The True Face of BDS

May 17, 2016

Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a global movement that has been gaining strength on college campuses and within some mainline denominations of the Church. BDS, by virtue of its call for an economic boycott of products made in Israel, is seen by some as a nonviolent means to bring pressure to bear on Israel and speed up the resolution of the peace process. Israelis and others have begun to fight back, revealing the true face of the BDS movement.

A Clear Expression of Anti-Semitism

“BDS is an expression of clear anti-Semitism, manifested in a desire to harm Israel…One cannot cast any doubt on our historic connection with the Land of Israel, with our country and our homeland…The BDS movement is a movement founded on the non-acceptance of Israel’s existence. We must differentiate between criticism and de-legitimization. We must show the world the claims of the BDS movement are based on hatred and enmity of the State of Israel.”

Reuven Rivlin, President of Israel

 

“We must fight BDS…We need to explain that BDS activists are not neutral, they’re not objective and they don’t know the facts. They handpick several isolated cases and make no constructive suggestions.”

Shimon Peres, former President of Israel

 

“Supporters of BDS justify their actions because of the ‘occupation,’ but if we really look at them, they also wave Hamas flags and call for the destruction of the State of Israel. This fight is not over any particular thing in our lives—but over our right to live here. We will do everything in order to expose the true objectives of the BDS movement, in order to expose who is behind them and who helps them.”

Gilad Erdan, Israel’s Public Security Minister

 

“I want to say as a European how ashamed I am that again in Europe, Jewish products are being labeled. I am ashamed that Europe is using double standards, and is singling out the Jewish state. Have we not learned from our history?” Klaus insisted that “the world and especially Europe needs a strong Jewish state. Israel is and should be our strongest ally. Instead of labeling Jewish products, Europe should support the Jewish state in every way, not demonize it.”

Arjanne Klaus, the Netherlands

 

“The BDS campaign, by calling for the deliberate boycott of goods manufactured by Jewish people, by calling for the shunning of the Jewish state, and the rejection of Jewish commerce and Jewish thought, actually commits a crime worse than apartheid. It re-introduces into our world and into our society a prejudice against the Jews collectively that should have vanished from the earth generations ago.”

UK Justice Minister Michael Gove

 

“BDS is right-wing and fascist….BDS [members] do not want peace, nor do they want peace negotiations.” Barr said she thinks many celebrities are afraid to speak up for Israel because they’re afraid of being maligned in the media, at conferences, on campuses, or even in synagogues. “I think people are afraid. Have you ever been shouted down by these BDS people?” she said. “People are afraid of being targeted….[They are] protecting their lives and their families.”

Roseanne Barr, American actress and comedian

 

Boycotts Don’t Bring Us Closer to a Solution

“Boycott, by its very definition, is not part of debate—it silences debate. Don’t let boycotts—as I always tell world leaders—change the lively and open discussion. Boycotts, violence, and incitement only deepen divides, and don’t bring us any closer to a solution. When BDS takes over, criticism turns into camouflage for the delegitimization of the existence of the State of Israel.”

Reuven Rivlin, President of Israel

 

“Our enemies have failed to destroy Israel militarily and economically,” Lauder said. “Having failed, they are trying to destroy Israel politically.” BDS, he said, “tries to present itself as some sort of a democratic movement concerned with human rights—that’s a lie. It’s an international campaign to incite hostility against Israel and the Jewish people.” The movement has no interest in peace or in improving the daily lives of the Palestinians, Lauder noted. “The world needs to see through these lies.”

Ronald Lauder, World Jewish Congress President

 

“We are faced with a difficult attack: an attack of delegitimization and an attack of defamation of the State of Israel. We stand strong against this attack. We bring many parliamentarians to the Barkan Industrial Park in Samaria…They always go inside and see Jews and Arabs working together and making the same salary, and they admire the coexistence. When we tell them that this is the coexistence that they want to boycott, they can’t believe it.”

Yossi Dagan, Samaria Regional Council Head

 

Kahlon also asserted that the Palestinians are the ones most affected by the BDS movement’s actions “as the boycott harms the exports from the settlements, where most of the workers are Palestinians. We need security, the Palestinians need livelihood.”

Moshe Kahlon, Israel’s Finance Minister

 

“Among those who support BDS, there are undoubtedly some who seek Israel’s demise. But for the multitude of those who jump on the BDS bandwagon because they see it as a non-violent way to fast-track an end to the occupation, they need to know they are being taken for a very dangerous ride. They support the politics of Israel’s destruction.”

Joe Greenblatt, CEO and National Director of the ADL

Photo Credit: Boycott demonstration (Ryan Rodrick Beiler/shutterstock.com)