism, leading to mass starvation and suffering of peoples in the Global South, while opening up markets to U.S. and European corporations.

The International People’s Tribunal on U.S. Imperialism: Sanctions, Blockades & Economic Coercive Measures will challenge the economic atrocities committed by the United States through the use of the law, highlighting the unlawful, unjust, and colonial nature of economic coercive measures.

The Tribunal is co-sponsored by organizations located throughout the world, including the Committee of Anti-Imperialists in Solidarity with Iran, the Simón Bolívar Institute for Peace and Solidarity Among Peoples, National Lawyers Guild, the International Association for Democratic Lawyers, Al-Awda Palestinian Right to Return Coalition, Samidoun Palestinian Political Prisoner Solidarity Network, Black Alliance for Peace, ANSWER Coalition, People’s Forum, Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, CodePink, Sanctions Kill, Frantz Fanon Foundation, Al Massar Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path Movement, Qiao Collective, and the Alliance for Global Justice.

In collaboration with international scholar activists and legal experts, the People’s Tribunal will host an introductory webinar to discuss the urgent need to take legal action against U.S. sanctions and economic coercive measures session on March 18 at 9:30am PST. To register for the event, please visit https://bit.ly/launchtribunal.

The webinar will feature:

  • Eva Nanopoulos, Senior Lecturer in Law at Queen Mary University in London,
  • Carlos Ron, President of the Simón Bolívar Institute for Peace and Solidarity Among Peoples and Venezuela’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for North America,
  • Vira Ameli, Interdisciplinary Researcher focused on Public Health in Iran and the Middle East,
  • Grasian Mkodzongi, Executive Director at Tropical Africa-Land and Natural Resources Research Institute in Zimbabwe,
  • Maria Lucrecia Hernández, Attorney and Director of ONG Sures in Venezuela,
  • Motee Abumusabeh, Political and Media Activist in Gaza, Palestine, and
  • Moderator: Helyeh Doutaghi, Doctoral Candidate in Law & Legal Studies at Carleton University in Canada

“The organizers of the Tribunal include lawyers, activists, and scholars who know that the law is inherently limited in its capacity to challenge all forms of violence and harm committed by the U.S. sanctions regime.  In fact, the U.S. actively uses the law to perpetrate imperialism through multilateral and unilateral coercive measures.  It is precisely for these reasons that the Tribunal is not only a legal tactic but also an organizing tool,” says Helyeh Doutaghi, chair of the Tribunal’s organizing committee.

According to Mohammed Khatib, Europe Coordinator of Samidoun, “Palestinians are facing a comprehensive siege, not only in Gaza, but throughout occupied Palestine and in exile and diaspora.  This siege is perpetrated by the Israeli regime and the imperialist powers that support it.  Legal and political action to hold the perpetrators of these crimes accountable is important to support the Palestinian people and our struggle for freedom, liberation, and return.”

The People’s Tribunal will last for six months, from January to June 2023, and will host expert witnesses, international legal jurists, and rapporteurs from thirteen countries currently targeted by US sanctions. Witnesses will cover fifteen themes, including Public Health (particularly in the context of COVID-19), Development and Women.

6 March, Webinar: Resisting Anti-Palestinian Repression with Collectif Palestine Vaincra, Khaled Barakat and Palestine Action

Sunday, 6 March
10 am Pacific – 1 pm Eastern – 6 pm GMT – 7 pm Europe – 8 pm Palestine
Register: https://bit.ly/resistrepression

Join us on Sunday, 6 March to hear directly from organizers challenging anti-Palestinian repression internationally. Just this week, French interior minister Gerald Darmanin announced his intention to dissolve, or ban, two collectives organizing for justice in Palestine in France. Palestinian writer Khaled Barakat was expelled from Germany for four years and subjected to a political ban for his work on Palestine, and his case goes to court on 11 March. In Britain, Palestine Action is campaigning to #ShutElbitDown and defending direct action for Palestine — after one Israeli arms factory has already shut down after ongoing pressure.

We’ll hear from the Collectif Palestine Vaincra, the collective working tirelessly for Palestine and now challenging a dissolution order in France, from Khaled Barakat on the attack on Palestinian rights in Germany, and from Palestine Action on the campaign to #ShutElbitDown and defend direct action for justice.

Not only will we learn about these specific cases, we’ll also discuss how we keep the focus on struggling for the liberation of Palestine and how these struggles highlight the role of imperialist powers in maintaining Zionist colonialism, occupation and apartheid throughout Palestine.

Register to join on Zoom: https://bit.ly/resistrepression

Outrageous new French state assault on Palestine and free expression: Interior Minister claims he will dissolve Collectif Palestine Vaincra

In the latest assault on Palestinian rights and freedom of expression, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin tweeted that he is asking for the dissolution of the Collectif Palestine Vaincra (“Palestine Will Win”), the French Palestine solidarity organization and a member of the Samidoun Network, “at the request” of French president Emmanuel Macron. This blatant assault on freedom of expression and association once again reveals the complete disregard of the French state for the principles of “human rights” and “democracy” it claims to support. We urge all supporters of justice in Palestine to take action to defend the Collectif Palestine Vaincra and the Palestinian liberation movement from the latest attacks of the French state, in full alliance with Israeli war crimes, colonialism and apartheid. 

Take action:

This comes after a series of “dissolutions” imposed by the French state, including an order to dissolve the Collective Against Islamophobia in France (CCIF) as well as various leftist and anti-racist organizations. While the French state attempts to parallel these dissolutions to far-right organizations, those fascist groups have been classified largely as “militias,” while Darmanin states that the Collectif Palestine Vaincra, and another Palestine solidarity group in France, must be censored and criminalized because it opposes imperialism, colonialism and Zionism. This is made quite explicit in Darmanin’s statement, which appears to declare that believing that Muslims face discrimination and racism should also be illegal in France.

When a group is “dissolved” by the state, it may not hold meetings or organize events. Material bearing the group’s name and logo is banned, and members and activists who continue to organize in the name of the group can be fined and even imprisoned. This is shameless political repression carried out by an imperialist power that claims to defend human rights while trampling atop them. 

This type of criminalization reflects the French state’s ongoing attempts to cover up its crimes of colonialism throughout the region and its complicity in Israeli war crimes with the repression, silencing and censorship of Palestinian and Arab communities and Palestine solidarity organizations. This comes after multiple attempts to criminally prosecute activists for distributing flyers calling for the boycott of Israeli goods and participating in BDS campaigns, for which France was condemned by the European Court of Human Rights. 

It also comes as France continues to imprison Georges Abdallah, the Lebanese Arab struggler for Palestine jailed for over 37 years. The Collectif Palestine Vaincra is one of the leading organizations working to obtain the freedom of Georges Abdallah, exposing the French government internally and internationally. This dissolution order is an attempt to censor and suppress that growing movement that brought over 1,500 to protest in Lannemezan last October, to the gates of the prison where he is held.

It also comes amid the French presidential elections, and as pro-Zionist lobby organization, CRIF, holds its annual dinner, which Macron was scheduled to attend – and was attended in his place by the prime minister, Jean Castex, due to the Ukraine crisis. Speaking at the dinner, Castex declared that “Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the Jewish people,” lending support to the ongoing Israeli ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Jerusalem.  The Collectif Palestine Vaincra launched #Palestine2022 last month, an initiative that aims to bring Palestine into the election campaign — and hold those French politicians supporting Israeli apartheid, like Darmanin and Macron, accountable. The dissolution not only follows a slanderous campaign by the Israeli extreme right and its supporters and agents, but also seemingly aims to protect these politicians from scrutiny, criticism and exposure for their ties to Israeli apartheid. 

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network condemns this attack in the strongest terms. This comes almost exactly one year after Israeli war minister and war criminal, Benny Gantz, labeled Samidoun a “terrorist” organization, and four months after he applied the same label to six prominent Palestinian NGOs, including human rights, prisoner advocacy, women’s and farmers’ organizing groups. These and other attacks across Europe – such as the expulsion of Palestinian writer Khaled Barakat from Germany – reflect a desperate attempt to silence by any means the growing international movement challenging Israeli war crimes and apartheid, supporting the Palestinian resistance, boycotting Israel and confronting Zionist colonialism and imperialist domination.

This action blatantly flies in the face of France’s obligations under international law, the European Charter of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It is a shameless attack on freedom of expression and association and must be confronted as such.

We stand with our comrades in the Collectif Palestine Vaincra and we urge all friends of Palestine — and of the basic principles of freedom to organize — to stand with the Collectif now. No such repressive actions will ever be able to stop the Palestinian struggle from moving forward, as over 100 years of colonization and 74 years of Zionist occupation have also failed to do so. Palestine will win, and Palestine will be free – from the river to the sea! 

Take Action: 

  1. Individuals: Sign the petition in support of Collectif Palestine Vaincra! Add your signature here. https://www.change.org/p/non-%C3%A0-la-dissolution-du-collectif-palestine-vaincra
  2. Organizations: Sign the solidarity statement for Collectif Palestine Vaincra. Add your organizational endorsement here: https://bit.ly/defendcpv 
  3. Stand against criminalization of Palestinian rights in France with a statement or action! Send organizational solidarity statements to collectifpalestinevaincra@gmail.com (and copy us at samidoun@samidoun.net. Protest at a French embassy or consulate in your area. Find the embassy near you: https://www.embassy-worldwide.com/country/france/ 
  4. Call the French embassy or consulate in your area and speak up about the targeting of CPV! Find the closest French embassy or consulate in your area: https://www.embassy-worldwide.com/country/france/ For easy reference, the French embassy in the US can be reached at +1 (202) 944 6000, the French embassy in Canada at +1 (613) 789-1795, and the French embassy to the UK at [+44] (0) 207 073 1000. Find the embassy near you: https://www.embassy-worldwide.com/country/franceWhen you call, say, “My name is _____ and I am calling from _____. I am calling about the Interior Minister’s statement today that he will dissolve and ban two pro-Palestine organizations. This is an outrageous attack on freedom of expression. I stand with Palestine and with the Collectif Palestine Vaincra, and France should stop these attacks immediately.”
  1. Take an individual or group photo or video with the campaign posters (below), make your own sign and share on social media! Tag us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and use the hashtag: #SolidaritéCollectifPalestineVaincra

Download PDFS: English, French, Arabic, German, Dutch, Swedish, Spanish

French interior minister announces intention to dissolve Collectif Palestine Vaincra

Gérald Darmanin, French Minister of the Interior, has just announced his intention to dissolve the Collectif Palestine Vaincra and another pro-Palestinian organization at the request of French president Emmanuel Macron. This scandalous decision is the result of a relentless and slanderous campaign led by the Israeli extreme right and its agents in France against the Collectif, because of our work in solidarity with the Palestinian people against colonialism, racism and apartheid.

This announcement is a new step in the authoritarian escalation of the French government which has already dissolved, or threatened to dissolve, several Muslim, anti-racist and radical left-wing media organizations. We will not be intimidated. Solidarity with Palestine is not only a right but a duty.

We are already calling for a broad response from political organizations, unions, associations, collectives in support of the Collectif Palestine Vaincra and against the criminalization of the solidarity movement with Palestine.

Palestine will live, Palestine will win!

24 February 2022,
Collectif Palestine Vaincra, member of Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network

Take action !

Salutes of freedom to Hisham Abu Hawash and Miqdad Qawasmeh

Salutes of freedom and welcome to Hisham Abu Hawash and Miqdad Qawasmeh, both released from Israeli occupation prisons today. Hisham Abu Hawash’s 141-day hunger strike to win his freedom from administrative detention without charge or trial captivated the world. Miqdad Qawasmeh, a Palestinian university student, stood up for his fellow imprisoned students with his 114-day hunger strike against administrative detention.

Today, there are over 500 administrative detainees engaged in an ongoing boycott of the Israeli military courts. There are over 4,650 Palestinian political prisoners putting their bodies and lives on the line for liberation every day.

Hisham, Miqdad and their brothers and sisters behind bars are leaders of the liberation movement and true heroes of struggle. We salute them on this day of liberation — they are examples for us all in their sacrifice and steadfastness for freedom, not only for themselves, but for all of Palestine, from the river to the sea.

Over 1000 people already support #Palestine2022 campaign in France

In just a few weeks after its launch, the #Palestine2022 campaign, highlighting Palestine in the French presidential elections, has already received the support of more than 1000 people for its demands and its objectives. The campaign aims to denounce the collaboration of French governments with Israeli apartheid and introduce the subject of the Palestinian cause into the debates of the presidential election. While Amnesty International recently published a report emphasizing that the Palestinians are subjected to apartheid by the Israeli occupation, it is unacceptable that the alliance between France and Israel continues with deafening political silence.

During the trade union demonstration on January 27, the Collectif Palestine Vaincra unfurled a large palestine2022.com banner to promote the campaign website and distributed campaign materials to participants in the march. The reception was very positive and many people stopped at the information table set up for the occasion along the route.

https://twitter.com/CollectifPV/status/1486639657739825152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1486639657739825152%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fsamidoun.net%2Ffr%2F2022%2F02%2Fdeja-plus-de-1000-personnes-soutiennent-la-campagne-palestine2022%2F

Thursday, February 10, the journalist and anti-racist activist Taha Bouhafs affirmed his support for the campaign at the end of the evening presentation of his book at the University of Toulouse Jean Jaurès.

https://twitter.com/CollectifPV/status/1492044264041328641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1492044264041328641%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fsamidoun.net%2Ffr%2F2022%2F02%2Fdeja-plus-de-1000-personnes-soutiennent-la-campagne-palestine2022%2F

On Friday, February 11 at the Petit Palais des Sports in Toulouse, a delegation from the Collectif Palestine Vaincra intervened at the gates of the meeting of the Union Populaire in order to promote the #Palestine2022 campaign. At the same time, other members took part in a meeting with the MP of La France Insoumise, Danièle Obono, in Rabastens . On this occasion, she reaffirmed her support for Georges Abdallah and the Palestinian people.

https://twitter.com/CollectifPV/status/1492202548253626375?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1492202548253626375%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fsamidoun.net%2Ffr%2F2022%2F02%2Fdeja-plus-de-1000-personnes-soutiennent-la-campagne-palestine2022%2F

In different districts of Toulouse, the Collectif Palestine Vaincra is  distributing flyers to promote the campaign. The #Palestine2022 platform demands the end of the criminalization of support for Palestine, freedom for Georges Abdallah and the end of cooperation between France and Israeli apartheid. This is always an opportunity to have many discussions on this subject, as many people are curious to know the positions of the various candidates on Palestine. The same experience has been the case during the various stands that we organized at the University of Mirail, in the  Bagatelle district and at  the Capitole metro.

https://twitter.com/CollectifPV/status/1493300979588030466?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1493300979588030466%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fsamidoun.net%2Ffr%2F2022%2F02%2Fdeja-plus-de-1000-personnes-soutiennent-la-campagne-palestine2022%2F

At the same time, campaign posters adorn the walls of the city, particularly in the districts of Reynerie, Mirail, Bagatelle and La Faourette.

https://twitter.com/CollectifPV/status/1491340318129950722?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1491340318129950722%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fsamidoun.net%2Ffr%2F2022%2F02%2Fdeja-plus-de-1000-personnes-soutiennent-la-campagne-palestine2022%2F

The campaign also aims to decipher and denounce when necessary the positions of the various candidates on the subject of Palestine. We have already done this with Yannick Jadot, Sandrine Rousseau and Christiane Taubira. For her part, the Lutte Ouvrière  candidate Nathalie Arthaud responded to our inquiry and other teams of candidates have also pledged to do so.

Jadot-apartheid
272670081_1853636781504694_5001696273676584623_n

While the discusion of the presidential election has been captured by the far right and its deadly agenda, the Collectif Palestine Vaincra calls upon all to join  the #Palestine2022 campaign so that solidarity with the Palestinian people is felt as the campaign progresses! Do not hesitate to mobilize on social networks with our action kit and use the hashtag #Palestine2022,  sign the petition and  contact us if you wish to participate or organize initiatives in your area of France. 

Source: Collectif Palestine Vaincra

Take Action in Canada: Call on Puma to end its sponsorship of the Israel Football Association

Take one-minute to write to the head of Puma Canada and Puma North America.

Be part of the February 12, 2022  global #BoycottPuma campaign! Lets give Puma the boot!

Global sportswear manufacturer Puma is involved in violations of international law and human rights. Puma is the main sponsor of the Israel Football Association (IFA), which includes teams in Israel’s illegal settlements on occupied Palestinian land.

Since 2019, contact has been made with the head of Puma in Canada calling for a response.

In December 2020 30+ organizations indicated

We join with other consumers in Canada and around the world in letting you know that we will not purchase Puma products until the company stops these unethical practices, and until the Puma logo is no longer featured on the website for the Israel Football Association. The first sentence in your “Code of Conduct” is “Puma respects human rights”; we call on Puma to live up to that commitment.

In the fall of 2021, Puma received more than a1,000 letters.

Once again Puma tried to explain away their apartheid partnership. Read more.

So it is time to write again.  

With Amnesty International now joining Human Rights Watch and B’Tselm in saying that Israel is practicing apartheid, we call on Puma and other companies complicit in supporting apartheid to be sure they are not left on the wrong side of history!

Amnesty exposed the involvement of “almost all of Israel’s civilian administration and military authorities… in the enforcement of the system of apartheid against Palestinians across Israel, in the West Bank and Gaza,” as well as “against Palestinian refugees and their descendants outside the territory.” Puma surely does not want to be associated with apartheid.

Join in adding your voice by sending a letter HERE

Boycott Israeli Apartheid!

Letter campaign initiated by

https://bdscoalition.ca/

http://cpavancouver.org/

https://samidoun.net/

https://www.justpeaceadvocates.ca/

Organizations supporting the Dec. 2020 call included:

BDS Vancouver-Coast Salish
Canadian Union of Postal Workers CUPW-STTP
Vancouver & District Labour Council
Bayan Canada
BDS Québec
Canada Philippines Solidarity for Human Rights
CanPalNet (Canada-Palestine Support Network)
Independent Jewish Voices Vancouver
IJV Vancouver Youth Bloc
International League of Peoples’ Struggle ILPS Canada/Ligue internationale de lutte des peuples
MidIslanders for Justice and Peace in the Middle East
Niagara Movement for Justice in Palestine-Israel (NMJPI)
Oakville Palestinian Rights Association OPRA
PAJU Palestinian and Jewish Unity/Palestiniens et Juifs unis
Palestine House (Palestinian Canadian Community Centre)
Palestine Solidarity Working Group-Sudbury
Palestinian Youth Movement – Toronto
Palestinian Youth Movement – Vancouver
Peace Alliance Winnipeg
Regina Peace Council
Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights – Queen’s University
Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights-SPHR McMaster
Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights – UBC
Students in Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights McGill
Sulong UBC
University of Toronto Students Against Israeli Apartheid
Young Communist League Vancouver
Other organizations wishing to endorse can contact bdscoalition@gmail.com

#BoycottPuma around the world: No corporate complicity with Israeli colonialism!

On 12 February, organizations and activists mobilized around the world to call for the boycott of PUMA. The German athletic wear manufacturer is the official sponsor of the Israel Football Association, which is not only an institution of Zionist colonialism and sportswashing of apartheid, but also includes six teams based in illegal settlements in the West Bank of Palestine.

Over 200 Palestinian sports clubs have urged a PUMA boycott until the company ends its economic sponsorship and political and moral support for Israeli colonialism, occupation and apartheid. 12 February marked the sixth global day of action in the campaign to boycott PUMA. As the existing contract between the IFA and PUMA ends in June 2022, it is particularly important to denounce PUMA’s complicity and make it clear that this contract must end immediately and not be renewed.

Samidoun network chapters and member organizations participated in the day of action in various locations around the world, including in Toulouse, Paris, Gothenburg and New York City, joining many activists and campaigners in a united call to end corporate complicity in and profiteering from colonial occupation.

In Copenhagen, Denmark, Boykot Israel activists distributed hundreds of flyers at Nørrevold, highlighting PUMA’s involvement in Israeli apartheid. Boykot Israel has also written to over 100 shops selling PUMA products calling on them to stop marketing the athletic wear company’s goods so long as it continues to sponsor the IFA.

In Gothenburg, Sweden, Samidoun Göteborg distributed flyers outside an athletic wear shop, meeting with a warm reception from passers-by who were very troubled to learn of the connections between PUMA and Israeli colonialism.

In New York City, Samidoun NY/NJ joined with Within Our Lifetime and the Palestinian Youth Movement NY for a picket at the PUMA flagship store in Manhattan. They received energetic support from many passers-by who were appalled to learn of PUMA’s connection to Israeli colonialism.

Among other actions in the United States, there were two New England protests against PUMA demanding the company end its sponsorship of the IFA. BDS Boston protested in Somerville, Massachusetts, while Brown Students for Justice in Palestine and RISD SJP demonstrated in Providence, Rhode Island.

In Canada, over 1,000 people have already signed on to a call to action to Puma Canada and Puma North America, led by the Canadian BDS Coalition, calling on them to cut the ties with IFA. To sign the letter to Puma Canada, click here.

The Collectif Palestine Vaincra in Toulouse, France, organized a Palestine Stand in central Toulouse, receiving widespread support from passers-by, who took many solidarity photos in support of the #BoycottPUMA campaign.

https://twitter.com/CollectifPV/status/1492546350277447686

Also in France, Samidoun Région Parisienne also organized a Palestine Stand at the Aubervilliers market. This monthly initiative shared hundreds of flyers about the boycott of the German athletic wear manufacturer.

https://twitter.com/SamidounRP/status/1492520732974362633

These accompanied actions throughout France, including in Aix-en-Provence, Saint-Etienne, Paris, Montpellier, Clermont-Ferrand, Lyon, Orleans and elsewhere organized by BDS committees calling for the boycott of PUMA until the company stops supporting apartheid Israel.

There were many actions around the world, calling for the boycott of PUMA and an end to Israeli apartheid, including a spirited London rally organized by Friends of Al-Aqsa, and Manchester Palestine Action’s occupation of the PUMA offices in the city.

These joined rallies and activities in Ireland, Malaysia, South Africa and many other countries, carrying the unified call against PUMA’s complicity in and sponsorship of Israeli colonialism and war crimes, amid ongoing attacks on al-Naqab, Jerusalem, Jenin and throughout occupied Palestine. While PUMA sponsors the Israel Football Association, Palestinian footballers have been subject to imprisonment, denied the ability and right to travel, shot by snipers in the Great Return March in Gaza, and killed by Israeli bombs and bullets.

Samidoun Network members and affiliates are organizing in cities around the world to build the boycott and isolation of the Israeli regime. Contact us to find out more about how you can get involved, or download the #BoycottPUMA posters below to share in your community:

Download PDF (English | French | Swedish)

New York demonstration calls to #BoycottPuma outside brand’s flagship store

On Saturday, 12 February, Samidoun NY/NJ joined Within Our Lifetime and the Palestinian Youth Movement NY to rally outside the PUMA flagship store in Manhattan. The picket took place as part of the global day of action to boycott PUMA because of the German athletic wear brand’s sponsorship of the Israel Football Association, an institution of Zionist sportswashing and colonialism.

Not only does the IFA represent “Israel” sports, built atop the colonization of Palestine, it even includes as members siz teams based in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank of Palestine. PUMA’s sponsorship of the IFA provides direct economic support to Israeli apartheid, colonialism and occupation as well as political and moral endorsement of its policies and practices.

In response, the brand is facing a call from Palestinian athletes and global voices of conscience for a boycott until it ends its sponsorship of the IFA. Another athletic wear brand, Adidas, earlier ended its sponsorship following a global campaign.

Participants in the demonstration chanted loudly outside PUMA’s flagship store in Manhattan, denouncing the company’s complicity in Zionist crimes. Laila of Samidoun chanted “Long live Palestine, Free, free Palestine;” “Puma, Puma, you will see, Palestine will be free! Puma, Puma, you will learn, refugees will return!” outside the large store.

Passers-by met the protest with strong support and enthusiastic responses, with many people learning for the first time about PUMA’s involvement with Israeli crimes aginst the Palestinian people. One man, who had entered the store earlier, came out to ask the demonstrators questions and repeatedly said he had no idea, apologizing for having bought PUMA products and pledging not to buy them again.

Many people showed their solidarity with Palestine and support for the #BoycottPUMA campaign by taking solidarity photos.

The rally closed with statements from several organizers. “We stand not only with the Palestinian prisoners, but with the cause for which they sacrificed their freedom: the defense and liberation of Palestinian land. From Ahmad Sa’adat to Georges Abdallah, we join our struggle with theirs for the liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea,” said Joe Catron, U.S. coordinator of Samidoun.

An organizer with Within Our Lifetime (WOL) said:

“Today we are here outside PUMA’s Flagship store in Manhattan as part of of the international day of action to #BoycottPUMA, to demand that PUMA end its sponsorship of the Israel Football Association.

In recent years, more than 200 Palestinian sports clubs have called on Puma to end this sponsorship deal and stop supporting the ongoing zionist colonization of Palestine.

That least we can do here is answer the call from Palestinians to boycott the zionist entity. The absolute least we can do is not buy Puma’s products until the company adheres to the mission of BDS. But there is so much more for us to do, so much more that we can do to advance the struggle of total liberation in Palestine.

As people who believe uncompromisingly in the struggle for Palestinian liberation, and as people living within the border of the United States—the largest financial and military backer of Zionist settler colonialism—we have a duty to ensure the success of Palestinian resistance by any means necessary.

We have to defend the Palestinian peoples right to resist and fight for liberation in the face of genocide, from Sheikh Jarrah to al-Naqab to Nablus to the whole of Palestine from the river to the sea.

BDS is the floor not the ceiling. We must use our position and collective power here to uphold the call, but we must do so while pressing forward with the eradication of settler colonialism in Palestine. Let us become organized, and strong together, and make it impossible for Puma, HP, Caterpillar, the United States, and the entire world to continue supporting Zionism so that the total liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea, can be achieved.

And until Palestine has been liberated, we must continue to escalate our struggle from wherever we are, with whatever we have.”

 

Samidoun NY/NJ is organizing events and actions for Palestine and the Palestinian prisoners in New York City and New Jersey. Please reach out to us on Twitter or Instagram to get involved.

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Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
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