The activists in question took part in a July 1, 2011 protest action outside a Melbourne Central Max Brenner chocolate store. Max Brenner is Israeli owned and actively supports extreme sections of the Israeli military forces.

This means that Max Brenner is a legitimate target of the non-violent Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Apartheid Israel.

Israel’s Apartheid policies include the illegal occupation of Palestine, a raft of discriminatory laws against Palestinians who hold Israeli citizenship and the refusal of right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland.

Australian authorities should be breaking their alliance with Apartheid Israel and speaking out on the international stage against Israel’s Apartheid policies instead of trying to criminalise activists who are protesting here in support of Palestinian human rights.

Friends of Palestine support for the Max Brenner 19 has been previously expressed here. We would encourage all human rights supporters to sign the statement of support here.

Over 530 Palestinian towns and villages were destroyed and two-thirds of the indigenous Palestinian Arab population were expelled from their homes.

Come and find out what really happened in 1948…

Public Meeting / Film Showing

Tuesday 15 May, 6.30pm

Citiplace Community Centre
(above Perth train station via rear entrance)

For more info ph: 0449 028 894 email: <FriendsOfPalestineWA@gmail.com>

DOWNLOAD PUBLICITY: PDF

Musician and activist Phil Monsour is releasing his latest 12 song CD, Ghosts of Deir Yassin following the mobilisations for Palestinian Land Day. The CD is available online at CDbaby http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/philmonsour4 and other outlets. The songs on Ghosts of Deir Yassin were written during a trip to Palestine, Jordan and Lebanon. Inspired by the courage of ordinary people fighting for freedom and justice from Palestine’s refugee camps, to Egypt’s Tahrir square, through to the Occupy squares, the lyrics are a fearless rally cry for action and solidarity.

Songs include I left my Heart in Palestine about love at a checkpoint, the somber Dark Tunnels against the siege of Gaza, and the title track Ghosts of Deir Yassin, a statement of hope on the Palestinian right of return. A video clip for Ghosts of Dier Yassin, filmed in early January 2012, in a number of refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon will be released shortly. Musically, the CD is a unique collection of anthem rock song and folk ballads combined to capture both the alarm and optimism of current times.

The album was recorded at Wavelength Recording in Brisbane with the full band which features Jon Lloyd on Drums, Ian Kimber on Bass and Graham Jackson on Guitar. The title track Ghosts of Deir Yassin features Palestinian spoken word artist Rafeef Ziadah.

20% of CD sales are donated to Union Aid Abroad – APHEDA critical projects in the Middle East. Projects in the Middle East include the Gaza Emergency Appeal, Food Security Projects in the OPT and the Palestinian Camps Support Program. http://www.apheda.org.au/projects/mideast/index.html APHEDA is the international development agency of the Australian Council of Trade Unions.

Phil Monsour is a singer songwriter of Arab descent who lives in Australia. He is a founding member of Artist Against Apartheid – Australia, a Trade Union activists and organiser in the Boycott Divestment Sanctions campaign.

Hana Shalabi was released from over two years in administrative detention (that is detention without charge or trial) on 18 October 2011, as part of the prisoner exchange deal concluded by the Israeli government and Hamas. Hana was re-arrested less than four months later on 16 February 2012, and immediately began a hunger strike in protest of her detention.

Hana is one of more than 300 Palestinians currently in Israeli “administrative detention” including more than 20 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council whose only “crime” is to have been elected.

Public Meeting & Film Showing
Tuesday 17 April 6.30pm
Citiplace Community Centre
(above Perth train station)

For more info, Ph: 0449 028 894
Email: FriendsOfPalestineWA@gmail.com
or visit www.fopwa.org

DOWNLOAD: Publicity flyers (PDF)

Join us for a protest against Veolia, a major investor in Apartheid Israel’s transport, water and waste disposal infrastructure (see over for more details).

Protest Veolia!
Friday 30 March, 4.30-6pm
Murray Street Mall

(opposite the underground station)

Click here or on the image above to download PDF leaflet.

For more info, Ph: 0449 028 894
Email: FriendsOfPalestineWA@gmail.com
FOPWA website: http://www.fopwa.org

For decades, the state of Israel has denied Palestinians their fundamental rights of freedom, equality, and self-determination through ethnic cleansing, colonization, racial discrimination, and military occupation. Despite abundant condemnation of Israeli policies by the United Nations, international bodies, and human rights organisations, Israel’s crimes have continued with impunity.

On July 9 2005, a year after the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s apartheid wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) to be illegal, a clear majority of Palestinian civil society called upon people of conscience all over the world to launch broad boycotts, implement divestment initiatives, and to demand sanctions against Israel, until Palestinian rights are recognised in full compliance with international law.

Why target Veolia?

Veolia is a large French multinational corporation active in delivering utility services, including water supply, waste management, energy and transport services. In 2010, Veolia employed 320,000 employees in 105 countries. In 2010, Veolia’s revenue was recorded at €34.8 billion and its profit at €579 million. Veolia Environment and Veolia Transport are profiting from major investments in Israeli infrastructure projects servicing settlements located in the OPT.

City Pass Consortium
Veolia Transport Israel, a subsidiary of Veolia Transdev, is a leading partner in the CityPass consortium, contracted to build a light-rail tramway linking west Jerusalem to illegal Jewish settlements in occupied east Jerusalem. The rail system, which began operation last December, will cement Israel’s hold on occupied east Jerusalem and tie the settlements even more firmly into the State of Israel. The “Ammunition Hill” station of the network operates as the feeder station for settler traffic from Ma’aleh Adumim, a large Israeli settlement in the West Bank, and from Jewish settlements in the Jordan Valley.

Veolia Transport Israel, which also operates the rail system, is directly implicated in maintaining illegal settlements in occupied Palestinian territory and is playing a key role in Israel’s attempt to make its annexation of the Palestinian territory of east Jerusalem irreversible. Veolia has recruited operators for the tramway through an advertisement requiring Hebrew to mother tongue standard, but without mention of Arabic, a clear indication that the tramway is expected to be used primarily by Jewish Israelis, not Palestinians. Full army or civic service is also required, meaning Palestinians are denied employment on the rail system.

In April 2010, the UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution, with a vote 44 to 1, declaring the light rail and its operation to be illegal.

Apartheid bus services
Veolia Transport Israel is also runs two bus services serving the same function as the light rail: supporting and consolidating illegal settlements and tying them more closely into Israel. These are services 109 and 110, linking the settlements of Mevo Horon, Giv’at Ze’ev and Har Shmuel to Israel. Until recently, part of the route was an Apartheid road on which Palestinians from the West Bank were forbidden to travel, even though it passes through the West Bank. In June 2010 the ban was partially lifted to comply with an Israeli court order, but at most West Bank Palestinians can still only use the Veolia buses between two stops about 5kms apart, and quite possibly not at all.

Tovlan landfill: dumping rubbish on the occupied territories
Through its subsidiary TMM, Veolia Transport Israel has been operating the Tovlan landfill site in the occupied Jordan Valley for many years. During this time Tovlan has been supporting Israel’s illegal settlements in the West Bank by taking their refuse. There has also been a report of Tovlan receiving refuse from Israel itself, the occupier dumping its rubbish on the occupied. Veolia says that it is selling Tovlan to a local buyer and may have already done so, but far from ending Veolia’s complicity, the deal will compound it, for the intended sale is to Massu’a, the nearby illegal Israeli settlement. Moreover Veolia will continue its involvement by providing the settlement with advice concerning Tovlan.

Veolia divesting from Israel?
On 9 December last year, the Isareli daily Haaretz reported that Veolia is seeking to pull out of of transit and contracting services in Israel/Palestine, citing the European economic crisis as responsible for a planned contraction in its international investments. While Veolia Israel has agreed to sell the contracting business of its Energy subsidiary, Dalkia Israel, to Electra for an estimated NIS 40-60 million, and is negotiating divestment from its transport services, Haaretz reported, “Veolia Israel will be keeping its local [waste management] and water businesses, which employ another 1,250 and have about NIS 1 billion in annual revenues.” Haaretz reported that Veolia is expected to expand investment in these services “as they are quite profitable”.

According to Haaretz, Veolia Transport Israel is trying to sell its 5% stake in the CityPass Consortium and its 80% stake in the tramway operating company to the Israeli company Egged for NIS 46 million, but the Israeli state has held up the sale. Part of the proposed deal is for Veolia Transport Israel to provide Egged with technical assistance in running the tramway for five years, so Veolia will still be involved in and profit from the tramway operation. Veolia says that it is selling its stakes to take advantage of a good offer rather than trying to distance itself from services to settlements.

Veolia Environment has also attempted to use the March 2011 merger of its transport division with Transdev, which formed Veolia Transdev, to hide its corporate complicity in the occupation. The merged company is 50% owned by Veolia Environment, with the CEO of Veolia Environment also the Chairman of Veolia Transdev. Veolia Environment therefore still bears very substantial responsibility for and retains effective control of Veolia Transdev’s wholly owned subsidiary Veolia Transport Israel. Veolia’s involvement with Tovlan is not affected by the Veolia Transport/Transdev merger, for the subsidiary concerned is part of Veolia Environment’s Environmental Services Division.

International BDS campaign targets Veolia
Though Veolia has not yet emerged as a major target for the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign in Australia, numerous actions have targeted Veolia’s investments in North America and Europe in recent years and, more recently, in occupied East Jerusalem.

The UK-based Bin Veolia campaign is seeking to end Veolia’s waste management contracts with numerous government authorities. UK and European activists have been seeking to appeal to European Union regulations that a company can be excluded for bidding for government contracts on the grounds of grave misconduct.

The Bin Veolia campaign has achieved considerable success with at least eight UK councils having ended Veolia’s contracts since latte 2010 or resolved to exclude Veolia from future contracts. Late last year, the West London Waste Authority excluded Veolia from a £485 million contract covering 1.4 million inhabitants of the London boroughs of Brent, Ealing, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow and Richmond-upon-Thames, for treatment of residual domestic waste.

Over the last six months campaigners collected signatures from nearly 600 local residents on a letter documenting Veolia’s direct complicity in grave breaches of international and humanitarian law in Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Sarah Colborne, Director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign in the UK , commented:
“Complicity in infringing human rights and international law has become an expensive business for Veolia. Other companies please note: There is a strong, determined and popular international campaign for justice for Palestinians; if you aid Israel’s oppression of Palestinians your business will suffer just like Veolia’s.”

In February 2011 the East London council of Tower Hamlets voted to review its position with Veolia and place no further contracts with it, after claiming that Veolia’s work for the Israeli government assisted the “continued oppression of the Palestinian people”.

Internationally, Veolia has lost several major contracts, in part due to the BDS campaign.

In 2009, Veolia Transport, which had been running the Stockholm metro for many years, lost the replacement contract, worth several billion euro, after a high profile public campaign. Veolia’s finance manager for Sweden was sacked. Stockholm City Council did not admit that the campaign was responsible, but it was widely acknowledged that this was the case.

Also in 2009, Veolia transport lost a €750 million contract for the biggest urban network in France.

On 30 November 2009, Connex Melbourne (a Veolia transport subsidiary) lost the contract for operating Melbourne’s suburban rail system. While media reports focused on Connex’s failure to deliver an efficient service to the Melbourne public, Connex had also been the focus of a local Palestine solidarity boycott campaign.

In 2010, the Dublin City Council instructed its City Manager not to grant or renew any contracts with Veolia after concerted action by the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

Freedom rides
On November 15 last year, Palestinian activists boarded segregated Israeli settler public transport headed to occupied East Jerusalem in an historic act of civil disobedience inspired by the Freedom Riders of the US Civil Rights Movement.

The six Freedom Riders — Fadi Quran, Nadeem Al-Sharbate, Badee Dwak, Huwaida Arraf, Basel Al-Araj and Mazin Qumsiyeh — chose to board a bus that serves Jewish-only settlements in the West Bank on it’s way to Occupied East Jerusalem, wearing kuffiyehs (Palestinian scarves) and t-shirts reading ‘Justice’, ‘Freedom’, and ‘We Shall Overcome’.

They took this bold action to expose the racism and policies of segregation that pervade every aspect of life in occupied Palestine: to send the message to the world that separate is not equal. Not in the United States and not in Israel or Palestine. They also wanted to bring attention to the role of Israeli and international companies, such as Egged and Veolia, who operate these segregated bus lines, in perpetuating and profiting from the occupation.

Before being dragged from the bus by Israeli soldiers and arrested, Fadi Quran, a 23 year old Palestinian from Ramallah, said:
“We are not going to give up. We are struggling for justice, freedom, and dignity and we shall overcome. Stand with us in solidarity. Please divest from the Egged and Veolia bus companies and all Israeli institutions. We will achieve freedom, justice, and dignity for this generation of Palestinians.”

Veolia in Australia
Veolia Transport’s turnover for Australia is over $635 million Australian dollars. It’s Australian transport investments include: Veolia Transport Brisbane, using the former National Bus Company’s fleet; free CAT bus services in the Perth CBD, Fremantle and Joondalup; WA Southern Coast Transit bus lines in the Mandurah/Rockingham area and the bus lines in the Joondalup/Wangara that feed Transperth rail lines; Sydney’s Light Rail and Monorail; and Veolia Transport NSW (Formerly Connex/Connex Southtrans) commuter buses that service the depots of Bankstown, Villawood, Taren Point, Menai and Revesby.

Veolia Environment also has numerous contracts with councils and waste management authorities around Australia, though these contracts are more hidden from public scrutiny. The Perth inner city council, Town of Vincent, is one such example.

FOPWA’s AGM discussed a number of possible protest actions targeting Veolia, including: ‘freedom rides’ on CAT bus routes in Perth and Fremantle; and a ‘bin Veolia’ campaign directed at inner city councils, universities and other statutory authorities found to have significant contracts for waste management with Veolia Environment.

Freedom Rides Song

To the tune of “Can the Circle Be Unbroken”

I was standing by my window
I saw that bus for Jerusalem
And I wanted so bad to go
But they said you can’t get on.

(chorus)
Can the occupation be broken
Freedom Ride, yeah, Freedom Ride
There’s a better future waiting
In a free, free Palestine

Well I told that bus driver
I won’t stand for apartheid
Because separate is never equal
I’m gonna ride, I’m gonna ride.

(chorus)

I’ve seen walls and I’ve seen checkpoints
I’ve seen segregated highways
But I’ve never seen al-Quds
Even though I live ten miles away.

(chorus)

And if you lock me in your prison
For demanding equality
You won’t stop people from riding
Toward a day when we’re all free.

(chorus)

Chord pattern:
A
D A
A
E A

Lyrics by Jewish Voices for Peace (http://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/campaigns/solidarity-with-
palestinian-freedom-riders).

Details:
Date: 4 February 2012
Time: 2.30pm
Location: CitiPlace Community Centre (back room)
Address: Concourse level, Perth City train station.

The meeting is open to members and supporters of Friends of Palestine WA. Only members can vote but of course you can join or renew on the day.

The meeting will have a strong focus on campaign priorities and will not be too administrative. Please come along and help shape the conversation.

Thanks for your support in 2011 – it seems that the voice for recognising Palestinian human rights is growing stronger.

More than 40 people joined a BDS campaign action at the Seacret stall in the Carousel shopping centre.

Seacret is an Israeli cosmetics company that illegally sources its product from the Dead Sea in Occupied Palestine.

Borrowing a song from a successful Brisbane BDS action, Friends of Palestine activists created a musical message against Israeli Apartheid in the shopping centre’s food court. When Centre security tried to move us on, we proceeded to the Seacret stall chanting “Free, free Palestine, Occupation is a crime” where the protest continued for some time.

The actions by the shopping centre security force – colluding with police to try to close down a democratic protest for human rights – were largely ineffective. The protest achieved exactly what we set out to achieve: to raise the issue of Israeli Apartheid and the illegal actions of the Seacret company.

The questions must be asked though: Why does Carousel Centre Management tolerate the presence in its complex of a company that profits from illegal occupation? Further, why do they try to restrict the democratic rights and free speech of their customers who are simply drawing attention to the human rights abuses connected to Israeli Apartheid?

Friends of Palestine encourages our supporters to write to Carousel Shopping Centre encouraging the company to respect human rights and to end the lease they currently grant to Seacret. Click here for contact details.

The next Seacret action – don’t buy Israeli Apartheid for Christmas – will be on Thursday 8 December 2011. Contact Friends of Palestine WA for more information.

Date: Saturday, November 12
Time: 12 noon
Meet: Cannington train station
What: March to Carousel, details on the day.

Download the flyer here: