The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) is a Palestinian-led movement focused on freedom, justice and equality for Palestinians living both within and outside of the occupied Palestinian territories. BDS functions on the simple principle that Palestinians deserve the same rights as everyone else.
In 2005, Palestinian civil society called for BDS as a nonviolent form of protest to pressure Israel to abide by international law. It was inspired by the successful international campaign to end apartheid in South Africa.
According to the official BDS movement, there are three key aims:
- Ending Israel’s occupation and colonisation of all Arab lands and dismantling the illegal separation wall.
- Recognising the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality.
- Respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN Resolution 194.
The movement, just as it was in South Africa, is broken down into three forms of nonviolent resistance:
BOYCOTTS - withdraw support for Israel and Israeli companies that are either involved or complicit in the violation of Palestinian human rights; including academic, sporting and cultural institutions.
DIVESTMENT - campaigns encourage churches, councils, banks, universities, clubs and institutions to withdraw investment from any Israeli company or international organisation involved or complicit in the violation of Palestinian human rights.
SANCTIONS - movements pressure governments to hold Israel accountable for its abuses of Palestinian human rights. This focuses on ending military trade, foreign investment, free-trade agreements and expelling Israel from international forums such as the UN and FIFA until Israel abides by international law and addresses the three main BDS demands.
The BDS movement states that the campaign “is having a major impact and is effectively challenging international support for Israeli apartheid and settler-colonialism,” and that “For nearly seventy years, Israel has denied Palestinians their fundamental rights and has refused to comply with international law… Israel maintains a regime of settler colonialism, apartheid and occupation over the Palestinian people. This is only possible because of international support.”
The official website added that “Governments fail to hold Israel to account, while corporations and institutions across the world help Israel to oppress Palestinians…. Because those in power refuse to act to stop this injustice, Palestinian civil society has called for a global citizens’ response of solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for freedom, justice and equality.”
Israeli officials have branded the BDS movement a “strategic threat” and introduced a travel ban law in 2017, granting them the ability to deny entry to anyone Israeli authorities believe to be associated with the BDS movement or acting against Israel’s interest. In addition, Israel has spent millions of dollars on their Strategic Affairs Ministry, headed by Minister Gilad Erdan, to counter the BDS through lobbying and anti-BDS campaigns.
Former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper stated, “The BDS movement is about translating the old ideology of anti-Semitism into something acceptable to a new generation. The BDS movement, in calling for the boycott, sanctions and divestment in Israel, in having Jewish students harassed – these are its realities.”
170 Palestinian unions, political parties, refugee networks, women’s organisations, popular resistance committees, refugee networks and civil society bodies launched the BDS movement. Since 2005, it has garnered support from churches, NGOs, unions, university groups, communities, Jewish human rights groups, councils and public figures all over the world.
Such public figures include Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Stephen Hawking, Russell Brand, Naomi Klein, Roger Waters, Angela Davis, Meg Ryan and Judith Butler.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu stated, “Just as we said during apartheid that it was inappropriate for international artists to perform in South Africa in a society founded on discriminatory laws and racial exclusivity, so it would be wrong for Cape Town Opera to perform in Israel.”
The activists and academic Angela Davis said, "Each and every one of us—including those members of our delegation who grew up in the Jim Crow South, in apartheid South Africa, and on Indian reservations in the U.S.—was shocked by what we saw. We issue an urgent call to others who share our commitment to racial justice, equality, and freedom [and] we unequivocally endorse the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Campaign.”
Roger Waters, the English singer, songwriter, bassist, composer and co-founder of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd, stated, "Where governments refuse to act people must, with whatever peaceful means are at their disposal. For me this means...joining the campaign of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions against Israel."
The late Scottish author Iain Banks stated that the way to “convince Israel of its moral degradation and ethical isolation” is “simply by having nothing more to do with this outlaw state.”
Stephen Hawking, the world renowned theoretical physicist stated in 2013 before a conference in Israel, "I have received a number of emails from Palestinian academics. They are unanimous that I should respect the boycott. In view of this, I must withdraw from the conference." Evo Morales, President of Bolivia, stated, "We encourage you to join the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against the terrorist state of Israel, as it is time for active and creative solidarity that goes beyond statements of condemnation."
Unite, the UK’s largest union democratically voted to actively support the BDS from the position that "the Israeli government continues to govern as an apartheid state and is guilty of the crime of apartheid.”
A basic list of BDS success stories include:
- Over 1,200 UK artists, including Alice Walker and Roger Waters, have announced their support for the cultural boycott, with numerous others cancelling scheduled shows in Israel.
- Academic and university institutions, including the Association of University Teachers, have aligned themselves with the academic boycott.
- Kuwait’s government now officially boycotts 50 companies linked to the Israeli occupation.
- US churches including the Presbyterian Church USA, the United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church (UMC) and several Quaker bodies have voted to divest from Israeli and international companies.
- Government pension funds in Sweden, Norway, New Zealand and Luxembourg and investors including George Soros, the Bill Gates Foundation, the huge TIAA-CREF public sector pension fund in the US, Dutch pension giant PGGM and Norwegian bank Nordea all divest funding from companies connected to Palestinian human rights abuses.
- Orange, the French telecoms giant, departed from the Israeli market over the role its Israeli franchise holder played in supporting the Israeli military and its attacks on Gaza and its involvement in illegal Israeli settlements.
- SodaStream closed its factory in the illegal Israeli settlement of Mishor.
- BDS is supported by the UK National Union of Students, 30 other UK student unions and student organisations in Belgium, South Africa, Brazil and Chile, along with more than 30 US student associations and 11 Canadian student associations.
- The University of Johannesburg severed its ties with Israel’s Ben-Gurion University in response to calls from 400 South African academics.
- Motions in support of BDS and BDS initiatives have been passed by more than 50 councils in Spain and by dozens of other councils across the UK, Australia, Sweden, Norway and Ireland.
- The EU has introduced rules prohibiting itself from funding Israeli companies and bodies based in illegal Israeli settlements.
- A World Bank report reveals that Israel’s exports to the Palestinian economy dropped by 24% in the first quarter of 2015.
- According to a UN report, BDS was a major factor behind the 46% drop in foreign direct investment in Israel in 2014.
- French multinational Veolia completely withdrew from Israel.
- The Chilean government suspended free trade agreement talks with Israel during its 2014 attacks on Gaza. Bolivia and Venezuela have cut diplomatic ties with Israel.
- G4S, a provider of security services and equipment to Israeli checkpoints, illegal settlements and prisons announced that it plans to completely sell its Israeli subsidiary.
This list continues to grow...
