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Green Party leaders condemn Israeli bombings; support call for boycott of Israel
Wed, 12/31/2008 - 09:38 — Lou
Press Release
Green Party of Michigan
December 30, 2008
For more information: contact Fred Vitale, state chairperson, at 313-580-4905 or chair@migreens.org
Green Party leaders condemn Israeli bombings;
support call for boycott of Israel
Green Party leaders in Michigan condemned the brutal air strikes and military assaults by Israel on unarmed civilians in Gaza and called for a boycott of Israel.
The Israeli blockade of Gaza, erected in 2006 after the democratic election of Hamas, was an act of war. As a result of the blockade, 80% of Gazans live on less than two dollars a day, unemployment hovers at 50-60%, with only 195 factories, reduced from 3,900 in 2005. Israel has barred the delivery of UN relief to Gazans.
In spite of this near strangulation of their society, the people of Gaza agreed to a ceasefire with Israel. Now, Israel drops dozens of bombs on students and children, killing over 300 people and wounding 1,750. And this pogrom isn’t over yet.
Derek Grigsby, chair of the Detroit Green Party and candidate for Michigan House of Representatives, 7th district, said: “We demand that the Bush administration stop using the state of Israel as a terrorist force against the people of the Middle East and use the money being given to them for basic necessities here at home, like healthcare and education.”
He continued: “We call on all of our elected leaders to stand up for justice and human rights and roundly condemn the murderous aggression committed by Israel on the Palestinians.”
Margaret Guttshall, candidate for Wayne State Board of Governors, said, “When I was a student at Wayne State, we organized and convinced the Student Council to support divestment from Israel. Now it is time to implement divestment as well as academic sanctions against Israel, just as we did against the apartheid regime of South Africa.”
“We want all military and economic aid from the U.S. to Israel stopped immediately,” said Fred Vitale, state chairperson and candidate for Michigan House of Representatives from the 3rd district. “We support, among other actions, the calls for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel and for an academic and cultural boycott of Israel -- until it ceases to deny Palestinian history, ends the Occupation, ceases discrimination against Palestinian citizens of Israel, and permits displaced Palestinian refugees to return to their homes,” Vitale concluded.
For more information:
www.electronicintifada.net for information on the call for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel
Committed to environmentalism, non-violence, social justice and grassroots organizing, Greens are renewing democracy without the support of corporate donors. Greens provide real solutions for real problems. Whether the issue is universal health care, corporate globalization, alternative energy, election reform or decent, living wages for workers, Greens have the courage and independence necessary to take on the powerful corporate interests.
