Reflections on BDS

I n 2005, Palestinian civil society—suffering under an increasingly repressive occupation, expanding colonization by Israeli settlers, a corrupt and inept Palestinian Authority, a growing challenge by Hamas and other hardline Islamists, and a doomed “peace process” facilitated by the principal diplomatic, financial, and military backer of their occupiers—coalesced to call for an international campaign of boycott, divestment, and sanctions against Israel. By this point, most Palestinians recognized that in addition to being flagrantly illegal and morally reprehensible, terrorism was politically counterproductive. There was also an awareness that armed struggle against Israeli Occupation forces, while more legitimate, would be utterly futile and lead to additional suffering on a massive scale. Furthermore, any realistic hope for a diplomatic solution was being undermined by the United States’ refusal to apply any tangible pressure on a succession of Rightwing Israeli governments to make the necessary compromises for peace and preventing the United Nations from enforcing its resolutions demanding Israel withdraw from its illegal settlements, rescind its annexation of greater East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, end the Occupation and ongoing violations of international humanitarian law, and allow for the establishment of a viable Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel. Mobilizing global civil society, therefore, appeared to be the best reasonable means to end their suffering and make peace and justice possible. As a result, 170 Palestinian trade unions, political parties, women’s organizations, professional associations, popular resistance committees, refugee networks, and others called for an international campaign of boycotts, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) against Israel. The campaign in support of the BDS call has grown dramatically worldwide, including here in the United States, yet it has shown little in the way of tangible benefits for the Palestinians. Furthermore, it has in many respects increased the already high levels of political polarization regarding the IsraeliPalestinian conflict and, in many cases, allowed for the debate over BDS to overshadow the debate over the Occupation itself.