What happened when I discovered my employer was profiting from Israel's illegal settlements in Palestine

by Guest Tue Feb 09, 2016 2:39 pm

As a Canadian of Palestinian-Armenian origin, I was forced to question the ethics of a company I'd already dedicated 15 years of my life to

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What happened when I discovered my employer was profiting from Israel's illegal settlements in Palestine Pg-24-west-bank-airbnb-3-wp

Western companies are profiting from illegal developments in the West Bank. David Vaaknin/The Washington Post
In January, Human Rights Watch published a report, Occupation, Inc., which directly implicated global real estate giant RE/MAX for its role in sustaining Israel’s settlement programme. The report asserts that “by advertising, selling, and renting homes in settlements, both the Israeli franchise of RE/MAX and RE/MAX LLC, the owner of the global franchise network, facilitate and benefit from the transfer of Israeli civilians into occupied territory…”

I shuddered as I read the details, thinking back to the moment when I learned that RE/MAX - my longtime employer - was involved in the sale of homes in these illegal settlements.

For 15 of my 17 years as a busy Toronto realtor, I was employed by RE/MAX and for 14 of those years I was proud of my connection to the corporation. In 2013, I received a RE/MAX Lifetime Achievement award; in 2014 I won the RE/MAX Hall of Fame award. I never thought I would part ways with the company as long as I was selling real estate in Toronto.

But something happened that made me call into question my connection to the organisation, and its commitment to its own code of ethics.

During the summer of 2014, the world witnessed the Israeli war that leveled much of Gaza to rubble. I was on holiday with friends in Provincetown when four Palestinian boys were killed on a beach by an Israeli double missile strike, during the euphemistically-named “Operation Protective Edge". The boys - Mohammed Bakr, Ahed Bakr, Zakariya Bakr, and Ismail Bakr, aged between nine and 11 years old - were killed while playing football on a beach. The figures of the four young cousins' lifeless bodies being carried off the beach made me cry that day. Since then, I haven't been able to get the horrific images of these boys out of my head.

This was not the first time that I had been moved by the plight of Palestinian people. I am of Armenian-Palestinian descent, and I have family ties to the Armenian Quarter in Jerusalem. I know from relatives and friends about the difficult lives of Armenians and Palestinians under occupation in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

But the summer assault on Gaza was a turning point for me. It was no longer enough to criticize Israeli government policy. I needed to do something.

I did some research to find out what charity I could support, and in my trawling of the internet I happened across the website of the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. The site listed those companies that were being targeted by international boycott campaigns because of their involvement in Israel’s military occupation and its violations of Palestinian rights. Much to my surprise, there was my employer, RE/MAX LLC, on the list, thanks to its role in the sale and rental of illegal settlement properties in the occupied West Bank.

These properties are built on occupied land that once belonged to Palestinians, whose homes are often demolished and farm lands destroyed to make way for Israeli settlers. Hundreds of thousands of these settlers are now living in the West Bank, driving on roads that Palestinians are not allowed to access, and using 10 times the water resources allocated to nearby Palestinians. Some of these settlers are even known to regularly uproot Palestinian olive trees, harass farmers and schoolchildren, and assault Palestinians without suffering any consequences. How could it be that the respected international real estate network for which I worked was profiting from the sale of illegal settlement housing?

Brokers handling settlement properties considered illegal under international law are operating under the aegis of RE/MAX Europe, which is a division of Colorado-based RE/MAX International. I also believe that some American RE/MAX agents were referring US-based clients interested in purchasing settlement properties to RE/MAX Israel. RE/MAX is a vast network of franchised brokers and agents: the value of the network is in the brand’s reputation and in the referral system. In turn, RE/MAX International profits from each and every sale made by its franchisees - including from the alleged millions of dollars worth of sales made in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
I decided to communicate my concerns directly to employer. I spent more than a year relaying my unease, sharing the information I had assembled in my regional area, as well as with executives at RE/MAX International and RE/MAX Europe. I wanted to know if they were as disturbed as I was by the fact that the company was participating in human rights violations, and playing an active role in Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise, which even the US government considers a major impediment to peace.

My initial queries were met with friendly concern. I was told that RE/MAX Israel did not have an official presence on occupied Palestinian land. However, my own research proved that they indeed had an office in Ma'ale Adumim, a major West Bank settlement, and I was troubled to learn that this office sold illegal Israeli settlement houses. Finally, my repeated follow-up messages on this topic were met with silence.

I eventually accepted the fact that my appeals to RE/MAX’s sense of morality and its obligations within the framework of international law had failed. But it was also clear that the organisation and many like it are risking their reputation for a small market with enormous ethical challenges. As Human Rights Watch pointed out, RE/MAX plays a central role in “sustaining and expanding the physical footprint of settlements.”

And so, in October of last year, in an effort to align my values with my professional life and to take action on behalf of Palestinian rights, I resigned from my job. Perhaps the company will finally cease doing business in illegal Israeli settlements so that other dedicated brokers who care for human rights won’t feel they must walk away. Until then, I hope others will follow my lead.

Elias Kibalian is a realtor based in Toronto

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/what-happened-when-i-discovered-my-employer-was-profiting-from-israels-illegal-settlements-in-a6860901.html

I hope he has a brilliant new job and I bet he sleeps better at might now.

by Guest Tue Feb 09, 2016 2:43 pm

The settlements are not illegal based under the League of nations.

If this is the basis for a discriminatory measure, it has little or no legal basis. The claim that their interpretation of Israeli rights in the territories mentioned is "in line with international law" raises the simple question: "which international law?" Israel's occupation of the West Bank is fully legal under the terms of UN Resolution 242 (1967), which was carefully drafted to guarantee Israel's rights to remain there until such time as there is a "Termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgement of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force."

As no secure and recognized boundaries have been established, despite numerous attempts by the government of Israel to bring them about, Israel's presence there remains entirely legal. And as only Israeli armed forces will be required to withdraw in the event that such boundaries are created, the presence of Israeli settlements there will remain legal under the terms of the original League of Nations Mandate for Palestine, which stipulates that there should be close Jewish settlement in all areas. Those Mandate provisions were incorporated into UN Resolution 181, which called for the establishment of a Jewish and an Arab state.

by nicko Tue Feb 09, 2016 2:52 pm

Sass, do you spend all night looking for things about Israel and the Tories so you can post them all the next day. When can you get it through your head that apart from IRN no one else gives a fuck about your rants. If they did there would be comments agreeing with you all over the forum. I keep looking for them but----------------

by Guest Tue Feb 09, 2016 2:55 pm

by Guest Tue Feb 09, 2016 3:05 pm

I. WHY ISRAEL IS BOUND BY THE INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS DEFINING THE OBLIGATIONS OF AN OCCUPYING POWER.

The main international instruments defining the obligations of an occupying power are :

the Regulations Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land, annexed to the Fourth Convention Respecting the Laws of War on Land signed in The Hague on 18 October 1907 (“the Hague Regulations)
the Fourth Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War signed in Geneva on 12 August 1949 (“the Fourth Geneva Convention”).

It should be stressed at the outset that Article 47 of the Fourth Geneva Convention expressly provides that persons in the occupied area shall not be deprived of the benefits of the Convention by any agreement between the authorities of the occupied territory and the occupying authority. Accordingly, as long as the occupation endures, it is not possible to argue successfully that the conclusion of the Oslo agreements in any way diminished or affected the obligations of Israel towards the Palestinian population.

[list="text-align: justify;"]
[*]The Hague Regulations.

[/list]

Israel is not a party to the Fourth Hague Convention, to which the Hague Regulations are annexed. However, as stated by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in its advisory opinion of 9 July 2004 concerning the legal consequences of the construction of a wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (“the Wall Opinion”), the rules laid down in the Hague Regulations are part of international customary law. ¹ This was recognized by all the participants in the proceedings before the Court in the Wall case, including Israel ². There is no doubt, therefore, that the Hague Regulations are binding on Israel.

Israel disputes the applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention to the OPT, although that convention was ratified both by it and by Jordan. According to the Israeli interpretation, it would follow from the wording of Article 2(2) that the Convention applies only where the territory occupied fell previously under the sovereignty of another High Contracting Party. ³ Since the OPT did not fall under Jordanian sovereignty before being occupied by Israel, the Israeli government argues that the Convention does not apply to it.

This argument was rejected by the ICJ in the Wall Opinion. The Court found that, according to Article 2(1), the Convention is applicable whenever there exists an armed conflict between two contracting parties⁴. If that condition is satisfied, the Convention applies to any territory occupied in the course of that conflict. The object of Article 2(2) is not to restrict the scope of application of the Convention but simply to make clear that, even if the occupation met no armed resistance, the Convention is applicable ⁵. According to the Court, this interpretation reflects the intention of the drafters of the Convention to protect civilians who find themselves, in whatever way, in the hands of the occupying Power. It is also confirmed by the Convention’s travaux préparatoires and was approved by the States parties to the Convention at a conference on 15 June 1999, in which they reaffirmed the applicability of the Fourth Convention to the OPT, including East Jerusalem. ⁶

For its part, the UN Security Council stated on numerous occasions that the Fourth Geneva Convention applies to Israel’s occupation of the OPT. ⁷

The Supreme Court of Israel also found that, to the extent they affect civilians, the military operations of the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) are governed by the Hague Regulations and the Fourth Geneva Convention. ⁸

Those on the Israeli side who maintain that the Fourth Geneva Convention does not apply to the OPT therefore commit a serious error.

Article 42 of the Hague Regulations states that a “territory is considered occupied when it is actually placed under the authority of the hostile army”.

This definition applies independently of the legality of the occupation. The only thing that matters is that there exists a situation in which a territory is actually placed under the authority of a hostile army. If that is the case, the law of occupation applies, whether or not the territory was subject to the sovereignty of the State occupying it previously, whether or not the occupation has received Security Council approval, whatever its aim is, whether or not it is the result of an aggression or of the exercise of the right to self-defence, whether or not it is motivated by humanitarian considerations, etc.

Contrary to what is sometimes asserted ⁹ “occupation” is not an accusation. It is simply the reflection of an objective state of fact. Those on the Israeli side who shun the term and prefer to speak of “disputed territories” in reality seek having to acknowledge the consequences deriving from that situation.

The occupied areas consist of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights.

Part of the West Bank was annexed by Israel in 1980 and is now considered by it to be within the city of Jerusalem. For this reason we shall consider it separately, even though it is regarded internationally as being part of the West Bank.

The West Bank was occupied by Israel in June 1967 in the course of the Six Days War. It remains occupied today. It had previously been occupied by Jordan. According to the UN Partition Plan of 1947 it had been designed to form part of the future Palestinian State. Although it is sometimes described on the Israeli side as being “disputed” rather than “occupied”, ¹⁰ its status as occupied territory within the meaning of international law is internationally recognized. ¹¹ The Israeli Supreme Court also accepted that Israel holds the West Bank in belligerent occupation. ¹²

The Oslo II agreement of 28 September 1995 divided the West Bank into three areas ; A, B and C, and gave to the Palestinian Authority “full civil and security control” over Area A. However the legal status of that area as “occupied territory” did not change. Israel continued to have the right to conduct military incursions into Area A without needing the consent of the Palestinian Authority and therefore maintained the potential to exercise full control over the area. ¹³ Israel also continued to have full security control over Area C and to have “overriding responsibility” for security for the purpose of protecting Israelis and confronting terrorism in Area B. Thus the entire territory of the West Bank remains under the authority of Israel.

The annexation of East Jerusalem was never recognized internationally. The UN Security Council censured it “in the strongest terms”, declared it “null and void”, adding that “it must be rescinded forthwith”. ¹⁴ Under international law it therefore continues to be part of the West Bank and must be considered as “occupied” by Israel.

More at:

- See more at: http://www.eccpalestine.org/israels-obligations-as-an-occupying-power-under-international-law-its-violations-and-implications-for-eu-policy/#sthash.hzArLujS.dpuf

Israel does not comply with Resolution 242

by Guest Tue Feb 09, 2016 3:07 pm

Again reinventing the Oslo accords and ignoring resolution 242

Its so easy for me to rubbish poor biased drivel

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council_Resolution_242

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oslo_Accords

by Guest Tue Feb 09, 2016 3:26 pm

What happened when I discovered my employer was profiting from Israel's illegal settlements in Palestine LcQk-6Sl

Lord Caradon drafted Resolution 242, so I guess he should know.

by Guest Tue Feb 09, 2016 3:26 pm

Which shows you do not understand 242

by eddie Tue Feb 09, 2016 3:46 pm

nicko wrote:Sass, do you spend all night looking for things about Israel and the Tories so you can post them all the next day. When can you get it through your head that apart from IRN no one else gives a fuck about your rants. If they did there would be comments agreeing with you all over the forum. I keep looking for them but----------------

Nicko, a lot of these threads don't interest me much, but I simply don't click on them.
With all due respect, you could do the same.

by Guest Tue Feb 09, 2016 3:49 pm

eddie wrote:
nicko wrote:Sass, do you spend all night looking for things about Israel and the Tories so you can post them all the next day. When can you get it through your head that apart from IRN no one else gives a fuck about your rants. If they did there would be comments agreeing with you all over the forum. I keep looking for them but----------------

Nicko, a lot of these threads don't interest me much, but I simply don't click on them.
With all due respect, you could do the same.

Tad difficult if they take up every single topic on the latest topics scroll

by Raggamuffin Tue Feb 09, 2016 4:00 pm

eddie wrote:
nicko wrote:Sass, do you spend all night looking for things about Israel and the Tories so you can post them all the next day. When can you get it through your head that apart from IRN no one else gives a fuck about your rants. If they did there would be comments agreeing with you all over the forum. I keep looking for them but----------------

Nicko, a lot of these threads don't interest me much, but I simply don't click on them.
With all due respect, you could do the same.

Then there will be two people posting on this forum - Sassy and Didge.

by eddie Tue Feb 09, 2016 4:10 pm

Raggamuffin wrote:
eddie wrote:
nicko wrote:Sass, do you spend all night looking for things about Israel and the Tories so you can post them all the next day. When can you get it through your head that apart from IRN no one else gives a fuck about your rants. If they did there would be comments agreeing with you all over the forum. I keep looking for them but----------------

Nicko, a lot of these threads don't interest me much, but I simply don't click on them.
With all due respect, you could do the same.

Then there will be two people posting on this forum - Sassy and Didge.

And me.

Put it this way, I don't complain about there being too many clothes shops down a street.
If I don't want clothes I don't walk down that street.

by Guest Tue Feb 09, 2016 4:14 pm

eddie wrote:
Raggamuffin wrote:

Then there will be two people posting on this forum - Sassy and Didge.

And me.

Put it this way, I don't complain about there being too many clothes shops down a street.
If I don't want clothes I don't walk down that street.

What a very adult response! Shame there are so many kids on here lol

by Raggamuffin Tue Feb 09, 2016 4:18 pm

eddie wrote:
Raggamuffin wrote:

Then there will be two people posting on this forum - Sassy and Didge.

And me.

Put it this way, I don't complain about there being too many clothes shops down a street.
If I don't want clothes I don't walk down that street.

You just said a lot of these threads don't interest you, so obviously you wouldn't post in them. Make your mind up.

by Raggamuffin Tue Feb 09, 2016 4:19 pm

sassy wrote:
eddie wrote:

And me.

Put it this way, I don't complain about there being too many clothes shops down a street.
If I don't want clothes I don't walk down that street.

What a very adult response! Shame there are so many kids on here lol

Spamming a forum with the same topics is fairly childish, so you have no call to be pointing the finger at anyone.

by nicko Tue Feb 09, 2016 4:19 pm

I like to look at shops, but I don't always go in a buy something.

by Guest Tue Feb 09, 2016 4:19 pm

Raggamuffin wrote:
eddie wrote:

And me.

Put it this way, I don't complain about there being too many clothes shops down a street.
If I don't want clothes I don't walk down that street.

You just said a lot of these threads don't interest you, so obviously you wouldn't post in them. Make your mind up.

Errrr? She can't make any of her own?

by Raggamuffin Tue Feb 09, 2016 4:22 pm

sassy wrote:
Raggamuffin wrote:

You just said a lot of these threads don't interest you, so obviously you wouldn't post in them. Make your mind up.

Errrr? She can't make any of her own?

The point is that the forum is flooded with threads about Israel/Palestine - by you and Didge, as we have been discussing. Did you miss that point?

by Guest Tue Feb 09, 2016 4:23 pm

Raggamuffin wrote:
sassy wrote:

Errrr? She can't make any of her own?

The point is that the forum is flooded with threads about Israel/Palestine - by you and Didge, as we have been discussing. Did you miss that point?

Errr, think you need to read your discussion with Eddie again, you appear to have lost your way.

by Raggamuffin Tue Feb 09, 2016 4:25 pm

sassy wrote:
Raggamuffin wrote:

The point is that the forum is flooded with threads about Israel/Palestine - by you and Didge, as we have been discussing. Did you miss that point?

Errr, think you need to read your discussion with Eddie again, you appear to have lost your way.

Nicko, a lot of these threads don't interest me much, but I simply don't click on them.

If she doesn't click on them, she can't post in them. If she starts a new thread, you and Didge are so obsessed with trying to outdo each other that you probably wouldn't notice.

by eddie Tue Feb 09, 2016 4:25 pm

sassy wrote:
Raggamuffin wrote:
sassy wrote:

Errrr? She can't make any of her own?

The point is that the forum is flooded with threads about Israel/Palestine - by you and Didge, as we have been discussing. Did you miss that point?

Errr, think you need to read your discussion with Eddie again, you appear to have lost your way.

I was a little confused too but thought it was me lol

Sorry rags I think we were at cross purposes

by Raggamuffin Tue Feb 09, 2016 4:28 pm

She'd only spam it with conspiracy theories about 911 anyway. Laughing

by eddie Tue Feb 09, 2016 4:30 pm

Raggamuffin wrote:She'd only spam it with conspiracy theories about 911 anyway.

Who, me? Yes probably Hahahaha
I think that's the point about being individual people....we all like different topics and have different interests, hence my opnion on Didge's poll in site news

by Raggamuffin Tue Feb 09, 2016 4:31 pm

eddie wrote:
Raggamuffin wrote:She'd only spam it with conspiracy theories about 911 anyway.

Who, me? Yes probably Hahahaha
I think that's the point about being individual people....we all like different topics and have different interests, hence my opnion on Didge's poll in site news

The point is that a lot of the threads are about the same thing though. How many threads does someone need to start about Israeli soldiers being mean to Palestinians?

by eddie Tue Feb 09, 2016 4:34 pm

Raggamuffin wrote:
eddie wrote:
Raggamuffin wrote:She'd only spam it with conspiracy theories about 911 anyway.

Who, me? Yes probably Hahahaha
I think that's the point about being individual people....we all like different topics and have different interests, hence my opnion on Didge's poll in site news

The point is that a lot of the threads are about the same thing though. How many threads does someone need to start about Israeli soldiers being mean to Palestinians?

Can you ask me this question in the thread didge made please?
I'm having two conversations with you on two different threads and this thread has derailed

I don't want anyone complaining about derailing threads Razz

by Raggamuffin Tue Feb 09, 2016 4:35 pm

eddie wrote:
Raggamuffin wrote:

The point is that a lot of the threads are about the same thing though. How many threads does someone need to start about Israeli soldiers being mean to Palestinians?

Can you ask me this question in the thread didge made please?
I'm having two conversations with you on two different threads and this thread has derailed

I don't want anyone complaining about derailing threads

Why not? It's not as if stuff about boycotting Israel is a new subject. Laughing

by veya_victaous Tue Feb 09, 2016 10:14 pm

nicko wrote:I like to look at shops, but I don't always go in a buy something.

and that doesn't mean you can't complain to sales assitant either Razz

What happened when I discovered my employer was profiting from Israel's illegal settlements in Palestine Beware-grumpy-old-man-at-work

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