In order to raise the profile of BDS in the Netherlands and broaden the movement’s reach, docP is proud to announce that it has received permission from the BDS National Committee (BNC) in Ramallah to use the name BDS Netherlands alongside the well-known international logo.
In 2005, 171 Palestinian civil society organizations called for peaceful resistance against Israel. They issued a call for boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) against Israel until it fulfills its obligations toward the Palestinians, in accordance with international law. The three objectives are:
- Ending the occupation (and colonization) of the Arab territories occupied in June 1967 (UN Resolution 242) and tearing down the wall;
- Recognition of the fundamental rights and full equality of the Arab-Palestinian residents of Israel (UN Convention on Apartheid);
- Respecting, protecting, and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and property (UN Resolution 194).
To support the BDS movement in the Netherlands and to coordinate and facilitate BDS activities, the DocP Foundation was established in 2012 by the network “Working Together for Palestine,” consisting of Palestinian and other organizations in the Netherlands that advocate for Palestinian rights through BDS. The network has since been renamed the Council of Affiliates of docP.
The BDS movement has now become an integral part of the public debate. The movement is gaining strength worldwide and achieving countless victories. The BDS movement enjoys steadily growing support among peace activists, human rights defenders, anti-racism movements, labor unions, student organizations, churches, government agencies, and companies. Where the international community has failed for 70 years, civil society is stepping in.
There is also broad support in the Netherlands for the just cause and peaceful methods of the BDS movement, but not everyone knows where to turn or how to get involved. We would like to provide that support through the name and logo of BDS Netherlands.
Of course, this does not mean that we claim to “be” “the BDS movement in the Netherlands.” After all, that is not possible, because BDS is a movement in which anyone can participate. However, under the name and logo of BDS Netherlands, the docP Foundation aims to be more visible as a point of contact and representative of the BDS campaign in the Netherlands. The docP Foundation will continue to exist, but will henceforth use the name “BDS Netherlands” for its campaigns and in all its communications.
Israel’s apartheid regime now views the global BDS movement as a real threat due to its broad support, its many successes, but perhaps even more so because of its legitimate message and its peaceful methods. Just this week, the European Court of Human Rights unanimously ruled that calling for a boycott falls under freedom of expression. The Israeli regime is therefore doing everything in its power 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 fulfill its obligations under international law.
We therefore call on peace activists and human rights activists—in the broadest sense of the term—to endorse the goals of the BDS movement and to join BDS Netherlands.
Do you support the goals of BDS Netherlands and want to help with the BDS campaign? Then sign up to volunteer!