In Germany, the account of the group “Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Middle East” (Jüdische Stimme für gerechten Frieden in Nahost”) has been closed by the “Bank for Social Economy” (Bank fuer Sozialwirtschaft AG).
The Israeli government attempts to forbid any criticism of its policy, both inside in Israel and abroad. It pretends that all the people criticizing Israel are anti-Semitic.
Certain organizations, such as the Bank for Social Economy, have voluntarily chosen to serve the Israeli repressive political agenda, and attempt to silence critical voices.
The fact that organizations such as the Bank of Social Economy censor criticism of the State of Israel in the name of rejecting anti-Semitism is a direct insult to us Jews. The State of Israel does not represent us. We demand that any moral individual or organization will not allow their justified outrage against anti-Semitism to be turned into a foreign policy tool by the Israeli government.
The right to call for boycott as a form of political pressure, as part of the global BDS movement founded by Palestinians to promote the implementation of international law, is protected by the freedom of expression, by European law and specifically by German law. The Bank for Social Economy, however, makes its own law.
Because we are Jewish, we cannot ignore the crimes committed by the State of Israel in our name: occupation, colonization, apartheid, destruction of Palestinian society and war crimes. We refuse to take responsibility for those crimes just because we are Jews. We also refuse to be punished for exercising our right to criticize those crimes.
Because we are Jewish, we support what the Palestinian people claim for freedom (end of occupation and colonization, destruction of the Wall of separation, end of the blockade of Gaza, freedom for all Palestinian prisoners), equality of rights between Israelis and Palestinians and justice (the right of return for Palestinian refugees). These are the three demands of the BDS movement.