The rapid succession in recent months of efforts to delegitimize Israel is no accident: All of the recent episodes can be traced, more or less directly, to the global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement. It is time for BDS supporters to understand what the campaign is really about.
PARIS – The world has recently seen a rapid succession of efforts to delegitimize Israel. Earlier this month, the CEO of French telecommunications company Orange declared at a press conference in Cairo his desire to part ways with an American partner that is too closely tied to Israel. In May, Palestinians tried to have the Israeli soccer federation expelled from FIFA. And Britain’s National Union of Students recently approved a resolution supporting boycotts and sanctions against Israel.
Meanwhile, a campaign to ban Israeli products has been gaining strength in the United States and Europe. And then there are the many performers who – following the lead of Brian Eno, Elvis Costello, Vanessa Paradis, Roger Waters, and others – wonder out loud whether or not to appear in “occupied Palestine.”
None of these developments is, in itself, of great moment. But, taken together, they create a climate – and perhaps form a watershed.
PARIS – The world has recently seen a rapid succession of efforts to delegitimize Israel. Earlier this month, the CEO of French telecommunications company Orange declared at a press conference in Cairo his desire to part ways with an American partner that is too closely tied to Israel. In May, Palestinians tried to have the Israeli soccer federation expelled from FIFA. And Britain’s National Union of Students recently approved a resolution supporting boycotts and sanctions against Israel.
Meanwhile, a campaign to ban Israeli products has been gaining strength in the United States and Europe. And then there are the many performers who – following the lead of Brian Eno, Elvis Costello, Vanessa Paradis, Roger Waters, and others – wonder out loud whether or not to appear in “occupied Palestine.”
None of these developments is, in itself, of great moment. But, taken together, they create a climate – and perhaps form a watershed.