MK Tibi breaks Boycott Law on trip to Canada
MK Ahmed Tibi (UAL-TA’AL) “tested” the Boycott Law, calling for Canadians not to buy settlement products on Monday night. Soon after, Israel Beiteinu called for a counter-boycott – of Tibi.
Speaking in Ottawa, Tibi called settlements “a cancer, spreading all over Palestinian land, [which] should be treated and eradicated.”
According to Tibi, boycotting settlements is the moral thing to do, as they are one of the main obstacles to peace with the Palestinians, and must be put to an end. He explained that a boycott is a “peaceful and nonviolent way” to get rid of settlements.
The UAL-TA’AL MK explained that many Canadian governments have expressed disapproval of settlement construction, but they are not willing to differentiate between “products coming from settlements and products coming from Israel.”
The current Canadian government, led by the Conservative party, has argued that those who advocate settlement boycotts are delegitimizing Israel’s right to exist, and has removed funding from NGOS that do so.
Tibi said he was aware that his words break the Boycott Law, which allows citizens to bring civil suits against persons and organizations that call for economic, cultural or academic boycotts against Israel, Israeli institutions or regions under Israeli control. It also prevents the government from doing business with companies that initiate or comply with such boycotts.
“I am willing to test this immoral law trying to prevent me, as a member of the Knesset, from expressing my views against the settlements in a peaceful way,” he said, adding that his conscience is above the “bizarre” law.
On Tuesday morning, Israel Beiteinu Anglos began a social media campaign against Tibi.
“It is about time we boycott Tibi,” the party spokesman wrote on the Israel Beiteinu Anglos Facebook page. “He accepts the taxes of those brave Israelis who live over the ‘ Green Line’ and then calls to boycott them.”
According to Israel Beiteinu, if Tibi had integrity, he would give up his salary, car and other MK benefits, because Israeli citizens pay for them, regardless of where they reside.
On Twitter, Israel Beiteinu Anglos encouraged its followers to “Tweet Ahmed Tibi and remind him he is a hypocrite if he takes one more shekel from Israeli taxpayers after calling for a boycott.”