A caricature of a giant foot belonging to an IDF soldier, boorishly stomping on the body of a Palestinian, has been making the rounds on social media over the past month, gaining popularity and traction. This is just one example of the raging incitement against Israel courtesy of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions Movement (BDS).
In March 2016, Yedioth Ahronoth and Ynet held a conference on combating BDS at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem. The conference sparked a public debate about the false accusations made against Israel in the international media.
US Ambassador to the US Nikki Haley speaks against BDS
It appears, however, that in the year that has passed, the boycott movement's main base of operations in their campaign to delegitimize Israel has moved to social media, and new tools are required.
Just recently, for example, anti-Semitic caricatures made the rounds on social media, displaying a bloodied Star of David, IDF soldiers planting knives next to dead Palestinians (an allegation that Israel stages stabbing attacks), and one of a man carrying a tombstone that reads: "Israel is the real terrorist." Some of these posts received hundreds of shares on social media.
After the premiere of Wonder Woman, starring Israeli actress Gal Gadot ,social media was flooded with calls to boycott the movie, because Gadot is "a former soldier of Zionist terrorism."
To combat this, the Strategic Affairs Ministry, Yedioth Ahronoth and Ynet are joining forces to raise awareness of the global fight against the BDS movement and the ways in which everyone could take part.
In the coming weeks, we will publish a series of articles featuring different organizations in Israel and abroad who are fighting back against the boycott movement, among them students and high-school kids who spend their free time working to improve Israel's image on social media and organizations that fight against the wild incitement against Israel in academic institutions around the world.
Do you want to be a part of the fight for Israel's image? Go to 4IL , where you will find videos, caricatures and articles exposing the lies of BDS. You can also download the Act.il app (Apple Store / Google Play ), where you will find daily tasks to help Israel on social media.