APRIL 23rd, the presumed birthday of William Shakespeare, saw the launch in London of the World Shakespeare Festival, a big, international programme to celebrate the Bard. Produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company, the festival is designed to give an international flair to a national treasure, to complement the Olympic games. The most-talked about bit is the Globe to Globe festival at Shakespeare’s Globe theatre, where 37 companies from around the world are performing all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays in different languages over the course of six hectic weeks. It is the most ambitious programme of work the theatre has ever staged. 
 
The team at the Globe, led by Dominic Dromgoole, the artistic director, and Tom Bird, the programme director, have made some brave and inspired choices. The national theatres of Albania, Macedonia and Serbia, for example, are performing a Balkan trilogy of the Henry VI plays, marking the first time the dramas will be staged at Shakespeare’s Globe. Belarus Free Theatre, a company banned in Belarus and run by artists with political-refugee status in Britain, will be presenting “King Lear” in Belarusian. The South Sudan Theatre Company, a group specially formed for Globe to Globe, will represent the world’s newest nation state with a Juba Arabic production of “Cymbeline”; it will be the first ever Shakespeare play in Juba Arabic. The list goes on. (Pictured: New Zealand’s Ngakau Toa theatre company performing “Troilus and Cressida” last night.)
 
It’s an undeniably exciting undertaking, both for Shakespeare afficionados and for migrant communities in London who are rarely given the opportunity to celebrate their culture on such a high-profile platform. But not every element of the programme has been well received. The Globe has received two open letters about the inclusion of Habima, an Israeli national theatre company, which is scheduled to perform “The Merchant of Venice” in Hebrew in May.
 
The first, from Boycott from Within, a campaign group comprised of “Palestinians, Jews, citizens of Israel”, argues that the theatre appears to be condoning Israel’s illegal settlements in the West Bank by including a troupe that sometimes performs there. The second was sent to the Guardian newspaper in late March by a group of British theatre-makers, including Mark Rylance, an actor and the founding artistic director of Shakespeare’s Globe. It calls upon the theatre to withdraw Habima’s invitation altogether.
 
In a statement issued in response to Boycott from Within in January, the Globe commented that the festival will be “a celebration of languages” rather than “a celebration of nations or states”. As Habima is the best-known Hebrew language theatre company in the world, the company’s involvement in Globe to Globe is appropriate, the statement continued. And once one starts actively excluding companies, it added, where does one stop? (No further statement has been made since the Rylance letter was published.)
 
It is easy to share the Globe’s feeling that “people meeting and talking and exchanging views is preferable to isolation and silence”. But there is something disingenuous—or naïve or both—about the way in which the theatre has defended its decision. For many of the companies taking part in Globe to Globe—including Habima, whose general manager, Odelia Friedman, described the company’s invitation as “an honorable accomplishment for the State of Israel”—language and national or cultural identity are inextricably linked. Whether the team at the Globe intend this or not, a festival of this stature is a stamp of approval for what a culture is projecting about itself.
 
Ashtar Theatre, which will be performing “Richard II” in Palestinian Arabic, is a pertinent example. Iman Aoun, the artistic director of the Ramallah-based company, pointed out in an interview that “theatre is a strong tool for raising awareness…We are ambassadors of our people and ambassadors of our culture and the stories of our people: how they live and how they struggle for their being.” She adds: “No matter how hard it is here for us as Palestinians under occupation, Palestinian theatre and Palestinian culture are really able to compete on the world stage”.
 
Ms Aoun was initially reticent to discuss Habima. She is weary of those who consider Ashtar as a point of contrast with Habima rather than as a group in its own right. But since the publication of the letter in the Guardian, which helped spark a larger debate in the media, she has agreed to be quoted: “It is a relief to know that some UK artists are supporting our cause and the boycott campaign. In fact they are playing an important role in raising public awareness about the atrocities of Israel and its apartheid regime.”
 
Of course the Globe actively included some companies and actively excluded others. The Balkan trilogy is a fascinating piece of programming because of the region’s complex, tragic past; substituting a French national theatre company for the Albanian one would have made for a far less interesting story. Putting Habima and Ashtar Theatre on the same bill is no different. The question is, why is the Globe trying to pretend that politics and theatre have nothing to do with each other, when it’s obvious to all concerned that they do.

Une nouvelle victoire dans la campagne BDS

Dimanche, 29 Avril 2012

Ci-dessous un communiqué de la coordination BIN – Boycott Israel Network

Samedi 28 avril 2012 – Aujourd’hui, les participants à la campagne pour les droits de l’homme ont eu le plaisir d’accueillir l’information annonçant que la cinquième chaîne britannique de vente au détail, The Co-operative Group « ne s’engagerait plus avec aucun fournisseur de produits connus pour provenir des colonies israéliennes ».

La décision de Co-op, notifiée dans une déclaration à l’adresse des responsables de la campagne, aura directement un impact sur quatre fournisseurs : Agrexco, Arava Export Growers, Adafresh et Mehadrin, la plus grosse firme israélienne d’exportations agricoles.

Les fournisseurs de Mehadrin produisent des denrées en provenance des colonies illégales, y compris celle de Beqa’ot, dans la vallée occupée du Jourdain. Au cours d’interviews réalisées par des enquêteurs, des travailleurs palestiniens de la colonie ont dit qu’ils ne gagnaient pas plus de 11 dollars par jour. Les raisins et les dattes emballées dans la colonie étaient tous étiquetés « Produit en Israël ». Le rôle de Mehadrin dans la distribution d’eau aux fermes de colonies et sa relation avec la société nationale israélienne de l’eau, la Mekorot, rend en outre la société complice de la politique discriminatoire d’Israël sur le plan de l’eau. D’autres sociétés pourraient être affectées par les nouvelles mesures de Co-op en cas de preuves qu’elles écoulent des produits en provenance des colonies d’Israël dans les territoires occupés.

Hilary Smith, membre de Co-op et coordinateur de la campagne relative au commerce agricole du Boycott Israel Network (BIN), a déclaré : « Nous accueillons avec plaisir cette décision importante de Co-op de prendre des mesures visant à concrétiser pleinement sa politique de soutien aux droits de l’homme et au commerce éthique. Co-op a fait œuvre de pionnier, sur le plan international, avec cette décision historique de forcer les sociétés à rendre des comptes pour complicité dans les violations par Israël des droits de l’homme palestiniens. Nous pressons instamment d’autres détaillants de faire de même et de prendre des mesures similaires. »

L’annonce faite par Co-op est venue juste avant leurs assemblées générales régionales, un événement annuel censé avoir lieu d’ici une quinzaine et auquel des motions sur cette question ont été transmises pour faire l’objet d’une discussion. Durant des mois, les membres de Co-op ont fait part de leurs inquiétudes à propos du commerce avec des sociétés complices, et ce, par le biais de rédaction coordonnée de lettres et de discussion avec des bureaux locaux.

Un porte-parole de l’Union palestinienne des Comités du travail agricole, qui travaille à l’amélioration des conditions des communautés agricoles palestiniennes, a déclaré :

« Les firmes israéliennes d’exportations agricoles, telle Mehadrin, profitent – en y étant directement impliquées – de la colonisation en cours des terres palestiniennes occupées et du vol de notre eau. Le commerce avec de telles firmes constitue une forme majeure de soutien au régime d’apartheid israélien appliqué au peuple palestinien, de sorte que nous accueillons chaleureusement ces décisions de principe prise par la Co-operative. D’autres supermarchés européens doivent désormais entreprendre des démarches similaires en vue de mettre un terme à leur complicité dans les violations par Israël des lois internationales. Le mouvement de BDS contre Israël tant que ce dernier ne se soumettra pas aux lois internationales, s’avère une forme réellement efficace d’action, dans le soutien des droits palestiniens. »

Les responsables de la campagne déclarent que cette extension des mesures de Co-op sur le plan des droits de l’homme et du commerce constitue une victoire pour la campagne BDS réclamée en 2005 par plus de 170 organisations de la société civile palestinienne. Parmi les actions qui ont eu lieu dans toute l’Europe afin de mettre en évidence le problème de la complicité des firmes de commerce agricole, figuraient des boycotts populaires coordonnés, des piquets aux supermarchés, pressions et blocages dans les locaux mêmes de certaines firmes.

L’an dernier, Agrexco, anciennement le premier exportateur agricole d’Israël, a été déclaré en faillite après avoir reconnu des dettes records et été dans l’impossibilité de payer ses créanciers. Shir Hever, l’économiste et commentateur israélien qui fait des recherches sur les aspects économiques de l’occupation par Israël des territoires palestiniens, a déclaré qu’un facteur était « le fait qu’Agrexco a été la cible d’une campagne internationale de boycott international, en protestation contre son rôle dans la répression contre les Palestiniens ».

Tous les autres supermarchés importants de Grande-Bretagne continuent à faire du commerce avec les sociétés qui sont désormais rejetées par la politique de Co-op en matière de droits de l’homme et de commerce.

Traduction pour ce site : JM Flémal

 Source

Apr 28, 2012 07:40 pm | Annie Robbins

The Boycott Israel Network (BIN) sent out the following press release earlier today:
Palestine human rights campaigners today welcomed news that the UK’s fifth biggest food retailer, The Co-operative Group, will “no longer engage with any supplier of produce known to be sourcing from the Israeli settlements”.
The Co-op’s decision, notified to campaigners in a statement, will immediately impact four suppliers, Agrexco, Arava Export Growers, Adafresh and Mehadrin, Israel’s largest agricultural export company. Mehadrin sources produce from illegal settlements, including Beqa’ot in the Occupied Jordan Valley. During interviews with researchers, Palestinian workers in the settlement said they earn as little as €11 per day. Grapes and dates packaged in the settlement were all labelled ‘Produce of Israel’.
Mehadrin’s role in providing water to settlement farms and its relationship with Israeli state water company Mekorot makes the company additionally complicit with Israel’s discriminatory water policies. Other companies may be affected by the Co-op’s new policy if they are shown to be sourcing produce from Israel’s settlements in the Occupied Territories.
Hilary Smith, Co-op member and Boycott Israel Network (BIN) agricultural trade campaign co-ordinator, said:
“We welcome this important decision by the Co-op to take steps toward fully realizing their policy of support for human rights and ethical trading. The Co-op has taken the lead internationally in this historic decision to hold corporations to account for complicity in Israel’s violations of Palestinian human rights. We strongly urge other retailers to follow suit and take similar action.”
The announcement by the Co-op came just before their Regional AGMs, due to take place over the next two weeks, and where motions on this issue have been submitted for discussion. For months Co-op members have been highlighting their concerns about trade with complicit companies through co-ordinated letter-writing and discussions with local offices.
A spokesperson from the Palestinian Union of Agricultural Work Committees, which works to improve the conditions of Palestinian agricultural communities, said:
“Israeli agricultural export companies like Mehadrin profit from and are directly involved in the ongoing colonization of occupied Palestinian land and theft of our water. Trade with such companies constitutes a major form of support for Israel’s apartheid regime over the Palestinian people, so we warmly welcome this principled decision by the Co-Operative. Other European supermarkets must now take similar steps to end their complicity with Israeli violations of international law. The movement for boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel until it complies with international law is proving to be a truly effective form of action in support of Palestinian rights”.
Campaigners say that this widening of the Co-op’s human rights and trade policy represents a victory for the BDS campaign, called for in 2005 by over 170 Palestinian civil society organizations. Actions across Europe to highlight the issue of complicit agricultural trade companies have included co-ordinated popular boycotts, pickets of supermarkets, lobbying and blockades of company premises.
Last year Agrexco, formerly Israel’s largest agricultural goods exporter, was ordered into liquidation after posting record losses and failing to pay its creditors. Shir Hever, Israeli economist and commentator who researches the economic aspects of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, said that one factor was “the fact that Agrexco has been the target of an international boycott campaign, in protest at its role in repressing Palestinians”.
All other major supermarkets in the UK continue to trade with the companies that are now barred under the Co-op’s human rights and trade policy.
(Hat tip Omar Barghouti)

The “BELLY DANCE FESTIVAL”, booked in Marrakech in Morocco, which was sponsored by an Israeli company ["Essential Dead Sea Cosmetics"], was cancelled after Moroccan campaigners objected to this normalisation attempt.

The festival is now in the process of re-writing their website and abandoning most of the original program. Its new location is Loutraki, Greece.

The Moroccan campaigners wrote to the Israeli organisers [The Organizer: Simona Guzman http://www.bellydance.net/index_en.html ] and called the authorities to cancel the festival, for whitewashing the ugly face of occupation.

http://www.bellydancefestival.net/