BDS 2-21-2016

21, February 2016               BDS

It is profoundly disturbing that letters writers, who support the BDS movement targeting Israel, are vilified as being anti-Semitic. Nothing could further from the truth. These are cheap shots aimed at silencing Israel’s policies. The U.N. Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, has repeatedly vented his frustration at Israel’s polices. Human Rights Watch has called for all companies to cease doing business with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The group’s new report, titled "Occupation, Inc.," also calls on countries like the United States to "withhold funding to the Israeli government in an amount equivalent to its expenditures and related infrastructure in the West Bank." The report comes on the heels of a statement by the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Daniel Shapiro, in which he accused Israel of abominable treatment of Palestinians. He stated that Israel “having two standards for adherence to the rule of law in the West Bank—one for Jews and one for Palestinians. He added "Too many attacks on Palestinians lack a vigorous investigation or response by Israeli authorities. Too much vigilantism goes unchecked. And at times there seem to be two standards of adherence to the rule of law—one for Israelis and another for Palestinians." The BDS is a legitimate grass roots movement aimed applying economic pressure to persuade Israel to abandon its decades old illegal occupation. To support such polices is not an act of loyalty but one of betrayal which will only hasten Israel’s isolation.