The new Secretary of State, Steve Simon, is also a board member of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Minnesota and the Dakotas. While active in this position, the JCRC has actively promoted the sale of Israel Bonds and worked against the efforts of MN BBC. The following letter was sent to the Secretary of State claiming that he has a conflict of interest and should recuse himself from decisions regarding the State’s purchase or renewal of Israel Bonds:
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All Process, no peace
The following article, written by MN BBC member Bob Kosuth, appeared in the Socialist Worker on February 11, 2015.
AMERICANS WHO follow the news but don’t know this issue thoroughly must be befuddled as to why these endless “negotiations” never produce results in spite of the relentless chatter about how the U.S. and the two parties so badly want to find a “two-state solution” to the conflict.
Of course, there are the stock answers in the U.S. media: “terrorism,” Hamas, and the Israelis having “no partner for peace,” among others. But there are much better answers than these, and the experience of Minnesota Break the Bonds in trying to get the Minnesota State Board of Investment (SBI) to divest its Israel bonds illustrates the nature of the challenges faced by those who seek a just and honest solution to this decades-old dispute.
The thesis presented here is simply that the two powerful actors in this three-way entanglement–the U.S. and Israel–simply do not want any agreement with Palestinians if it undermines their real, unstated goals in the region. For the United States, that means the maintenance of their ability to project military power in the region in order to control crucial shipping lanes and oil supplies. Even if the U.S. doesn’t currently need the oil itself, it desires to control the flow of oil, which translates into geopolitical power.
For its part, Israel claims to be interested in peace, but only on its terms, which put colonizing land and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians far and away above any other concern. The evidence is simple and clear: Since Israel’s 1967 takeover of East Jerusalem and the West Bank, the number of Jewish settlers has grown to more than half a million in places where Palestinians used to but can no longer live. Israel can get away with this because they get billions of dollars, weapons and political cover from the U.S. It’s an immoral and unholy alliance, and Palestinians pay the price.
None of this is to deny that acts of violence are sometimes directed against Israelis or Jews outside of Israel, as in the recent attacks in Paris. Such acts are to be condemned, and I unequivocally do so here. But we need to make two points. First, thanks to Israel’s massive firepower financed and supplied by the U.S., Palestinians suffer violence out of all proportion to what is suffered by Israelis. In the 2014 Gaza bombing and invasion, for example, more than 2,100 Gazans died, of whom 1,462 were civilians; 495 of those were children and 253 women. On the Israeli side, 66 soldiers and seven civilians died, typical proportions in these conflicts. The purpose is clearly to demand submission rather than establish a basis for negotiations.
Second, and more important, if the U.S. and Israel are so interested in peaceful negotiations, why do they constantly thwart any and every attempt by both Palestinians and the world community to bring the Palestine issue before the United Nations or International Criminal Court, even by the usually obedient Palestinian Authority? It was widely reported that both Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power and Secretary of State John Kerry, if not Barack Obama himself, lobbied governments on the UN Security Council to abstain so that the embarrassment of a U.S. veto could be avoided.
Nigerian arms were twisted particularly hard, and it would be truly amazing if the $692 million in U.S. aid to Nigeria were not part of the conversation. Indeed, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz gives Power special credit for having “crafted the president’s defense of controversial Israeli policies.” So much for the U.S. as honest broker. If Samantha Power had been representing the U.S. in the 1980s, she no doubt would have argued for “constructive engagement” in South Africa.
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UNFORTUNATELY, BUT not surprisingly, it has been no easier to get Palestine issues addressed in Minnesota than at the UN or in Washington, D.C. Since 2009, the Minnesota Break the Bonds Campaign (MNBBC) has been advocating for the divestment of the state’s millions of dollars in Israel bonds, unrestricted money which is used in the Occupied Territories for a whole range of illegal purposes like building Jewish-only settlements, demolishing Palestinian homes, and construction of infrastructure to allow passage to and from Israel proper for Jewish settlers only.
The Fourth Geneva Convention (Article 49) prohibits all such activities. When Minnesota funds activities that violate an international treaty or convention that has been ratified by Congress, under the U.S. Constitution this constitutes a violation of U.S. law. Because the SBI knows that the money Israel gets from selling its bonds is used for purposes that violate international law, it is financially complicit in those violations.
On these grounds, MNBBC brought a lawsuit against the SBI. As a recipient of a state pension, this author was one of the plaintiffs. In spite of the issues of international treaties and Geneva Conventions referred to above, the state court and appeals court saw fit to dismiss the case on the grounds that, among other reasons, the plaintiffs were merely in “a policy disagreement with the discretionary decisions made by the Legislature and the SBI.” In other words, the courts, much like Samantha Power at the UN, saw fit to sweep aside all the issues of this long history and simply embrace the unjust power relations of the status quo.
It’s not that the state hasn’t or can’t do anything. The SBI has divested from companies in Sudan and Iran based on laws passed in the State legislature. In 1985, acting on its own authority, the SBI established its own divestment policies for companies doing business in South Africa. Thus, both the state and the U.S. government can find reasons to do what they want to do and reasons to avoid doing what they don’t want to do.
More than 23 states and many municipalities and organizations own Israel bonds. Those pursuing divestment will surely encounter the same kind of obfuscation and duplicity that we have met here in Minnesota. The solution is a vigorous and visible grassroots campaign connecting the continued colonization and violence in Palestine with the contradiction of owning Israel bonds right in one’s own state or community. Jettisoning Israel bonds is a moral and political imperative. Not doing so would be nothing less than a violation of the public trust.
A previous version of this article appeared at MinnPost.
Open Letter to MN Congressional Delegation: Don’t Punish Palestinians for Taking Legal and Non-violent Action
Minnesota Break the Bonds Campaign (MN BBC) sent the following letter to all ten members of the Minnesota Congressional Delegation asking them to refrain from punishing the Palestinians for taking legal and non-violent action in signing more than twenty international treaties.
Late in December 2014 the Palestinian Authority, with the status of Non-member Observer at the United Nations, signed on to more than twenty international treaties including the International Criminal Court (ICC). All member states of the United Nations have the right and obligation to sign on to international treaties. With this move, the Palestinian Authority not only exercises its rights and obligations as a member of the UN, but also shows that it values non-violent and legal means to address grievances committed against Palestinians.
Yet, rather than applaud the move, the US Congress has voted to withhold payments to the Palestinian Authority in punishment of their legal and non-violent move. Many observers of this reaction feel that the US Congress is making legal and non-violent actions impossible for the Palestinians, and in the words of John F. Kennedy, “those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.”
The signatories of this letter, both individuals and organizations from Minnesota, request our Congressional delegation to allow the Palestinians a legal and non-violent method to address their grievances.
The letter follows:
Open letter to Minnesota’s Congressional Delegation:
Senators Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar,
Representatives Keith Ellison, Betty McCollum, Tim Walz, John Kline, Erik Paulsen, Collin Peterson, Richard Nolan and Tom Emmer
The undersigned individuals and organizations, all based in Minnesota, express our resolute concern that Congress has taken imprudent steps to punish Palestinians for seeking legal redress from the international community for the serious war crimes that Israel, with extreme impunity, has committed and continues to commit against them. In contrast to the charges that some in Congress have made against the Palestinians, the Palestinians are showing maturity and diplomacy by signing more than 20 international treaties.
When the Oslo Accords were signed in 1993, there were only a handful of illegal (Fourth Geneva Convention, Article 49) settlers in the occupied West Bank. Since then, an ever-widening encroachment of illegal settlers has caused ever-increasing Israeli expropriation of Palestinian land, the destruction of the Palestinian economy and infrastructure, the theft and destruction of Palestinian natural resources and the loss of thousands of Palestinian lives at the hands of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and armed illegal settlers.
According to the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (founded by Hibbing native and current Israeli citizen, Jeff Halper), since 1967, the Israeli Government has destroyed over 49,000 Palestinian homes forcing the families who owned and inhabited these homes into homelessness in a conspicuous and continuing effort to ethnically cleanse Palestine to create a Jewish-only state. According to respected human rights organizations such as Amnesty International , Human Rights Watch , the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) and B’tselem , daily Palestinian existence is dominated by a brutal, illegal and dehumanizing occupation under which self-determination is an unrealizable dream. Checkpoints and road closures make routine activities associated with normal daily life, like going to school, obtaining medical treatment at a hospital or commuting to work, impossible. The infamous Apartheid wall prevents Palestinians from visiting friends and family who live only a few minutes away “as the crow flies.” During his presidency, George W. Bush uttered the words, “This is awful,” when he was spirited through one of these checkpoints in his limousine , having gazed out the window at throngs of Palestinians being dehumanized at the hands of 18-year-old IDF soldiers equipped with machine guns paid for by the United States.
Conditions were horrendous in 1993 when the Oslo Accords were signed. The promise of the Accords represented an anticipated negotiated final status agreement between the Palestinians, a stateless, de-militarized, powerless people, and the Israelis, the strongest military and the only nuclear power in the Middle East. This could have been a crowning achievement for both sides. All attempts to reach a negotiated final status agreement, however, failed long ago and the principles for settlement enunciated in the Oslo Accords are unlikely to ever be revived. In 2001, with the election of hard-liner Ariel Sharon as Prime Minister of Israel, the Oslo Accords, along with any realistic hopes of an equitable negotiated final settlement, died. Sharon had consistently rejected the Oslo peace process and criticized Israel’s positions in attempting to negotiate a final status settlement with the Palestinians. Fourteen years later, any negotiated settlement between the parties is realistically impossible given Israel’s massive illegal colonization of the West Bank. Israel’s far right government won’t budge. Racist elements in the Israeli government and society are gaining more and more political control. The United States, given the influence of the pro-Israel lobby, has repeatedly demonstrated its unwillingness to serve as a neutral mediator and Israel refuses to deal with any other country or international organization willing to assume that role.
When you arm Israel to the teeth with the most sophisticated weaponry in America’s arsenal while simultaneously blocking Palestinian access to non-violent legal remedies, you are committing the worst form of hypocrisy. In addition to severely tarnishing America’s image abroad, you are providing convincing arguments to those who preach that violence is the only practical means to bring about change.
Presenting a case to the International Criminal Court is, above all, a non-violent remedial legal action consistent with the rule of law. By punishing the Palestinians for pursuing a legal remedy in an international forum, Congress is saying that the Palestinians are not entitled to the same universal rights and protections that others enjoy under international humanitarian law, that Palestinian lives don’t matter, that they must accept that they are lesser human beings entitled to nothing more than a wretched existence, always to be powerless, stateless and dependent on whatever scraps of dignity and sustenance Israel may allow and forever without a path to achieve the freedom, equality and self-determination that many in the U.S. take for granted. Our Congress is telling the Palestinians that their humanity is less than the humanity of the Israelis that rule over them, that they must never strive to be equal human beings and that if they do, they will be punished.
The FY15 Consolidated Appropriations Bill was passed by Congress in December. A provision in the bill cuts off all aid to the Palestinians if they initiate an International Criminal Court investigation against Israeli nationals. For the “crime” of simply attempting to seek the enforcement of international law by an internationally recognized law enforcement authority, Congress has imposed a penalty. This is shameful. Israel, a rich and powerful country, having methodically committed war crimes and crimes against humanity against the Palestinians for more than half a century, continues to be the recipient of a never ending stream of rich rewards from an overly fawning Congress, surpassing in extravagant largesse the financial and military assistance given by the United States to any other country.
We call on the members of the Minnesota delegation to Congress to be strong advocates for justice and human rights. There is only one path towards peace in the Middle East and that is the path of justice. Do not punish Palestinians for seeking justice through legal and non-violent means.
Different approach needed in the Middle East
The following article, written by MN BBC Core Team member, Robert Kosuth, originally appeared in the Duluth News Tribune on January 19, 2015.
The ironclad U.S.-Israel alliance is the stuff of legend. And no wonder. For the U.S., Israel is a military platform in the Middle East. In exchange, Israel uses U.S. money, weapons and political cover to continue its occupation and colonization activities with impunity.
Undeterred, Palestinians requested that the United Nations Security Council support a one-year deadline for a two-state settlement. U.S. Rep. Samantha Power claims the U.S., too, yearns for a two-state solution but nevertheless orchestrated a defeat of the proposal in favor of more negotiations, during which time ever more Jewish-only settlements will be built and ever more Palestinian homes will be demolished.
Following the United Nations vote, the Palestinian Authority immediately moved to join the International Criminal Court, which allows it to sue Israel for war crimes and violations of international law. One might wonder why U.S.-Israel would be so adamantly opposing this move, too, if it had nothing to fear.
There is another way: boycott, divestment and sanctions, or BDS, and it’s an approach that’s growing. Right here in Minnesota we can tell the State Board of Investment to stop using Minnesota tax money to pay for Israeli bonds when the decision to renew them comes up later this year.
Jettisoning complicity with Israel’s apartheid policies is a moral and political imperative. Conversely, not doing so would be a violation of the public trust. State government bodies have made such decisions before; this is another one whose time has come.
New Petition: SBI, Don’t Re-invest!
DO NOT REINVEST IN ISRAEL BONDS
On July 1, 2015, the Israel Bonds purchased by the State of Minnesota using millions of dollars of Minnesota’s public retirement funds, will mature. Israel Bonds are direct unrestricted loans to the Government of Israel which uses the money for illegal settlements, electronic surveillance, apartheid separation barriers and offensive military hardware. By signing this petition, you are telling Minnesota State Board of Investment not to reinvest in Israel Bonds and to end its financial complicity in Israel’s continuing violations of the human rights of Palestinians living under occupation.
Click here to sign the petition.
MN BBC Endorses the USPCN’s Boycott Coca-Cola Campaign #BoycottCoke
Minnesota Break the Bonds Campaign is proud to endorse the US Palestinian Community Network’s (USPCN) Boycott Coca-Cola Campaign: #BoycottCoke. Coca-Cola has subsidiaries and bottling plants in illegal settlements in the West Bank, and is responsible for human rights abuses, ecological damage, and labor abuses. The USPCN has called for a boycott of Coca-Cola and its 40-some products. Go to www.uspcn.org to read more about the Coke boycott and how you can take part in this action, or check out the campaign Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/uspcncoke/
NEW REPORT: Minnesota Break the Bonds Campaign at the December 2, 2014 State Board of Investment Meeting
NEW REPORT ON ISRAEL’S HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD. Read here: MN BBC Shadow Report on Israel’s Human Rights Record
Minnesota Break the Bonds Campaign once again had a fabulous showing with about 25 supporters at the State Board of Investment meeting on December 2. At this meeting we presented the four executive officers of the Board (Governor Mark Dayton, State Auditor Rebecca Otto, Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, and Attorney General Lori Swanson), along with Executive Director Mansco Perry and Secretary of State – Elect Steve Simon, copies of a Shadow Report, that we had written (see the Cover Letter and read the report).
In the 1990s when Mark Dayton was State Auditor, he encouraged the SBI to incorporate investment guidelines which took into account human rights of a country before the SBI could invest. Countries were researched based on six human rights categories and classified into one of three groups. Group I was the best and the SBI could invest in Group I countries without restriction (except as imposed by the statutes). Group II countries had some issues, although generally laws were on the books protecting human rights. If a fund manager wanted the SBI to invest in a Group II country, he or she had to make a statement that it would be a breach of fiduciary duty NOT to invest. Group III countries were the most problematic and investment in those countries required justification for the investment. Countries were to be re-categorized annually. Israel had always been classified as a Group II country.
The SBI became lax about re-categorizing countries annually and 2005 was the last re-categorization. At that time they decided to change the annual process into a quadrennial one. Yet in 2009 they did not re-categorize any country. Since this process should take place prior to the issuance of the SBI’s annual report, where all countries are listed with the categories, MN BBC took it upon ourselves to write the report for them. We took the six criteria and researched reports that well-respected human rights organizations had written regarding those six criteria:
(1) Freedom from Political or Extrajudicial Killing or Disappearance
(2) Freedom from Torture
(3) Right to a Fair Public Trial and Due Process
(4) Freedom of Speech and Press
(5) Right of Citizens to Change Laws, Officials and Government, and
(6) Freedom from Discrimination based on Race, Religion, Sex or Social Status
Based on the results of the research, we requested that the Board re-classify Israel as a Group III country – one that commits egregious human rights abuses.
At the beginning of the quarterly SBI meeting we distributed the paper to the board. We had informed them in advance that we would like some time at the end of the meeting to introduce the paper. Governor Dayton gave Ilana the floor and she stayed at the table while the SBI debated aspects of Minnesota’s investment in Israel Bonds. Perry said that the country categorization only refers to equity, not bonds. Ilana asked a pointed question which made that statement look foolish – why, if investing in a country’s equities is bad for human rights reasons, would it be acceptable to invest in their bonds? Rebecca Otto, the State Auditor, repeated several times that the SBI does not get involved in politics and that we should go to the state legislature. Ilana responded that the decision to invest in the Bonds in the first place was a political one. Governor Dayton appeared to be reluctant to give the legislature power over the SBI’s investment decisions. Read the report here: MN BBC Shadow Report on Israel’s Human Rights Record
Mansco Perry said that the country categorization process was only for “emerging markets” and since Israel is no longer an emerging market it automatically becomes a Group I country.
Throughout Ilana’s presentation, the governor was paging through the report and apparently taking it in.
The next quarterly SBI meeting in March (the date is not posted yet), is when renewal of the investment in the $10 million Israel Bond will come up for discussion. It is imperative that we show up in force and let the Board know that we do NOT want Minnesota taxpayers’ money to fund human rights abuses. If you have not yet signed the petition asking the SBI not to re-invest, please contact us through the website or at mn@breakthebonds.com. This is a paper-only petition and we need as many signatures as possible by March 1.
MN BBC member on Our World Today Cable Access Program
Educational Protest: Ben & Jerry’s
Sunday, June 22nd from 1:30 to 4:00 p.m. @ The House of Hope Presbyterian Church, 797 Summit Avenue, St. Paul
Ben Cohen & Jerry Greenfield, co-founders of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, will be speaking in the sanctuary of House of Hope at 2:00 p.m.about green business, business ethics and corporate responsibility. Yet its franchise in Israel is selling ice cream in Jewish-only settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. The settlements are illegal under international law. Ben & Jerry’s can help end the occupation, now in its 47th year, by refusing to do business with these settlements. Our purpose is to educate those attending the event about the fact that selling ice cream in the illegal settlements contradicts Ben & Jerry’s Social Mission which “seeks to meet human needs and eliminate injustices in our local, national and international communities.” In addition to our presence outside, some members will attend their talk and ask questions of Ben & Jerry themselves. Posters and flyers will be provided. Sponsored by: Middle East Peace Now (MEPN). FFI: Visit MEPN.org
Film showing – Checkpoints in Palestine
Checkpoints in Palestine
See Anna Baltzer’s documentary
In choosing a daycare for his little girl, a Palestinian dad couldn’t consider her quality of care, only
whether there would be a “flying checkpoint” set up so he would be unable to pick her up after work.
Tuesday, May 20, 2014, at 1:00 pm
First Unitarian Society 1900 Mt. Curve Ave., Minneapolis
Scholar Ed Schwartzbauer will be there to answer questions after the documentary.