Introduction
Israel is a settler-colonialism project which has been committing crimes of apartheid against the Palestinians since its illegal formation in 1948. Reputable human rights organizations have attested to this reality, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and B’tselem.
Just as the international community once boycotted South Africa due to its apartheid policies towards its black citizens, Israel, too, deserves to be boycotted. Crimes of apartheid in South Africa only stopped in 1993 when the global boycott of the regime eventually forced it to abandon its policies.
The global BDS movement currently spearheads the efforts to boycott Israel. Nevertheless, to achieve success, it needs the support of governments and people of conscience globally. Even though there are challenges facing the movement, they are surmountable.
The BDS movement
The BDS movement was established in July 2005 by the Palestinian civil societies, supported by 170 Palestinian NGOs, and imposed three demands on Israel. To understand the demands, we have to take note that Palestinian society consists of three components:
- Refugees in exile
- Palestinians under occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip
- The discriminated Palestinian citizens of the Israeli state.
Therefore, the three Demands of the BDS Movement on Israel are:
- Recognize the right of return of all Palestinian refugees.
- End the occupation of the West Bank and the illegal blockade of Gaza.
- End the oppression and discrimination of Palestinians living in Historic Palestine (now called Israel).
The BNC, or the BDS National Committee, coordinates the policies and activities of the global BDS movement. The BNC was set up in 2007 following the BDS Conference in Ramallah in November 2007. The BNC coordinates all the BDS campaigns and the targets of global boycotts.
