Monday, July 12, 2010

Boycott campign vs Israel a failure

The Anti-Israel Boycott Campaign: A Study in Failure - Robert Fulford
Given the publicity the plan to pressure Israel with boycotts, divestment and sanctions (routinely abbreviated as "BDS") has been receiving, the program should be on the way to success. But is it working? The answer seems to be No.
Jon Haber, who runs the website "Divest This!" (divest-this.com), reported in the Jerusalem Post that despite nearly a decade of BDS activism, not one college or university has sold even one share of a company identified as a supporter of Israel. The divesters are good at attracting crowds, writing manifestos, passing motions and getting their opinions onto TV. But they get few results.
In May, the divesters were cheered by news that Deutsche Bank had sold its shares in the Israeli company Elbit. However, this news was closely followed by Deutsche Bank's announcement that it was untrue - the bank had no Elbit shares to sell. Curiously, during the period when enemies of Israel were doing their best to cut its economic lifelines, Israel's economy remained in much better shape than equivalent economies elsewhere. Of all the OECD nations, Israel was the last to show signs of recession and among the first to begin recovering. (National Post-Canada)

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