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The BDS Boycott of Israel

(Washington Times) Editorial - Palestinian organizations, with help from naive academics in the U.S. and Britain, are trying to wound Israel with the "BDS movement" - demanding boycotts, divestment of investments in corporations considered not sufficiently sympathetic to the Palestinians, and sanctions of various kinds against the Jewish state. So far it's mostly noise and hot air. The Palestinians want Israel to end its "occupation" of lands claimed by the Arabs, dismantle the wall that prevents terrorists to enter Israel, and enable Palestinians to return to the land they lost when the Arabs lost the wars they imposed on Israel. Do the boycotters propose refusing to use medical technology because it was engineered by an Israeli? The list of the latest vaccines, therapeutics and medical treatments invented and produced in Israel is a long one, and anyone who needs them would find it difficult to find a substitute. The BDS movement Web site instructs supporters to concentrate on fresh produce, grown by farmers who first made the desert bloom. But such produce constitutes only about 3.6% of Israel's exports, and most of it goes to Russia, where consumers are more interested in eating Israeli tomatoes and potatoes than in supping on Palestinian propaganda. "The BDS movement has not had and will never have any significant economic effect on Israel's overall economy," Adrienne Yaron of the Jerusalem Post writes, "because Israel's economy is grounded in products and services that effectively cannot be boycotted."
2016-01-20 00:00:00
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