This week a German bank announced that it is closing the account
of a Jewish human rights organisation because it supports BDS. What's next?
The German organisation Jewish
Voice for Just Peace (JVJP) is a sister organisation of the US Jewish Voice for Peace and part of the coalition
European Jews for a Just Peace (EJJP). It was founded in 2003.
Three weeks ago, the organisation - of which I am a board member
- was shocked when it received a letter from its bank, the Bank for Social
Economy based in Cologne, that it had decided to close JVJP’s account. No
reason was given for the decision.
This is the first time since World War Two that a German bank has
closed the account of a Jewish organisation
But on Tuesday, the bank finally announced, in a second letter
sent out by a spokesperson, the reason: JVJP supports the Boycott, Divestment,
Sanctions (BDS) movement.
This is the first time since World War Two that a German bank
has closed the account of a Jewish organisation. The bank appears to have
succumbed to pressure by Benjamin Weinthal, a correspondent for the Jerusalem
Post, who has been waging a campaign to attack and delegitimise Palestinian
solidarity groups in Germany for the last couple of years.
Weinthal falsely accused the JVJP of being a “pro-Hamas” and an
“anti-Semitic” organisation. The timing of his reporting has raised questions
within our organisation about whether he was told by the bank that the account
would be closed even before we met to discuss the situation, following the
original letter, on 2 December.
The bank justified its decision because JVJP took part in
several BDS actions in Germany, and claimed in the second letter, sent on
Tuesday, that “BDS seeks to destabilise the state of Israel".
However, as the bank could not find any evidence of this claim
on the BDS movement's website, it relied on an analysis by the
Friedrich-Neumann Foundation, which belongs to the German Free Democratic
Party, a right-wing neoliberal party, and on analysis by sociologist Samuel Salzborn,
a right-wing pro-Zionist who has accused the entire German left of
anti-Semitism, both of which were referenced in the second letter.
Who is next?
Legally, banks in Germany are allowed to close the accounts of
customers without giving a reason if they announce the closure in advance.
However, giving information to a journalist about an organisation’s account is
a violation of confidentiality.
Giving information to a journalist about an organisation’s account
is a violation of confidentiality
Furthermore, the bank issued a statement in which it calls JVJP
an “anti-Semitic” organisation, which is a violation of Germany’s libel laws.
Abraham Melzer, a German Jewish activist, has recently won a court case
against such accusations, which were based only on his critique of the state of
Israel’s policies.
As the Bank for Social Economy presents itself as a progressive
bank and holds the accounts of many civil society organisations, the outrage in
Germany spread quickly.
Several peace and human rights organisations have expressed solidarity with
JVJP such as Pax Christi, International
Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War and the International
League for Human Rights. The bank is expected to lose some of its
customers, who are considering closing their accounts in protest.
It should be noted that the European Union's foreign policy
spokeswoman, Federica Mogherini, has confirmed that the
call for a boycott of Israel is allowed in the EU, and that no law exists in
Germany against such calls. Legal scholars from 15 European States recently published an
opinion defending the right to call for BDS.
The bank has nevertheless decided to make its own law and impose
its political views on its customers. Other political groups in Germany could
lose their bank accounts as well, if the banks choose to refuse customers of
political views which they do not share.
From fear to pressure
A direct link exists between the rise of right-wing groups in
Europe and in the US in recent months, and the bank’s decision.
In interviews, Donald Trump’s chief strategist,
Steve Bannon, has expressed the desire to fight against BDS in order to defend
himself from accusations of anti-Semitism. Marine Le Pen has used exactly the
same argument. How can
she be anti-Semitic if she opposes BDS? Blind support for the policies of the
state of Israel is being used to legitimise extreme-right groups.
Many Jews from all over the world support BDS not only out of
solidarity with the Palestinian struggle but also in an effort to rescue
Judaism from being equated with Zionism
It is therefore easy to forget that BDS is a movement dedicated
to human rights, equality and international law. Many Jews from all over the
world, including in Israel itself, support BDS not
only out of solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for freedom, but also in
an effort to rescue Judaism from being equated with Zionism, and from the Jews
all over the world being blamed for the crimes committed by the Israeli
military, just for being Jews.
One of the reasons for the strengthening of BDS is its profound
impact on the Israeli political discourse. Israel’s strategic affairs minister,
Gilad Erdan, has called for a
blacklist of all organisations supporting BDS.
Theologian Isabel Phiri from the World Council of Churches in
Geneva was deported from
Israel recently because she was suspected (falsely) of supporting BDS.
The fear of the Israeli authorities of the spread of BDS translates
directly into pressure on international organisations to impose Israel's
repressive policies outside of the country against any group supporting BDS,
even if it is Jewish.
- Shir Hever is a graduate student at
the Free University of Berlin, and an economist with the Alternative
Information Centre.
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do
not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.
Photo: A woman holds a
Palestinian flag as a truck passes by, during a protest against Grammy-winning
American musician Pharrell Williams near the GrandWest Casino where he was
holding a concert in Cape Town, on 21 September 2015. Supporters of the
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign were protesting against the singer's
partnership with major South African retail group Woolworths, over its imports
from Israel (AFP)