BOYCOTT Bahia at Press Conference

Exclusive screening of real-life thriller, ‘Boycott’ at The Pig

A warm welcome awaits at The Pig on 25 January, which is hosting an exclusive screening of the real-life legal thriller ‘Boycott’ followed by a Q&A.

The event, which is open and free to all, has been organised by the Hastings & Rye Palestine Solidarity Campaign [HRPSC] and will also feature speaker Zeyn Mohammed, who is coordinating the UK ‘Right to Boycott’ campaign on behalf of the national Palestine solidarity movement.

Poster

The film is a fascinating look at the anti-boycott laws which have been enacted in 33 states in the US, designed to prevent individuals boycotting Israel for its human rights violations.

When a newspaper publisher, a lawyer and a speech therapist are all told they must choose between their jobs and their political beliefs they decide to launch legal battles, which have huge implications for their lives and their rights.

These three ordinary citizens find themselves ‘accidental heroes’ as they fight the infringement on their free speech rights and ‘thought control’ laws.

‘This film has far-reaching consequences here in the UK, where the government is trying to pass legislation to prevent public bodies from boycotting or divesting from foreign countries involved in human rights abuses,’ said HRPSC Secretary Laurie Holden.

‘That would effectively make it illegal for a council or any firm working for it to exercise their right to boycott. The PSC has taken the government to court already on this matter – and won, but the authoritarian agenda has not gone away. In fact, there are even more repressive bills going through Parliament designed to limit our right to protest.’

According to Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and a host of other human rights groups, Israel is guilty of committing the crime of apartheid against the Palestinian people, confirming what Palestinian civil society itself has reported for decades.

It has called for the solidarity movement to Boycott, Divest and Sanction Israel to force it to comply with international law, just like the international community boycotted South African Apartheid.

But BDS, as it has become known, is under attack from authoritarian legislation at home and abroad.

BOYCOTT Bahia & family

In April 2020, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign won a landmark judgement against the British government, confirming the right of Local Government Pensions Schemes to divest from companies that stakeholders believe consistently flout international law.

‘This is an important film which highlights the lawfare currently being enacted to silence and repress Palestinian solidarity, as well as efforts to hold companies and countries to account,’ added Laurie. ‘By watching how it has played out in the US and how these three brave individuals stood up to the might of the state, we can learn how we too can defend our right to protest.’

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