US Shift in Public Opinion
Propels Boycott Movement
By Iqbal Jassat
As the Obama presidency edges on by pinning its hope on the
“Kerry Plan” to secure what it perceives to be the solution
for the Israel/Palestine conflict, it does appear that the
rest of the world seems to have adopted a “wait and see”
approach rather than pushing the American agenda.
This lack-luster stance is indicative of deep-seated
frustration across Europe and beginning to manifest in the
United States itself. While it is not clear what the precise
reason may be for such disdain, it certainly doesn’t hide the
fact that significant portions of public opinion in Europe as
reflected in media reports, believes that American pussyfooting has to end.
American mainstream media, while traditionally over-zealous in
its overt pro-Israel stance, also seems to have developed
cracks with the opening of spaces for more critical analysis.
Does it point to a radical shift? Certainly not. However it
does suggest that commentators on Israel/Palestine have a
greater sense of protecting their credibility as “unbiased”
rather than be seen as pro-Israel lapdogs.
Take the case of New York Times [NYT] to illustrate this
shift. In a remarkable departure from a decades long practice
of suppressing views in conflict with its pro-Israel position,
NYT has opened what Mondoweiss describes as a “stirring debate
on BDS” by allowing readers to speak out about inequality and
ethnic supremacy. It ran a bumper crop of letters about BDS
[Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions] in its international
edition and most are pro-BDS, and from Americans including
activists in the Palestinian solidarity movements says Philip
Weiss.
Zionists may argue that this is an isolated aberration but the
reality is that it is reflective of a growing new mood that’s
anchored in certain principles. These relate to human rights
and justice, both denied to Palestinians since their forced
removal via genocidal policies of ethnic cleansing from land
held by their families for generations and which paved the way
for a colonial regime known as Israel.
To buttress my point further, consider a new study
commissioned and published by the Presbyterian Church of USA
titled ‘Zionism Unsettled’. It’s an amazing document both in
terms of its depth and frankness: “For decades the
[Presbyterian Church {USA}] has opposed the evangelical blend
of dispensationalism and Christian Zionism because it fuses
religion with politics, distorts faith, and imperils peace in
the Middle East.”
In his analysis of the study, Joe Catron refers to the
disparate threads of Jewish Zionism, first cultural and
political, then political and religious, culminating in the
fusion of the latter two after Israel’s military occupation of
the Gaza Strip, West Bank and other territories in 1967 – and
the subsequent launch of its settlement project. It also
underlines the United States’ own history of settler
colonialism as a crucial reason for its support, both
political and religious, of the similar process of Zionism.
Perhaps the most significant aspect of the study is that
shortly at its general assembly in Detroit, the Presbyterian
Church [USA] will consider divestment from three US companies
with Israeli military contracts. In laying bare facts
surrounding the ethnic cleansing of 1948, the apartheid facing
Palestinian citizens of Israel and the one-state reality, the
study reflects unprecedented challenges facing Israeli lobby
operations.
Such a refreshing shift in public opinion certainly seems to
be informed by the fact that the so-called peace process has
“devolved into a cover under which irreversible territorial
and demographic facts on the ground are being implemented with
impunity by Israel.”
Not surprising that ‘The Economist’ provides lucid commentary
on the sanctions campaign against Israel that it correctly
claims is gathering weight. A number of European pension funds
have withdrawn investments while some large corporations have
cancelled contracts. In Netherlands, a major pension fund PGGM
has liquidated its holdings in five Israeli banks. In Norway,
its finance ministry has announced that it is excluding Africa
Israel Investments and its subsidiary, Danya Cebus, a large
construction firm, from a government pension fund. Beyond
northern Europe, Romania has forbidden its citizens from
working for companies in the West Bank.
Yair
Lapid,
Israel’s
finance
minister
recently
told
a
conference of security boffins that the state is approaching
the same “tipping point” where South Africa found itself in
opposition to the rest of the world in the dying days of
apartheid, reports The Economist.
There cannot be any doubt that the Zionist enterprise is
jittery over global boycotts. Despite his disingenuous efforts
to brush off BDS as unethical and unjustified, PM Benjamin
Netanyahu is aware that Israel’s own mainstream media have
begun to raise public debates on the issue. What’s coming
through is the reality that the boycott movement has attracted
governments and a growing number of corporations to its cause.
– Iqbal Jassat is an Executive Member of the Media Review
Network, Johannesburg – South Africa. He contributed this
article
to
PalestineChronicle.com.
Visit:
www.mediareviewnet.com and follow him through Twitter:
@ijassat.