In recent weeks, the Basque Country has seen a significant amount of BDS activities. Collectively, people throughout the country have come together and sent out the message that BDS is the most effective manner of pushing for the dismantling of apartheid in Palestine.
***image1***Demonstrations calling for BDS have taken place in at least 30 cities, with some 30,000 people taking part in them. The actions have involved cooperation between all strata of Basque civil society, creating links between various social movements, and intertwining the Basque and Palestinian national struggles.
Trade unions have also been heavily involved in the mobilization, will all trade unions in the Southern Basque Country taking part in a demonstration in Bilbao calling for a boycott of Israel. The demonstrators also demanded that the municipality of Bilbao sever its contract with Veolia, which would have the French company managing the cityâs bus service. Over ten municipalities have responded to this surge of public pressure and have issued statements calling for a severing of ties with Israel.
Many more demonstrations and actions are planned for the months to come in order to ensure that this momentum for BDS is sustained throughout the country. From 25 – 26 February, Askapena, the International Organization of Basque Leftists and Independents, will campaign against concerts put on by Noa in Donostia-San Sebastian. They will also launch and distribute a statement for cultural boycott, based on the call issued by PACBI, to sporting, cultural and academic groups in the Basque Country. Additional municipalities are also expected to put their support behind the BDS movement, and campaigns will be launched against any Zionist event that is scheduled to take place in the country.
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For more photos of Basque Country action, click here.