Naomi Klein and her Hebrew-language publisher discuss BDS
... in this excellent interview, from Cecilie Surasky of Jewish Voices for Peace.
The words of Klein's publisher, Yael Lerer-- a Jewish Israeli-- are particularly hard-hitting. She says,
- As an Israeli citizen, I need boycotts for two reasons. First, I want Israelis to feel more strongly that everything is not normal. It means nothing for many self-identified left-wing Israelis to say, "It's awful, what's going on in Gaza and in Hebron," while continuing their daily lives like everything is fine. They go to the shows and they go to the concerts. These people are the elites in this country. These are the journalists that work at the newspapers. I want to move them. I want to shake these people up and make them understand they cannot continue their normal life when Palestinians in Qalqiliya [a West Bank city completely surrounded by the Separation Barrier] -- only fifteen minutes away from Tel Aviv -- are in prison.
The second reason I need the boycott is because I lost the hope of creating change from within, which was what I tried to do as an activist for many years. Twenty years ago I could never have imagined this semi-apartheid situation. I care about the future in this place. I care about my fellow Israelis. I have a huge family here and many, many friends. I know many people who don't have any other passports, and who don't have any other options. I think that the solution for this place, the only possible future, is living together. Unfortunately, at this stage, I don't see how this future can be achieved without international pressure. And I think that boycott is a nonviolent tool that has already shown us that it can work. So I'm asking: please boycott me.
By the way, they also deal really well with the principal anti-BDS arguments made by Uri Avnery-- namely that people are not calling for a boycott of North Korea or Burma, so why Israel; and that that a boycott will only force Israelis into a defensive and even more intransigent crouch.
And female is Madonna, who performed yesterday in Tel Aviv in spite of Shirin's boycott. 50k fans per show. Awesome.
Check out:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1251804468633&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
"Israel is the energy capital of the world," she continued. "If we can live together in harmony in this place, we can live in peace all over the world."
The 51-year-old entertainer claims a special bond with the Jewish state. She's been dabbling in Kabbala for more than a decade and has taken on a Hebrew name, Esther. She's come on private pilgrimages in 2004 and 2007, and has visited the Western Wall since arriving on Sunday.
You can have Madonna (quite an intellectual behemoth, there). I think I'll go with Naomi Klein...