The argument that pushing Israel into economic, academic and cultural purgatory will somehow persuade its government to dismantle the security barrier, evacuate
the West Bank and embrace its sworn enemy is misguided. And that’s being generous. Whatever the flaws of the Netanyahu administration — and there are
many — it is clearly responding to (and, true, at times stoking) real fears and anxieties among the Israeli population.
The boycotters are either grossly ignorant about the Israeli psyche, or don’t care to understand it. The attempt to isolate and delegitimize “is counter productive because of the nature of who we are. It confirms our worst fears,” says the noted South African journalist Benjamin Pogrund, who now lives in Israel and writes extensively about boycotts, having lived through the apartheid era in his native land.
It also mentions that Omar Bargouti fellow, who's trying to shut down Israeli universities while doing an MA at one of them.
The Forward stands on the Left of American Jewry, to my understanding. Not far Left, but comfortably Left.
Yaacov, this is a great blog about divestment issues; worth reading and linking to on divestment issues. Check out this recent article for an overview of divestment activity in the recent past.
ReplyDeleteThe main message is this - a vocal minority is attempting to generate the perception of momentum for divestment, when in reality it is being rejected by the vast majority of people and institutions. At least in the US, and even in Europe, divestment has failed, and every single "notch" in the divestment belt has been, essentially, a hoax.
Every time I get depressed by some new divestment news in the media, I go to that blog for the nitty gritty, which the media invariably ignores as it focuses on the red meat.
Divestment is dangerous, and it needs to be dealt with by us as individuals, institutions, governments, etc. However, it's prowess has been overblown.
I was just reading a ynet article this morning about a rise in Swedish tourists to Israel over the last 3 month period, as compared to last year - a country that just had a major diplomatic spat with Israel. Go figure.
Marvan, not Omar Barghouti
ReplyDelete