Waskow's sad arguments against BDS
I was just watching the discussion that Amy Goodman (video here) recently moderated between Omar Barghouti of the Global BDS Movement and Rabbi Arthur Waskow, over the utility and ethics of the BDS campaign.
Waskow criticized the BDS movement without reservation. I thought his arguments were kind of sad: often inaccurate, and off-the-mark, and extremely US-centric. A big part of his argument had to do with the ways in which the situations of White-dominated Apartheid South Africa and today's Israel are similar, or different. Waskow tried to argue that whereas the Apartheid government got its foreign support mainly from corporations, Israel gets its support mainly from the US government... Ergo, while boycotting or taking other actions against Chase Manhattan Bank were appropriate and useful in the 1970s/80s, over South Africa, today what's needed is to build a broad coalition of peace-loving Americans to change the policy of the US government.
He also argued that BDS "seeks to demonize an entire people, with a culture and life of their own, etc." in Israel... (As if the Afrikaners who dominated Apartheid SA had no culture or life of their own?? I'm still not sure what the difference was there.)
I thought Barghouti made the counter-arguments excellently, and was particularly effective when, a number of times, he pointed out that Waskow's way of arguing seemed to completely ignore the Palestinians' own agency and the demand for BDS that is so widely supported among Palestinian civil society of all stripes. Waskow really did come across very isolated and arrogant. It was sad, really to see this person who historically did play a good role in U.S. social movements now engaging in special pleading on behalf of the Jewish state.
Dressing up like Tolstoy does not, it turns out, mean you end up acting with Tolstoyan detachment and universalist ethics.
Anyway, it's great that Amy Goodman hosted this important discussion. It's a topic we need to discuss a lot more in the US-- and also, to put into action.
What irritated me most about this discussion was the fact that Waskow never expanded very well upon how he sees BDS as demonizing an entire people and culture. He spent most of his time repeating the mantra about muslims, christians, and jews in the U.S. coming together to force the hand of the U.S. government to end the occupation.
But the fact is that if he thought he just had a better/different idea than BDS, he wouldn't be a public figure on Democracy Now that 'opposes BDS.' I wanted to hear more about his actual opposition, instead of, "BDS won't work, and alas, I have a better idea."
Also, his lack of inclusion of Palestinian refugee rights was stark, and I am glad Barghouti called him out on it. Just ending the occupation isn't enough. Equal rights for all Palestinians and refugees is also the call.
I am still waiting for anyone, any where to explain how how what goes on in the West Bank is any different from apartheid South Africa, other than being worse. Economic sanctions is the only thing that will move Israel. If the governments won't do it, then private action is the only recourse. Boycott all Israeli products and services and culture until Israel comes to its senses and recognizes international law..
Economic sanctions will not be enough. International force will be required to resettle Israelis outside of Palestine as to enable the Palestinians to exercise their right of return.