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katabasiss · 4 years

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Hey you reblogged a post supporting BDS but I've heard they're incredibly antisemitic is that not true?

hello! first, the post in question for anyone interested is this [one] by @eyelidsep. Secondly, sorry for the late response anon, I was researching BDS. I don't know much about the movement, or in fact much about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and I'm not in a position to say whether or not a movement is antisemitic or not because I am not Jewish and so cannot dictate that. I urge you as such to go and listen to Jewish voices on the matter. In the original post, op cites a link to [this] article posted on 'Jewish Voice for Peace', which is an organisation run by a number of Jewish activists, and that article in particular focuses on Zionism and Israel. It is a brilliant starting point, especially concerning this issue of BDS and antisemitism, so I'd recommend you read that and other accounts from Jewish voices on whether something such as BDS is antisemitic or not. Now going forward, it’s not an excuse, but I am only 19, I do not and never have studied politics, and I am neither Palestinian, Israeli, Arab, or Jewish. If I am ignorant then please just tell me, and I will do my best to correct myself and my knowledge.

As a summary for those unaware, BDS (according to their own website which you can find [here]) stands for 'The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions Movement' regarding Israel's governmental oppression of Palestinians, with the intent to mirror the anti-apartheid movement in order to challenge Israeli apartheid and settler-colonialism.

According to the New York Times - which I think based off a simple google search is a Right-Wing Newspaper ?? and so should be noted as bias - (in [this] article in particular written in 2019), "many Israelis say the movement's real goal is the elimination of Israel as a Jewish state" and that the BDS movement is largely criticised because it fails the "three-Ds test" - "Does its criticism delegitimise Israel, apply a double standard or demonize it?". It's then noted that critics argue that BDS does all three, and that it "single[s]" out Israel in the treatment of its Arab citizens "when minorities in some other countries suffer far more". This in turn, is rebuked by BDS leaders arguing that "Palestinians fighting for their own rights should not be expected to give equivalent attention to abused minorities elsewhere". BDS claims to be anti-Zionist but not antisemitic, however, as noted in the article, the BDS do allow for several groups who are "designated by the United States as terrorist organisations" to "fall under its umbrella" and it is also noted that BDS doesn't actually propose a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

I don’t know anything honestly about the New York Times, but as a British person speaking from what I've seen in dominating UK media, I know the right-wing Conservative party are notably vocal against BDS, which I have to admit gives me pause, considering their continuous history of racism and antisemitism themselves. Johnson himself claims to be a "proud Zionist" - of which you can see is backed up via his 2017 statement on the centenary of the Balfour declaration [here], in which he essentially appears to be arguing for partition. The UK Government has also never formally recognised the state of Palestine - something which it has received praise for from both the US and Israeli Government. It is possible that BDS contains antisemitic groups that are affiliated with it, however from what I’ve read, it largely seems more anti-Zionist than antisemitic as a movement. It is important to note that anti-Zionism and antisemitism are not the same thing: something that I know UK politics at the very least, struggles to recognise. As numerous articles and academics state, it is possible to stand with Palestine and criticise the Israeli Government for the actions done against Palestinians in the name of nationalism without being antisemitic. Whether BDS has moved beyond that, and verged into actually being antisemitic, I honestly have to admit just isn’t something that I know and can pinpoint. I’ve read through a few responses to ops post that argue that the movement perpetuates antisemitism, seemingly on US University Campuses in particular. But likewise, I’ve read articles and responses arguing the opposite.

(Regarding the UK, for fellow Brits and others looking to do further research on the UK’s role and responses:

This is the official uk.gov petition calling for the Government to recognise Palestine

This contains a series of speeches, declarations, and articles from the UK Government regarding the conflict, and largely appears to be calling for a Two-State Nation

This is various written verbatim reports from both the House of Commons and House of Lords about the topic )

For more on the topic, because all I can do is urge you to do your own research and listen to both Jewish and Palestinian voices on this matter (again, of which I am neither), here are some further links which hopefully will guide you to that:

This is a carrd looking at Palestine and its history, and also contains information about BDS and where to go for further research

This is a website detailing information on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, in which it talks about numerous topics such as why the US and Israel are so friendly, and likewise provides places to go for further information to understand both Israeli and Palestinian arguments

This is an Aljazeera article which looks at Johnson and the Conservative 'anti-BDS' law, and provides links on further Aljazeera articles looking at BDS. I don't know about how Aljazeera is received in other countries, but in the UK, it can usually be noted as the most centric form of media we have, although it should be noted that it does have a left-leaning bias (but when compared to papers such as the Guardian or Daily Mail which are both very left and right wing respectively, Aljazeera is notably 'centric')

This is a Guardian article looking at the Balfour Declaration (mentioned above) and the UK Governments role in the conflict (as just said in the point above, the Guardian is a left wing British newspaper and so was written with a bias, but provides a very succinct summary with a multitude of embedded links about the topic)

And to finish with, this is a very good twitter thread providing resources, information and petitions/donation links for Palestine

To conclude anon, I have spent the last few hours researching this topic, I have found more arguing in favour of BDS not being an inherently antisemitic movement in itself. However, this is a very complicated issue, I’m not going to know the ins and outs of it. If it is antisemitic then please feel free to forward research and articles to me about it as i have done to you in kind. However ultimately, to reiterate, you are asking the wrong person. I’m not Jewish. I cannot simply state whether the movement is antisemitic or not. I can neither confirm nor deny based off simple research. There are many antisemitic dogwhistles that I am simply unaware of because I am not Jewish, and for all I know there may be said dogwhistles present in the BDS movement and website that I am ignorant of. That being said, I hope the above helps you conduct further research on your own.

#oof ladies this was looonnggg n it is also now 1:30am so a going to bed 🤡🤡#long post #uk #if i wake up to a flood of anon hate tomorrow imma cry akskskJDJSJDJ #nonetheless anon i hope that helps #akskdkdkdk even tho i do feel a bit confronted and accused about a post i didnt even make JSJSsjdjsJSJSJ but i guess thats tumblr lads

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