PLO condemns German Parliament decision defining BDS as antisemitic, calls decision “an attack” and “racist”, accuses Israel of “apartheid” and “ethnic cleansing”

Headline: "The PLO and Arab League call on the German Parliament to retract its decision regarding the movement to boycott Israel"

"The PLO Executive Committee condemned the German Parliament's decision against the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) boycott movement, defining the movement as antisemitic and racist (see note below –Ed.).

The Executive Committee said in a statement yesterday [May 19, 2019] that this attack is tantamount to an attack against the Palestinian people and its legitimate and inalienable rights, as the BDS boycott movement is part of its resistance to the Israeli regime of occupation and apartheid. It emphasized that this racist statement (sic., decision) violates international law, human rights, and our people’s right to resist the occupation and the systematic ethnic cleansing.

The Executive Committee demanded that the German Parliament retract this decision, and also demanded that the German political parties oppose it and honor the peoples’ right to call for a boycott as part of the solidarity with the Palestinian people, and as part of freedom of speech and opinion."

The German Parliament passed a motion defining the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) movement as antisemitic and banning government funding for organizations that support BDS on May 17, 2019. In support of its position that BDS is antisemitic, the motion noted that BDS' "Don't Buy" stickers are reminiscent of the Nazi slogan "Don't buy from Jews."