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Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University – Rachel Giora
(Dept of Linguistics) still Flying on her Boycott-Israel Broomstick,
using Tel Aviv University funding
But not just heads of state and officers are
experiencing the loss of Israel’s legitimacy as a state among
nations. Israeli citizens are now exposed to it on a daily basis.
Probably more than anything else, it is the cultural boycott that
has captured the minds of Israelis. No discourse about shows or
no-shows can avoid mentioning “cancellation”. The dominant metaphor
referring to the great number of cancellations is “deluge”.
http://www.boycottisrael.info/content/israel-must-change-or-collapse-impact-bds
Israel must change or collapse: On the impact of BDS
Rachel Giora
July 2010
In the eyes of the world, the question is what can be done when
the relevant institutions do not succeed in enforcing international
law?
Tanya Reinhart
(May 5, 2005)1
Despite the recent atrocities inflicted by Israelis on Palestinians
and internationals, despite the deteriorating status of human rights
experienced by Israeli citizens both Palestinian and
non-Palestinian, despite the mounting despair of any chance for a
change on the part of Israeli governments, Israel can no longer NOT
look in the mirror the world is pushing up to its face.
Israel is on the brink of change or
collapse.
This choice will not be enforced at gunpoint or
rocket-point; nor will it be triggered by world governments. Rather,
it is the growing BDS movement, led by grassroots civilians inspired
by the Palestinian civil society’s call for a comprehensive BDS
against Israel (2005),2
that is enforcing this change-or-collapse
choice on Israelis.
The BDS movement
hit the bull’s eye3
It managed to undermine Israel’s international status – a change of
mind that finally pierced Israelis’ bubble of indifference:
“Israel’s legitimacy is being attacked” said Israel Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu during a recent Knesset discussion on Israel’s
collapsing international status;4
“Our legitimacy is fragile and only a real attempt to reach an
agreement with the Palestinians will repair it" said Minister Fuad
Ben Eliezer a few months earlier;5
Israel is distressed over the delegitimization “assault”,
wrote Ari Shavit, a mainstream Israel journalist;6
Israel is facing “an existential threat”, alleged Dan
Gillerman, Israel's 13th Permanent Representative to the United
Nations (Meet the press, Channel 2, June 12 2010); Israel is facing
“a major strategic threat” warned the Reut Institute’s report7;
business is infiltrated by hostility toward Israel in EU, reports
Minister Ben Eliezer;8
The consequences of the academic boycott are tangible. To regain
Israel’s legitimacy, Israel’s policies will have to be geared
towards establishing real peace, said Prof. Itamar
Rabinovich, former Israeli Ambassador to the United States
and former Tel Aviv University President, during a
symposium on “The Delegitimization of Israel as a Strategic Threat”
at Tel Aviv University.9
“Israel's
feeling of isolation is becoming more pronounced” reads a
headline in The Washington Post, which says it all.10
Indeed, it is the loss of legitimacy and positive
self-image that will enforce Israel to reconsider its
policies.
“Israel
won't change unless the status quo has a downside” argued
Tony Karon, a senior editor at
TIME.com.11
Five years ago, on July 9, 2005, the
Palestinian civil society took a step towards affecting just such a
change. It chose a non-violent way to help render the status
quo costly and hence unsustainable. It did so by
issuing a call on the citizens of the world to apply Boycott,
Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel until it complies with
international law and universal principles of human rights. The
international community responded. And enthusiastically so: The BDS
movement against Israel accumulated larger effects than anticipated.
Whereas the Palestinian call for BDS planted the seeds, their fruits
extended beyond boycott, divestment and sanctions. It seems like the
Palestinian call allowed the citizens of the world to exert their
power and exercise their right to demand justice for the oppressed.
Instances of this effect abound: Israel and the military have lost
the fight over international public opinion; politicians and
military officers will find it difficult if not impossible to
convince The Hague, says Ron Ben Yishai, an Israeli
journalist and a veteran war correspondent;12
Defense Minister Ehud Barak canceled a planned trip to a
Paris arms show for fear of arrest involving the Gaza flotilla
attack, given that “Palestinian activists in France had filed legal
complaints against him over his involvement in the flotilla affair”;13
“Two Belgian lawyers, working on behalf of a group of Palestinians,
plan to charge 14 Israeli politicians, including Ehud Olmert, Ehud
Barak, Tzipi Livni and Matan Vilnai, for crimes against humanity and
war crimes”;14
“33 Greek citizens who took part in the Gaza-bound flotilla that was
stopped by the IDF last month are planning to sue senior Israeli
officials, including Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Chief of Staff
Gabi Ashkenazi and Navy chief Eliezer Merom, Army Radio reported on
Wednesday. The Greek activists also plan to sue soldiers and police
officers who participated in the IDF's interception of the
Turkish-flagged ship the Mavi Marmara, which resulted in the deaths
of nine activists”.15
Indeed, Israeli
politicians and military officers do not feel safe abroad. No
wonder, Kahanists (!) are now organizing to provide security for
Ambassador
Michael Oren and other Israeli dignitaries at US public events,
reports Efrat Porsher, Israel Hayom, (February 14 2010).16
But not just
heads of state and officers are experiencing the loss of Israel’s
legitimacy as a state among nations. Israeli citizens are now
exposed to it on a daily basis. Probably more than anything else, it
is the cultural boycott that has captured the minds of Israelis. No
discourse about shows or no-shows can avoid mentioning
“cancellation”. The dominant metaphor referring to the great number
of cancellations is “deluge”. Its meaning indicates huge quantities
in addition to total destruction: “After us, the cancellation”
[which, in Hebrew, rhymes with After us, the Deluge]17;
“a wave
of cancellations”;18
“a deluge of cancellations”19.
The reference to cancellations does not skip those who don’t cancel,
who are referred to as those who haven’t canceled.
The effect spills
over to Israeli artists as well: “While it may not be surprising
that a number of international artists like the Pixies and Gorillaz
Sound System cancelled their shows in Israel following the IDF raid
on the Gaza-bound flotilla of ships last month, the aftermath has
also affected Israeli artists.
In the last couple of days, concerts by the popular Idan Raichel
Project have been cancelled in Turkey, the country which seems to be
the angriest at us. Another show, by metal band Orphaned Land, which
mixes Arabic and Jewish-musical and cultural themes in their music,
was also axed from the upcoming Sonicsphere Festival, featuring
Metallica, Megadeth and a slew of other leading hard rock bands…
And, in the latest cancellation, famed entertainer Dana
International had a concert in Ankara, Turkey cancelled, and has
been booted from the annual Gay Pride parade concert in Madrid”.20
Thanks to the
Palestinians, the world has now opened its eyes. And in the eyes of
the world, Israel must change. And change it will.
----
Disclaimer: this
article was written for the 5th anniversary commemorative magazine
of the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC) to be published in
July 2010. The online version of the magazine will be available at
bdsmovement.net
Rachel Giora is a
professor of Linguistics at Tel Aviv University and a member of
BOYCOTT! Supporting the Palestinian BDS call from within
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