Anti-Israel BDS takes mind of its own: Adie Mormech

Press TV has interviewed Adie Mormech, a human rights activist from Manchester, to discuss the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.

What follows is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: Tell us about this situation. It seems that efforts to boycott products are increasing. Now we see the UN Special Rapporteur Richard Falk calling for basically entities to boycott Israel. What do you think about this? Is this is a positive move and do you think that it will pick up speed in order to succeed?

Mormech: I think we’re at the point now whereby the BDS movement, the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel, is being grasped by so many more people. It’s taken almost a mind of its own because it’s every single moment we hear of news that there are greater boycotts of Israeli institutions, Israeli organizations, Israeli companies.

We’ve had the idea, obviously, of Richard Falk just recently.

We’ve had Pink Floyd’s lead singer, Roger Waters, who has just been calling on the Rolling Stones not to go and perform in Israel. He’s also greatly backed the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.

Also we’ve had obviously imminent scientists like Stephen Hawking and all of these different, prominent people reaching these huge amounts of different spheres of society and different groups that normally would not have engaged. It’s like a steam roller effect.

I’ve just been in Gaza for a year and since I’ve got back here it’s so clear that not only is it penetrating in terms of for example economically — there was a 4.7 billion pound loss of a contract for Veolia, by operating the tramline system which only Israelis can use into the settlements, as well as the bus service. They’ve lost 4.7 billion pounds.

But also it’s the symbolic aspect of penetrating the consciousness of people. People are asking now on a much more mainstream level, why? What’s Israel doing? And they’re starting to find out. It’s through the boycotts that this is growing hugely – the education factor as well.

Of course it’s governments and international organizations like the UN that have been rewarding Israel with diplomatic ties and commercial ties and aids. American aid is still in the billions, more aid than any other country receives despite the fact that Israel is violating more United Nations resolutions than any other country.

When Archbishop Desmond Tutu is still calling on boycotts all over the world, just like for the fight against Lavrica, it is the international wing of resistance right now.

Of course it’s not going to be the sole form that liberation for Palestinians face, but it is a much more improved contribution internationally.

Just like apartheid South Africa, the boycotts on the grassroots level eventually reached higher levels of sanctions and this is really what will eventually be for Israel, being isolated for the horrific crimes that it continues to commit to this very day.

Also, it’s a reaction to these ridiculous façade of negotiations where Israel continues to put up 8,000 more housing units, illegal settlements, more expropriation of land, more ethnic cleansing, where it is a slap in the face of the international community as if to say no more negotiations. Negotiations are an absolute joke now given the complete and utter inequality between the two sides, the colonization by Israel of the Palestinians.

Of course now the world is starting to wake up, internationally, particularly in Europe and in America who have been far behind in terms of understanding what’s happening to the Palestinians.

The BDS is a major tour that we hope will make big contributions. It can only grow. A big sign of that is the enormous reaction from Israeli politicians who have since – so many of them have come out and said ‘we are in real trouble, we need to react’ to the BDS movement because they’ve called it an existential threat.