On Thursday, the Council of Europe's European Court of Human Rights upheld a French ruling that it was illegal and discriminatory to boycott Israeli goods, and that making it illegal to call for a boycott of Israeli goods did not constitute a violation of one's freedom of expression.

The Council of Europe is based in Strasbourg, has some 47 member states and is independent of the European Union. The court is made up of one judge from each member state, and the rulings of the court carry moral weight throughout Europe.

On Thursday the court ruled by a vote of 6-1 that the French court did not violate the freedom of expression of the Communist mayor of the small French town of Seclin, Jean-Claude Fernand Willem, who in October 2002 announced at a town hall meeting that he intended to call on the municipality to boycott Israeli products.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor hailed the ruling Sunday, saying it provided important ammunition for those challenging on legal grounds calls frequently heard in Europe for a boycott of Israeli products, as well as calls for a boycott of Israeli academia.

"It is now clear that in every country in Europe there is a precedent for calling boycotts of Israeli goods a violation of the law," Palmor said. "This is an important precedent, one that says very clearly that boycott calls are discriminatory. We hope this will help us push back against all the calls for boycotts of Israeli goods."

Source:  http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1246443852848&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull


Sorry about the crap biased source I couldn't find any others at short notice but this is particularly important for all activists who support the boycott of Israeli goods for it's war crimes against the Palestinian people particularly those involved in the campaigns against Carmel Agrexco. This ruling effectively allows EU member states free reign to attack activists who call for action against Israel.

What did we tell you eh? First they criminalised the Animal Rights campaigners calls for actions against Pharmaceutical companies by saying it's covered by conspiracy to interfere with a contractual relationship, then they criminalised the Anti arms trade campaigners and used injunctions, then it was the turn of the Environmentalists beaten by riot police for daring to highlight the crimes of the energy companies, now they're coming for the Human Rights campaigners. How long before it's made illegal in the UK to support the boycott against Israel?