Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions

For broader coverage of this topic, see Boycotts of Israel.

Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
AbbreviationBDS
Formation9 July 2005 (2005-07-09)[1]
FounderOmar Barghouti,[2] Ramy Shaat[3]
TypeNonprofit organization
PurposeBoycotts, political activism
General Coordinator
Mahmoud Nawajaa[4]
Main organ
Palestinian BDS National Committee[5]
Websitebdsmovement.net
A BDS demonstration outside the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, April 2017

Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a nonviolent[2][6] Palestinian-led[7] movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. Its objective is to pressure Israel to meet what the BDS movement describes as Israel's obligations under international law,[8] defined as withdrawal from the occupied territories, removal of the separation barrier in the West Bank, full equality for Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel, and "respecting, protecting, and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties".[9] The movement is organized and coordinated by the Palestinian BDS National Committee.[10]

BDS is modeled after the Anti-Apartheid Movement.[11] BDS supporters see it as a human rights movement,[12] and compare the Palestinians' plight to that of apartheid-era black South Africans.[13] Protests and conferences in support of the movement have been held in several countries. Its mascot, which features on its logotype, is Handala, a symbol of Palestinian identity and "right of return".[14]

Some critics accuse the BDS movement of antisemitism,[15][16][17] a charge the movement denies, calling it an attempt to conflate antisemitism with anti-Zionism. The Israel lobby in the United States has made opposing BDS one of its top priorities.[18] Since 2015, the Israeli government has spent millions of dollars to promote the view that BDS is antisemitic and have it legally banned in foreign countries.[19] Multiple countries and the majority of U.S. states have passed anti-BDS laws.

  1. ^ Ananth 2013, p. 129.
  2. ^ a b Thrall 2018.
  3. ^ "Palestinian civil society calls on Egyptian authorities to immediately release activist Ramy Shaath". BDS Movement. 2 October 2019. Archived from the original on 20 September 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  4. ^ Jackson, Llewellyn & Leonard 2020, p. 169.
  5. ^ Barghouti 2011, p. 61.
  6. ^ "US Supreme Court will not hear challenge to Arkansas anti-BDS law". Middle East Eye. Washington. 21 February 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  7. ^ The Times of Israel 2019: "The Strategic Affairs Ministry said the Palestinian-led movement that promotes boycotts against Israel is behind the effort."; Holmes 2019: "The event has become a target for the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) campaign."; Trew 2019: "... by activists spearheaded by the Palestinian-led campaign Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS)."
  8. ^ Tripp 2013, p. 125: "... the BDS organized urged 'various forms of boycott against Israel until it meets its obligations under international law.'"
  9. ^ Tripp 2013, p. 125.
  10. ^ Bueckert 2020, p. 203.
  11. ^ Hanssen & Ghazal 2020, p. 693: "The Palestinian boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign (BDS) modeled on the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa."; Lamarche 2019, p. 309.
  12. ^ Feldman, David (2018). "Boycotts: From the American Revolution to BDS". In Feldman, David (ed.). Boycotts Past and Present: From the American Revolution to the Campaign to Boycott Israel. Springer. pp. 1–19. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-94872-0_1. ISBN 9783319948720. S2CID 158375013. Most supporters of BDS cast their movement as the latest iteration of a boycott conducted in the cause of human rights and in opposition to racialised inequalities. ... In stark contrast, several of the movement's opponents denounce it as the most recent manifestation of antisemitism.
  13. ^ Barghouti 2011, p. 12; Jones 2018, p. 199: "This chapter argues that it is also true of the BDS movement's use of the South African analogy, ... ."
  14. ^ Fayeq 2009: "On the walls of occupied Palestine, in protests and demonstrations all over the world, Handala has become a symbol of Palestinian struggle and resistance. He is a representative of the refugees and their right of return to their homeland."
  15. ^ Goldstein 2021.
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference bds-antisemitic was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Harawi 2020, p. 184: "Alan Dershowitz argues that the BDS movement has its roots in the Nazi boycott of Jewish establishments in the 1930s."; Nasr & Alkousaa 2019: "The motion said a BDS campaign calling for Israeli products to be labeled with 'Don't Buy' stickers was reminiscent of the Nazi-era boycott of Jewish businesses."; Mendes 2014, p. 89: "Julius (2010) argues that the boycott campaign has a nasty historical resonance given the earlier Nazi boycott of Jews in Germany."
  18. ^ Pink 2020.
  19. ^ White 2020.