Boycott or not

By Ksenia Svetlova

A year has already passed since the Arab league ratified the Saudi peace initiative calling for normalization with Israel, ending of Arab-Israeli conflict and support of negotiations between Israel and the PA, yet the idea of normalizing  relations with the Jewish state  is still unacceptable for many in the Arab and the Islamic worlds. Even in Egypt and Jordan – countries which first signed the peace treaty with Israel -  the trade unions oppose to normalizing relations with Tel Aviv and set the "achievement of a just peace agreement with the Palestinians" as a precondition.   

Meanwhile  the Israeli-Palestinian negotiation process continues to stumble, and the Arab world continues boycotting Israel on many different levels. The most recent event which drew public attention to this issue was the International Book Fair in Paris. This important cultural event has been boycotted by hundreds of Arab and Islamic publishing houses, authors and journalists. The reason – Israel was invited to  participate in this fair as the guest of honor to commemorate that country’s 60^th anniversary of statehood. Although some independent Arab writers and academics, took part in the event  overriding the decision of writers unions in their respective countries,  the majority decided to boycott the venue, along with the coming Turin Book Fair where Israel's independence will be celebrated as well. An Italy-based Islamic preacher Tareq Ramadan outlines the reason for this boycott in his popular website www.tariqramadan.com :"I clearly stated that it was neither normal nor decent to commemorate Israel when Israeli state and government policies in the devastated occupied territories are clear for all to see". This boycott provoked an angry reaction on behalf of Amos Oz  a reknown  Israeli writer who said that "those who are calling for a boycott are not opposed to Israel's policies but to its existence. They say that Israel should not be represented at the Paris book fair because they simply think that Israel should not be."

Apparently, Google provides 386000 results for word combination "boycott Israel". There are countless organizations around the globe, including Israel, which call for political, economical, academic and cultural boycott of the Jewish state.  Some societies and unions call to boycott goods that bear the incriminating stamp "Made in settlements" whereas others suggest to expand the boycott to all goods "Made in Israel". And there are some who call to boycott even global corporations which have representation in Israel, such as McDonalds and Coca-Cola. These organizations, such as "The New Israeli Boycott" and "Boycott Israeli Goods" publish weekly blacklists in which companies suspected of cooperating and trading with Israel are listed.

A short survey shows that although some of the websites target mainly the population of Arab and Islamic countries, the majority operates among Arabs and Muslims who reside in Europe and US, as well as among native residents of these countries. The main goal is – raising awareness first and affecting the Israeli economics as well as academic and cultural life second. "Its essential that others know about the boycott and specifically which companies to boycott. Make a point of printing a 100 copies of the leaflet mentioned above and give them out in your community - at Jummah prayers or other gatherings. Talk to people about the boycott, with non-Muslims draw the parallels between this boycott and the one against apartheid in South Africa" recommends "Boycott Israel Campaign" (http://www.inminds.co.uk/boycott-faq.html). The comparison between Israel and the regime of Apharteid in South Africa is a catchpenny phrase in the world of Israeli boycott. The website www.exposingisraeliapartheid.com accuses Israel of "executing ethnic cleansings which are paid by American taxes".

 "Israel has proven itself an Apartheid state. It practices policies of:  Terror, Racism, Oppression, Occupation, Religious Discrimination  and Ethnic Cleansing" claim the authors of the petition published by the Movement against Israel Apartheid in Palestine. While mentioned above websites operate mainly on the net, "The Israel Apartheid week" organizers operate not only in virtual  but also in the real world.  2008 has become a fourth consecutive year for the organization to hold series of events dedicated to the situation in Israel and PA in 25 cities around the globe. During two weeks in February Johannesburg, Durban, Oslo, London, Oxford, New York, Washington, Berkeley, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver , San-Francisco and others cities in USA, UK, Canada and PA witnessed lectures, screenings and photo exhibitions under the title "Say no to Israeli Apartheid".  The website of the organization (www.apartheidweek.org) explains that "In previous years IAW has played an important role in raising awareness and disseminating information about Zionism, the Palestinian liberation struggle and its similarities with the indigenous sovereignty struggle in North America and the South African anti-Apartheid movement. This year, IAW takes place on the 60th Anniversary of Al Nakba; 60 years of ethnic cleansing and dispossession for Palestinians. Join us in making this a year of struggle against apartheid and for justice, equality, and peace". Daniel F. Baron, a student in Oxford learned about the occasion from the flyer distributed in the campus. "My mother is from Israel origin, I have been in Israel many times myself and I know for a fact that Israel is not apartheid state. As a matter of fact, there are absolutely no similarities between the situation in South Africa and in Israel, it's an absurd! Israeli Arabs have equal rights to Israeli Jews, and as for Palestinians – I sympasize with their situation, yet it is the result of a century long Arab-Israeli conflict, not of some ethnic discrimination policies". Daniel says that all the activities organized by the "Israeli Apartheid Week" enjoyed a great deal of success. " The halls were full, even crowded I'd say ,although I haven't been to all the activities carried out in Oxford". Among the "activities" organized in British elite university town were the lecture by professor Avi Shlaim "Beyond Apartheid: The Path to Peace" (chaired by Dr. Mustafa Bargouti, ex minister of information in PA), "Gaza: The World’s Largest Prison" by Khaled Hroub and "Israeli Media and the Palestinian Citizens of Israel" Haneen Zoubi and Daphna Baram. On the scene were Palestinians and Israelis who support the academic and cultural boycott against the Israeli state. In the audience – some Arab and Muslim students, as well as many British students who were cared to learn more on the subject. The purpose – according to the organizer of the campaign – who identified himself to me as Abdel-Razzouh is "to explain how the Israeli apartheid works, separating the Palestinians from their land and turning them into refugees, as well as separating the Israeli Arabs from the Israeli Jews within the state." Born in one of the refugee camps in the West Bank, Abdel-Razzouh is today a student in one of Great Britain universities. In the interview to DC he declined to tell his name or the name of the university he attends. Summarizing the two weeks of "Anti-apartheid events" he says it was very successful. "It is a difficult battle, but in Europe more and more people become conscious about the issue and these events really highlight what is the meaning of Israeli Apartheid, especially the separation wall". On his part, Baron says that he has no problem with the Palestinians presenting their point of view to the British or the Americans, he is only wishing that the audience would be also presented with a chance to learn about the Israeli viewpoint as well. Obviously not only  Israeli and Jewish students monitor the activities of various Palestinian and European  groups and organizations who promote the idea of a boycott. The information war is going on forever and it's not an easy battle, the Israeli Foreign Ministry explains. In an interview to the DC ,Ron Prosor, an Israeli ambassador in the UK said that: "The embassy has been working hand in hand with the Jewish community in the UK, and specifically the Jewish student bodies, to counter this disturbing anti-Israeli trend. The embassy’s strategy focuses on wining the hearts and minds of the British people by actively reaching out to the public. This is done through extensive media interviews, lectures, talks and visits by the ambassador and the staff of the embassy. The visits are especially important since they give the ambassador and the staff a chance to directly engage the British public, by meeting with local politicians and decision makers, key figures in the community and local Jewish leaders. So far the ambassador has visited Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham and more trips are planned for the year a head".

Talking about boycott campaigns and activities, Prosor  emphasizes that " these events are received in a rather indifferent manner, and according to our indications they are usually attended by the hard core of pro-Palestinian activists, and not by the general student public. It seems that the anti-Israel campaign has transformed from a campaign that calls to boycott the Israeli academy, into a crusade to promote the notion of the “one state solution".

Naturally, the "boycott" camp claims to be successful in its mission . Each professor who joins the movement, each company which stops trading with Israel is being listed and praised. Each name is presented as another victory against Israel. Some sites are even bringing the economic statistics and concrete figures on the losses which the Israeli economic suffered as a result of a boycott.

At the same time, recently a rather interesting debate developed in the Arab press on whether the weapon of boycott is still relevant. Following the Paris International Book Fair events "Sharq al-Aswat", one  of the most influential pan-Arab newspapers published an article called "Did the boycott weapon die?" . The author, Ihab al-Khoudari writes that in 21 century the realities has changed and therefore the Arabs should be changing their tactics as well. Khoudari quotes many Arab filmmakers and writers who claim that in fact the Arabs suffer more from this boycott then the Israelis, and today it's impossible to  avoid all the international conferences and festivals since the Israelis participate in almost 80% of these events.  Ironically, it seems that these days the core of boycott activities has shifted from the Arab world into Europe, where the flame of the boycott battles is still very hot.