Slacker’s Syllabus: The BDS Movement

Anadolu Agency/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images By Vanessa Taylor November 17, 2021

It started in 2005 after a call for action from 170 Palestinian organizations.

The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Movement is a Palestinian-led effort to end Israeli occupation. SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

Why target Israel for boycotts, divestment, and sanctions?

Because Israel is an apartheid state , so economic support of the country translates to continued violence against Palestinians, like enforced segregation and surveillance .

In 1973, the United Nations International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid defined apartheid as “inhuman acts committed for the purpose of establishing and maintaining domination by one racial group of persons over any other racial group of persons and systematically oppressing them.”

The BDS Movement’s three demands are:

SAID KHATIB/AFP/Getty Images 1) Remove the Gaza-Israel barrier, which was constructed on the Israeli side of the Gaza Strip (a Palestinian territory) to control the movement of people and goods between Israel and Gaza. 2) Israel’s government must recognize the rights of Palestinians who remain within Israel. 3) Allow the over 7 million Palestinian refugees displaced by Israel to return home.

In 2020, Israel demolished 729 Palestinian buildings, including 273 homes. Over 1,000 people became homeless as a result. B'Tselem Anadolu Agency/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

The Anti-Apartheid Movement began as a 1959 boycott of apartheid goods — those exported by an apartheid state. Activists used these tactics to economically isolate South Africa.

BDS takes inspiration from the organizing efforts of anti-apartheid activists in South Africa. Shutterstock

We, representatives of Palestinian civil society, call upon international civil society organizations and people of conscience all over the world to impose broad boycotts and implement divestment initiatives against Israel similar to those applied to South Africa in the apartheid era.” Palestinian Civil Society

For example, in 2018, Chile’s congress voted to ban products from illegal settlements in Israel. Ireland did the same in 2019.

Brian Lawless - PA Images/PA Images/Getty Images Although Israel’s colonization is ongoing, the BDS movement has made quite an impact .

BDS is ever-evolving, so the companies and institutions targeted may change. Luckily, the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC) has compiled information about multiple ongoing campaigns and consumer boycotts.

So ... Who are we boycotting? For example, you can read about boycotting Puma , the main sponsor of the Israel Football Association (IFA). It has teams that play in Israel’s illegal settlements . Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

But it’s not just about retail. The BNC also calls for: Cultural boycotts by artists, writers, and organizations of events and projects involving Israel Economic boycotts of banks and funds that invest in Israeli companies Academic boycotts of Israeli universities and international schools they partner with SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images