BDS May Be Faltering, But It Still Means Big Money for Some Jewish Organizations
Attending a recent conference dedicated to blocking boycotts of Israel worldwide, seated on a dais festooned with small blue-and-white flags and red flowers, and flanked by the singer Idan Raichel and the actress Yael Abecassis, Israel’s most prominent producer, Shuki Weiss, was unamused. The Ministry of the Interior, he said with the expression of someone who had stuck his nose into a carton of long-expired milk, had recently asked Sir Elton John—the latest in a long series of international pop stars Weiss had successfully convinced to perform in Israel—to sign a loyalty oath to the Jewish State prior to arrival. The idea, thankfully, was quickly nixed—the ministry has since denied it was ever raised to begin with—but Weiss was still visibly rankled. This, he told the packed room, was not the way to fight BDS.
What, then, is? The answer isn’t clear, and the question itself has recently become controversial, as BDS—a movement pushing boycott, divestment, and sanctions against Israel—has become an effective lightning rod for many in the organized Jewish community. While nearly all agree that efforts to single out Israel for opprobrium are dubious at best if not outright anti-Semitic, larger issues prevail: Does BDS still matter? Or is it time, now that the movement has been quashed in one state legislature after another and defeated in key academic organizations, to move on and fight bigger and more important battles?