Rebuking BDS (Abegail Javidzad, Hasbara Fellow-University of Southern California)
Pro-Israel students on college campuses are all too familiar with the three letters “BDS”. In short, the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) Movement aims to boycott Israel and Israeli businesses to end what they see as the Israeli oppression.
While on the Hasbara Fellowships Israel Training Program this winter, I had the opportunity to visit the Barkaan Factory-Industrial Zone, a factory where Palestinians and Israelis work side by side. Here, I got to speak with Palestinian workers in an Israeli factory. When my peers and I asked the workers if they supported the BDS movement, they did not even know what it was. After explaining the organization and movement’s history to them, they questioned why they would support an organization that threatens their livelihood and would leave them without a paycheck.
The goals of the BDS movement are anti-Semitic in nature. These goals are not made to help the Palestinian people but rather paint a picture of Israel as the enemy. BDS’s goals to boycott Israeli businesses such as the Barkaan Factory only bring us further away from peace. We need to recognize that our strength is in unity and applaud the efforts of businesses or organizations that bring Israelis and Palestinians closer together.
