The Jewish Federations of North America - Israel Action Network - Project in partnership with JCPA

Israel Action Network is a strategic initiative of The Jewish Federations of North America in partnership
with the Jewish Council for Public Affairs to counter assaults on Israel's legitimacy

Hot Topics

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  • What is the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS)?

Attacking Israel’s legitimacy is contesting its very right to exist as a Jewish state. This is the aim of delegitimization, which seeks to isolate Israel as a pariah state and reject the notion of a two-state solution. Delegitimizers garner support by appealing to North America’s most vulnerable targets, including college campuses, churches, labor unions and human rights organizations; communities and populations who are deeply invested in and concerned about civil liberties and freedoms. By utilizing the same Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) tactics used to isolate and vilify apartheid South Africa, Iran, or Nazi Germany, delegitimizers present distortions, fabrications and misrepresentations of international law in an attempt to paint Israel with the same brush.

It is important to remember that boycotts, divestment and sanctions are “neutral” tools designed to disempower errant states through economic pressure and world condemnation of human rights violations. The Jewish community has and does correctly support divestment when these tools fit the situation as in the instance of South Africa in the 1980’s and Iran today. However, Israel is a pluralistic democratic society and these tools are neither appropriate nor will they bring about peace. BDS is simply a tactic to tell an anti-Israel story that undermines Israel’s right to exist by falsely equating Israel to racist and genocidal regimes. 

Despite the facade of a campaign to “improve” the prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace, the end goal of delegitimizers and BDS activists is to increase the isolation and eventual disappearance of the Jewish state. BDS campaigns carry an underlying sentiment that the very existence of a state for the Jewish people is the root cause of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

BDS efforts exist across the world and are growing in prominence throughout North America. As they are often masked as legitimate protests against Israeli policies, it is important to recognize the fine line between criticism of Israel and attacks on its legitimacy.  The category of ‘criticism’ includes a genuine discussion and questioning of Israeli policies on issues such as security, settlements, Jerusalem, etc. Delegitimization, on the other hand, not only criticizes policy, but fabricates facts, misrepresents international law, engages in defamation of the Jewish state and people, demonizes the Israeli military, government, and society and holds Israel to an unreasonable double standard when compared with other nations.

When making the case against BDS, the following talking points can prove helpful:

  • The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is, if nothing else, complex.  There are those who seek paths to end the conflict and those who seek to act it out.  There are those who favor reconciliation, two states living side by side in peace and those who model division with tactics such as boycotts to justify punishing Israel, only one party in the conflict.
  • Singling out and blaming one party is detrimental to peace. The true path to peace is through dialogue, and will only come about when both the Israeli and Palestinian narratives are recognized.   
  • BDS actions only CREATE DIVISIONS, NOT CHANGE.  The Jewish community wishes to work toward a model of reconciliation that will bring about an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, rather than perpetuate it.  
  • Peace will only come through constructive and not destructive means.  Those seeking to hasten peace should focus on efforts of reconciliation that are necessary to foster a generation of Israelis and Palestinians prepared to work and live side-by-side.  
  • Anti-Israel measures are more likely to hinder rather than advance the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.  They gloss over the complexities of the conflict, including the immeasurable power of terror. BDS measures delegitimize the democratic Jewish State of Israel, attempt to blame Israel exclusively for the failure of the peace process, and give hope to extremists that their goal of undermining the sovereignty and global support for Israel can be realized without dismantling terrorist infrastructure.    

For additional BDS-related talking points and for assistance developing strategies for combating delegitimization in your community, contact IAN.

  • Palestinian Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI)

The unilateral declaration of independence (UDI) refers to the strategic effort by the Palestinian Authority leadership to officially request that the United Nations recognize Palestine as a full member at the United Nations General Assembly. Months of discussion built to a crescendo when Palestinian leaders presented their request for official recognition to the UN Secretary-General on September 23rd, 2011.  

Although the application is still awaiting deliberation at the Security Council, a multitude of voices have mobilized to express their concerns about this unilateral move by the Palestinian leadership and the Palestinian Authority has continued to move into other UN agencies. Most recently, UNESCO voted to admit Palestine as a member state. Commentators on all sides of the political spectrum have reiterated that international recognition will not alter the reality on the ground nor move Israelis and Palestinians any closer towards resolving their long-standing conflict. History has shown that the peace treaties between Israel and its neighbors were the result of negotiations between the parties themselves. In this case as well, peace will only be achieved in direct negotiations, whereas UDI will likely drive a deeper wedge between the two parties.

IAN activities around UDI efforts in September 2011 included:

  • The compilation of UDI-related facts and talking points. Click here to download.
  • IAN and JCRC-NY over 107,000 supporters and growing for an online petition to oppose UDI at the U.N. It was presented to the 193 UN member states, reflecting a powerful expression by Jews and non-Jews alike in support of Israelis and Palestinians returning to the negotiating table for bilateral discussions for two states for two peoples. The petition will continue to accept signatures up until the U.N. votes on the Palestinian request for statehood at a TBD date. Click here for more information on the presentation, click here to see pictures of the petition presentation and click here to sign the petition.
  • Bipartisan Members of Congress and Jewish Leaders Unite In Opposition to UDI. With the United Nations in the background, IAN and the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York (JCRC-NY) hosted a press conference last week with U.S. elected officials and North American Jewish leaders to oppose the unilateral Palestinian bid for statehood. Bipartisan speakers led by New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand took to the podium to urge for a return to bilateral, direct negotiations toward two states for two peoples. Read More.
  • IAN releases ‘Peace Needs Partners’ YouTube Video. Peace needs two partners: Israelis and Palestinians. But in order to achieve this, both parties need to sit down, together, at the negotiating table and resume bilateral negotiations. This is the message that IAN is broadcasting to Jews and non-Jews alike with this video as we continue to drive new people to sign our petition to the UN sending the same message. It’s a sentiment echoed by the Quartet, comprised of the United States, European Union, Russia and the UN, and it needs your support, too. Please watch and circulate this important video with your communities, families and friends and be sure to use #PeaceNeedsPartners when posting on Twitter. Click here to view the video.
  • IAN hosted three UDI-related conference calls for community leaders and activists around North America, including:
  1. Michael Oren - 9/15/11 (Israel’s Ambassador to the United States)
  2. David Makovsky - 9/9/11 (Ziegler Distinguished Fellow and Director of the Project on the Middle East Peace Process at The Washington Institute)
  3. Danny Ayalon - 8/17/11 (Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister)

For additional UDI-related information and assistance on developing strategies for mobilizing your community, contact an IAN representative.

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