A city council in Aotearoa NZ has become the first in the country to pass a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) motion against Israel.
Ōtautahi Christchurch city council voted on October 23 to cease doing business with companies building and maintaining illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT).
The Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) and local activists led the campaign for the council to align its procurement policy with United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2334.
The motion passed by a two-thirds majority, with 10 councillors voting for it, two voting against it, and three abstaining.
The public gallery was packed with supporters displaying a large “Stop the Genocide” banner.
PSNA National Chair John Minto said in a statement: “We are delighted the council has taken a stand against Israel’s ongoing theft of Palestinian land.
“It has been the failure of western governments to hold Israel to account which means Israel has a 76-year history of oppression and brutal abuse of Palestinians.
“Today Israel is running riot across the Middle East because it has never been held to account for 76 years of flagrant breaches of international law.
“The motion passed by Christchurch City today helps to end Israeli impunity for war crimes. Building settlements on occupied land belonging to others is a war crime under international law.
“The motion is a small but significant step in sanctioning Israel. Many more steps must follow”.
Ōtautahi Christchurch is Aotearoa’s third largest city, and was the scene of a terror attack in March 2019, in which Australian, Brenton Tarrant, killed 51 Muslims praying in local mosques.
Prior to the vote, Minto and University of Canterbury lecturer Josephine Varghese spoke in favour of the resolution. Varghese highlighted the significance of the terror attacks, saying: “Six Palestinians were among the 51 killed in Christchurch’s March attacks … On March 15 2019 we made headlines for all the wrong reasons, and today could be an opportunity where we make headlines globally for the right reasons.”
The NZ Jewish Council’s Ben Kepes spoke in opposition to the motion. During his speech, he claimed that Israel is “the only democracy in the region” that has “a free press” and is “one of the few countries in the region that protects the rights of the LGBTQ+ community”, prompting frequent bouts of laughter from the gallery.
Following the result, the Labour party’s associate foreign affairs spokesperson Phil Twyford said: “It is great that Christchurch is the first council in New Zealand to take up this cause. We hope others will follow this example.
“Christchurch City’s decision is in line with the recent International Court of Justice ruling on the illegal settlements, which said the international community should not ‘aid or assist’ the settlements”.
UNSC Resolution 2334 was co-sponsored by Aotearoa when it was passed by the UN Security Council in 2016. The resolution states that Israeli settlements in the OPT have "no legal validity" and constitute a violation of international law.
Minto highlighted the National government’s inaction in enforcing a resolution the country helped to implement: “It would be nice to think the government would pick up resolution 2334 and show leadership in sanctioning Israel rather than leaving it to local bodies”.