One
of the key tactics of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS)
campaign is to make claims that are, at best, overstated, and in many cases
provably false, in order to bolster their appearance of success.
For example, organizers claimed in 2010 that the
American rock band the Pixies had cancelled a show in Israel due to their
advocacy. In fact, the Pixies cancelled due to security concerns, and
eventually played a concert in Israel in 2014. The Pixies are even
planning to return to Tel Aviv for two shows this
summer. Other big names to tour Israel in recent years include Alicia Keys, Lady Gaga, Bon Jovi, and the Rolling Stones.
An article on the website of the Palestinian BDS
National Committee, the main BDS advocacy organization, claimed that the
campaign chalked up eight impressive victories against Israel in 2016.
Predictably, the claims are misleading, overstated, and often outright
false.
Below
is each claim, followed by an explanation of why it is wrong.
“(1) Three more multinationals were compelled
under BDS pressure to end involvement in illegal Israeli projects, indicating a
start of a domino effect.”
One of the examples cited was the British
security firm G4S, which ceased operations in Israel. But last July, G4S stated in a filing with the Illinois Pension Board
that, far from embracing the boycott of Israel, it has committed to operating
there for decades, and had merely closed some operations due to financial
considerations.
In general, multinational companies are actually
expanding their ties with Israel. In just the last month, Honda, BMW, Apple, Lockheed-Martin, and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (one of
China’s largest automakers) all announced that they are maintaining or
expanding their business ties in Israel. In addition, 165 Israeli companies participated this month in the Mobile World Congress
in Barcelona, Spain, the top mobile phone trade show in the world.
If
there is a a “domino effect,” it’s that more companies see the benefit of
partnering with Israeli companies, especially in the high-tech sector.
“(2) Israel’s global legal war on BDS suffered
fatal setbacks after the EU upheld the right to boycott Israel under freedom of
speech.”
This is an interesting claim, as the European
Union statement, which the BDS website linked to, proclaims
that while the EU “stands firm in protecting freedom of expression and freedom
of association,” it also explicitly “rejects the BDS campaign’s attempts to
isolate Israel and is opposed to any boycott of Israel.”
In any case, a number of European courts have
found that the BDS campaign is often expressed as intimidation or racial
discrimination and therefore not protected by free speech laws. In October
2015, France’s highest court ruled that BDS was an illegal form of hate speech.
And earlier this year, a Spanish court announced incitement-to-hatred charges for boycotters who targeted the Jewish singer
Matisyahu. Banks across Europe have shut down a number of accounts associated
with the BDS movement due to their associations with hate speech and/or illegal
groups.
“(3) Israeli Apartheid Free Zones or settlement-free
zones declared by tens of municipal councils across Europe.”
These zones have been overturned by Spanish
courts 24 times.
“(4) Israel’s global isolation intensified as
the logic of appeasing its regime of oppression started to give way, including
at the UN, to the logic of sustained international pressure.”
The
BDS website claims that “this remarkable development has made many companies
nervous about their own involvement in Israel’s serious violations of
international law.” As noted above, there is no evidence that multinationals
fear doing business in Israel.
This item highlighted the passage of United
Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 last December. But that resolution was
merely advisory and non-binding. It has already prompted pushback from the United Kingdom, Australia and the new administration in the United States.
“(5) More mainstream churches adopted
BDS-related measures in support of Palestinian human rights.”
This hasn’t been an unalloyed success. The
United Methodist Church rejected four BDS resolutions and voted to withdraw from an anti-Israel coalition at its
quadrennial convention last May. The BDS website hailed a January vote from the
Methodists to withdraw from a number of Israeli banks. That resolution was one
of the four that was subsequently voted down four months later.
Last June, the Southern Baptist Convention reaffirmed its support for Israel and condemned the
BDS campaign. And two months later, a group of African-American pastors
representing some nine million worshipers publicly repudiated anti-Israel elements within the platform
of the Movement for Black Lives, a group affiliated with the Black Lives Matter
campaign.
“(6) BDS campaign against occupation- and
apartheid- profiteer Hewlett Packard (HP) went viral globally.”
It
isn’t clear what exactly the BDS movement tangibly accomplished here. The
website states that if HP continues doing business with Israel, “they will be
met with boycotts and divestment by people of conscience and progressive
institutions across the globe.” HP has continues to do business with Israel,
seemingly undeterred by this threat.
The Jewish National Fund announced a photo contest last month that was
supported by HP and Israel’s Government Press Office.
There
might now be rising awareness of the BDS campaign’s attempt to intimidate HP,
but HP shows no sign of caving to its pressure.
“(7) BDS reached the Oscars and the Olympics, as
the academic and cultural boycott of Israel spread even further among student
unions, academics, artists and writers, especially in the global South; and
Israeli Apartheid Week set a new record.”
A recent report by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni
observed that despite earlier support for BDS from academic groups, “members
of the American Historical Association and the Modern Language Association properly
rejected recent attempts to pass sweeping boycott resolutions that would
politicize these important disciplinary associations.”
While the Forward reported that only one person took advantage of a
trip to Israel that was offered to 2016 Oscar nominees, not a single star said
that they were boycotting the Jewish state. If anyone had wished to make a
statement, they would have made it.
A check of the Israel Tourist website shows
that upcoming concerts in Israel include Guns N Roses, Rod Stewart, Paul
Young, Justin Bieber, Argentine superstar Lali Esposito, and Fatboy Slim.
A star-studded Friends of the IDF event in November drew the likes of Robert De Niro,
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Julie Bowen, and Gerard Butler, raising an estimated $38
million to provide “educational, cultural, recreational, and social programs
and facilities to Israeli soldiers as well as supporting families of fallen
soldiers and wounded veterans.”
There
is no evidence that the BDS campaign is convincing many celebrities to boycott
Israel. There is plenty of evidence to suggest that the stars aren’t listening.
“(8) International trade unions intensified
support for BDS measures in solidarity with the Palestinian people and
Palestinian workers, in particular.”
The
BDS website boasted that “the New York University graduate students union, part
of United Auto Workers Local 2110, voted by a large margin to join BDS.” But it
doesn’t report that three days later, NYU president Andrew Hamilton rejected
the vote, saying that it was “contrary to our core principles of academic
freedom.”
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As is the
case with many of its victories, the BDS campaign’s claims for 2016 are
exaggerated, mistaken, misleading, or deliberate lies.
Perhaps the
most relevant to disprove BDS boasts: Bloomberg News reported in June since the
anti-Israel campaign started in 2005, foreign investment in Israel has nearly
tripled.
