Boycott Eden Springs & Veolia, says the National Union of Students

Published on the NUS website

NUS has had a long and proud history of standing up for human rights across the world. The conflict in Palestine/Israel has been ongoing for over 60 years, and now more than ever we need to engage with human rights activists on the ground fighting for justice.

In a similar move to the South African Anti-Apartheid movement, activists in Palestine - from Students' Unions to LGBTQ organisations - have asked international supporters to refrain from supporting companies and institutions that profit from or maintain the occupation.

There are two key companies operating on UK campuses that are directly implicated in maintaining the occupation. These are:

Eden Springs

A water company also known as "Mayanot Eden" is based and sources water from an illegal Israeli settlement in the Golan Heights called Katzrin. This land was captured by Israel in 1967, displacing over 100,000 of its inhabitants. Since this time Israel has not allowed the inhabitants to return to their villages, moving Israeli settlers into the region instead, which constitutes a breach of the Geneva Conventions. The settlements are internationally recognised as illegal, and key obstacles to peace in the region.

Eden Springs has a parent company in the UK (Eden Springs UK) that provides many campuses with water coolers. We are therefore encouraging students to lobby their universities to cancel (or buy-out, or allow to expire) contracts from this company until they withdraw their operations from the settlement. Whilst operating and using resources in this settlement, Eden Springs is helping prop up the settlement which is in violation of international law.

Campaigns have already started across UK campuses, so please contact us for resources and support that NUS can offer.

Veolia

A French company who mainly deal in waste management and recycling, and who operate in many local councils across Britain. This includes services for universities' and colleges' waste management. The key reason for targeting this company is their major investment in the Jerusalem Light Rail. This is a tram network that, when completed, will link dozens of Israeli settlements in the West Bank to mainland Israel.

In April 2010, the United Nations Human Rights Council specifically declared the Jerusalem Light Railway to be “in clear breach of international law". Veolia also provide bus services for the settlements, yet most Palestinians can only use the buses for two stops - after which they are no longer allowed on the bus due to their ethnicity. A recent protest, inspired by Martin Luther King's 'Freedom Rides', attempted to challenge this practice. You can see a brief report of their protest here.

Many campus campaigns against Veolia are already spreading, if you would like to organise your own campaign please get in touch. 

For more information, please visit http://www.nus.org.uk/en/campaigns/global-justice/eden-springs-and-veolia/

To Martyrs Soul

By Isra Mohammed Migdad

(Business Student at the Islamic University of Gaza, Gaza, Palestine)

From

End To

End In My

Veins Runs A

Blood

Not

Enough

To Make Me

Vain

Licit

Intrinsic

To The Land

Which Sand Thirst

For My Blood

Implicit

Just

As I Thirst

For Freedom

Would I Be First

Would

I Be First

To Fight For

Freedom And

If I Fall

Light

Would

I Be Taken

To The Kingdom

To

The

Kingdom

Of Those

Who Earned

Martyrdom

Never

They Felt

The Pain At

All

Never

They Felt

A Pain When

They Were

Slain

They

Wish To

Come Back

And Fight Again

And Be Slain

Be

Slain

So The

Kingdom

They Gained

It’s

Autumn

Still Some

Dry Leaves

Hang To Trees

In Vain

They

Cling To

The Trees In

Vain

Cling

All They

Can It’s All

The Same

Soon

To Be Flung

By Winds

To Fall

And None

But Themselves

Would Be Blame

For This

Land Which

Sand Thirst For

My Blood Not Yours

And

Will Never

Hang My Face

In Shame

Check out Isra's blog at: http://isramigdad.wordpress.com/