How to boycott Israel: updated guidelines for academics

09/02/2014
by Ali Abunimah
Source: The Electronic Intifada

The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) recently updated its guidelines on how to apply the international academic and cultural boycott of Israel.

This comes at a crucial moment – in the wake of Israel’s latest spasm of horrifying destruction and mass killing in Gaza, and after a period of unprecedented growth in support for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS).

Calls for academic boycott will resonate more than ever particularly in light of Israel’s recent bomb attacks on university facilities in Gaza, its violent raids on universities in the West Bank and the financial and political support Israeli universities have themselves given to the carnage.

Right now, hundreds of thousands of Palestinian children in Gaza are not going back to school on time as a direct consequence of the Israeli devastation, while in the West Bank young children face such violence as tear gas fired at them on their way to class.

The school year in Gaza was scheduled to begin on 23 August but has been postponed; Israeli attacks since 7 July killed more than 500 children and injured thousands. In total 220 schools were damaged, 22 of which were completely destroyed.

Children will not be able to go back to class until “war-damaged schools” are repaired and “unexploded ordnance” removed, the UN says.

When children do go back to class, learning will certainly be an even bigger challenge due to the fact that virtually the entire child population in Gaza is in need of psychosocial support due to the trauma of Israel’s 51-day bombardment.

Practical guidance

The updated PACBI guidelines are important for two reasons: they provide a practical reference that can be used to decide if a specific activity is boycottable and they can be used to debunk false claims made by opponents of the boycott, for example that the boycott stifles “academic freedom.”

A common false claim is that PACBI has called for a blanket boycott of Israeli individuals or even of Jewish individuals.

But, PACBI states: “Anchored in precepts of international law and universal human rights, the BDS movement, including PACBI, rejects on principle boycotts of individuals based on their identity (such as citizenship, race, gender, or religion) or opinion.”

A person’s activities are boycottable, however, when “an individual is representing the state of Israel or a complicit Israeli institution (such as a dean, rector, or president), or is commissioned/recruited to participate in Israel’s efforts to ‘rebrand’ itself.”

There are other circumstances as well, as the guidelines detail.

The PACBI guidelines “are mainly intended to assist conscientious academics and academic bodies around the world to be in harmony with the Palestinian call for boycott, as a contribution towards upholding international law and furthering the struggle for freedom, justice and equality.”
PACBI urges:

academics, academic associations/unions, and academic – as well as other – institutions around the world, where possible and as relevant, to boycott and/or work towards the cancellation or annulment of events, activities, agreements, or projects involving Israeli academic institutions or that otherwise promote the normalization of Israel in the global academy, whitewash Israel’s violations of international law and Palestinian rights, or violate the BDS guidelines.

Normalization and “fig-leafing”

Many Palestinians reject initiatives that they say constitute “normalization.” But what does this mean? Here is the definition provided by PACBI:

Academic activities and projects involving Palestinians and/or other Arabs on one side and Israelis on the other (whether bi- or multilateral) that are based on the false premise of symmetry/parity between the oppressors and the oppressed or that claim that both colonizers and colonized are equally responsible for the “conflict” are intellectually dishonest and morally reprehensible forms of normalization that ought to be boycotted.
Far from challenging the unjust status quo, such projects contribute to its endurance. Examples include events, projects, or publications that are designed explicitly to bring together Palestinians/Arabs and Israelis so they can present their respective narratives or perspectives, or to work toward reconciliation without addressing the root causes of injustice and the requirements of justice.

The guidelines gives examples of forms of joint activity that are and are not normalization and also warn against “fig-leafing”:

International academics who insist on crossing the BDS “picket line” by pursuing activities with boycottable Israeli institutions and then visiting Palestinian institutions or groups for “balance,” violate the boycott guidelines and contribute to the false perception of symmetry between the colonial oppressor and the colonized. The BNC (including PACBI) rejects this attempt at “fig-leafing” and does not welcome such visits to Palestinian institutions.

PACBI’s updated guidelines for cultural boycott are here.
The full academic boycott guidelines are here.

Link:  http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/how-boycott-israel-updated-guidelines-academics.

Shekel flat after volatile week

03/09/2014
Hillel Koren
Source: Globes Israel's Business Arena

FXCM Israel: It is possible we are about to see a further weakening of the shekel.

After a week of volatile foreign exchange trading following the surprise 0.25% interest rate, which mainly saw the shekel weaken, the Israeli currency is flat today in morning interbank trading. The shekel-dollar exchange rate was down 0.05% in comparison with yesterday's representative rate, at NIS 3.576/$, and the shekel-euro rate was up 0.17%, at NIS 4.6998/€.

Yesterday, the Bank of Israel set the shekel-dollar representative exchange rate at NIS 3.578/$, down 0.028% on Monday's rate, and set the shekel-euro representative exchange rate at NIS 4.692/€, down 0.215%.

FXCM Israel research department said, "The shekel-dollar exchange rate continues to consolidate around the NIS 3.57 - NIS 3.58 level. The fact that we have not seen a significant downwards correction in recent days shows the market's bullish sentiments and it is possible that we are about to see another breakthrough upwards.

FXCM added, "The level of resistance is NIS 3.58/$ and rising above that will pave the way to the key NIS 3.6/$ level. The shekel-dollar exchange rate is currently influenced by a combination of domestic and international factors. In Israel the debate about the budget is entering the decisive phase and the prime minister will have to choose between the stance of the finance minister who wants to avoid tax hikes and Karnit Flug who warns about the consequences of increasing the deficit. The global market does not forgive irresponsible fiscal policies and expanding the deficit will weigh very heavily on the shekel and cause foreign investors to flee."

Link: 
 http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-shekel-flat-after-volatile-week-1000968806.

Israeli government pushes 'BDS failure' propaganda on its own citizens

11 March 2014
Ben White
Source: Middle East Monitor

Israeli government officials involved in monitoring and fighting BDS have claimed that the movement has "suffered several blows in recent weeks", in unattributed remarks made to Hebrew news site NRG.

The examples of 'failure' cited are a mixed bag, none of them significant in the way presented by the officials. It includes, for example, the stated opposition of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Parliament President Martin Schulz to boycotts – hardly a surprise or major setback for campaigners.
Interestingly, the officials favourably contrasted the situation of Israel today with the eventual isolation of Apartheid South Africa. This is a disingenuous and misleading comparison, not least given how long it took for South Africa to become that isolated and the short amount of time that BDS strategies have been embraced by international activists.

Assuming readers will take their word for it, the unnamed government officials claimed that BDS efforts have "failed miserably", since the Israeli economy has continued to grow. Yet this discourse of 'failure' is in direct contrast to the approach taken by Netanyahu's senior ministers and various Israel lobby groups, who are clear about the seriousness of the threat posed by boycott and divestment initiatives.

The two seemingly contradictory messages are, however, related. As the Israeli government begins to ramp up its pushback against BDS, it will need to show that it is getting results. Thus, like the spinning of the ABP decision not to divest from Israeli banks, officials are looking to target Israeli citizens themselves for some reassuring hasbara.

The final paragraph of the item makes for interesting reading, and is worth reproducing in its entirety (thanks to Ofer Neiman for translation):

"We have been facing this phenomenon for 14 years", says one of the Israeli sources. "At any given time, there are scores of thwarting actions being taken [by us] all over the world, which do not reach public awareness". The embassies in every country are monitoring the [BDS] groups on a regular basis. In a large part of the cases, we prefer to ignore [the actions], so as not to play into the hands of the enemy. In other cases, we take actions, thwarting provocations through campus administrations or embassy representatives. We draft spokespersons or activate the Jewish community. It's constant war and long term strategic work."

This certainly fits with past experiences of legal actions, propaganda drives and lobbying conducted by community organisations, and the role of embassies in fighting BDS. Given the government's view of the situation as "constant war", perhaps it is no surprise it is pushing propaganda to its own citizens.

Link:  https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/blogs/politics/10231-israeli-government-pushes-bds-failure-propaganda-on-its-own-citizens.

Israeli Minister Slams Boycotts as ‘New Form of Anti-Semitism’

Feb 17, 2014 
By Calev Ben-David and Fadwa Hodali
Source: Bloomberg News

Using economic sanctions to influence Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians is a “new form of anti-Semitism,” Economy Minister Naftali Bennett said, even as boycott activists contended that recent successes had Israeli leaders “panicking.”

Bennett told a Jerusalem conference of American-Jewish leaders today that despite boycott efforts, Israel continued to draw record foreign investment, especially in its technology sector.

“I’m not at all ignoring this sort of threat, but let’s be very clear: Anyone who suggests to boycott Israel, that’s an unacceptable approach, that’s a new form of anti-Semitism,” Bennett said. He asked conference participants to campaign against boycotts.

Finance Minister Yair Lapid and other Israeli officials have warned that the sanctions’ still-negligible economic effect may deepen after several European companies and institutions cut ties in recent months with Israeli companies that operate in east Jerusalem and the West Bank. Palestinians claim the territories, captured by Israel in 1967, for a future state.

The sanctions campaign also won a higher profile after actress Scarlett Johansson cut her ties last month with the U.K.-based humanitarian group Oxfam, which criticized her for acting as a celebrity spokeswoman for SodaStream International Ltd. (SODA), the Israeli maker of home soda machines with a factory in the West Bank.

Boycott leaders, meeting today in the West Bank near Ramallah, said a decade of activism was bearing fruit.
The boycott initiative has “reached a tipping point in its struggle for comprehensive Palestinian rights under international law,” said Omar Barghouti, a founder of BDS, the Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions movement. “The Israeli government is panicking because of the recent fast growth of BDS around the world, particularly in countries that have always been considered Israel’s closest allies in the world: the U.S., Germany, the Netherlands, among others.”

Link:   http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-17/israeli-minister-slams-boycotts-as-new-form-of-anti-semitism-.html?cmpid=yhoo.