We are excited to share the victory of Shahd Abusalama who defeated unfounded allegations intended to exclude her from academia and repress her legitimate criticism of Israel\u2019s unlawful apartheid regime. After Shahd was suspended from a teaching position at Sheffield Hallam University, the ELSC supported her legally, alongside a wide public campaign launched #InSupportofShahd. As a result of our combined efforts, the University reinstated Shahd\u2019s teaching, confirmed it would not be investigating the accusations and offered her a more secure contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read more<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nSWISS PRESS COUNCIL STANDS WITH BDS<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nBDS Switzerland member Birgit Althaler, supported by the ELSC, succeeded in challenging efforts by the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities to push the Swiss Press Council to revoke a decision in favour of BDS. Indeed, in a milestone decision on 15 February, the Swiss Press Council upheld its initial decision to sanction Prime News that unfoundedly labelled BDS Switzerland as \u201cantisemitic\u201d. The Council also acknowledged that the controversial examples of the IHRA-WDA are not suitable for journalistic purposes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nShare this victory<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\nCan you help us to win more cases? Support our Legal Aid fund with a monthly donation<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nUPDATES FROM GERMANY<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nDespite anti-BDS policies in place in Germany, since 2019, 7 German courts have consistently upheld the right of activists<\/a> to use public facilities for BDS-related events, reaffirming the legitimacy of BDS.<\/p>\n\n\n\nRead our new legal analysis on German case law<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\nThe latest ruling of Leipzig Federal Court on 20 January 2022 against Munich\u2019s anti-BDS resolution has already resulted in positive outcomes for the Palestine solidarity movement. In Munich, the cultural institution Eine Welt Haus<\/a> declared that it will host again BDS-related events. In Frankfurt, an official also announced that the municipal venue Saalbau<\/a> is renting again its spaces for BDS-related activities.
Positive precedents in Germany reinforce the lawsuit of the Bundestag 3 for Palestine (BT3P)<\/a> aiming to repeal the German Parliament\u2019s anti-BDS resolution and end this tactic of repression targeting Palestinian rights advocates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cms.elsc.support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/BT3P-at-the-administrative-court-credit-Mathilde-Babo-1024x694.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nDonate to help BT3P<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\nThe repression against Palestinian voices extends in the media as the German state broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) fired seven Arab journalists; four of them are Palestinians including Farah Maraqa<\/a> whom the ELSC has been supporting.
DW relied on a highly politicised and biased investigation<\/a> report that erases the Palestinian reality from public debate and perpetuates Israel\u2019s oppression. The investigation evidently uses the controversial IHRA definition on antisemitism, which is misused to silence criticism of Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIn a joint letter<\/a>, 100 civil society organisations, including the ELSC, urged DW to retract its inaccurate and defamatory report<\/a> and end its unfounded smear campaigns against journalists<\/a> that amplify Palestinian voices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cms.elsc.support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/DW-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nRead the letter<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nEUROPEAN LANDMARK EUROPEAN CITIZENS INITIATIVE<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nThe Stop Settlements coalition<\/a> \u2013 of which the ELSC is part \u2013 has launched its European Citizens\u2019 Initiative (ECI) petition aimed at gathering 1 million signatures to push the EU to enact a ban on trade with illegal settlements in occupied territories, in line with its international law obligations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cms.elsc.support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/stopsett.png\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nSIGN THE PETITION<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\nRead more about the ECI<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nREPRESSION IN THE NETHERLANDS<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nThe Rights Forum, a leading Palestinian rights organisation in the Netherlands, is facing a harsh smear campaign led by Israel-advocacy groups after the leak of a legitimate Freedom of Information (FOI) request<\/a> the organisation made on behalf of academics and students to Dutch universities. The goal of the FOI<\/a> was to get information on their ties to Israeli academic institutions and companies, as well as other organisations supportive of Israel\u2019s regime of apartheid. <\/p>\n\n\n\nRead their statement (Dutch)<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\nShare our Twitter thread<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\nIn a recent repression attempt, the student-led organisation Free Palestine Maastricht (FPM)<\/a> has been targeted in an unfounded smear campaign by Israel-advocacy groups and political actors that aim to suppress the organisation\u2019s legitimate work of exposing Israel\u2019s apartheid, and push the University of Maastricht to investigate them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cms.elsc.support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/FPMaastricht-1024x682.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nRead FPM statement<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\nShare your support to FPM<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nMUNICIPALITY OF VIENNA V. BDS AUSTRIA<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nOne month after the hearing in Vienna, BDS Austria activist is still waiting for a ruling by the Court on the \u201curgent\u201d request of the Municipality of Vienna that filed a lawsuit against him over a Facebook post of the famous \u201cVisit Apartheid\u201d poster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read more<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\nThe tactic of delayed court decisions is often characteristic of SLAPPs and is meant to intimidate activists and suppress their legitimate public participation in civic space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sign the petition<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\nDonate<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nRESOURCES AND NEWS FROM AROUND EUROPE<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nOn 1 February 2022, Amnesty International reaffirmed decades of Palestinian rights advocacy and released its report condemning Israel\u2019s apartheid against Palestinians as a cruel system of domination and a crime against humanity. Amnesty has also launched its petition \u201cDemolish Apartheid not Palestinian Homes\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read the full report<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\nSign the petition<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This month, we share with you some victories from the UK and Switzerland, an important analysis on German case law in favour of BDS, updates on the cases of BT3P and BDS Austria, new cases of repression in Germany and The Netherlands, and a landmark European Citizens Initiative.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":1942,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[51,48,74],"test-2":[],"country":[92,152,49,25,103,115],"blog_categories":[],"class_list":["post-1933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsletter","tag-bds","tag-freedom-of-expression","tag-ihra","country-at","country-gb","country-eu","country-de","country-ch","country-nl"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":52,"label":"Newsletter"}],"post_tag":[{"value":51,"label":"BDS"},{"value":48,"label":"Free Speech"},{"value":74,"label":"IHRA"}],"country":[{"value":92,"label":"Austria"},{"value":152,"label":"Britain"},{"value":49,"label":"EU"},{"value":25,"label":"Germany"},{"value":103,"label":"Switzerland"},{"value":115,"label":"The Netherlands"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/elsc.support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/FPM-1024x682.jpg",1024,682,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Bashar","author_link":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/author\/bashar\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":52,"name":"Newsletter","slug":"newsletter","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":52,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Email updates sent to supporters and subscribers.","parent":0,"count":29,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":52,"category_count":29,"category_description":"Email updates sent to supporters and subscribers.","cat_name":"Newsletter","category_nicename":"newsletter","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":51,"name":"BDS","slug":"bds","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":51,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions campaign","parent":0,"count":41,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":48,"name":"Free Speech","slug":"freedom-of-expression","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":48,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"Relates to censorship and academic freedom","parent":0,"count":89,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":74,"name":"IHRA","slug":"ihra","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":74,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":35,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1933"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1933\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7013,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1933\/revisions\/7013"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1933"},{"taxonomy":"test-2","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/test-2?post=1933"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=1933"},{"taxonomy":"blog_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog_categories?post=1933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
BDS Switzerland member Birgit Althaler, supported by the ELSC, succeeded in challenging efforts by the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities to push the Swiss Press Council to revoke a decision in favour of BDS. Indeed, in a milestone decision on 15 February, the Swiss Press Council upheld its initial decision to sanction Prime News that unfoundedly labelled BDS Switzerland as \u201cantisemitic\u201d. The Council also acknowledged that the controversial examples of the IHRA-WDA are not suitable for journalistic purposes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Can you help us to win more cases? Support our Legal Aid fund with a monthly donation<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite anti-BDS policies in place in Germany, since 2019, 7 German courts have consistently upheld the right of activists<\/a> to use public facilities for BDS-related events, reaffirming the legitimacy of BDS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The latest ruling of Leipzig Federal Court on 20 January 2022 against Munich\u2019s anti-BDS resolution has already resulted in positive outcomes for the Palestine solidarity movement. In Munich, the cultural institution Eine Welt Haus<\/a> declared that it will host again BDS-related events. In Frankfurt, an official also announced that the municipal venue Saalbau<\/a> is renting again its spaces for BDS-related activities. The repression against Palestinian voices extends in the media as the German state broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) fired seven Arab journalists; four of them are Palestinians including Farah Maraqa<\/a> whom the ELSC has been supporting. In a joint letter<\/a>, 100 civil society organisations, including the ELSC, urged DW to retract its inaccurate and defamatory report<\/a> and end its unfounded smear campaigns against journalists<\/a> that amplify Palestinian voices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Stop Settlements coalition<\/a> \u2013 of which the ELSC is part \u2013 has launched its European Citizens\u2019 Initiative (ECI) petition aimed at gathering 1 million signatures to push the EU to enact a ban on trade with illegal settlements in occupied territories, in line with its international law obligations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Rights Forum, a leading Palestinian rights organisation in the Netherlands, is facing a harsh smear campaign led by Israel-advocacy groups after the leak of a legitimate Freedom of Information (FOI) request<\/a> the organisation made on behalf of academics and students to Dutch universities. The goal of the FOI<\/a> was to get information on their ties to Israeli academic institutions and companies, as well as other organisations supportive of Israel\u2019s regime of apartheid. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In a recent repression attempt, the student-led organisation Free Palestine Maastricht (FPM)<\/a> has been targeted in an unfounded smear campaign by Israel-advocacy groups and political actors that aim to suppress the organisation\u2019s legitimate work of exposing Israel\u2019s apartheid, and push the University of Maastricht to investigate them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One month after the hearing in Vienna, BDS Austria activist is still waiting for a ruling by the Court on the \u201curgent\u201d request of the Municipality of Vienna that filed a lawsuit against him over a Facebook post of the famous \u201cVisit Apartheid\u201d poster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The tactic of delayed court decisions is often characteristic of SLAPPs and is meant to intimidate activists and suppress their legitimate public participation in civic space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On 1 February 2022, Amnesty International reaffirmed decades of Palestinian rights advocacy and released its report condemning Israel\u2019s apartheid against Palestinians as a cruel system of domination and a crime against humanity. Amnesty has also launched its petition \u201cDemolish Apartheid not Palestinian Homes\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This month, we share with you some victories from the UK and Switzerland, an important analysis on German case law in favour of BDS, updates on the cases of BT3P and BDS Austria, new cases of repression in Germany and The Netherlands, and a landmark European Citizens Initiative.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":1942,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[51,48,74],"test-2":[],"country":[92,152,49,25,103,115],"blog_categories":[],"class_list":["post-1933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsletter","tag-bds","tag-freedom-of-expression","tag-ihra","country-at","country-gb","country-eu","country-de","country-ch","country-nl"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":52,"label":"Newsletter"}],"post_tag":[{"value":51,"label":"BDS"},{"value":48,"label":"Free Speech"},{"value":74,"label":"IHRA"}],"country":[{"value":92,"label":"Austria"},{"value":152,"label":"Britain"},{"value":49,"label":"EU"},{"value":25,"label":"Germany"},{"value":103,"label":"Switzerland"},{"value":115,"label":"The Netherlands"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/elsc.support\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/FPM-1024x682.jpg",1024,682,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Bashar","author_link":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/author\/bashar\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":52,"name":"Newsletter","slug":"newsletter","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":52,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Email updates sent to supporters and subscribers.","parent":0,"count":29,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":52,"category_count":29,"category_description":"Email updates sent to supporters and subscribers.","cat_name":"Newsletter","category_nicename":"newsletter","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":51,"name":"BDS","slug":"bds","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":51,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions campaign","parent":0,"count":41,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":48,"name":"Free Speech","slug":"freedom-of-expression","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":48,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"Relates to censorship and academic freedom","parent":0,"count":89,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":74,"name":"IHRA","slug":"ihra","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":74,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":35,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1933"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1933\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7013,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1933\/revisions\/7013"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1933"},{"taxonomy":"test-2","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/test-2?post=1933"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=1933"},{"taxonomy":"blog_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elsc.support\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog_categories?post=1933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Share this victory<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nUPDATES FROM GERMANY<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Read our new legal analysis on German case law<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Positive precedents in Germany reinforce the lawsuit of the Bundestag 3 for Palestine (BT3P)<\/a> aiming to repeal the German Parliament\u2019s anti-BDS resolution and end this tactic of repression targeting Palestinian rights advocates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nDonate to help BT3P<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
DW relied on a highly politicised and biased investigation<\/a> report that erases the Palestinian reality from public debate and perpetuates Israel\u2019s oppression. The investigation evidently uses the controversial IHRA definition on antisemitism, which is misused to silence criticism of Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nRead the letter<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nEUROPEAN LANDMARK EUROPEAN CITIZENS INITIATIVE<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nSIGN THE PETITION<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Read more about the ECI<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nREPRESSION IN THE NETHERLANDS<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Read their statement (Dutch)<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Share our Twitter thread<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nRead FPM statement<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Share your support to FPM<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nMUNICIPALITY OF VIENNA V. BDS AUSTRIA<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Read more<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Sign the petition<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Donate<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nRESOURCES AND NEWS FROM AROUND EUROPE<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Read the full report<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Sign the petition<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n