You can boycott Iran. You can boycott North Carolina. Just don't boycott Israel.

You can boycott Iran.
You can boycott North Carolina.

Just don't boycott Israel.

This morning I was the subject of this charming blog post from David Lublin drawing attention to my support for Palestinian human rights as if the Boycott, Divest and Sanction movement (BDS)  is something that should turn people off. I asked David to run my response but he refused. So I'll just post it here.

David (a professor of Government at American University) seems startled by the idea, but Israeli settlements do indeed fit the legal definition of a war crime. Article 8(2)(b)(viii) of the International Criminal Court Rome Statute defines "[t]he transfer, directly or indirectly, by the Occupying Power of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies" as a war crime. It's right there in black and white. Who can argue that the settlements don't meet this definition? Of course that's why Netanyahu wants Palestinians not to take this issue to the ICC. Legal experts agree that they would likely win.

Settlements aren't the only war crimes inflicted on the Palestinians. Watch this gut-wrenching video of an (off camera) Israeli sniper shooting to death a Palestinian civilian who was simply searching through the rubble of his Gaza neighborhood. Isn't intentionally targeting civilians a war crime? Of course it is -- just as much as Hamas shooting rockets at Israeli civilians is also a war crime. So why shouldn't the government carrying out these activities face a boycott?

Apparently these are the rules for the Progressive Except Palestine (PEP) folks: A boycott of Iran is Ok. A boycott of North Carolina over its anti-transgender law is Ok (and even noble). But boycotting Israel for the occupation is off-limits. How can that possibly be? It makes no sense. Are Palestinian lives somehow less worthy than everyone else's? Until someone can explain this glaring double-standard, I'm not buying David's insinuation that that BDS is a bad word. And neither should you.

What this is really about is David trying to make me politically radio-active because of my support for Palestinian human rights. For a long time supporters of Israel's occupation have sought to police the discourse around this topic so that criticism of the occupation remains extremely mild & timid. Those days are over. 

Now young American Jews are swelling the ranks of pro-BDS organizations like If Not Now and Jewish Voice for Peace. We have Bernie Sanders criticizing the destruction of Gaza during a nationally televised debate. Leading Zionists like Peter Beinart calling for a boycott of the illegal Israeli settlements. Black Lives Matter activists routinely tout Palestinian rights as a parallel movement for equality. American Muslims are becoming a political force within Democratic circles, and politicians seeking their support are increasingly paying heed to their views.

Sympathy for Palestinian human rights is shifting rapidly. BDS may not be "mainstream" today. But so what? As a longtime and outspoken advocate for gay rights (I salute you), David should know better than others that the mainstream position is not always the right one. 

David's attempt to make me radio-active will fail. But hopefully this will spark a wider conversation among his readers: If it's OK to boycott North Carolina for human rights, why isn't it OK to boycott Israel for the same?

Think about it....

PS. Yes, I will do whatever I can to help elect George Leventhal as the next County Executive. He's a thoroughly decent human being. Sixteen solid years of progressive legislating, 2 stints as Council President and an unwavering dedication to help those who need it most makes him my choice. He hasn't (yet?) launched his candidacy but I'm working hard to persuade him. If you want to join the effort to recruit George, join this list-serve.