The Israeli Response

The Israeli Response

BDS is a legitimate, non-violent protest against Israel's actions

The Israeli Response

  • The rhetoric used in BDS campaigns explicitly violates several precepts of the United States State Department’s Definition of Antisemitism.
    • In particular, BDS activists undermine the Jewish people’s right to self-determination, Use the symbols and images associated with classic antisemitism to characterize Israel or Israelis, and draw comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.
  • BDS engages in direct actions targeting businesses, organizations and individuals with connections to Israel.
    • For example - many musicians have canceled their concerts in Israel following threats received by activists in the BDS movement, as part of its “cultural boycott” campaign.
  • BDS groups oppose any normalization efforts with Israel.
  • These tactics have proven counterproductive, but their effectiveness lies in their ability to penetrate the public and political discourse and blur the lines between legitimate criticism of Israel and the complete delegitimization of Israel in the international arena.
  • BDS also hurts working Palestinians: Almost 100,000 Palestinians work in Israel and Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Many Palestinian farmers rely on Israeli companies to export their goods to European markets.

Resources

Conclusions

BDS-affiliated NGOs engage in violent tactics that aren't an appropriate form of protest against Israel's actions. BDS doesn't hold Palestinian leaders accountable for promoting incitement and terrorism against the Jewish people, and places all pressure to end the conflict on Israel. This will make peace more difficult to achieve.

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