We kindly ask you to support the Palestinian struggle against apartheid by joining the global BDS movement. BDS stands for Boycott, Disinvestment and Sanctions against Israel until it fulfills its obligations towards the Palestinians, in accordance with international law: ending apartheid, abolishing the occupation and respecting human rights including the right of Palestinian refugees to return. This involves boycotting and disinvesting from companies and institutions (both Israeli and non-Israeli) that contribute to or benefit from Israeli policies. (https://bdsnederland.nl/over-bds/)

As activists, you are committed to the planet and its inhabitants. We all fight for justice for people, animals and the planet. It is clear that this struggle calls for an intersectional approach, because all forms of exclusion, oppression and exploitation are systematically interconnected. Only together can we break through that system and achieve justice for everyone all over the world. The global protests against institutional racism over the past year have shown how strong we are when we stand in solidarity with one another.

When institutional racism is enshrined in legislation aimed at establishing and maintaining the dominance of one ethnic group over another, we speak of apartheid. This was the case in South Africa and the United States, for example. But the term also applies, in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, where the systematic discrimination of Palestinians is enshrined in more than 50 laws, such as the so-called nationality laws, the land laws and the nation state law. According to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, apartheid is a crime against humanity.
Recently, the reputable Human Rights Watch came to that same conclusion and made recommendations that are in line with the methods of the BDS movement. ( https://mondoweiss.net/2021/04/human-rights-watch-finds-israel-guilty-of-crimes-against-humanity-of-apartheid-persecution/ )

South African apartheid was characterized, among other things, by settler colonialism and the forced displacement of  indigenous people, the division of the colonized population into different groups with different rights, severe restrictions on movement and violent repression of the resistance. These are all important features of the current Israeli regime over the Palestinian people, both in Israel itself and in the occupied territory.

Wherever Apartheid shows its face, Boycott should be the response!

Faced with the system of stifling apartheid, ever-shrinking freedom of movement, increasing repression, never-ending violence, and the failure of the international community to act against it, 171 Palestinian civil society organizations called on the world in 2005 for peaceful resistance against Israel through a comprehensive campaign of boycott, disinvestment and sanctions (BDS). The boycott campaign against Apartheid in South Africa serves as a shining example for the Palestinians. The peaceful resistance of the BDS movement and its demands in full accordance with international law are protected by the right to freedom of expression and association. In June 2020, the European Court of Human Rights unanimously ruled that the call for a boycott falls under the freedom of expression.

The BDS movement can no longer be ignored in public debate. The movement is gaining strength worldwide and is recording numerous victories, great and small. The BDS movement  is  steadily growing in support among peace activists, human rights defenders, anti-racism movements, trade unions, student organizations, churches, government organizations and businesses. Where the international community has been unable or unwilling to step up for 70 years, civil society is taking over.

Israel's apartheid regime now sees the global BDS movement as a real threat because of its broad support and its many successes, but perhaps even more so because of its legitimate message and peaceful methods. The Israeli regime is doing its utmost to silence the movement. It is therefore all the more important that we send a strong signal: the BDS movement is a fully legitimate movement with broad support from legitimate organizations and institutions, including in the Netherlands, and it will continue to exist as long as Israel refuses to comply with its obligations under international law. .

We call on peace activists and human rights organizations in the broadest sense of the term to heed the Palestinian call to BDS, to endorse the goals and methods of the BDS movement and to join BDS Nederland.

First signatures:
Stichting Diensten en Onderzoek Centrum Palestina
Stichting Palestina
SAP-Grenzeloos
Dance with Pride
Stichting We Promise
Zeebrug
Sehaq Queer Refugees Group
Black Queer & Trans Resistance
Stichting Kleurrijke Stad
Pinay sa Holland- Gabriela Women’s Alliance NL Chapter
Colored Qollective
Decolonize Groningen
Pro-Palestina Dam Groep
Internationale Socialisten
MSA Nour
BIJ1 Zuid Limburg
Nijmegen kan het (KOZP)
Vrouwen in 't Zwart, Maastricht
Code Rood
Arnhem-Nijmegen BIJ1
ROOD, Jong in de SP
RADICAAL
Politieke Jongerenbeweging Oppositie (DENK)
Palestina Komitee Rotterdam
Palestijnse huis
stichting Groningen-Jabalya
Breed Platform Palestina Haarlem
Palestina Werkgroep Enschede
DENK Amsterdam
WILPF NL (women international League for peace and freedom)
EMCEMO
CTID (Collectief tegen Islamofobie en Discriminatie)
Christian Peacemaker Teams - Nederland
Aidoun Europe
Amsterdam BIJ1
Kairos-Sabeel Nederland
Black Pride NL
Vrouwen in 't Zwart NL
Subbacultcha
Vrouwen in het Zwart Groningen
DIDF
Amsterdams Vredesinitiatief
KLAUW Collective
Staat van Beleg
Maruf
Fossil Free Culture NL
TIYE INTERNATIONAL