"Challenging the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement focuses on the efforts to oppose antisemitism, the academic boycott, and the BDS movement. The State of Israel has faced many threats, most of them military, since it was established in 1948, but the threat posed by the NGO forum at the United Nations World Conference against Racism in Durban, South Africa, in August 2001 was different. The forum unleashed the "new" antisemitism which targeted the State of Israel, as well as a non-violent, civil society-based campaign based on the South African anti-apartheid campaign of the 1980s - which was to form the basis of the international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement directed at the State of Israel. Featuring case studies from the United States, Great Britain, Israel, and South Africa, each chapter of this wide-ranging volume discusses examples of opposition to the divisive BDS campaign and the proposed academic boycott of Israel over the last two decades, including the fight for formal recognition of the "new" antisemitism by governments and international bodies and the use of a variety of legal measures. The rise of antisemitism within academia and wider society is also examined. This book will be vital reading for students, scholars, and activists with an interest in social movements, Israel, and Middle East politics and history"--

"I have been to Palestine where I've witnessed the racially segregated housing and the humiliation of Palestinians at military roadblocks. I can't help but remember the conditions we experienced in South Africa under apartheid. We could not have achieved our freedom without the help of people around the world using the nonviolent means of boycotts and divestment to compel governments and institutions to withdraw their support for the apartheid regime. Omar Barghouti's lucid and morally compelling book is perfectly timed to make a major contribution to this urgently needed global campaign for justice, freedom and peace." --Archbishop Desmond Tutu THIRTY YEARS ago, an international movement utilizing boycott, divestment, and sanction (BDS) tactics rose in solidarity with those suffering under the brutal apartheid regime of South Africa. The historic acts of BDS activists from around the world isolated South Africa as a pariah state and heralded the end of apartheid. Now, as awareness of the apartheid nature of the State of Israel continues to grow, Omar Barghouti, founding member of the Palestinian Civil Society Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel, presents a renewed call to action. Aimed at forcing the State of Israel to uphold international law and universal human rights for the Palestinian people, here is a manifesto for change. "No one has done more to build the intellectual, legal and moral case for BDS than Omar Barghouti. The global Palestinian solidarity movement has been transformed and is on the cusp of major new breakthroughs." --Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine and No Logo "There is no more comprehensive and persuasive case than his for boycott, divestment, and sanctions to end the Israeli occupation and establish the ethical claim of Palestinian rights." --Judith Butler, University of California at Berkeley

This report provides information and analysis on a boycott, divestment, and sanctions ("BDS") movement against Israel. The BDS movement is generally seen as a loose grouping of actors from various countries who advocate or engage in economic measures against Israel or Israel-related individuals or organizations, though defining precisely what may or may not constitute BDS activity is subject to debate. The report also analyzes economic measures that "differentiate" or might be seen as differentiating between (1) Israel in general and (2) entities linked with Israeli-developed areas and settlements (whose legality is questioned under international law). Such settlements are found in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Golan Heights-areas that Israel has controlled and administered since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Debate is ongoing in the United States and elsewhere about whether economic differentiation (such as with regard to product labeling policies) between Israel proper and Israeli settlements constitutes a form of BDS. The report also discusses Anti-BDS or antidifferentiation efforts to date, including U.S. legislative action and proposals at the federal and state level. Legislative considerations arising from existing antiboycott law, First Amendment issues, and issues regarding congressional powers over commerce and foreign affairs. These considerations present a number of policy questions for Congress and the Trump Administration. For more information, see CRS Report RL33476, Israel: Background and U.S. Relations, by Jim Zanotti, also available in print at Amazon.com. The labeling of certain products imported from the West Bank is a subject with some connection to the debate regarding the BDS movement and economic differentiation. There appear to be some similarities between U.S. and European Union (EU) labeling laws and guidelines. Both jurisdictions call for the West Bank to be identified as the place of origin, but a November 2015 European Commission notice called for the labels for certain imports into the EU-Israel's largest trading partner-to provide additional information to EU consumers by further differentiating between products from Israeli settlements and from nonsettlement areas within the West Bank. This has fueled debate about whether the EU's guidelines might constitute, encourage, or foreshadow punitive economic measures against Israel. In 2015 and 2016, President Barack Obama signed trade and customs legislation (P.L. 114-26 and P.L. 114-125, respectively) that opposed BDS-related measures against Israel. However, the Administration asserted-including in a presidential signing statement for P.L. 114-125-that certain provisions in the legislation that sought to treat "Israeli-controlled territories" beyond 1949-1967 armistice lines (including West Bank settlements) in the same manner as Israel itself were not in line with U.S. policy. Some legislation proposed in the 115th Congress contains similarly controversial language. Participating in the BDS movement would not appear to place a U.S. organization in violation of existing federal antiboycott legislation, which targets organizations' participation in foreign boycotts. No foreign state has proclaimed that it participates in the BDS movement, and the movement does not have a secondary tier targeting companies that do business in or with Israel. If Members of Congress are inclined to propose legislation regarding BDS, they might consider using, as points of reference, legal and regulatory frameworks Congress and the executive branch have used to designate actors of concern under various rubrics having to do with trade and/or national security.

Since its inception in 2005, the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement has seen numerous boycotts against Israel in an effort to encourage withdrawal from what supporters of the movement consider to be occupied territories, along with recognition of the rights of Arab-Palestinian citizens and refugees. Supporters claim that Israel is an apartheid state, but this assertion is hotly contested. Many critics of BDS claim that the movement is anti-Semitic and promotes the delegitimization of Israel. This volume explores the varying perspectives on the movement, enabling readers to form their own opinions about its place in global politics.

The first collection to take critical look at the international movement to boycott Israel.

In July 2011, Israel passed legislation outlawing the public support of boycott activities against the state, corporations, and settlements, adding a crackdown on free speech to its continuing blockade of Gaza and the expansion of illegal settlements. Nonetheless, the campaign for boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) continues to grow in strength within Israel and Palestine, as well as in Europe and the US. This essential intervention considers all sides of the movement—including detailed comparisons with the South African experience—and contains contributions from both sides of the separation wall, along with a stellar list of international commentators. Contributors: Merav Amir and Dalit Baum, Ra’anaan Alexandrowicz, Hind Awwad, Mustafa Barghouthi, Omar Barghouti, Joel Beinin, John Berger, Angela Davis, Nada Elia, Marc Ellis, Noura Erakat, Ran Greenstein, Neve Gordon, Ronald Kasrils, Jamal Khader, Naomi Klein, Mark LeVine, Ken Loach, David Lloyd and Laura Pulido, Haneen Maikey, Ilan Pappe, Jonathan Pollak, Lisa Taraki, Rebecca Vilkomerson, Michael Warschawski, Slavoj Žižek.