Boycott to Israel halted in Ibiza

Last Friday a Court in Palma de Mallorca issued an interim restraining order freezing the decision to boycott Israel passed by the City Council of Santa Eulalia, the second largest city in the island.

On July 28, 2016, the City Council of Santa Eulalia passed a boycott motion condemning an alleged pattern of war crimes and crimes against humanity carried by the Israel Defense Forces, denouncing supposed Israeli breaches of the Geneve Conventions and of International Humanitarian and joining an international campaign to boycott Israel by refusing any economic, academic, cultural or institutional ties with Israel.

The Court number 1 of Palma de Mallorca reasons that the boycott decision, even if not executed in practice, sets limits to the rights of individuals and companies that trade with Israel to have relations with the City Council on equal terms. These limits are in breach of the rights to non-discrimination and equality before the Law.

The writ is timely, as similar boycott motions are rumoured to be in preparation in other city councils in the island and another motion is scheduled for discussion at the next Island Council meeting.

This is the ninth restraining order against the boycott campaign attained by the legal actions brought by ACOM against different boycotts approved by local governments in Spain. In addition, 13 court decisions so far have declared pre approved boycotts null and void for breaching basic constitutional rights. There are other cases pending court decisions.

Sadly institutional boycott against Israel and its local friends in Spain, where approximately two million live in territories that still exclude pro Israel citizens, is a unique situation in Europe, but the legal victories against this antisemitic campaigns are also unprecedented in the continent.

Angel Mas, President of ACOM , mentioned that «by now, the Spanish courts have clearly associated the adherence to the BDS campaign by public institutions in Spain with illegal behaviours breaching our constitutional coexistence. ACOM’s actions are creating real deterrence preventing the voting and approval of many more such antisemitic declarations in other cities and provinces of Spain«.

The legal team who leads for ACOM the anti-boycott legal actions said: “The boycott campaign crossed many red lines in Spain by convincing local governments to discriminate its citizens on basis of national origin, religion, ethnicity or personal opinions. ACOM’s success at exposing the true nature of BDS propositions may be useful in the legal tactics and narrative for the fight against the anti-Israel campaigns elsewhere in Europe”.