| Israel and the BDS Movement 4 - Recent Successes |
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| Written by John Collins | |
| Sunday, 01 November 2009 | |
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The first thing to note is that the BDS movement has emerged at a time when the public debate about Israeli policy is undergoing a slow but noteworthy transformation. I remember very clearly that when I entered university in 1986, a year before the first Palestinian intifada (uprising) began, the strong pro-Israeli line was virtually unchallenged. Sure, there were all sorts of people who privately held dissident views, but for the most part those views were coerced into remaining private. It was almost literally impossible to use the word "Palestine" without being subject to a torrent of forceful condemnation, often including accusations of anti-Semitism. Has the ground shifted completely between then and now? Of course not. But there is no question that things are changing, especially in the last few years. The recent release of the UN's Goldstone Report, the continuing success of independent media outlets like Electronic Intifada in providing alternative perspectives, the emergence of critical American Jewish voices like Jewish Voice for Peace and J Street, the growing number of voices advocating a single democratic state in Israel/Palestine - all of these are testimony to the fact that principled opposition to Israeli oppression of the Palestinians is growing and will not be easily silenced. Equally important is the diversity of opinions being expressed, openly and confidently, within this camp. What this means is that there are now many ways to speak out for justice in Palestine. Now that this particular genie is out of the bottle, I don't think it will be possible for the most ardent and uncritical supporters of the Zionist project to put it back inside, especially given that more and more of the critical voices are coming from within the Jewish community. The fact that the recent J Street national conference included a panel devoted to the stories of American Jews who have been attacked by ultra-Zionists speaks volumes. (Critical Jewish voices within Israel are another important part of the picture and some of them, like Gideon Levy, have been bravely speaking up for years.) The successes of the BDS movement are a product of this changing environment, but they are also important contributors to the change. Like so many social movements, BDS has taken root in part among young people on college campuses. One of the most important victories for this young movement came at Hampshire College, which was also a pioneer in the 1970s by becoming the first U.S. university to divest from apartheid South Africa. Earlier this year, at the urging of the campus chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, Hampshire decide to divest from some 200 companies that "violated the college's standards for social responsibility." These included six companies with close connections to Israel's occupation. Given the sensitivity of the issue, the Hampshire administration was quick to point out that it was not "divesting from Israel" entirely but only targeting specific firms. All the spin in the world couldn't hide the importance of the decision, however, and the BDS movement has subsequently sought to build on the Hampshire momentum by mounting a fall tour designed to drum up support for divestment at other campuses. The tour was endorsed by Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu:
The group has also published a campus divestment handbook to aid student activists in their local divestment efforts. Campaigns at American universities, however, are only one part of the BDS movement. Here, for example, is a partial list of some of the movement's other achievements:
These are just a few examples indicating the growing strength of a movement that is building global solidarity, supporting the efforts of nonviolent activists on the ground in Israel/Palestine, and helping to change the discourse on the entire situation. Link to the first installment: Clearing the Ground Link to the second installment: An Overview of the Movement Link to the third installment: The Backlash
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  written by Jon , November 20, 2009 Sorry John – I was hoping to keep track of replies, but forgot the name of your blog and only re-found it when it showed up on a recent Google search. Regarding what I am “really” talking about or objecting to in my blog, I think it’s appropriate for all concerned to start by address the issues brought up by fellow bloggers at face value. After all, “The Weave” is ostensibly about media coverage of important events, but if I were to claim that this site is actually a forum for attacking Israel or promoting BDS and ask you why you don’t simply “come clean” and stop pretending otherwise, you would reasonably object. It’s safe to say that each of us have strong opinions about the Middle East conflict (and other issues), which is part of why we blog. But I don’t think that means the range of issues we bring up when you or I discuss BDS or some other topic should be immediately dismissed as a cover for something else. It’s become standard operating procedure in the new media to divine the true agenda behind those with whom we disagree and use that perception to dismiss everything that person has to say, while taking the opinions of those we agree with at face value. I understand that this is human nature (as well as being a trend that has seeped into the old media), but I plan to buck it by taking the opinions of others (including you) as presented. All I ask is that this favor be returned. report abuse
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 written by Andrea Teti , November 17, 2009 John, I thought you'd be interested in this piece on Electronic Intifada, which tells of Palestinian & Arab students at Israeli universities supporting an academic boycott of those institutions http://electronicintifada.net/...0887.shtml report abuse
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 written by John Collins , November 10, 2009 Jon, your latest comment suggests that what you are really objecting to is not so much the strategies employed by the BDSers, but rather their critique of Zionism and of Israeli policy. In that light, it’s interesting that you chose to devote your blog to the former rather than the latter. Wouldn't it be better to clear away the smoke and discuss the core issues? Perhaps we'll get there someday. See you in the blogosphere again, no doubt. report abuse
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written by Jon , November 08, 2009 Thanks John - While we can obviously have a respectful dialog based on agreeing to disagree on the subjects of both BDS and Israel/Palestine, I think it's not too much to say that if an organization (such as Hampshire College, TIAA-CREF, Blackrock or Motorola) is going to be presented as a "success" for BDS, then we should be presented with some evidence by the organization itself (not a third party claiming to speak for the instituion) that confirms divestment has taken place. Otherwise, I would be free to say that TIAA-CREF's (to site just one example) $250 million invested in Israeli companies is a victory for supporters of Israel and a loud repudiation of BDS. Just as I don't expect you to accept my political interpretation of an organization's investment deciions, I don't think anyone should accept the claims of the BDSers absent evidence (which the BDSers themseves are obligated to provide, not we critic who are often asked to prove a negative). I am, after all, not claiming that Hampshire divested, I am simply pointing out that before, during and after last years debate they have resolutely said that they did not. As I have noted several times on my blog, inflating small victories in order to create momentum a reasonable strategy for a small political organization in a respectable practice. But building this momentum on not small but fake victores seems to be unique to BDS and puts to question much of their agenda, including their accustions against the Jewish state. report abuse
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written by John Collins , November 05, 2009 Thanks for the comment, Jon. I'll be keeping an eye on your blog. It's always good to be reminded that at the end of the day, all of us who engage in this kind of political analysis are engaging in interpretation (which is not the same thing as "spin," in my view). That would also include you, of course. I am certainly willing to grant the possibility that in some cases the BDS activists may be exaggerating the impact of their actions. Given the entrenched social structures involved, activists for social change often find themselves doing this, just as groups seeking to maintain the status quo often find themselves strategically denying the extent of their own influence. Since I am not directly involved in the BDS movement, I don't have first-hand knowledge of their decisions - as you do not have first-hand knowledge of what went on inside the boardroom at Hampshire. What I do have is long experience with the politics of Israel/Palestine, and this tells me that the BDS movement is part of a growing change in the public discourse, a change which is bound to generate strong reactions from those supporters of Israeli settler colonialism who had previously become accustomed to relatively free rein in the court of public opinion. report abuse
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written by John Collins , November 04, 2009 Thanks for the feedback, Wes. What is most interesting to me about the BDS movement is not divestment or boycotts per se (I have relatively mixed feelings about those as tactics - it's such a complicated issue), but rather the way they are contributing to a change in the public discourse. Same goes for Jon Stewart - even though I was somewhat critical of his performance on the recent show when he hosted the two peace activists, I think it's great that he has been unafraid to give space to people who defy the dominant discourse. (And he has received a lot of flak for it, not surprisingly.) report abuse
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 written by A. Wesley Ballantyne , November 03, 2009 Dr. Collins, Seems like some very positive developments. When I read this and watch the interviews from the Daily Show in a previous post, it seems unfortunate to me that it is only when I hear people who are Jewish speaking out against Israel's actions that I really take note. I guess I have just been ingrained to believe that all Jews support Israel, which is obviously very far from the case. Hopefully those who are attempting to divest from Israel, both Jews, Palestinians, whomever, can create a more direct line to the masses to lift us all from the fog of one side vs. another side. report abuse
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written by Jon , November 02, 2009 Given the theme of this site, it's interesting how much of your argument over the "success" of BDS represents little more than a 78 rpm attempt at spin. As I've dissected here (http://www.divestthis.com/2009/03/hampshire.html), the Hampshire divestment story has been long exposed as a hoax. Given that divestment is a political act, the only way to know for sure that divestment has taken place is if the institution allegedly doing the divestment SAYS THEY HAVE DONE SO. As much as you'd like to spin Hampshire College's denial into a victory, the very fact that Hampshire (like every college in the US) has made it abundently clear that it has not and will not divest from Israel means only one thing: no college divestment in the US. As for the British Bank that supposedly divested from Lev Leviev's Africa-Israel, you are no doubt talking about BlackRock which (like TIAA-CREF) was fraudulently named as a divestor earlier this year, only to have that hoax exposed as well (see http://www.divestthis.com/2009...losed.html). I supposed you are counting on none of your readers being aware of these facts, but unfortunately for the BDS crew, the same technology that can be used to disseminate lies can also be used to spread the truth. report abuse
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