Another BDS Victory against Eden Springs

By John Bennett

(Glasgow Caledonian University Palestine Society)

Glasgow Caledonian Palestine Society are delighted that Eden Springs no longer provide water anywhere on our campus.

Mayanot Eden (The Israeli parent company of Eden Springs UK) extract water from the Salukia spring and bottle in the illegal Israeli settlement of Katzrin, both in the illegally occupied Syrian Golan Heights. That Eden Springs UK and Eden Europe provide locally sourced treated water in no way absolves them of the crimes of the parent company and for us they are the same company.

As an Israeli company, even if it was not involved in these terrible crimes, Eden Springs must, we believe, be boycotted and divested from under the precepts of the Palestinian civil society call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel until it adheres to International law by: Ending the Occupation of all Arab lands & dismantling the Apartheid Wall, Granting full and equal rights to Palestinians in Israel and acknowledging and facilitating the Right of Return for Palestinian refugees under UN resolution 194.

We view this not only from the perspective of the crimes against the Golani Syrians or the principles of BDS but the dual, often inter-connected impact of illegal settlements and Israeli control of vital water resources on the life of Palestinians (in terms of water) the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Every time we saw that Eden Springs logo we would think of Palestinian Bedouins in the Jordan Valley clinging to survival in absence of water re-routed to the settlements, our friends in Aida Refugee camp going weeks or months without water and the situation we are aware of in Gaza.

Statement from student president, Matte Andrews:

“I am delighted to see that the hard work and diligence of both students and University staff has led to the removal of Eden Springs from the GCU campus. The campaign began in the 2007-08 Academic Session when students introduced the motion to Student Parliament, effectively mandating the Executive Committee to put pressure on the University to cancel its contract with Eden Springs for the supply of drinking water and coolers. Since then successive Executive Committees and the Palestine Society have been lobbying for the removal of the supplier whose Israeli parent company, Mayanot Eden markets and distributes the water from the Golan Heights, an area of Syria, illegally occupied by Israel since 1967 and move to more environmentally sustainable piped-in water. The success of this campaign demonstrates the deep commitment of GCU students and staff to global justice, ethical procurement and environmental sustainability”

We thank Matte for his statement and would add thanks to his predecessor, who on the back of the occupation of nearby Strathclyde Uni during the Gaza massacre (from which they got rid of Eden Springs) got a motion through parliament to get Eden out of the Student Association building with immediate effect as well as to campaign for campus-wide removal. We’d also thank last terms president for keeping this going and giving some legitimacy, if you like, to the Palestine Societies campaigning.