Hundreds of Elected Officials in the Spanish State Endorse BDS for Palestinian Rights

Hundreds of elected officials in the Spanish State endorse BDS for Palestinian rights, setting a new BDS precedent in Europe. They include mayors, city councillors, members of congress, presidents of regional parliaments and members of the European Parliament.

 December 1, 2017 — This week, on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, more than 350 elected officials across the Spanish state published an open-letter in support of Palestinian human rights. They denounced Israel’s institutionalized racism and discrimination as “apartheid” and expressed support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement as the only viable instrument for achieving a just and lasting peace for the Palestinian people. 

 These public officials include mayors, city councillors, members of congress, presidents of regional parliaments and members of the European Parliament. 

 The full list of signatories is available here.  

 To date, the Spanish parliament has affirmed that the right to advocate for Palestinian rights through BDS is protected under freedom of speech and association. The Barcelona City Council voted to end complicity in Israel’s violations of international law, and more than 80 public institutions across the Spanish state declared themselves “Apartheid Free Zones,” committed to upholding human rights and refusing complicity in Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people.

 BDS activists in the Spanish state consider this large show of support from public officials as a boost to their solidarity campaign for Palestinian human rights.

 Ana Sanchez from the Palestinian BNC said, “The Palestinian BDS National Committee warmly welcomes the principled solidarity and meaningful respect for human rights expressed by over 350 public officials in the Spanish state. We salute them for acting to end the complicity of their government and institutions in decades of Israeli crimes, including the ongoing theft of Palestinian land and the dispossession of the Palestinian people. As they’ve made clear, ending complicity in grave violations of human rights is both a moral and legal obligation that others should heed.”

BDS -1 December 2017