🇮🇱 How is BDS affecting Israel? | Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement
156,571
Published 2018-03-27
That's according to a partially redacted Israeli government report from 2013, which factored in the most extreme scenario of a full blown EU boycott of Israeli products and a halt to investments.
It's a sequence that may seem unlikely, but has Israeli leaders worried nonetheless.
In recent years, Israel's diplomatic missions have made countering BDS a priority and its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has moved to ban groups which support the movement.
So what is BDS?
BDS is a non-violent people led movement that aims to economically pressure Israel into providing equal rights and a right of return to Palestinians.
Modeled on the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, it has inspired people from around the world to boycott businesses and academic and cultural institutions that have either a direct or indirect affiliation with Israel.
This includes companies associated with illegal settlements, those that provide services to the occupation, companies exploiting natural resources from Palestinian land and those that use Palestinians as cheap labour.
The UN human rights office has currently identified 206 companies linked directly or indirectly to illegal settlements, mostly from Israel and the US but also Germany and the Netherlands.
They include banking and tourism companies, as well as construction and technology firms.
Is BDS already having an impact on Israel? It depends on who you ask.
The Washington-based Brookings Institute claims a consumer boycott will not drastically affect Israel economically because 40 percent of Israeli exports are "intermediate" goods - hidden products used in the production process of goods elsewhere like semiconductors.
Around 50 percent of Israeli exports are "differentiated" goods - goods that can't be substituted like specialised computer chips.
But data from the World Bank shows a sharp decrease in intermediate exports from 2014 to 2016 - a loss of around $6bn.
In the same period, foreign investment rose to around $12bn after it fell to $6bn following the 2014 assault on Gaza, which killed 1,462 civilians.
If you want to find out more, click play on the video above.
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All Comments (21)
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Total support for BDS.
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Our entire office building has voted to stop buying coffee at Starbucks. We now buy our coffee from a local shop and it even delivers. I know that’s not a lot but the movement is growing. It’s the least we can do to stop the human rights abuses, and war criminality of Israel.
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The power of boycott & BDS.
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I took some premium dates (from Israel) I bought from Waitrose back for a refund. I opened the packet and told the shop worker the tasted bad. I got my money back.
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Netanyahu can campaign all he likes around the world through governments and companies but ultimately, boycott is a personal consumer choice.
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The Palestinians are also Semitic. Being anti-israel has nothing to do with semitism
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I fully support the BDS movement in .
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We need to reinforce BDS as a major Movement.
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We all should do what we can to prevent the suffering of Palestinians and any other group that is suffering because of greed and stupid beliefs.
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At least this makes me feel better that we are doing 1% of what we could do by not buying their products.
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3:25 how could they have the audacity to openly accept that they successfully lobbied and thus got the government's in their favour, the only thing worse then a criminal is a criminal who doesn't even try to hide his crime, shame.
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BDS is the only strategy that will make a difference but it'll need many countries and their citizens to participate.
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International financial boycotts were the primary factors in the collapse of apartheid in South Africa........
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Congrats, this movement must be expanded so that every muslim person on earth should know the brands..
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Free markets mean the freedom to boycott markets.
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We need a list of those US States so we know who not to do business with unless they overturn their ban on BDS. Boycott US States Who Ban BDS And Their Right To Protest Apartheid In Israel.
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Even as an Indian, I totally support BDS.
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Thank you for making this video. Should answer all those people who keep whining 'boycotts don't matter'
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God bless BDS and A L L who are involved. May your movement continue to grow and spread wide across the entire world. God Bless the people of Palestine, those in the West Bank and those in Gaza - keep them safe, give them strength and may their voices and cries for help be heard!
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Why is criticising Israel anti-Semitic why is everything anti-Semitic I think it’s just become a buzz word
