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How EU-US trade deal could thwart "boycott Israel" campaign
Two members of the US Congress have introduced a bill that would turn a giant trade deal between the EU and US into a devastating weapon against the people of Palestine and all those seeking justice alongside them. Together with the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) that is currently under negotiation, the proposed bill would compel all 28 EU member states to crack down on European groups participating in the growing movement of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
In order to combat the increasing isolation of Israel in global public opinion, European governments would effectively be turned into police agents for the US state.
The proposed US-Israel Trade and Commercial Enhancement Act presented to Congress on 10 February seeks to make any trade deal with Brussels conditional on the EU’s willingness to stop European governments, organizations or individuals engaging in BDS actions designed to hold Israel accountable for its responsibilities under international law.
The bill is explicitly framed as an attack on the BDS movement, a grassroots global movement responding to the 2005 call from Palestinian civil society asking people of conscience around the world to launch boycotts, divest from and impose sanctions on Israel until it recognizes Palestinian rights in full compliance with international law. The BDS movement has grown enormously since it was first launched, winning endorsement from trade unions and churches, causing multinationals such as G4S and Veolia to lose many contracts with public authorities around the world because of their involvement in Israeli projects that violate Palestinian human rights, and persuading major banks and pension funds to divest.
Source: electronicintifada.net