BDS 2010: Fighting back

Jon Haber
Op-Ed/JPost
12 December '10

It’s been 10 years since anti-Israel activists meeting at the now-notorious Durban I conference kicked off their campaign to “brand” Israel as an “apartheid state” through a program of boycott, divestment and sanctions. As this project enters its second decade, however, the big news surrounds not BDS itself, but the fight against it.

Until recently, the fight against BDS projects has largely been ad hoc, with informal coalitions emerging to fight attempts to get boycott or divestment resolutions passed at institutions such as Harvard and Berkeley, the Presbyterian and Methodist churches, or US cities such as Somerville, Massachusetts and Seattle, Washington.

While the organized Jewish community played a part in these battles, the key role in successful efforts was played primarily by members of these institutions, who rejected efforts by boycotters to import the Arab-Israeli conflict into their organizations.

This year marked the first time substantial online resources became available to rival the considerable lead BDS activists have enjoyed on the Internet. A group of academics and students put together “The BDS Cookbook” (www.stopbds.com) featuring a wealth of resources for students and others dealing with boycott and divestment activities in their communities.

A new BDSIsrael site (www.bdsisrael.com) builds on successful counter-boycott programs (called Buycotts) which have become widely popular in North America.

StandWithUs (www.standwithus.com/divestment) provides help and support to those fighting divestment campaigns on campuses and beyond. And my own Divest This blog (www.divestthis.com) recently released a new manual providing practical advice on fighting BDS.

(Read full "BDS 2010: Fighting back")

If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.
.