About the campaign
Greater Baltimore DSA has formed a coalition with JVP Baltimore and PYM DMV to launch a targeted boycott campaign to shift the culture of the city towards international solidarity with Palestine. Our campaign asks Baltimore residents to pledge to boycott products and brands in Baltimore that are complicit in Israel's genocide and apartheid of Palestinians. Inspired by the BDS movement's Apartheid-Free Zones and No Appetite For Apartheid campaigns, the Apartheid-Free Baltimore (AFB) campaign seeks to divest our funds from Israel's ongoing ethnic cleansing project, and re-invest those funds back into our own community.
Campaign Resources
Our Strategy
Our campaign is focused on two fronts: cultural, and economic. We aim to disrupt the normalization of apartheid in our culture. We reject the false equivalence narrative that "both sides" have any kind of equal validity in their aims, and instead encourage our community to proudly and openly declare solidarity with Palestine, a position that has long been stigmatized in this country. By rejecting the taboo of speaking up, we can demonstrate a market shift that forces the wealthy class to pay attention. For many of these corporations and organizations, their investments in Israel are a financial decision uninterested in the plight of those affected. When we take collective action that affects their bottom line, we force big companies into dropping contracts and cutting ties.
What does the pledge mean?
Our boycott campaign works by targeting both the demand and the supply of Israeli goods and other products from brands complicit in the genocide and apartheid of Palestine. We're looking for people to participate in this boycott, not just as individual consumers, but also as business owners and community leaders. For that reason, we have pledges for both sides of the market, as well as a cultural pledge for those who can show solidarity as a cultural institution instead.
Consumer Pledge
Designed for individual consumers. Any Baltimore resident can participate by signing this pledge.
Commitment to not purchase, support, or invest in any of the brands and products on our boycott list, and to divest any existing funds/support from the targets on the boycott list
Commitment to a cultural boycott and to not support any Israeli normalization projects that whitewash the genocide and apartheid
Business Pledge
Designed for small businesses who sell products or inventory that could include brands or products on the boycott list
Commitment to terminate or not renew any existing contracts with Israeli companies or any priority targets on our boycott list
Commitment to not stock any inventory from the priority targets on our boycott list
Commitment to avoid supporting and to boycott to the fullest feasible extent any pressure targets on our boycott list
Commitment to the cultural boycott of apartheid normalization. See PACBI guidelines for more information.
Cultural Pledge
Designed for organizations and businesses which do not sell products relevant to our boycott list
Examples for organizations include unions, religious institutions, etc.
Examples for businesses include event venues, therapy clinics, artists, etc.
Commitment to terminate or not renew any existing contracts with Israeli companies or any other brands on our boycott list
Commitment to the cultural boycott of apartheid normalization. See PACBI guidelines for more information.
afb businesses
our partners & supporters
Here are just some of the 30+ local businesses that have signed our AFB business pledge!
Sign the AFB Pledge!
Join us in making a difference by signing the pledge to boycott Israeli apartheid and divesting from genocide.
Sign the Pledge
Apartheid-Free Baltimore coalition
Learn more about the orgs behind the campaign!
