Keep the pressure on West Dunbartonshire Council: Fight Racist Boycott of Israel

Fight the Racist Boycott of Israel by West Dunbartonshire Council

Friends,

In 2009, the West Dumbartonshire Council passed a motion boycotting Israel. The motion reads in relevant part:

“Officers should immediately cease the purchase of any goods we currently source, which were made or grown in Israel.  Officers should also ensure we procure no new goods or produce from Israel until this boycott is formally lifted by WDC.”

Publicity of the boycott recently came to light after the Daily Express reported that Scottish National Party led West Dunbartonshire Council ordered that its libraries ban any new volumes by Israeli authors, printed or published in the Jewish state. In a failed attempt to deflect criticism, West Dunbartonshire Council claimed the ban didn’t apply to all Israeli books just those printed in Israel and transported to the UK while maintaining that a boycott of Israeli products is in effect.

As media attention to this grew, activists began complaining to the council members over the boycott and a number of the council members responded exposing the bigotry underlying the boycott. In a series of emails, as reported by Ynet, CiF Watch exposed that Councillor Jim Bollan, the proposer of the motion, wrote that he viewed Hamas as “freedom fighters”. With pressure mounting, Councillor Jonathan McColl has been at the forefront of defending the boycott and even posted a rambling videoblog which was a display of rank ignorance and victim playing unbecoming of a political figure.

Since then, the Jewish Chronicle has reported that West Dunbartonshire Council library recently purchased a copy of the antisemitic forgery, Protocols of the Elder of Zion, a decision that the council defended in the interest of freedom of speech.

With West Dunbartonshire having the dubious honor of being the top unemployment blackspot in the UK, the motivation behind singling out Israel, and only Israel, for boycott out of all nations of the world is clear. In Australia similar moves to boycott Israel by a local Sydney council ended up in failure after mass publicity of the planned boycott.

Together with your help, we can reverse the motion and send a message to other Scottish councils that are considering the same that such moves are immoral and racist.

Speak up and tell the council that the boycott is immoral and racist. Don’t leave this to somebody else to do.

Ways in which your voice can be heard include:

1Twitter
CiF Watch has been leading a twitter campaign to fight the boycott. You can help this campaign by tweeting West Dunbartonshire Council and Councillor Jonathan McColl, both of whom are on twitter. Their twitter names are @wdcouncil and @CllrJMcColl.

If your 140 character tweet permits, include Gemma Doyle, Labour member of parliament for West Dunbartonshire, and Visit Scotland, the Scottish Tourist Board, on your tweets. Their twitter names are @gemmawdmp and @visitscotland.

Here are some sample tweets:

– West Dunbartonshire has the highest unemployment rates in the UK, yet @wdcouncil sees fit to boycott Israel. @CllrJMcColl

– Jim Bollan thinks Hamas are freedom fighters Email him at James.Bollan@west-dunbarton.gov.uk if you disagree http://bit.ly/jvWep5 @wdcouncil

– Why has ONLY Israel been singled out of the 192 nations for a boycott by @wdcouncil @CllrJMcColl @gemmawdmp #fdoublestandards

– The West Dunbartonshire Council should retract its racist boycott of Israel! Retweet this if you agree @wdcouncil @CllrJMcColl

Don’t forget to also retweet tweets to the West Dunbartonshire Council and Councillor McColl by tweeters with whom you agree.

2Post comments on Councillor Jonathan McColl’s blog
As chief defender of the boycott, Councillor McColl has uploaded a videoblog. You can post comments on his blog by clicking here, Please note that anti-Israel activists have been posting comments in support of the boycott.

3Email the councillors, Scottish National Party MSPs, the Scottish Tourist Board and the Press
For a sample email, please view an email by an unlikely supporter, a Muslim Zionist, who has been moved to speak out.

– Emails of the councillors are as follows:
Denis.Agnew@west-dunbarton.gov.ukGeorge.Black@west-dunbarton.gov.ukJames.Bollan@west-dunbarton.gov.ukJim.Brown@west-dunbarton.gov.ukGeoffrey.Calvert@west-dunbarton.gov.ukGail.Casey@west-dunbarton.gov.ukjim.finn@west-dunbarton.gov.uk;william.hendrie@west-dunbarton.gov.ukDouglas.McAllister@west-dunbarton.gov.ukdavid.mcbride@west-dunbarton.gov.ukdavid.mcbride@west-dunbarton.gov.ukRonnie.McColl@west-dunbarton.gov.ukjonathan.mccoll@west-dunbarton.gov.ukJim.McElhill@west-dunbarton.gov.uk;Patrick.McGlinchey@west-dunbarton.gov.ukCraig.McLaughlin@west-dunbarton.gov.ukWilliam.McLaughlin@west-dunbarton.gov.uk;Marie.McNair@west-dunbarton.gov.ukJohn.Millar@west-dunbarton.gov.ukJohn.Millar@west-dunbarton.gov.uklawrence.oneill@west-dunbarton.gov.ukIain.Robertson@west-dunbarton.gov.ukMartin.Rooney@west-dunbarton.gov.ukMay.Smillie@west-dunbarton.gov.uk

– Emails of the Scottish National Party MSPs are as follows:
alex.salmond@snp.orgnicola.sturgeon@snp.org;rcmp.perth@snp.orginfo@argyll-snp.com;kenny.macaskill@edinburghsnp.orgrichard.lochhead@snp.org;brian.adam@snp.orggeo.adam@ntlworld.com;clare.adamson@snp.orgalasdairallan@western-isles-snp.org;colin.beattie1@btinternet.commarco.biagi@snp.org;cbrodie@calstrat.freeserve.co.uk; keith.brown@snp.org;margaret.burgess@snp.orgaileen@aileencampbell.com;rodcampbell@live.co.ukwillie@williecoffeymsp.com;info@angelaconstance.co.ukbruce.crawford@snp.org;rcmp.perth@snp.orggraemedey@gmail.com;angusnorthandmearns@gmail.comboabdoris@hotmail.com;james.dornan@snp.orgjim.eadie@snp.org;fergus@fergusewing.comlindafab@btinternet.com;john.finnie@snp.orgjoe@joefitzpatrick.netkenneth.gibson@snp.org;rob.gibson@snp.orginfo@christinegrahame.com;jamie.hepburn@snp.orgfjhyslop@gmail.comadam.ingram@snp.org;adam.ingram@snp.orgbill.kidd@snp.orgrichard.lochhead@snp.org;kenny.macaskill@edinburghsnp.org;angus.stoneyfield@blueyonder.co.uk; Gordon.MacDonald@snp.org;derek.j.mackay@btopenworld.comtricia.marwick@snp.org;jmasonscot@aol.commichael.matheson@snp-falkirk.org;stewart.maxwell@snp.orgchristina_mckelvie@hotmail.com;aileen.mcleod@snp.orgfiona.mcleod@snp.org;stuart.mcmillan@snp.orgmember@neil100.freeserve.co.uk;gil@gilsmotorfactors.comdennis.robertson@snp.org;dundee@shonarobison.cominfo@argyll-snp.com;office@stewartstevenson.netkevin.stewart@snp.orgslb@snp.org;david.t13@btinternet.comwgw.snp@gmail.com;maureen.watt@snp.orgpaul@brs-snp.orgsandra@kelvinsnp.org;johnwilsonscot@hotmail.com

– Email Visit Scotland, the Scottish Tourist Board, and tell them that you are not visiting Scotland for as long as the boycott is in effect.

The email of the Chief Executive, Malcolm Roughhead, is as follows:
malcolm.roughhead@visitscotland.com

Emails of the Press include:

 
Sunday Herald: letters@sundayherald.com
 
Magnus Gardham, political editor, Daily Record: m.gardham@dailyrecord.co.uk Glasgow Local News:Grace Franklin franklinfeatures@gmail.comRutherglen Reformer: John Rowbotham jrowbotham@s-un.co.ukCumbernauld News: Kilsyth Chronicle: editorial.cumbernauldnews@jnscotland.co.uk

The Glaswegian: webeditor@theglaswegian.co.uk

Scotland on Sunday: letters_sos@cotlandonsunday.com

Sunday Post : readerspage@sundaypost.com

The Scotsman: letters_ts@cotsman.com

4.Support the Official Scottish Whiskey Counter-Boycott
Details here.

5.Share this email with your friends
Click on the “Forward to a Friend” link below.

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