News Release

Israel-Palestine: Is BDS the Solution?

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NORA BARROWS-FRIEDMAN,  nora@electronicintifada.net@norabf
Barrows-Friedman is author of In Our Power: U.S. Students Organize for Justice in PalestineShe is an associate editor at The Electronic Intifada who has covered the grassroots boycott, divestment and sanctions, or BDS, movement. This effort is modeled on the struggle against apartheid South Africa.

On Wednesday, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized Biden’s statement of support for Israel’s attack on Palestinians: “Blanket statements like these w/ little context or acknowledgement of what precipitated this cycle of violence – namely, the expulsions of Palestinians and attacks on Al Aqsa – dehumanize Palestinians & imply the US will look the other way at human rights violations. It’s wrong.”

Barrows-Friedman in turn criticized Ocasio-Cortez: “So… are you going to support the Palestinian call for BDS? Or demand that Biden immediately cut all aid to Israel? Because if that’s not going to happen, this itself is an unhelpful blanket statement.”
Last New Year’s Eve, South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, calling Israel an apartheid state, called for implementation of existing U.S. law to cut off all U.S. taxpayer funds: “Joe Biden should end the U.S. pretence over Israel’s ‘secret’ nuclear weapons.”

But the Biden administration has pledged to fight BDS activist efforts. These governmental moves have been criticized as restricting freedom of speech.
Barrows-Friedman’s pieces on the BDS activist and legal battles include: “U.S. Palestinian activist defeats Israeli ‘defamation’ lawsuit” and “Israel lobby loses legal effort to harass Palestinian rights activists.”

In her piece “What were the top BDS victories of 2020?” she gives examples including: “the United Nations published its long-awaited list of corporations that profit from Israel’s war crimes. …

“United Nations representatives warned the German government in October that its tightening crackdown on supporters of Palestinian rights violates freedom of expression. …

“In April, the UK Supreme Court struck down an anti-divestment rule imposed by the government in 2016. …

“In the U.S., journalist and filmmaker Abby Martin sued the state of Georgia over its draconian anti-BDS law.

“Martin was scheduled to deliver a keynote speech at a media literacy conference held at Georgia Southern University. When officials demanded that she sign a contract stating she would not engage in a boycott of Israel, Martin refused to do so and her keynote was canceled, as was the entire conference.

“Martin’s lawsuit against Georgia is one of several filed by activists, attorneys, educators and reporters in states across the U.S.

“In 2020, the governors of Missouri and Oklahoma signed anti-BDS measures into law, but civil rights defenders are fighting them in courts.”