A concerted and well-organized campaign calling for “Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions” (BDS) against the State of Israel has been in effect for several years. In spite of its constant use of belligerent, violent, and deceitful tactics, the BDS movement has very little to show in the way of success regarding sanctions or divestment. However, the cultural boycott is a different story.
In the academic sphere, while low-level bodies have declared their intention to divest from companies invested in Israel, higher-level and managerial bodies usually reject the idea. This same dynamic is manifested in boycott and divestment attempts by religious bodies.
The cultural field has proven itself the most successful tier of the boycott movement, when international artists cancel performances in Israel. One reason for bands canceling their scheduled concerts is in order to stop belligerent attacks from BDS operatives. Such attacks vary from bombarding the band’s website, Facebook, and Twitter pages to the point that the sites often collapse, to direct threats against the artists personally. Another reason bands cancel their concerts is in order to avoid negative press coverage.
The counter-effort often adopted by Israelis and Israel-supporters of engaging these operatives and attempting to debate, explain, and hopefully reach some sort of resolution, is usually counter-productive and may achieve the exact opposite effect. Arguing with BDS operatives online merely generates more exposure for their cause.
What, then, can be done? Counter-BDS efforts need to focus on direct contact with the performers, their producers, agents, or anyone involved in the decision to play in a specific location. In addition, artists should be encouraged to come to Israel and state their opinions, as critical as they may be.
Adam Shay is a senior program coordinator and researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, specializing in battling the cultural boycott. He holds an MA in political science from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is regularly called upon by producers and concert promoters to help battle BDS activists in their attempts to pressure artists into canceling shows in Israel.
As I indicated in the previous blog, a large number of teachers are Jewish, at all levels of education, are plainly antisemitic. That is a huge problem.
@ CuriousAmerican:
Curious:
Israel’s economic growth this year is expected to be 3.8-4.0%, which except for Turkey, is expected to be the highest of any OECD nation. Tourism is at record levels. Israel has found $400 billion in natural gas, and even if the oil shale reserves are 1/10 of what Harold Vinegar claims, nations will kiss Jewish butt to get it. (Well, maybe not the Europeans, since their psychotic Nazi Jew-hatred trumps everything, but India and China will be more than interested).
Who cares if a Nazi POS like Steven Hawking does not want to visit Israel? Hawking, Elvis Costello and Carlos Santana can all go f**k themselves. Actually I wish the Mossad would eliminate them, but since that is not going to happen, I will just have to settle for these Nazi savages to fo f**k themselves.
CuriousAmerican Said:
True but the justifications today are even stronger. We can always if there is no choice import labor more dependable , better workers and they are not a security threat. They happen to be cheaper as well.CuriousAmerican Said:
Undoubtedly some are being effected but others are not, boycotts usually are not sustainable and they will eventually find another cause. The government should help those being hurt as well as Israel supporters abroad and I believe there still are some.
high tech is good lots of added value when successful but not very labor intensive. Boycotts directed mostly against low tech industries that are labor intensive. That’s the major problem. Paradox is our trade with turkey increasing as well as trade with other Arab countries mostly through Jordanian agents.
We are witnessing today the struggle of nations stemming from Esau – the Roman/Christian/Western world, and Ishmael – the Arab/Muslim world, and their confrontations are deeply related to Israel and the Jews, children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
This struggle can truly be understood only by retracing its roots. The story of Abraham and his children, and then the story of Sinai seven generations later tells us how these battles all began.
G-d offered the Torah to the great nations/religions of the world. The children of Esau and the children of Ishmael rejected it. Their rejection at Sinai is the root of all our conflicts today.
The Kiss Of Esau
CuriousAmerican Said:
Agrexco was bust before BDS, they were cut out of the loop by growers because they took too big a cut and the growers united to sell directly to the importers. Israel has developed hybrids no one else has and are in big demand in Holland and other European countries who have a strong flower culture. Japan is also a major importer of Israeli flowers and agriculture products. When I came to Israel we had 2,5 million people here now we have over 8 million. The domestic market is large enough to compensate for most of lost exports. The shekel is stronger than all European currencies except the Swiss Franc which has been forced to devalue as well. It pays today for many of our exporters to sell locally it’s more profitable and no real competition.
Boycotting our universities is shooting themselves in the foot. That said there is some poetic justice as our leftist (useful idiots asked for it) now they are barred by the very institutions they begged to boycott their institutions. Love it. Just like our queers supported BDS but they too were banned by their fellow queers in Europe.
If Israel had any cajones they would ban any financial transfers to any NGO operating in Israel except legit charitable groups but no political NGO.
Let’s be honest. You would advocate firing Arabs and cutting of tax transfers anyway.
No doubt, but it is starting to bite.
Israel’s key will be to get involved in high tech that the world cannot do without.
Esau and Ishamel?! Maybe among Arab Christians and Muslims; but Christianity is NOT Esau.
I know you will bring up Talmudic Sources; but a Swedish Lutheran is NOT Esau.
@ CuriousAmerican:
The Arab Boycott against Israel into the 90’s was the best thing that ever happened to Israel. It forced Israeli businesses to develop alternative markets to the ones that complied with the boycott. It forced Israeli companies to modernize, to innovate and to develop niches.
Companies openly boycotting Israel should be reported to those agencies in the USA who by law will divest from companies companies and countries complying with trade boycotts. File complaints with the WTO. Aggressively sue all companies if they are in breach of contract with Israeli companies and concerns.
Israel should acknowledge BDS and aggressively request all supporters around the world to aggressively buy Israeli products in order to counter BDS. A fund should be set up to subsidize successful exporters who might be hurt by BDS. Supporters of Israel should boycott the companies boycotting Israel just so they will know there is a price to be paid.
The first International company to break with the Arab boycott was Coke, and since then little by little most of the commericial blockade was mostly broken
Israel should now bar any Israeli company from hiring a Palestinian Arab from the territories. Israeli concerns are the major private employer of the Palis. Tax Transfers should be halted and the funds transferred to Israeli companies hurt by BDS. let the boycotters make up the shortfall to the Aborigines.
We have been there before and survived and will do so again. It’s plain that we are losing Europe but Europe is losing Europe as well. Most of Israeli companies have been developing products and markets to compensate.
Facebook will invest a $ billion dollars in a small startup called Waze, more such companies are coming.
Christians and Muslims are behind this. Esau and Ishmael unholy alliance.
For behold, Your enemies stir, and those who hate You raise their heads,
Against Your people they plot cunningly, and they take counsel against Your protected ones.
They said, “Come, let us destroy them from [being] a nation, and the name of Israel will no longer be remembered.”
The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites
Do to them as [to] Midian; as [to] Sisera, as [to] Jabin in the brook Kishon.
They were destroyed in En-Dor; they were [as] dung on the ground.
So will You pursue them with Your tempest, and with Your whirlwind You will terrify them.
Let them be ashamed and terrified forever; let them be disgraced and perish.
Some of it is anti-Semitic. Not all of it. A lot is misguided leftist liberals who join the cause du jour.
I understand your point of view; but they would say it is arrogant of you to expect the Arabs to just up and leave, and they take them in, just to make life easy for Israel.
I understand your point of view. They would reply that Israel should give them citizenship. And the dance goes on. They would say: They came from Israel, let Israel absorb them.
This reminds me of when Jordan started withdrawing passports from Palestinians. A lot of posters in YNET called it inhuman. But the Jordanians would have said: INHUMAN?! Then you give them Israeli passports.
This is why peace is impossible.
Both sides was the other side to clean up their mess.
I think the BDS campaigns are a lot more successful that Israel cares to admit. Israel tries to downplay their effectiveness to discourage more people from joining on board.
This may not be evident in the USA, but my understanding is that it is starting to bite in Europe.
The fact that Israeli fights it so hard is evidence of its effectiveness. Were it not effective, Israel would ignore it.
I have a friend who is Jewish. I bought his son some Captain Israel comics from STAND WITH US. They have a real nice one on BDS (Click Here). They are worried about it.
Israel would not be wasting its time fighting phantoms. BDS must be working, or the Jewish community would not be fighting it so strongly.
Israel had enough sense to place itself in a lot of high tech industries that nations cannot afford to boycott (Medicine, Windows, microchips), etc. The sort of stuff nations cannot boycott, even if they wanted to.
This insulates Israel from the brunt of the campaign, but it is starting to work.
Israel should consider concentrating more on microchips and less on tulips if it wants to survive the growing firestorm. If it strikes oil, which is likely, it will be invincible.
But BDS is working; not as much as its organizers would want, though.
yamit82 says:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/262588_603663639645460_251605004_n.png
They are subhuman
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=604012189610605&set=a.602857529726071.1073741826.602703939741430&type=1&permPage=1
I Acknowledge Anti-Semitism Poses as Palestinian “Human Rights”
Must See Posters displayed at anti Israel rally in NYC:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=604175919594232&set=a.602857529726071.1073741826.602703939741430&type=1&permPage=1
Israel must take names and mete out punishments. If somebody boycotts Israel, they are banned from entering the country, or some of the more vocal ones should be arrested for crimes against the Jewish people (if Israel does not have such a law, it should enact one). If they enter the country, they are arrested, tried, and if found guilty, are jailed.
Churches that vote to boycott should have their clergy banned from entering the country, and if they have property in Israel, it should be seized without compensation.
If a trade union boycotts Israel, products made by factories where the union exists should be banned from Israel.
If Universities boycott Israel, their faculty should be banned, unless they are willing to sign a paper that they disagree with the boycott. The paper is then mailed to the university administration.
BDS campaigns ARE a failure despite the millions being poured into groups such as CJPME. Some unions and churches, academics, and even Jewish self-hate groups have failed to make a dent in Israel’s success as a scientific, technological, business and arts world leader.
The reason they have failed is because they are morally depraved and they all know that their real raison d’etre is antisemitic, not to help anyone. Were these same groups actually interested in helping Arab refugees, they would be lobbying Arab countries to take in their Arab brothers, give them citizenship rather than treating them so badly in their Apartheid Islamic nations.
They would be lobbying Arab nations to end their wars with Israel and, if these groups really wanted peace, they would be demanding a radical departure by pushing for a separation of Mosque and State and a secular democratization of the Islamic Middle East.