A new report released today by grassroots Zionist movement Im Tirtzu names and shames the Israelis who participated in “Israeli Apartheid Week,” which recently took place in over 150 campuses and cities worldwide.
“Israeli Apartheid Week” (IAW) has been held annually for the past decade on college campuses and in cities throughout the world, and seeks to defame the State of Israel by claiming that it is an “apartheid state.” IAW calls for boycotts against Israel, accuses the IDF of committing war crimes, and organizes protests against Israel.
The new report reveals the involvement of Israelis – individuals, organizations, and even ex-MKs – who participate in some of the IAW events around the world.
For example, a film festival on the so-called “Nakba” courtesy of the radical NGO “Zochrot” was featured at Columbia University on March 3, 2016, during IAW. The event included three movies on the topic of the “Nakba” or "Disaster" – as nationalist Palestinian Arabs call their defeat in 1948 – and the right of return.
On March 4, 2016, extreme leftist Israeli Dr. Ilan Pappé presented a lecture at Columbia University titled, “Why Is Palestine Still the Issue in 2016?” The event was organized by Columbia’s Students for Justice in Palestine organization during IAW.
Dr. Uri Davis was prominently featured at a press conference during South Africa’s “Israel Apartheid Week” on March 6, 2016. Davis was born in Israel, joined the Palestinian Arab movement Fatah, converted to Islam, and is now married to a Palestinian Arab in Ramallah. He defines himself as a “Palestinian Hebrew national of Jewish origin, anti-Zionist, registered as Muslim and a citizen of an apartheid state – the State of Israel.”
A conference held in Nazareth during IAW titled, “BDS and the 1948 Palestinians: Between International Influences and Local Contexts,” featured an array of Israeli speakers including Dr. Anat Matar of Tel- Aviv University and former MK and current Chairman of the Arab Supreme Oversight Committee, Muhammad Barakei.
The CEO of Im Tirtzu, Alon Schvartzer, added that “the Israeli public needs to understand that the boycott against Israel starts from within – starting from academics, lecturers, artists, and organizations that call for a boycott, and going on to individuals and elected officials who partake in ‘Israeli Apartheid Week.’"
"Those who accuse Israel of being an apartheid state do not want a peace or equality. They want the same thing as the heads of the BDS movement – to destroy the Jewish state. We call on the Government of Israel to direct the focus of its anti-BDS activities inwards, and to take extensive measures to combat the Israeli boycotters, including the expansion of the Transparency Bill that will preserve Israeli democracy.”