The boycott, sanctions, and divestment movement is targeting German multinational sportswear company Puma for its sponsorship of the Israeli national soccer team.

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Protesters, who gathered at various locations around the world, including outside the company's headquarters in Manchester, England, in recent days, have called for Puma to end its ties with the Israeli team and support for the "apartheid" state. The activists' efforts have paid off, as the hashtag #BoycottPuma has also been trending on social media over the past few days.

On its website, the BDS movement accused Puma of involvement in "violations of international law and human rights. Puma is the main sponsor of the Israel Football Association (IFA), which includes teams in Israel's illegal settlements on occupied Palestinian land. In addition, Puma's current and past exclusive licenses in Israel have operations in illegal Israeli settlements ... More than 200 Palestinian sports clubs have called on Puma to end the sponsorship deal and stop supporting Israel's illegal land grabs.

"Puma markets itself as a company that cares about equality yet it funds the apartheid the IFA helps sustain. In July 2018, it was announced that Adidas was no longer sponsoring the IFA following an international campaign and the delivery of over 16,000 signatures to Adidas headquarters."

"We can do this again. Join Palestinian athletes calling for a boycott of Puma until it ends its support for Israel's illegal land grabs."

The BDS site said that "in an attempt to deflect criticism, Puma responded to the campaign, claiming a 'devotion to universal equality.' It's time for Puma to abide by its stated commitment to human rights and end all activity in illegal Israeli settlements."

While Adidas ended its contract with the Israel national team in 2018, the company clarified the decision was not politically motivated at the time.

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In late 2018, Puma signed a four-year sponsorship deal with the IFA, which includes six clubs from communities in Judea and Samaria. The deal saw Puma replace industry counterpart Adidas, which had been an IFA sponsor for 10 years until it ended its relationship with the Israeli organization over a similar BDS campaign.

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"At the heart of the issue is that the football teams the IFA allows to play in the West Bank are located in occupied territory in violation of both international law and the rules of football's global governing body FIFA," the BDS movement said, referring to the international football federation.

"Through its agreement with the IFA, Puma is not only helping to normalize this situation but is also profiting from it. Worse, by sponsoring Israeli national teams, Puma is helping Israel harness the power of football's global popularity and potent symbolism to use participation in European and international competitions as a means to launder its international image and present itself as a normal country."

According to several pro-BDS websites, the call to boycott Puma is supported by over 200 Palestinian sports clubs and associations, as well as by prominent Palestinian athletes, including the captain of the Palestinian men's national football team Abdullatef Buhdari and Aya Khattab of the women's national football team.

Pro-Israel organization StandWithUs slammed the move, tweeting, "Sports are supposed to unite and bring people together, BDS drives them apart."

The post BDS urges boycott of German sportswear giant Puma over ties with Israel appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.