Boycotting Israel Put High on the Agenda
Boycotting Israeli institutions due to their complicity in
Israel’s racist and colonial policies against the Palestinians remains formidably on the
agenda. We may not get tangible results this year, but the prospects for success next
year or the following one are much greater now. Many more years separated the ANC’s
call for boycott of apartheid -- issued in 1956 -- and the actual implementation of
meaningful sanctions. What matters most is that the taboo has indeed been shattered.
Comparing Israel to South Africa has notably become more acceptable than before;
and, crucially, Israel’s ability to continue its criminal oppression with impunity has
suffered an arguably irrecoverable loss. In short, Israel has become boycottable in the
minds of many around the globe.
Just this week, the Call for Boycott issued by
the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI)
received the critical endorsement of the South African Council of Churches (SACC) --
representing millions -- and of more than a hundred South African academics, including
Dennis Brutus, John Pampallis and Steven Friedman. South African government
minister and ANC leader Ronnie Kasrils has also come out in unreserved support of
this boycott call, which enjoys the backing of an overwhelming majority in Palestinian
civil society, universities included.
The outcome of Thursday’s meeting is largely
anticipated by the boycott activists in the UK as well as by PACBI for several reasons,
including:
(1) The extensive intimidation tactics used by organized Israeli and
Zionist interest groups in the UK, Israel and even the US to vilify boycott leaders and to
effectively suppress any rational debate on Israel’s oppression of the Palestinians, the
main motive behind the boycott;
(2) The blanket media coverage given only to
one side of the debate, that of the anti-boycott forces, with an almost complete
preclusion of Palestinian voices;
(3) The appalling misinformation campaign
waged by Israel and its apologists, including some key figures in the Israeli “left,” who
joined the establishment chorus in this regard.
The hysterical reaction of Israel to
the possibility of boycotts and the profound debate that has ensued around the world
on Israel’s illegal occupation and other forms of oppression prove beyond doubt that
this campaign has touched a sensitive nerve. If Israel wins this round in the boycott
process, it will only prove what is already widely recognized: its lobby and interest
groups have enough influence in the media and in the academy to continue escaping
censure and to avoid carrying out its obligations under international law. The facts on
the ground will remain, however. Israel’s colonial Wall, its ever expanding settlements,
its indiscriminate killing of Palestinian civilians, its relentless land and water theft and its
abuse of Palestinian human rights are all too real to be ignored by the international
community.
Just as in the South African case, a comprehensive regime of
sanctions and boycotts remains not only the most politically effective but also the most
morally sound strategy in bringing about Israel’s compliance with international law and
universal principles of human rights. With such international pressure, the prospects for
a just peace in our region will finally thrive.