Countering the BDS Lie

By: Zach Paikin

“Going back to the two-state solution, besides having passed its expiry date, it was never a moral solution to start with.” -Omar Barghouti (Founder, Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel)

“BDS represents three words that will help bring about the defeat of Zionist Israel and victory for Palestine.” -Ronnie Kasrils (South African politician)

“Ending the occupation doesn’t mean anything if it doesn’t mean upending the Jewish state itself…BDS does mean the end of the Jewish state.” -Ahmed Moor (pro-BDS author)

Do these statements sound like words of peace to you? I didn’t think so.

The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement is an international economic campaign that began the same year as the inaugural "Israeli Apartheid Week". The main goal of the BDS movement is the delegitimization of Israel's right to exist. BDS supporters have organized several boycotts of Israeli products and institutions as well.

The leaders of the movement call for, among other things, the dismantling of the Israeli-West Bank security barrier as well as the relocation of millions of Palestinian refugees into Israel proper (often called the "right of return"). Dismantle the barrier? That means allowing Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups to resume regular suicide bombings in Israel. And “right of return”? This is nothing more than leftist rhetoric. Beyond being a distortion of international law, this amounts to the destruction of the State of Israel through demographic subversion.

The supporters of the BDS movement aren’t ignorant of these facts. Barghouti himself has stated that, if the two-state solution were to be implemented, Palestinians should never give up their so-called “right of return”, in order to create a “Palestine next to a Palestine”. So much for two states for two peoples...

Have you ever heard anti-Israel protesters on campus chant “Viva, viva intifada!”? Clearly, calling for the deliberate use of lethal violence against civilians doesn't bother leftist radicals. This clearly exposes the resistance-solidarity doctrine of BDS supporters and, more generally, of the radical left.

We are in the middle of a massive ideological battle on university campuses around the world. This battle pits the supporters of democracy against the supporters of terrorism. It pits those who cherish freedom against those who sympathize with the supporters of shari’a law. It pits those who fight for human rights around the world against those who fail to condemn genocide, murder, rape and widespread public executions.

Here’s the scary thing: Winning this battle isn’t a guarantee. The future of the State of Israel as well as the intellectual future of many liberal democracies depends on you. So what can you do?

Here are three tips:

1)      Don’t wait until an active divestment movement reaches your campus. Plan both a proactive pro-Israel campaign as well as a responsive strategy to potential future BDS movements on campus.

2)      Delegitimize the BDS movement. The BDS movement is the problem, not Israel. Divestment movements undermine peace and human rights while creating a toxic campus environment.

3)      Stay on message. Although you should directly address anti-Israel claims, your main message should be that Israel is a democracy that values human rights and that has made sacrifices for peace.

We didn’t ask for this battle. But we now have to fight it, and do so with dignity.

Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines.