By Susan Landau
As yet another horrific Israeli military offensive escalates in Gaza, human rights
activists advocating for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) of Israel stay
the course. It is not only the Israeli airstrikes on Gaza that are killing Palestinians.
Routinely the unjust, indiscriminate, and systemic Israeli policies of military
occupation and apartheid destroy Palestinian lives. The lure of jobs in illegal Israeli
industrial zones, intended to support the economic base of Israeli settlements, is
a case in point. Palestinians provide a captive workforce with few employment
alternatives to the factory jobs such as in the settlement Ma’aleh Adumim where
Sodastream products are made. Low wages and the absence of worker’s rights
eviscerate any possibility for the development of a viable Palestinian economy and a
just peace.
Today’s release of “Recycle, Hack, Destroy” by The Philadelphia Coalition for
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (Philly BDS) is part of the planned national week
of actions by “We Divest” and supports the local Philadelphia chapter of Jewish
Voice for Peace (JVP-Philly).
In the tradition of Code Pink’s mock weddings and the US Campaign to End the
Occupation’s petitions, demonstrations, and spoof ads, “Recycle, Hack, Destroy”
is the latest in an alternative stream – creative protests staged by BDS activists to
“burst the (Sodastream) bubble.”
Black clouds have no silver linings. The Palestinian call in 2005 to the international
community to develop campaigns of boycott, divestment, and sanctions until Israel
complies with international law offers a nonviolent response to egregious Israeli
crimes against humanity. Because the Israeli government provides economic
incentives, including tax deductions, for businesses operating in West Bank
settlements, BDS activists have made Sodastream a target of an international
consumer boycott.
Once again Israel claims “All options are on the table,” including the call up of
40,000 reserve troops. Take Sodastream off the table and consider a nonviolent
option, BDS. The BDS movement too is prepared for a “long, continuous, and strong
campaign.”