With the annual Palestine Awareness Week coming to an end, the 14th Annual Israeli Apartheid Week kicked off on February 19 with marches, meetings and workshops in various countries around the world.
Rolling mass action will continue until April 17 – highlighting the atrocities and the 70th anniversary of the resistance of the people of Palestine against oppression. A spokesperson said that an international series of events that seek to raise awareness of Israel’s apartheid system over the Palestinian people and to build support for the growing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. A report released earlier this year by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) proves beyond doubt that Israel has imposed a system of apartheid on the entire Palestinian people and calls for BDS measures to end Israel’s apartheid regime. Inspired by the popular resistance across historic Palestine and struggles worldwide, IAW 2017 included a wide range of events from lectures, film screenings, cultural performances, and BDS actions, to posters in metro stations, setting up apartheid walls on campuses, and many more. These actions took place in more than 200 cities across the world.
The coming year (2018) will mark 70 years of Palestinian popular resistance against the ongoing process of dispossession and ethnic cleansing, since the 1948 Nakba.The Palestinian people’s resistance against colonization has in fact been longer than that. “From the Balfour Declaration of 1917 to the present moment- Palestinians have fought for their dignity, their rights, and their lands. IAW is an opportunity to reflect on this resistance and further advance BDS campaigns for the continued growth and impact of the movement. Despite Israel’s legal and propaganda war on BDS internationally, IAW and the BDS movement continue to build linkages and solidarity with other struggles to achieve freedom, justice, and equality. For more information and support, please contact [email protected].”