Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS)

In 2005, Palestinian society called for a global boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign that would continue until Israel ends its military occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. BDS takes on different forms and targets depending on one’s perspective. Boycott may include the boycott of goods, services, institutions, individuals and venues, while divestment targets the shares that individuals and institutions hold in Israeli and various international companies. The academic boycott targets professors speaking on behalf of Israeli universities. The cultural boycott includes the refusal of artists to perform in Israel, and may also include the boycott of Israeli artists who do not publicly criticize Israel’s military occupation of Palestinian territories. Within the global movement, particularly amongst internationals and Israelis, some focus on targeting only goods produced in Israeli settlements or divesting from companies that contribute to settlement construction or military operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Some groups even promote additional investment into Israeli companies that promote coexistence and a two-state solution. Sanctions refers to economic sanctions against Israel as a state. For a full-endorsement and explanation of the movement, see Barghouti, Omar. BDS: Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions: The Global Struggle for Palestinian Rights. Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2011; and see online: http://www.bdsmovement.net/bdsintro. For a perspective on Academic and Cultural Boycoott, see also the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel website: http://www.pacbi.org/. For a settlement/occupation-targeted and anti-sanction perspective, see Nir, Ori. APN Weighs in on BDS, Criticism of Israel. Americans for Peace Now. 23 April 2010. http://peacenow.org/entries/bds_criticism_of_israel.  http://www.justvision.org/glossary/boycott-divestment-and-sanctions-bds