'I invite Bollywood to come see our reality', says activist Mahmoud Nawajaa

Mahmoud NawajaMahmoud Nawajaa at a talk in Dadar PicAtul Kamblea at a talk in Dadar PicAtul KambleMahmoud Nawajaa general coordinator of the Boycott Divestment Sanctions BDS movement started by the Palestinians against Israel is making several stops in India to draw attention to the Palestine cause The BDS stands for Boycotts which are aimed at withdrawing support for Israel and international companies involved in violation of Palestine human rights Divestment urges world players to withdraw investments from Israeli companies and Sanctions pressure world governments to hold Israel to account by ending military trade and freetrade agreements Excerpts from an interview with Nawajaa who was born in Hebron and now lives in Anata a town in JerusalemWhy are you in IndiaI am travelling through the country Mumbai Delhi Kolkata Trivandrum and Hyderabad for a series of talks to raise awareness about what is BDSWe see a spike in violence after Donald Trumps declaration of moving the US embassy to JerusalemTrump has paved the way for the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestine and Israelis seem freer to kill Palestinians and abuse human rightsPalestinians were irked when Trump cut aid to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees Yet Palestinians cannot expect money from a country whose flags they burn USA and whose presidents picture they trample uponWe dont want funds What we want is to end the Israeli occupation end the apartheid and give us the right to returnIt is not just the Israelis who are killing Recently an Israeli father of four was stabbed by a Palestinian terrorist Two Israeli soldiers have been killed in a car ramming attackI am against violence This father of four was not a civilian he was an officer I am not trying to justify the killing though Yet when there is injustice and occupation what do you doThere is a growing closeness between India and IsraelPalestine had its most heartbreaking moment when Bollywood stars posed for a selfie with Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu Bollywood actors are considered heroes in Palestine we have 15 TV channels showing Bollywood movies With this selfie they are showing that while they may not be complicit they do not care about what is happening in PalestineEvery actor may not know about what is going onI say to Bollywood come to Palestine and see the reality and then decide whose side you are on You cannot be ignorant of the biggest conflict zone in the worldBollywood stakeholders did have a meeting with Netanyahu here in Mumbai we may have Bollywood film shoots in Israeli localesThis is part of whitewashing what Israel is doing and part of the great Israel propaganda machinePM Modi did visit Palestine too after his visit to IsraelWhat did Modi do when he came to Palestine He opened a street named after Gandhi In Israel it was all about trade agreements India will be seen as complicit in Israeli crimes soon as the country is buying at least 50 of Israeli military production You India have also been colonised and it should be unacceptable that a country sides with a colonising powerWhat about Saudi Arabia mdash a Muslim state Indias national carrier flies from Delhi to Tel Aviv over Saudi airspace Saudi Arabia has given its airspace to flights to IsraelSaudi denies this Anyway they have opened the space to India not to IsraelSaudi Arabia may deny it as you say but it is trueMaybe the Saudis were pressured by USA or IndiaSaudi Arabia is a sovereign Arab state It may have given its space because it wanted to not because of pressureYes that is correctWhat is your message for IndiaWe are calling Indians to come and be a part of the Palestine struggleAlso read Discussion on IsraelPalestine will be about onestate solution in future UAE ministerCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates