Peace and equality or the destruction of Israel? What lies behind the BDS
We all read about BDS every week. We know in general that it involves a boycott of the state and the products we produce, they call us an apartheid state, but we don't necessarily know everything. Here are a few more things that perhaps you don't know, but ought to.
The BDS movement claims to work for freedom, justice and equality. In practice, it threatens individuals, calls for hatred of Israel, and in some places is even outlawed. Here are some more important things to know about the movement.
What is BDS?
BDS obviously stands for "Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions." According to the movement's website, it works for freedom, justice and equality, and upholds the simple principle that the Palestinians are entitled to the same rights as the rest of humanity.
The goal of the movement is to put an end to international support for so-called Israeli oppression of the Palestinians and to force Israel to act in accordance with international laws. The movement also said that the Palestinians are fighting for freedom, justice and equality and need support.
It all began here
The movement marks the year 2005 as the date of its establishment, but in fact, it began with the first Durban Conference, which was originally called the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. It was sponsored by the United Nations and took place from August 31st to September 8th, 2001, in Durban South Africa.
The conference was headed by Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The conference, whose goal was to fight severe racism across the world, began in 1997 at the UN. In 2000, four regional conferences were held in Europe, America, Africa and Asia with the goal of establishing a plan of action to address and eradicate the phenomenon.
Each country addressed the issue of racism within their region. The problem however, is the Asia conference was held in Tehran with cooperation from other Muslim states and Israel was barred from attending. The document the conference produced included a number of elements, such as labeling Israel as an occupying state, accusing it of crimes against humanity and calling it a threat to world peace.
At the conference itself, non-governmental organizations took over the agenda leading to a palpable anti-Israeli mood to such an extent that the conference itself became a kind of Israel hate fest.
Numerous representatives, governments and NGOs threatened to boycott the conference and many recalled their representatives back to their home country.
In the end, after discussions and efforts by the Israeli delegation and other delegations, the conference refrained from making anti-Israel statements.
Peace and equality for all?
Although the BDS movement claims that it is seeking peace and equality, but its actions prove otherwise.
The movement's campaign calls for an economic, academic and cultural boycott of Israel, and its activities include demonstrations, petitions and propaganda, such as the Israeli Apartheid Week held annually on many college campuses around the world.
In the field of culture, there is a great deal of pressure on artists not to perform in Israel, to the point that some receive threats on their lives, are blackmailed and/or face harsh slander.
On numerous occasions, the personal details of Jewish students on various campuses abroad were frequently published and their lives put at risk.
Not really ready for a solution
A political solution has been discussed at length between Israelis and Palestinians. However, every entity that works with the Israelis is subject to the BDS rage, because the movement boycotts everything related to Israel, including efforts at solving the conflict.
Take for example an interview with Palestinian Ambassador to South Africa, Ali Halima.
Only boycotting institutions? Not really
The BDS movement claims that it is boycotting institutions, groups and organizations operating in Israel, but we have already shown that they are denigrating artists and publishing the names and personal details of Jewish students, thus endangering them.
Here is another case.
Shachar Rabinowitz, 13, wanted to do a school project on horses, a subject close to her heart. As such, she turned to Dr. Marsha Levine, a former Cambridge academic who is a specialist.
Rabinowitz mentioned that she was a student in Israel.
Needless to say, Dr. Levine's answer to Shachar did not have to do with horses.
"You might be a child, but if you are old enough to write to me, you are old enough to learn about Israeli history and how it has impacted on the lives of Palestinian people. Maybe your family has the same views as I do, but I doubt it,” wrote Levine in response.
Outside the law
On October 27, 2015, the Court of Appeals in France ruled that calling for a boycott against Israel was "incitement, discrimination and hate crime" and therefore illegal.
The High Court of Appeals confirmed a lower court ruling that a group of French citizens who had promoted a boycott against Israel were guilty of incitement to hatred and discrimination. The group has been calling for a boycott against supermarkets in Mulhouse selling Israeli products.
The group called for the boycott of Israel and distributed leaflets claiming that "buying Israeli products means legitimizing crimes in Gaza."
A month later in Berkley, California the local welfare committee rejected a resolution to impose an economic boycott on Israel. The area has long been a bustling BDS arena. Supporters of the movement in the city are working to join the municipal committees and promote decisions against Israel.
Fighting the lies
In June 2017, a new campaign was launched called 4IL was launched to fight against BDS. As part of the campaign, the joint "Act-il" initiative was launched by the IDC Herzliya, IAC and Maccabees task force.
The application is a civic enterprise aimed at creating an online community of volunteers working for Israel on the Internet. Since then, there have been more than 800,000 hits on the main site and another 4.5 million people exposed to content on Facebook from all over the world.
The goal is to create a positive and informative presentation about Israel for communities around the world and to showcase reality as it is in the face of de-legitimization carried out by organizations such as the BDS.
There is no competition or sponsorship here, the goal is to give a platform to all individuals, groups and organizations that are pro-Israel to unite and fight against those who condemn us.
In cooperation with the Ministry of Strategic Affairs
