Broader View

The campaign to vilify and delegitimize Israel—not any specific policies or borders but the very idea of a Jewish state—is as widespread as it is misguided. In recent years we have seen these efforts in the political and legal arenas, in the mass and alternative media, and on college campuses. One common strategy is the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (or “BDS”) movement, that singles out Israel for opprobrium and defamation out of any reasonable proportion to its alleged offenses.

Typically, anti-Israel initiatives target policy makers and decision makers who are not experts on foreign policy in general or on Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. These are local elected officials, university staff members, investment managers, co-op board members, and transit-authority administrators—people who often lack context and background to evaluate the proposals. They may be subjected to one-sided and inflammatory rhetoric that demonizes Israel while attempting to cloak BDS initiatives in the language of “human rights” or “justice.”

In response to these and many other similar incidents, a number of Jewish organizations in Seattle have joined forces to create a set of informative and educational materials for organizations targeted for BDS and similar initiatives. The Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle generously supported the development of these materials, and was joined by American Jewish Committee, Hillel at the University of Washington, J Street, StandWithUs and other concerned community members in putting together the materials. Our goal is to provide a counterbalance to the incendiary anti-Israel messages and rhetoric used by BDS proponents and others who seek to delegitimize Israel, by presenting an overview of the other side of the debate in a factual, positive, and non-confrontational way.

The kit includes:

• A cover letter, explaining the purpose of the materials and listing the organizations and individuals that have contributed to or endorsed it
• Maps showing the Evolution of the Middle East, from StandWithUs
• Chronology of Jewish presence in the Land of Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
• Glossary of terms (full online version here)
• How Can You Defend Israel? by David Harris, Huffington Post, December 27, 2010 (print version)
• Seeing anti-Semitism in 3D: How to tell legitimate criticism of Israel from Jew-hatred by Natan Sharansky, Jerusalem Post, February 24, 2004
• Map of Freedom: Middle East and North Africa 2011, Freedom House
• Two Narratives for Two Peoples by Hussein Ibish, The Forward, June 3, 2011
• What Does “Pro-Palestinian” Really Mean? by Khaled Abu Toameh, Hudson New York, November 17, 2009
• Responses to Misinformation and False Statements about Israel by Sandy Berger, February 2011
• Civil Rights in Israel by Sandy Berger
• Frequently Asked Questions about Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), by Jon Haber
• A Tale of Two Co-Ops by Jon Haber
• Israel: Small Country, Big Ideas, from StandWithUs

Additional Resources:

• More in-depth information: The Campaign Against Israel’s Legitimacy: Answers to Israel’s Critics by Aaron Jacob, AJC
• For co-ops facing boycott campaigns: Davis Food Co-Op Resolution not to boycott Israel, March 15, 2010 (print version)
• For churches: Rabbis for Human Rights letter
• For artists: Make Music, Not Boycotts: A Letter to Roger Waters by Kobi Oz, The Jewish Daily Forward, March 15, 2011