Saturday, April 26, 2014

Jake Lynch, BDS & Zionist Lawfare in Australia: Palestine solidarity scores a victory

Dear friends,
please find below, my latest article published in Red Flag on the initial court victory for Sydney University academic, Professor Jake Lynch, in the court cast against him by Israeli lawfare group, Shurat HaDin.

If you would like to join the solidarity page in support of Jake Lynch on Facebook, please click here and then like the page. 

For more background information on Shurat HaDin and the attack on Jake Lynch, please see my earlier posts:
  • SpinWatch: BDS campaigner targeted by law firm with links to Israeli intelligence(click here)
  • BDS, Lawfare & Free speech: Growing support for BDS campaigners (click here)
  • The Australian newspaper and BDS: A case study in obsession (click here
  • BDS and Lawfare in Australia: Shurat HaDin launch spurious case against Palestine activist (click here)
  • BDS and Zionist lawfare in Australia: Palestine solidarity still under attack (click here)
in solidarity,
Kim

**
 Prof Jake Lynch





On 24 April, Sydney University Professor Jake Lynch and his legal team claimed victory in the first round of a legal case brought against him for supporting the Palestinian boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign.

The BDS campaign, which was launched by Palestinian civil society in 2005, promotes boycotts of businesses and institutions that either directly or indirectly contribute to human rights abuses against Palestinians, violate international law or participate in “rebranding” campaigns that whitewash Israel’s human rights and war crimes record.

The campaign is inspired by the South African anti-apartheid struggle. It is conducted in the framework of international solidarity and calls for non-violent punitive measures to be maintained against Israel until it meets its obligations under international law.

Israeli “lawfare” group Shurat HaDin filed the case against Lynch, who is the director of the University of Sydney’s Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, last October. It claimed that he had breached the Racial Discrimination Act.

The claim against Lynch centres on his refusal to sponsor a fellowship application by Israeli academic Dan Avnon. However, as Lynch previously explained to Red Flag, he declined to support Avnon’s application not because he was Israeli or Jewish but because the fellowship which Avnon was applying for was a bilateral, funded fellowship between Sydney University and the Hebrew University in Israel.

“It [the Hebrew University] runs training courses for the military; its Mount Scopus campus is partly built on land seized from its rightful Palestinian owners, and the chairman (sic) of its Board of Governors is Michael Federmann, who is also chairman of Elbit Systems, one of Israel’s biggest arms dealers”, said Lynch.

“Through this collaboration at an institutional level, we effectively internalise the Hebrew University’s complicity in the occupation [of Palestine]. I reserve my right not to participate in, or cooperate with, a scheme to which I object in principle.”

According a media release from Lynch's legal team on 24 April, Judge Alan Robertson “struck out those parts of the claim that seek to underpin the factual basis of the allegations that Prof Jake Lynch has breached the Racial Discrimination Act”.

On 14 March, Robertson provisionally ruled as inadmissible large sections of Shurat HaDin’s statements and affidavits because they did not establish any facts pertinent to the case. At the time, Robertson noted that Shurat HaDin had failed to include clear facts linking Lynch’s support for BDS with specific acts of racial discrimination.

The striking out of sections of the claim vindicates the argument made by Lynch's lawyers that Shurat HaDin's case is politically motivated and part of the broader offensive by the Israeli state against BDS.

The political nature of Shurat HaDin’s complaint is evident: Avnon has not been approached by Shurat HaDin to join the suit, be a witness or even submit an affidavit. The Israeli lawfare group also is not seeking any financial penalties against Lynch should it win the case, instead demanding that he publicly renounce the boycott campaign and apologise for supporting it.

Robertson has now given Shurat HaDin permission to recast the struck out sections and any other paragraphs of the claim to rectify the defects of its case.

Robertson also “ordered the applicants to pay Prof Lynch’s costs of the application brought to Strike Out the Claim and has given permission for those costs to be recovered now rather than at the conclusion of the proceedings”. In addition, Robertson ordered that Shurat HaDin's lawyer Andrew Hamilton (who is also an applicant) not dispose of any Australian assets without notifying Lynch. Robertson set the maximum cost payable to the successful party at the outcome of the lawsuit at $300,000.

Lynch welcomed the ruling, saying, “Today’s judgments are a blow to Shurat HaDin’s stated aim of outlawing BDS in Australia.”

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

BDS and Zionist lawfare in Australia: Palestine solidarity still under attack

Dear friends,
please find below my latest article in Red Flag on the Shurat HaDin SLAPP suit against Professor Jake Lynch and the Zionist lawfare campaign against BDS and BDS activists.

As I noted in a previous Red Flag article on the court case:

Lawfare proponents such as Shurat HaDin regularly use SLAPP suits (strategic lawsuits against public participation) to try to damage political opponents by either financially crippling them or tying them up in court and/or to win public relations victories for the lawfare proponent. In most instances, SLAPP suit proponents do not expect to win their suit. Their primary goal is to prevent public participation and political activism through intimidation and mounting legal costs.
 You can read my earlier articles published by Red Flag about the campaign against Professor Lynch here and here.

in solidarity, Kim
*

Palestine solidarity still under attack

by Kim Bullimore: RedFlag - 7 April 2014





 


Professor Jake Lynch director of the University of Sydney’s Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies and supporter of the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign.

In October 2013, the Israel-based law centre Shurat HaDin filed a test case in the Australian Federal Court against Professor Jake Lynch, the director of the University of Sydney’s Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, over his support for the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign.

Similar “lawfare” cases, which seek to intimidate supporters of BDS, have also been carried out in France, the UK and in the USA.

Lawfare proponents, such as Shurat HaDin, regularly use SLAPP suits (strategic lawsuits against public participation) to smear political opponents and tie them up in court or financially cripple them.

The court case against Lynch centres on his refusal to sponsor an application by Israeli academic, Dan Avnon, for a fellowship at Sydney University.

Shurat HaDin accused Lynch and the BDS campaign of breaching the Racial Discrimination Act. However, as Lynch explains to Red Flag, he declined to support Avnon’s application not because he was Israeli or Jewish but because the fellowship which Avnon was applying for was a bilateral, funded fellowship between Sydney University and the Hebrew University in Israel.

The BDS campaign promotes boycotts of businesses and institutions that either directly or indirectly contribute to human rights abuses against Palestinians, violate international law or participate in “rebranding” campaigns that white wash Israel’s human rights and war crimes record.

“Through this collaboration at an institutional level, we effectively internalise the Hebrew University’s complicity in the occupation [of Palestine]”, says Lynch.

“It runs training courses for the military; its Mount Scopus campus is partly built on land seized from its rightful Palestinian owners, and the chairman (sic) of its Board of Governors is Michael Federmann, who is also Chairman of Elbit Systems, one of Israel’s biggest arms dealers.

“I reserve my right not to participate in, or cooperate with a scheme to which I object in principle.”

On March 14, Justice Alan Robertson provisionally rejected as inadmissible large sections of Shurat HaDin’s statements and affidavits because they did not establish any facts pertinent to the case.

In October, when Shurat HaDin launched the action, it submitted a sweeping 30-page claim. According to Shurat HaDin, Lynch not only discriminated against Avnon but was also responsible for depriving all Israelis of cultural, academic and other opportunities.

Lynch’s lawyers rejected all charges and asked for the complaint to be struck down.

In rejecting much of Shurat HaDin’s claims, Justice Robertson noted that they had failed to include clear facts linking Lynch’s support for BDS with specific acts of racial discrimination. “You’ll have to do a lot of work to persuade me of the correctness of that position”, he said.

Lynch’s lawyers argue that the case is politically motivated and part of the broader offensive by the Israeli state against the BDS campaign. They also noted Lynch’s refusal to sponsor Avnon had not caused him any disadvantage and that he had successfully taken up another fellowship at the university.

The political nature of Shurat HaDin’s complaint is evident: not only has Avnon not been approached by Shurat HaDin to join the suit, be a witness or even submit an affidavit, the Israeli lawfare group is not seeking any financial penalties against Lynch should they win the case.

Instead it is demanding that Lynch publicly renounce the boycott campaign and apologise for supporting it.

It is also attempting to have support for the Palestinian boycott campaign against Israel ruled illegal under Australian law.

Shurat HaDin’s lawfare attack on Lynch, academic freedom and freedom of speech has been condemned by more than 2,000 Australian and international human rights advocates from more than 60 countries. The case has been adjourned until 24 April.

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Welcome to the new look "Live from Occupied Palestine"

Dear friends,
as you will no doubt notice, Live from Occupied Palestine, has had a template makeover.  I have had a number of friends and visitors to the blog tell me over the past year that they found the white on black hard on their eyes and difficult to read at times.  It has also been a couple of years since I last updated the look of the blog, so I decided to go ahead with a small make over.   The blog is basically the same, with the same feeds and links retained.  The only thing that is different is the template, background colour and I have moved some gadgets to different spots.  I am not sure how long I will retain this new look but thought it was worth trying it out for a while.

I hope you find the new look attractive and that it makes it easier for people to read the post entries.


Thank you once again for your continuing support of Live from Occupied Palestine!  And don't forget, I now also have a Live from Occupied Palestine Facebook page, which I update more regularly with news items on Palestine. You can find it here.


In solidarity, Kim

Sunday, April 6, 2014

The failure of 20 years of "peace talks"

Dear friends,
it has now been 20 years since the Oslo Accords.  When Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) began the so-called "peace talks", they were scheduled to conclude within 5 years.  Twenty years later, the fake "peace process" continues. Under the guise of the "peace" talks, Israel has continued to ethnically cleanse Palestinains from their lands and has deepen its occupation of Palestinian land. Over the past 20 years, Israel has strengthened and expanded its apartheid policies and today segregation defines landscape in the Occupied West Bank, Occupied East Jerusalem and Gaza.

Visualising Palestine and AIDA (the Association of International Development Agencies) have produced an infographic which highlights the failure of 20 years of "peace talks". 

You can check out Visualing Palestine and there very useful and information infographic series by clicking here.

In solidarity, Kim









Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Film: Journey into an Invisible War - documenting Israel's settler colonialism, violence and ethnic cleansing in the Occupied West Bank

Dear friends,
Al Jazeera recently posted the following documentary by French film producer and reporter Paul Moriera about the "invisible war" by Israel's illegal settlers against Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank. 

The film documents Israel's ongoing settler colonialism and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. The film examines the ongoing encroachment of new illegal Israeli colonies onto Palestinian land and the violence perpetrated by illegal settlers and the Israeli military who defends them, against Palestinians.  Al Jazeera, in their description of the film, note that: "In new hilltop settlements, built on stolen land, he [Moriera]encounters the sometimes startling intolerance of their ultra-orthodox communities who will do whatever they can to take more".

In particular, Moriera's film looks at the situation in Hebron, where three illegal colonies are located inside the largest city in the Occupied West Bank.  Moriera examines the "street-by-street apartheid" imposed on Palestinians who have always lived in Hebron.


The film exposes the fantasy of so-called "peace process" and "two-state solution" with Al Jazeera noting in their introduction to the film: "With every square metre of territory that is taken, with every Palestinian olive grove that is burnt down, or house that is demolished, the land available for an independent Palestine state shrinks a little more".

I have embedded the film below. It runs for 48 minutes and well worth watching.


In solidarity,
Kim


Journey into an Invisible War: 48 minutes