23 March,2018 08:52 AM IST | Mumbai | Hemal Ashar
Mahmoud NawajaMahmoud Nawajaa at a talk in Dadar. Pic/Atul Kamblea at a talk in Dadar. Pic/Atul Kamble
Mahmoud Nawajaa, general co-ordinator of the Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) movement, started by the Palestinians against Israel, is making several stops in India 'to draw attention to the Palestine cause'. The BDS stands for Boycotts, which are aimed at withdrawing support for Israel and international companies involved in violation of Palestine human rights. Divestment urges world players to withdraw investments from Israeli companies and Sanctions pressure world governments to hold Israel to account by ending military trade and free-trade agreements. Excerpts from an interview with Nawajaa, who was born in Hebron and now lives in Anata, a town in Jerusalem:
Why are you in India?
I am travelling through the country, Mumbai Delhi, Kolkata, Trivandrum and Hyderabad, for a series of talks to raise awareness about what is BDS.
We see a spike in violence after Donald Trump's declaration of moving the US embassy to Jerusalem...
Trump has paved the way for the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestine, and Israelis seem freer to kill Palestinians and abuse human rights.
Palestinians were irked when Trump cut aid to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees. Yet, Palestinians cannot expect money from a country whose flags they burn (USA) and whose president's picture they trample upon...
We don't want funds. What we want is to end the Israeli occupation, end the apartheid and give us the right to return.
It is not just the Israelis who are killing. Recently, an Israeli father of four was stabbed by a Palestinian terrorist. Two Israeli soldiers have been killed in a car ramming attack...
I am against violence. This father of four was not a civilian, he was an officer. I am not trying to justify the killing though. Yet, when there is injustice and occupation, what do you do?
There is a growing closeness between India and Israel
Palestine had its most heartbreaking moment when Bollywood stars posed for a selfie with Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu. Bollywood actors are considered heroes in Palestine; we have 15 TV channels showing Bollywood movies. With this selfie they are showing that while they may not be complicit, they do not care about what is happening in Palestine.
Every actor may not know about what is going on
I say to Bollywood, come to Palestine and see the reality and then decide whose side you are on. You cannot be ignorant of the biggest conflict zone in the world.
Bollywood stakeholders did have a meeting with Netanyahu here in Mumbai, we may have Bollywood film shoots in Israeli locales
This is part of whitewashing what Israel is doing and part of the great Israel propaganda machine.
PM Modi did visit Palestine, too, after his visit to Israel
What did Modi do when he came to Palestine? He opened a street named after Gandhi. In Israel, it was all about trade agreements. India will be seen as complicit in Israeli crimes soon as the country is buying at least 50% of Israeli military production. You (India) have also been colonised and it should be unacceptable that a country sides with a colonising power.
What about Saudi Arabia - a Muslim state. India's national carrier flies from Delhi to Tel Aviv over Saudi airspace. Saudi Arabia has given its airspace to flights to Israel
Saudi denies this. Anyway they have opened the space to India, not to Israel.
Saudi Arabia may deny it as you say, but it is true
Maybe the Saudis were pressured by USA or India.
Saudi Arabia is a sovereign Arab state. It may have given its space because it wanted to, not because of pressure
Yes, that is correct
What is your message for India?
We are calling Indians to come and be a part of the Palestine struggle.
Also read: Discussion on Israel-Palestine will be about 'one-state solution' in future: UAE minister
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