Gran Bretagna: se boicottare Israele diventa criminale, la democrazia muore
News
has emerged this week that “shunning Israeli goods” is about to become a
criminal offence for public bodies and student unions in the UK. Put
simply, the law…
independent.co.uk
E' emersa la notizia questa settimana che "boicottare prodotti israeliani" sta per diventare un reato per gli enti pubblici e le associazioni studentesche nel Regno Unito. In parole povere la legge impedirà a istituzioni pubbliche - comprese le autorità locali - di rifiutare di acquistare beni da società coinvolte nel commercio di armi, nei combustibili fossili o provenienti dagli insediamenti illegali israeliani in Cisgiordania. Se lo faranno subiranno sanzioni
LE persone sono giustamente preoccupate in quanto non potranno esprirmere la loro opposizione a una crisi umanitaria da decenni presente in Medio Oriente.Ci sono studiosi che hanno dedicato la loro vita da adulti per capire cosa succede in Palestina, a Gaza e in Israele Si sono creati gruppi non sempre imparziali.
Il destino ha voluto che solo uno di questi gruppi risulti molto finanziato e super-collegato . È per questo che Israele può fare più o meno quello che diavolo vuole a Gaza e ai palestinesi indigeni che vi abitano. Israele è un alleato occidentale chiave nella regione, i governi come il Regno Unito tendono a chiudere un occhio su tutti i presunti crimini contro l'umanità che potrebbero essere in atto nella regione.
I cittadini del Regno Unito non sono così felici e non ignorano quanto accade . Ecco perché le amministrazioni locali e gli enti pubblici in tutto il paese hanno di recente inviato a Israele un messaggio : non tutti nel Regno Unito sono d'accordo con le sue politiche, in particolare con il continuare a costruire insediamenti nei territori palestinesi, considerati illegali secondo il diritto internazionale.
Leicester City, Stirling, Clackmannanshire, Midlothian e Consigli Dunbartonshire West hanno posto divieti locali sui beni prodotti dagli insediamenti illegali. Associazioni studentesche hanno seguito l'esempio.
Si potrebbe pensare che i ministri sarebbero stati orgogliosi di questo. I giovani e gli elettori discutono quotidianamente di questioni internazionali, si pongono problemi etici, puntano all' attuazione di una politica legislativa a livello locale che rispecchi il punto di vista della gente comune - non quello della Big Society . Non è così
Il governo non può ascoltare queste voci perché non gli piace quello che viene detto.
Dopo tutto rendere visibili questi disaccordi potrebbe inavvertitamente dimostrare al mondo intero che non tutti in Gran Bretagna la pensano allo stesso modo. La gente potrebbe cominciare a pensare di vivere in una democrazia aperta.
E perché mai dovremmo permettere loro di pensare ciò?
Boycotting Israeli goods is about to become a criminal offence - so much for 'power to the people'
News has emerged this week that “shunning Israeli goods” is
about to become a criminal offence for public bodies and student unions
in the UK. Put simply, the law will prevent publicly funded institutions
- including local authorities – choosing to refuse to buy goods from
companies involved in the arms trade, fossil fuels, tobacco products or
illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
From here-on out, these institutions will face severe penalties for attempting to implement morally driven boycotts. What people are rightfully concerned about is the way in which this will prevent everyday voters from voicing their opposition to a decades-long humanitarian crisis in the Middle East.
Why? It's complicated.
There are scholars who’ve spent their entire adult lives trying to figure out what’s going on with Israel, Palestine and the Gaza Strip. But the long and short of it is: there are a lot people arguing over one scrap of land, all of them have strong cultural and religious ties to the area and it’s nigh impossible to decide who’s right and who’s wrong.
Yet as fate would have it, only one of these groups is extremely well-funded and super-connected. That’s why Israel can do pretty much whatever the hell it wants to Gaza and the native Palestinians who live there. World superpowers ordinarily wouldn’t stand for it. Yet because Israel is a key Western ally in the region, governments like the UK tend to turn a blind eye to any and all alleged crimes against humanity that might be taking place in the region.
The citizens of the UK aren’t quite as happy to ignore it all as the government, however. That’s why local councils and public bodies across the country have recently – and historically - taken it upon themselves to bypass their national government and send Israel a message that not everyone in the UK agrees with its policies, particularly its practice of allowing settlements in Palestinian territories which are considered illegal under international law.
Leicester City, Stirling, Clackmannanshire, Midlothian and West Dunbartonshire Councils have all implemented local bans on goods that come out of Israel and its illegal settlements. More than a few student unions have followed suit.
You’d think ministers would be proud of that. Young people and everyday voters connecting with international issues, debating ethical dilemmas and implementing legislative policy on a local level in order to mirror the views of ordinary people – isn’t that what Big Society is all about? Apparently not.
If David Cameron wants local authorities and everyday people to get involved in politics, that’s great. But he needs to walk the walk. The government can’t take that voice away from people simply because it doesn’t like what’s being said.
When David Cameron rose to power in 2010, he did so based upon a
platform of devolution and pluralism. Under the highly marketable banner
of creating that ‘Big Society’, Westminster unleashed a wide array of
initiatives designed to empower local authorities and grassroots
activists, and give them a stronger voice on the global stage.
At least, that was the dream. But fast-forward six years, and the UK Government is clumsily attempting to mop up every single trace of the hyper-local activism it once encouraged. The latest casualty of this U-turn? This new ban on boycotting goods which a group might be morally against – a ban on bans, if you will.
After all, allowing open disagreements about these sort of things might inadvertently prove to the whole wide world that not everyone in Britain thinks alike. People might start to think we live in an open democracy.
And why on earth would we want them thinking that?
From here-on out, these institutions will face severe penalties for attempting to implement morally driven boycotts. What people are rightfully concerned about is the way in which this will prevent everyday voters from voicing their opposition to a decades-long humanitarian crisis in the Middle East.
Why? It's complicated.
There are scholars who’ve spent their entire adult lives trying to figure out what’s going on with Israel, Palestine and the Gaza Strip. But the long and short of it is: there are a lot people arguing over one scrap of land, all of them have strong cultural and religious ties to the area and it’s nigh impossible to decide who’s right and who’s wrong.
Yet as fate would have it, only one of these groups is extremely well-funded and super-connected. That’s why Israel can do pretty much whatever the hell it wants to Gaza and the native Palestinians who live there. World superpowers ordinarily wouldn’t stand for it. Yet because Israel is a key Western ally in the region, governments like the UK tend to turn a blind eye to any and all alleged crimes against humanity that might be taking place in the region.
The citizens of the UK aren’t quite as happy to ignore it all as the government, however. That’s why local councils and public bodies across the country have recently – and historically - taken it upon themselves to bypass their national government and send Israel a message that not everyone in the UK agrees with its policies, particularly its practice of allowing settlements in Palestinian territories which are considered illegal under international law.
Leicester City, Stirling, Clackmannanshire, Midlothian and West Dunbartonshire Councils have all implemented local bans on goods that come out of Israel and its illegal settlements. More than a few student unions have followed suit.
You’d think ministers would be proud of that. Young people and everyday voters connecting with international issues, debating ethical dilemmas and implementing legislative policy on a local level in order to mirror the views of ordinary people – isn’t that what Big Society is all about? Apparently not.
If David Cameron wants local authorities and everyday people to get involved in politics, that’s great. But he needs to walk the walk. The government can’t take that voice away from people simply because it doesn’t like what’s being said.
You see, politicians love to hear what’s happening at the local level, but only if it’s about filling potholes or building houses. When activists and students start talking about their views on dynamic global issues, the government starts to get nervous.
At least, that was the dream. But fast-forward six years, and the UK Government is clumsily attempting to mop up every single trace of the hyper-local activism it once encouraged. The latest casualty of this U-turn? This new ban on boycotting goods which a group might be morally against – a ban on bans, if you will.
After all, allowing open disagreements about these sort of things might inadvertently prove to the whole wide world that not everyone in Britain thinks alike. People might start to think we live in an open democracy.
And why on earth would we want them thinking that?
Commenti
Posta un commento