Media Contacts: pacbi@pacbi.org, inf
New York, NY,
August 18 – Amnesty International has announced today that it will
abstain from any involvement in the Leonard Cohen concert in Tel Aviv
and will not be party to any fund that benefits from the concert‘s
proceeds. A number of media accounts had
reported that Amnesty International was to manage or otherwise partner
in a fund created from the proceeds of Cohen’s concert in Israel that
would be used to benefit Israeli and Palestinian groups. Amnesty
International’s announcement today followed an international outcry over
the human rights organization’s reported involvement in the Leonard
Cohen concert fund, and an earlier international call for Cohen to
boycott apartheid Israel.
Omar
Barghouti from the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural
Boycott of Israel (PACBI) commented, “We welcome Amnesty International’s
withdrawal from this ill-conceived project which is clearly intended to
whitewash Israel’s
violations of international law and human rights. By abandoning the
Leonard Cohen project in Tel Aviv, Amnesty International has dealt Cohen
and his public relations team a severe blow, denying them the cover of
the organization’s prestige and respectability.”
A statement confirming Amnesty‘s withdrawal has now been posted on the Amnesty International website.
After reports in late July that Amnesty International would manage a fund from the proceeds of Leonard Cohen’s concert in Israel, groups in occupied Palestine and around the world mobilized to pressure Amnesty International not to participate in such a fund. The Palestinian Non-governmental Organizations’ Network (PNGO) called in an August 11th letter on Amnesty International to reject management of a fund that is to be created from the proceeds of Leonard Cohen’s planned September concert in Israel. The West Bank village of Bil’in had made a similar appeal to Amnesty International. An international campaign of
about one thousand letters to Amnesty International called for
Amnesty’s withdrawal from the Cohen concert initiative. The only
Palestinian organization that was claimed to be a recipient of the fund
had previously announced that it was not involved in the project.
Additionally, a representative of the joint Palestinian Israeli group Combatants for Peace,
another previously announced beneficiary of the Cohen concert fund, had
informed the New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel in writing
that the group had decided not to participate in the Leonard Cohen concert in Tel Aviv and not to accept any funds from its proceeds.
PNGO explained in their letter to
Amnesty International that Israel Discount Bank, a major sponsor of
Cohen’s concert in Israel, “is involved in the construction and the
continuation of the Israeli settlement project in the oPT [occupied
Palestinian Territories]… These settlements built on Palestinian lands
are illegal under international law and are considered as war crimes in
the Fourth Geneva Convention.” PNGO added that Cohen’s “concert in Israel contributes in normalizing Israeli occupation and colonization policies.” In an August 9th letter to Amnesty International, the West Bank village of Bil’in,
a leader in the Palestinian nonviolent resistance movement, said
that, “Israel Discount Bank’s trading room and other computer services
are run by an Israeli company called Matrix IT. Matrix IT’s trading room
is located on our villages land stolen by the illegal settlement of
Modiin Illit.”
Additionally, nineteen groups and organizations worldwide explained in an open letter to
Amnesty International that, “Being one of the world’s strongest
proponents of human rights and international law, you shall thus
be subverting a non-violent, effective effort by Palestinian and
international civil society to end Israel‘s violations of international
law and human rights principles.” The groups asserted that, “Accepting
funds from the proceeds of Cohen’s concert in Israel is the equivalent of Amnesty accepting funds from a concert in Sun City in apartheid South Africa.”
They also commented that the Peres Center for Peace, Amnesty
International’s announced partner in managing the concert fund, “has been denounced by
leading Palestinian civil society organizations for promoting joint
Palestinian-Israeli projects that enhance ‘Israeli institutional
reputation and legitimacy, without restoring justice to Palestinians.’”
On August 5th, eleven groups launched a letter writing campaign to
Amnesty International which has resulted in hundreds of emails sent.
Among those urging Amnesty International to reject involvement with the
Cohen concert are former Amnesty International USA board member Prof.
Naseer Aruri, Amnesty International USA’s former Midwest Regional
Director Doris Strieter, peace activist Kathy Kelly, and a number of
Amnesty International members.
The announcement of Cohen’s planned concert in Israel was swiftly met by letters from British, Israeli and Pale
With
the international community failing to take action to stop Israeli
oppression of the Palestinian people, and inspired by the international
boycott movement that helped bring an end to apartheid in South Africa, Palestinian civil society has launched calls for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel, including an institutional academic and cultural boycott. Ninety-three artists, writers and other cultural workers have signed onto the
Palestinian cultural boycott call. Palestinian boycott calls have
inspired a growing international boycott movement which gained added
momentum following Israel’s assault on Gaza last winter.
Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI)
and
New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel (NYCBI)
Posted on 18-08-2009
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