ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN

A local boycott for freedom, justice, and equality

Austin Against Apartheid unites businesses and customers in a local boycott campaign calling for freedom, justice, and equality for the Palestinian people.

We build economic and community pressure in solidarity with Palestinians, joining a long tradition of boycotts that have driven lasting change.

MODELED AFTER

No Appetite for Apartheid Campaign

Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement

Apartheid Free Zones, Spain

WHY A BOYCOTT

Economic pressure works — and Austin is part of the picture

$30.6B

in goods and services the US
imported from Israel in 2022

$14M+

Austinites contribute to Israel
through federal taxes every year

BOYCOTTS HAVE WORKED BEFORE:

Northwestern University Libraries

Anti-Apartheid boycotts, South Africa
International economic pressure helped end South African apartheid after decades of organized global action.

Associated Press                                 

Delano grape boycott, United States
Farmworkers led a years-long consumer boycott that won landmark labor protections for agricultural workers.

What it means to be an Apartheid-Free Business

  • Pledge not to sell targeted products

    Refuse to stock or sell any products on the campaign's boycott target list.

  • Pledge not to use targeted products

    Don't use boycotted products in your own business operations.

  • Publicly declare yourself Apartheid-Free

    Display our sign, add our logo online, and join our public list of Apartheid-Free Zones.

  • What happens next

    We'll follow up, provide materials, and add you to a list followed by hundreds of Austinites pledged to support you.

VIEW APARTHEID-FREE ZONES

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Boycotts are a tried-and-true way to apply economic pressure to companies that are complicit in injustice. The US imported $30.6 billion in goods and services from Israel in 2022—by reducing this number, we can reduce financial support for Israel’s crimes against Palestine.

    Boycotts have been used successfully throughout history to effect lasting change, from the Anti-Apartheid boycotts in South Africa to the Delano grape boycott in the United States.

  • The BDS movement focuses on targeted boycotts inspired by the South African anti-apartheid movement, the US Civil Rights movement, the Indian anti-colonial struggle, and others. We follow the BDS movement’s lead in strategically focusing on a small number of companies and products for maximum impact. We need to target companies that play a clear and direct role in Israel’s crimes and where there is real potential for impact.

    The BDS movement targets complicity, not identity.

    You can learn about our boycott targets on our How to Boycott page.

  • Being Apartheid-Free may look a little different for each business, but at a minimum we ask that you:

    • Pledge not to sell the products targeted by this boycott.

    • Pledge not to use boycott target products at your business.

    • Publicly declare yourself Apartheid-Free. We will provide you with a sign for your space, a logo for your website or social media accounts, and will add you to our list of Apartheid-Free Zones. We ask that you agree to at least one of these.

    You can decide how you want to participate beyond that, including:

    • Providing flyers for your customers that link to our educational materials

    • Hosting educational or social events related to the campaign at your business

    • Something we haven’t thought of yet—what does being apartheid-free mean to you? We want to hear it!

  • If you’re an Austinite who has signed the customer pledge, you’ll get a welcome email from us with some helpful resources. You can stay up to date on the latest stores to join our campaign, and upcoming events, on our Instagram.

    If you’re a business owner, we’ll follow up with you soon after you sign to provide you with a poster for your business and a logo for your website. We’ll add you to our list of businesses that have joined the campaign, which is followed by hundreds of Austinites who have pledged to support Apartheid-Free Businesses like yours!

  • Unfortunately, the United States is intimately involved in Israel’s crimes against Palestinians by giving Israel’s military money and weapons, and by funding Israel’s military through the taxes paid on Israeli imports.