To repeat, take the Boycott Divest and Sanction movement seriously, because it reflects an insidious coalition of anti-Israeli leftists and Islamists, which reflects a sophisticated part of the overall war on Israel.
But, keep things in perspective.
Despite all the heated anti-Israel rhetoric coming from academic extremists, Israel has favorability ratings in the latest Gallup survey have surged in the last year, and remain far beyond favorable views of the Palestinians:
Also don’t panic about Israel’s economic isolation, as pointed out by Yoram Ettinger (emphasis in original):
1. A record of 5.3 million tourists in Israel in 2013.
2. A record of $83.2BN foreign exchange reserves reflects the strength of Israel’s Shekel, at a time when the currencies of the emerging markets plummet.
3. A record of $2.3BN invested in 662 Israeli startups in 2013 (21% above 2012), according to KPMG and IVC (Globes, January 23, 2014).
4. Over 250 multinational research & development centers operate in Israel (Globes, February 13).
5. “Funds from the US, Europe and China are showing interest in dozens of Israeli companies that will be forced on to the auction block by Israel’s efforts to increase competition…. The sale [of dominant Israeli companies] is required by a law passed in December, 2013 to loosen the grip conglomerates have on the economy…. [Israel’s economic] growth is projected to outpace both the US and the euro area this year and next. The stability of the Israeli economy, and its fundamentals, make it attractive to foreign investors…. You are buying not because of a crisis in Israel, but because there is a desire to boost competition (Bloomberg, February 4, 2014, Alisa Odenheimer and Sharon Wrobel).”
6. Australia’s Woodside Petroleum, Ltd. will join explorations in Israel’s Leviathan offshore natural gas field, accepting a Memorandum of Understanding – to be completed by March 27 – which will provide the Australian giant with a 25% equity for $2.7BN (Globes Business Daily, February 10, 2014). Norway is increasingly interested in Israel’s natural gas market. Stavanger University concluded an agreement, in the energy-engineering area, with Israel’s Technion (Globes January 27). Cyprus negotiates a $3BN natural gas import from Israel.
There’s a lot more at the link.
The one place we are seeing some of the results of the academic BDS movement is in younger people. Israel still is far more popular than the Palestinians, but by not as great a margin.
So don’t be complacent, fight the fight, keep the BDS disease from spreading, but don’t panic.
Think strategically, not emotionally.
(Featured Image source: LI Reader Danelle, taken in Harper, TX)
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