Stephen Hawking rejects the Zionism of Einstein

By Rabbi Shmuley Boteach
Published on May 14, 2013

Hawking and Mohammed

By David Suissa
Published on May 13, 2013

There was so much Jewish outrage last week in the wake of Professor Steven Hawking’s decision to join the academic boycott against Israel, it’s hard to know where to start.

Attempted divestment at UCSB and the BDS machine

Published on May 13, 2013

Over the last month the UC Santa Barbara student government has been voting on a resolution to divest from companies doing business with Israel.

The Berkeley Boycott Exchange, Part 1: Berkeley Showed BDS the Door

By Shmuel Rosner
Published on May 7, 2013

BDS campaign spreads with little effect

By Tom Tugend
Published on April 24, 2013

The multinational boycott campaign targeting Israel, aimed at stopping the country’s perceived injustices against Palestinians, has a venerable history, but the movement showed a new spurt of activism this month.

Berkeley students vote to divest from Israel latest in a UC string

By Tom Tugend
Published on April 18, 2013

UC Berkeley student senators approved a bill on Thursday calling for the University of California system to divest of stock in American companies that provide technological and weapon support used by the Israeli military in the Palestinian territories.

Are critics of Israeli occupation getting nervous?

By David Suissa
Published on March 19, 2013

It’s a sure sign of nervousness when people start using the vocabulary of absolute certainty — when they refuse to allow for even the possibility of debate.

Letters to the Editor: Prager, vocational skills, BDS movement, SpaceIL

Published on February 27, 2013

In a recent article, Dennis Prager wrote an oversimplified and sweeping criticism of self-esteem (“Behavior Matters Most,” Feb. 15). He claims that self-esteem promotes the idea that feelings are more important than actions.

Oxford students reject boycott Israel motion

Published on February 27, 2013

A motion calling for blanket sanctions against Israel was rejected by the Oxford University Students’ Union.

Bloomberg defends Brooklyn College’s right to host BDS event

Published on February 7, 2013

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg defended the right of the publicly funded Brooklyn College to sponsor an anti-Israel BDS conference.

In SodaStream boycott push, Palestinians may be the victims

Published on February 7, 2013

For proponents of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement, SodaStream would appear to be a straightforward target.

South Africa’s African National Congress endorses Israel boycott, handing BDS movement a victory

Published on December 21, 2012

South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress, voted to make boycotts, divestment and sanctions of Israel part of its official policy.

BDS resolution against Israel could pass at ANC national conference

Published on December 18, 2012

A resolution aimed at boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel could gain majority support at this week’s National Conference of South Africa's ruling African National Congress party.

SodaStream Super Bowl ad buy has BDS movement’s eye

Published on December 10, 2012

SodaStream's purchase of a Super Bowl commercial has the BDS movement in the U.S. saying it will step up its campaign against the Israeli firm.

Israelis concerned about international isolation

Published on December 10, 2012

Israel is no stranger to international condemnation. Although the Israeli people, who are often characterized as “resilient” and “tough,” normally earn that appellation in the context of returning to normal life following some horrific event, some explain their impermeable exteriors as being more the product of a seemingly un-ending series of censures than surviving in a bad neighborhood.

UCI rejects divestment

By Tom Tugend
Published on November 20, 2012

A resolution passed by the UC Irvine undergraduate student council calling on the university to divest from companies that “profit from Israel’s occupation of Palestine” has been rejected by the UCI administration. At the same time, leaders of the Orange County Jewish community denounced “the nonbinding resolution, drafted and introduced with no forewarning by a small group of students with a personal agenda and deliberated in the absence of students with opposing views.”

UC-Irvine student senate approves non-binding divestment resolution on Israel

Published on November 14, 2012

The student senate of the University of California, Irvine unanimously passed a non-binding resolution calling on the school to divest from companies doing business with Israel. All 16 members of the legislative council of the Associated Students of UCI voted for the resolution on Tuesday that calls on the university to divest from companies that “have promoted and been complicit” in “ongoing human rights violations systematically committed by the Israeli government.”

Five challenges facing the American pro-Israel community in the next four years

Published on November 1, 2012

The American pro-Israel community has a lot of work to do. While many pro-Israel organizations in the United States, including AIPAC, Christians United for Israel, Stand with US and Hasbara have been extremely effective in defending the Jewish State, there is always more we can do. Here is a list of the five greatest challenges facing the American pro-Israel community in the next four years.

My country is under attack. Do you care?

Published on October 26, 2012

I'm angry. You see, as most Americans were waking up this morning, and those in Europe and elsewhere around the world were going about their daily routines, here in Israel -- over one million people were running for cover from a hail of rockets being rained down by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza.

South African trade ministry publishes West Bank goods notice, despite negotiations

Published on October 15, 2012

The South African Trade Ministry published a second notice concerning the labeling of Israeli products, despite working with the Jewish community on a compromise.

B.D.S. activists inject Middle East debate into L.A. bus contract discussion

By Jonah Lowenfeld
Published on September 15, 2012

Discouraging S. African visits to Israel constitutes boycott, envoy says

Published on August 15, 2012

Israel's envoy to South Africa said a government minister's statement that South Africans would be "discouraged" from visiting Israel represents a boycott of his country.

Two Australian BDS protesters found guilty of assault

Published on July 30, 2012

Two anti-Israel activists arrested in Melbourne last year were found guilty of assaulting police.

S. African government minister praises West Bank product ban

Published on July 19, 2012

A South African government minister expressed strong support for a proposal to ban products from the West Bank from being labeled as originating from Israel.

Look between the headlines to understand the Presbyterians' vote

Published on July 16, 2012

The Presbyterian Church (USA)’s 220th General Assembly had just cast its first vote on an anti-Israel divestment resolution when the spin began. Major news outlets and activists on each side could hardly wait for the debate to finish the next day before declaring winners and losers.

Presbyterian Church’s narrow rejection of divestment unlikely to slow anti-Israel push

Published on July 6, 2012

Proponents of using economic pressure to force Israel out of the West Bank may have lost a key battle this week – by a hair’s breadth – but they have no intention of giving up.

July 4, 2012

By Shmuel Rosner
Published on July 4, 2012

Note to boycotters: Israel is not a thief

By David Suissa
Published on July 3, 2012

There is an obvious way to respond to author Alice Walker’s refusal to allow her novel “The Color Purple” to be translated into Hebrew. In case you missed it, Walker accused Israel of being “guilty of apartheid and persecution of the Palestinian people, both inside Israel and also in the Occupied Territories.”

Boycott, divestment and sanctions put allies at odds

Published on July 3, 2012

As a long-time advocate for peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, I am pained that frustration over failure to achieve a just and lasting peace has led allies in the struggle to end up at odds over tactics like boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS).

June 25, 2012

By Shmuel Rosner
Published on June 25, 2012

May 16, 2012

By Shmuel Rosner
Published on May 16, 2012

Trial of Israel boycott backers begins in Australia

Published on May 3, 2012

The trial of 19 pro-Palestinian protesters backing an Israel boycott began in Australia.

USC president on campus pluralism and the BDS campaign

By Shmuel Rosner
Published on March 15, 2012

BDS backer bumped from Heroes contest

Published on October 10, 2011

The Jewish Federations of North America bumped a leader of a Jewish pro-Palestinian group from its Jewish Community Heroes competition.

Letters to the Editor: J Street, Wisconsin, Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions

Published on March 9, 2011

Traffic Going in Both Directions on J Street. I would like to add my congratulations, to the many he has already received, to David Suissa for again having written an excellent, incisive and rational article, “J Street Needs Another Lane” (March 4) to complement his “Israel Never Looked So Good,” which generated a significant response.

The sinister one-two punch: Creating hatred again

Published on March 9, 2011

The boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) campaign against the state of Israel is nothing new. Prejudice, isolation and punishment of Jews, an earlier form of BDS has recurred over the past 2,000 years. In Europe and the Middle East, Jewish people were isolated, demonized, and then persecuted and murdered in pogroms, Inquisitions, and wars. In 1930s Europe, Jews faced economic, cultural, and social boycotts that paved the way for the Holocaust. Since the 1940s, Arab states have imposed strict boycotts of Israel. The players may be different, but they all follow the same playbook: the sinister one-two punch. The first punch unleashes lies and distortions to foment hatred. The second punch demands draconian punishments, such as BDS.

Stockholm Israel Protest Pictures

By Rob Eshman
Published on July 20, 2010