BDS

The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement, colloquially the BDS Movement, is a Palestinian-led global campaign seeking political activism against Israel for "occupying and colonizing Palestinian land, discriminating against Palestinian citizens of Israel and denying Palestinian refugees the right to return to their homes." The movement, which takes its cues from the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, was created in 2005 as calls grew in the international community to pressure Israel on behalf of the Palestinian cause. It is often criticized for being antisemitic in its opposition to Zionism and promoting the de-ligitimization of Israel and denying the country its right to exist and self-determination. Movement goals The BDS Movement calls for non-violent yet punishing measures against Israel until it ends what is seen as an occupation of rightfully Palestinian territory and a dismantlement of the West Bank separation barrier. BDS also pushes for full equality of Palestinians and the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes in accordance with United Nations Resolution 194, adopted December 11, 1948. The movement uses protests and cultural boycotts to target Israeli businesses in the West Bank or events with connects to Israel. BDS is a key player in the international Israeli Apartheid Week, a series of lectures and rallies across college campuses against Israeli activity in the West Bank. BDS supporters have successfully gotten some artists from cancelling concerts in Israel, even when the concerts were not scheduled to take place in the West Bank. In addition, business boycotts are a common tactic employed by the movement, targeting Israeli businesses, notably the soft drink company SodaStream and Israeli banks Bank Hapoalim and Bank Leumi. Supporters are urged to refrain from buying goods or using services from Israeli companies or from companies which do business in Israel. Criticism Multiple organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League, classify the BDS movement as antisemitic, citing the double standards Israel is held to that apply to no other country in the world. Other claims of antisemitism highlight that BDS supporters engage in antisemitic activity and deny Israel's right to self-determination. Critics also point out BDS closely parallels the Nazi boycott of Jewish businesses in the era right before World War II. Critics also note that the calls to boycott Israeli businesses, which themselves employ Palestinian workers, inadvertently harm Palestinians, the people the BDS movement claims to support. The European Union has expressed opposition to the boycott of Israel, and motions have been passed across the world condemning the movement. A non-binding motion in Ontario, Canada called to "reject the 'differential treatment' of Israel by the BDS movement," while 21 states in the United States have passed anti-BDS laws. French anti-hate speech law has been used against BDS activists. Support BDS enjoys endorsements from the African National Congress and branches of the Green Party in England, Wales, Scotland and Canada. Pink Floyd musician Roger Waters is a noted supporter of the BDS movement, as are Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu and novelist Alice Walker.

Fringe rabbis recruit Jewish clergy to lobby against US military aid to Israel, halt weapons sales

The coalition, called 'Rabbis for Block the Bombs, ' launched publicly on 23 August and so far has 92 signatories.

AUGUST 25, 2026|ByMATHILDA HELLER

Demonstrators from the group Jewish Voice for Peace hold an emergency Passover Seder outside of ICE headquarters on April 14, 2025 in New York City. The group is calling for freedom for Palestine, the release of Mahmoud Khalil, and to protest President Trump.

CUNY ordered to disclose all investments in companies with alleged ties to Israel

CUNY agreed to a settlement and to provide all its stock and bond holdings for every fiscal year since January 2020. This is to be done within the next 15 days.

AUGUST 19, 2026|ByMATHILDA HELLER

Ireland's new government jet, which lacks the Elbit-manufactured FalconEye technology that allows it to land in fog.

Ireland's new €53m. jet may struggle in fog as government rejects Israeli-made landing system

Ireland’s new government jet was purchased without FalconEye, an Elbit co-developed system that helps aircraft land in fog, despite officials denying any operational limits.

AUGUST 4, 2026|ByJAMES GENN

Protesters in France hold a sign that reads FEMINISTS AND QUEER PEOPLE STAND WITH GAZA during the 2026 Suburban Pride which took place in Aubervilliers in support of LGBTQ people in working class neighborhoods in June.

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'Queers for Palestine' and the intersectionality trap fueling antisemitism - analysis

How a theory of overlapping oppression became, for some, a framework for anti-Israel activism

JULY 28, 2026|ByNEVILLE TELLER

Swiss Eurovision winner Nemo announces they are returning their trophy in protest against Israel

The comments are the latest protest against the European Broadcasting Union, which has seen five countries pull out after it cleared Israel last week to take part in next year's event in Austria.

DECEMBER 12, 2025ByREUTERS

Nemo, representing Switzerland, performs "The Code" during the Grand Final of the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest, in Malmo, Sweden, May 11, 2024.

Uri Geller: Guinness World Records has bent to politics in new boycott of Israel - opinion

The record for the world’s largest steel spoon was earned in 2018 - but were it to happen today, Uri Geller's application would be rejected.

DECEMBER 6, 2025ByURI GELLER

Uri Geller seen with a Guinness World Records certificate, earned for creating the world's largest spoon in 2018.

Eric Adams issues executive order barring BDS, throwing down gauntlet for successor Zohran Mamdani

The new executive order bars city officials from taking actions that would “discriminate” against Israel, Israeli citizens or entities otherwise associated with Israel.

DECEMBER 6, 2025ByJOSEPH STRAUSS/JTA

Once he assumes office in January, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani (right) will have the power to revoke or modify Eric Adams’ (left) executive orders.

Europe once expelled Jewish musicians, now it hunts the only Jewish state - comment

European broadcasters boycotting Israel's Eurovision Song Contest participation frame it as moral courage, but the instinct mirrors patterns that shaped early Nazi-era exclusions of Jewish culture.

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A mass rally of Berliners took place in the Sportpalast, where Nazi Reich Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda and Gauleiter of Berlin, Dr. Joseph Goebbels, with ruthless frankness, described the danger facing Europe, 1943.

Germany knows that erasing Israel from various platforms does nothing for peace - editorial

The Germans, speaking from painful experience, believe that this type of exclusion should never be normalized, and attempts to delegitimize an entire people never end well. The world should listen.

DECEMBER 4, 2025ByJPOST EDITORIAL

THE ANNOUNCEMENT by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to suspend arms deliveries to Israel has unleashed quite a storm at home, says the writer.

Tesco suspends employee for refusing to handle Israeli goods, prompting pro-Palestinian protests

BDS alleged Tesco had suspended the worker “for refusing to handle blood-soaked Israeli goods."

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Herzog Park name change means more than policy, its an attack against Jewish identity - analysis

The saga over the park in Dublin is not a trivial matter. It is about the right of Jews to be fully themselves in the societies they helped build.

DECEMBER 1, 2025ByHERB KEINON

A dog walks next to a plaque on a stone that reads 'Herzog Park' commemorating Chaim Herzog, Israel's sixth president, who was born in Belfast, as Dublin City Council has prepared a motion to rename 'Herzog Park' to 'Hind Rajab Park' after Hind Rajab from Gaza, in Dublin, Ireland, November 30, 2025.

NC activists claimed ‘victory’ in their Israel-divestment push, state treasury says they are wrong

Several pro-Palestinian groups in North Carolina touted the state pension fund’s sale of $6.7 million in Israeli government bonds as a “victory.”

NOVEMBER 29, 2025ByGRACE GILSON/JTA

People wave Palestinian flags as they protest in support of Palestinians amid the ongoing war between Israel and the militant Hamas group in the Gaza Strip, outside an event attended by the US vice president on April 4, 2024, in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Olwen Fouéré rejects honorary doctorate from University of Galway due to Israeli ties - report

Fouéré, known for roles in "The Crown", "Derry Girls", and "Fantastic Beasts", became the second entertainment figure from Ireland to reject the honor this week after filmmaker Margo Harkin.

NOVEMBER 29, 2025ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF

Olwen Fouere attends the premiere of "The Survivalist" during the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival at Chelsea Bow Tie Cinemas on April 16, 2015 in New York City.

Peter Beinart apologizes after criticism over Tel Aviv University talk

In his apology statement, Beinart acknowledged that he had made "a serious mistake" by failing to seek out Palestinian perspectives before speaking at the Israeli university.

NOVEMBER 27, 2025ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF