There is plenty of evidence that the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign targeting Israel, initiated by dozens of Palestinian civil society groups in 2005 in protest against Israel’s apartheid policies, is frightening the Israeli state.
BDS has gained increased traction outside Palestine and a growing variety of actions and protests in support of it have taken place around the world. One example is consumer-led objections to the sale of Israeli goods — in particular goods made in illegal Israeli settlements on stolen Palestinian land with stolen Palestinian resources.
The BDS movement is a form of non-violent struggle for Palestinian liberation. The corollary to that is the realisation that Palestinians have few tools left with which to confront the illegal occupation and colonisation of their lands, and convince the outside world about the worth of their struggle. Very often the discussion is about the very legitimacy of Palestinians’ struggle rather than Israel’s oppression.
Of course, the same standards are not demanded of Israel by the international community. On the contrary, we hear from Western defenders of Israel at every turn that it has a right to secure its borders and defend itself against “terror”.
Read the article by Lisa Gleeson in Green Left Weekly.