BDS Movement

When the world watched as apartheid was dying in South Africa, they took a stand and rallied together; now, with the similar situation happening in the Middle East with Israel and Palestine, the world is slowly coming together to fight for the rights of equality. Many countries are stopping their trade with Israel on behalf of the Palestinian BDS movement. What was once a small group of corporations and of organizations, a growing movement of the boycotts towards Israeli goods is becoming more legitimate. What is BDS? The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Movement is a Palestinian campaign trying to raise global awareness of the oppression that is inflicted upon “refugees, those under military occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and Palestinians in Israel”. In essence, the main objective of the BDS movement is to sought international pressure on Israel to comply with international law.

On July 9, 2005, Palestinians called on “their counterparts and people of conscience all over the world to launch broad boycotts, implement divestment initiatives, and to demand sanctions” in Israel. (Introducing, 2014).  The boycotting of Israel entails refusing to purchase products or commodities made or sold by Israel as well as refusing to do businesses with Israeli companies or groups. For example, the BDS Movement has paired with the Buycott app to allow anyone with a smartphone to scan products from their local grocery stores and detect whether or not it is an Israeli product. In addition to this, venues around the world have denied service to artists, festivals, and other related groups unless they revoke their affiliation with the Israeli government.  The divestment portion of this movement means, “targeting corporations complicit in the violation of Palestinian rights and ensuring that the likes of university investment portfolios and pension funds are not used to finance such companies” (Introducing, 2014). The purpose of this is to encourage companies to economically pressure Israel  “to end its systematic denial of Palestinian rights” as well as to make companies around the world aware of the policies and rules used to oppress Palestinians (Introducing, 2014). The last part of this process is to sanction. When one country sanctions another country it publicly threatens to penalize them for disobeying and/or breaking a rule or law. The United States and European countries are dispensing sanctions that pressure Israel into making a compromise with Palestine. All in all, the BDS Movement is a way for Palestine to resist the oppression inflicted by Israel and to  ask the world to aid their cause for equal rights peacefully. 

                                   

There have been many organizations and people who have joined the Palestinian BDS movement. One of which is US Secretary of State, John Kerry, who does not cease to rail in Israeli government with reminders that if they continue to disregard a two-state settlement, Israel will soon suffer isolation. A group of 500 anthropologists worldwide are also raising awareness of the debacle by signing petitions and speaking up about the Israeli invasion on the Palestinians land. Sara Irving, reporter for the BDS movement says:

“[Anthropologists] specialize[s] in how power, oppression, and structural violence affect social life, and as witnesses to the State of Israel’s multiple and egregious violations of international law that constitute an assault on Palestinian culture and society, they pledge to abide by their discipline’s stated commitment to ‘the promotion and protection of the right of people and people’s everywhere to the full realization of their humanity.’”  

The anthropologists are gathering together to inform the world about the truth of the matter: that if the Israeli government does not cease their control and hold on Palestine, the world will no longer stand silent. Israeli Finance Minister, Yair Lapid, has stated that less and less of the world is listening to Israel. In regard, many of the countries of the European Union, such as Romania and the Netherlands, have completely disregarded Israeli goods. Most of Israeli trade is with European countries so if more European countries favor BDS, then Israel is in danger of losing up to $5.7 billion. America has also started organizing protests against the Israel in favor of Palestine. A coalition in Los Angeles, California called the “Block the Boat” met at the ports in Long Beach to protest the arrival of a cargo ship filled with Israeli goods. The organization is focused on educating workers about Israel’s brutal occupation of Palestine. Any delay to cargo ships causes delay in scheduling meaning that the company loses thousands of dollars. The Zim Savannah, the cargo ship, was delayed almost two days making the organization successful. To make matters worse, the Israeli company SodaStream has manufactures in the occupied Palestinian West Bank territory which violates Israeli law and is considered a war crime. They have taken up more Palestinian land to build the factories leaving more families homeless. Also, they use Palestinian workers as cheap labor and mistreat them. The UN has given their fact of the matter that if Israel continues with this path, there will be condemnation. Many corporations around the world are also being threatened with the fact that if they support SodaStream, they will face major backlash and boycotts. For instance, Starbucks has plans to partner with SodaStream which is causing severe controversy on the world famous coffee branch. The European Union is threatening to boycott Starbucks shops if they continue with SodaStream. The ever growing BDS movement is starting to take a toll on Israel. In March 2014, Israeli newspapers were reported that BDS has caused more than 100 million shekels in financial losses.

So what does this all mean? Why is BDS so important? Well, unlike many other movements that both Israel and Palestine have taken against one another, the BDS movement is described to be “rooted in international law and human rights norms, BDS is a nonviolent tactic with maximalist aims” (Barghouti, 2013). The significance of this movement is not only their nonviolent views, but also their call to action to the international community to put pressure on Israel. As a whole, the BDS movement strives to focus on three demands: “End its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantle the Wall; Recognize the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and Respect, protect, and promote the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties, as stipulated in UN resolution 194” (Wolf 2014). In the end, the BDS movement hopes Israel will obey with international law and respect Palestinian rights. Fortunately, the BDS movement has been successful in its most recent years in efforts with the international community, as “ trade unions, faith groups, nongovernmental organizations and grass-roots movements around the world” have continued to support the Palestinians (Zidah 2014).

The BDS movement as a whole is significant in its efforts to alleviate and solve the conflict between Israel and Palestine by bringing forth the international community to guilt and pressure Israel in complying with international laws. Israel has broken international law by the massacre of the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank (as discussed more thoroughly in our previous blogs) . The BDS movement draws on the example of the Apartheid in South Africa, as it compares the two groups fighting for justice, equality and freedom. The boycotting of Israel is important, and one can hope that the BDS movement will continue to raise global awareness, so that international action can be taken, like that was done in South Africa, to stop the oppression of the Palestinians.

Work Cited:

A campaign that is gathering weight. (2014, February 8). Retrieved November 24, 2014, from http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21595948-israels-politicians-sound-rattled-campaign-isolate-their-country

Barghouti, O. (2013). Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions: The Global Struggle for Palestinian Rights. Journal of Palestine Studies, 96.

Introducing the BDS Movement. (2014, January 1). Retrieved November 1, 2014.

Irving, S. (2014, October 25). More than 500 anthropologists back academic boycott of Israel. Retrieved November 24, 2014, from http://www.bdsmovement.net/2014/more-than-500-anthropologists-back-academic-boycott-of-israel-12755

Mayer, C. (2014, August 8). Artists Split Over Cultural Boycotts of Israel Amid Gaza War. Retrieved November 24, 2014.

Silver, C. (2014, October 19). Los Angeles activists block unloading of Israeli cargo ship for two days. Retrieved November 24, 2014, from http://www.bdsmovement.net/2014/los-angeles-activists-block-unloading-of-israeli-cargo-ship-for-two-days-12752

Soliman, A. (2014, August 16). Boycotting Israel: BDS movement reaches tipping point - Region - World - Ahram Online. Retrieved November 24, 2014, from http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/108496/World/Region/Boycotting-Israel-BDS-movement-reaches-tipping-poi.aspx

Starbucks may face a boycott if it partners with SodaStream. (2014, April 29). Retrieved November 24, 2014, from http://www.bdsmovement.net/2014/starbucks-may-face-a-boycott-if-it-partners-with-sodastream-12008

Timeline. (2014, January 1). Retrieved November 1, 2014.

Wolf, S. (2014, August 8). What’s behind the rise of BDS? Retrieved November 24, 2014.

Zidah, R. (2014, August 14). The case for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel | Al Jazeera America. Retrieved November 24, 2014.