2012
Dozens of Bay Area activists came out over the weekend to say “Don’t Buy Brand Israel,” as Batsheva Dance Company began their 2012 North American tour at Yerba Buena Cultural Center in San Francisco. For two of Batsheva’s three nights in San Francisco, members of Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism, International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN), Mondoweiss, Code Pink, Global Exchange and the Palestine Solidarity Network were on hand to greet dance-goers with information, banners and guitar music. When theater managers complained that the singing was too loud and threatened to call the cops, a protester responded, “The traffic on Howard Street is much louder than us, so why don’t you call the police on the cars?” Read more here.
QUIT! demands deshelving from Rainbow grocery
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Queers of the Plaza will be Out Against the War at Rainbow Grocery on February 8 at 2 pm.
Rainbow Grocery is at 1745 Folsom Street in San Francisco. Check the map for location.
Please join QUIT! and others at a Queers of the Plaza event at Rainbow (1745 Folsom at 13th in SF) at 2 p.m. on Saturday, February 8.
Last spring, after nine months of contact with JFFP and other members of the Justice in Palestine Coalition, two departments at Rainbow voted to deshelve Israeli products. In October/November, Zionists started putting pressure on Rainbow, and the Rainbow board first issued a statement that they had never boycotted Israeli products. The Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) and the American Israel Political Action Committee (AIPAC) demonstrated outside Rainbow on December 22. People from the Coalition, and from Global Exchange and other groups, were there to support Rainbow’s deshelving. At that time, Rainbow distributed a statement which said that the deshelving had been improperly decided on, that the decision had been reversed, and that Rainbow was now stocking a product from Israel.
QUIT! is holding this event on Saturday to re-focus the issue, and to inform the Rainbow community about Israel’s human rights abuses against Palestinians, and about the current dire situation in Palestine.
Some other things you can do
- Tell Rainbow workers that you favor de-shelving Israeli products.
- Sign the cards that Rainbow has made available in the store to give your opinion.
- Send letters to Rainbow at 1745 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA 94103.
- Contact through their website to voice your opinion. There is an email link on the Community Page.
- Write a Letter to the Editor of the SF Chronicle,the Oakland Tribune, or you local paper.
Why does QUIT want Rainbow to de-shelve Israeli products?
- The Israeli-style system of racial discrimination, segregation and exclusion of the Palestinian people is Israel, the occupied territories and refugees internationally
- The state of Israel’s violation of international law recognizing the rights of Palestinians, including the return of 5.5 million refugees to their homes and properties
- The state of Israel’s racist human rights abuses and war crimes toward Palestinians, laying siege to all of Palestinian life, sealing them in ghettos, special reserves and refugee camps
- The state of Israel’s occupation and colonization of Palestine