Turning the tables on BDS

Don’t just react; undermine the credibility and influence of groups promoting boycott, divestment and sanctions.

Gerald Steinberg/J. Edelstein
Op-Ed/JPost
06 November '10

The North American Jewish community has taken an important step to counter the delegitimization campaigns targeting Israel. Directed by the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) in partnership with the Jewish Council of Public Affairs (JCPA), the Israel Action Network should be a vital resource to combat these assaults.

To emerge victorious in this political war, the network must be armed with detailed information about the opposition, and implement an effective counterstrategy on this basis. This involves distributing information to college students and active community members, so they can name and shame the groups that lead and fund demonization. NGO Monitor and other groups can provide the Israel Action Network with this information without reinventing this particular wheel.

The challenge is formidable. In 2001 at the UN World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa, more than 1,500 anti-Israel NGOs adopted a plan of action that highlights the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement. In the decade that followed, these groups exploited human rights rhetoric and international legal claims to push this immoral objective.

The Jewish community has been largely playing catch-up ever since. When the NGOs and BDSers invade campuses, Jewish students and local communities scramble to respond. Similarly, when the demonizers publicize calls for boycotts at local food co-ops, the community responds.

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