Boycott, Divest from and Sanction (BDS)
The effort to Boycott, Divest from and Sanction (BDS) Israel, is an anti-Semitic movement whose end goal is the destruction of the Jewish State. BDS activists have repeatedly acknowledged that “The real aim of BDS is to bring down the state of Israel.”
Despite the immense hatred for the Jewish state displayed by proponents of BDS, CUFI is defeating them at every turn. Nearly half the states in the Union have passed legislation or seen executive orders issued banning the state from investing in or engaging in contracts with entities that are boycotting Israel.
For a concise overview of the BDS movement, check out this video of CUFI director David Brog testifying before the Nevada State Senate Government Affairs Committee.
JOIN THE FIGHT!
The key tool in our effort to defeat BDS is anti-BDS legislation such as that which was passed recently in Texas . We advance this legislation by bring bringing truth, context and morality to the discussion.
TRUTH
• There has been an uninterrupted Jewish presence in Israel for more than 3,000 years.
• When in 1947, the UN resolved to divide the Holy Land into two-states, one for Jews and one for Arabs, the Jews accepted the partition, the Arabs rejected it and tried to destroy the newly independent Jewish nation.
• Since Israel’s independence every Israeli offer of peace with the Palestinians has been rejected.
• Jordan controlled the West Bank illegally in 1967 when Israel took control if it in a war of self-defense. The territory is disputed, not occupied.
• Settlements are not the obstacle to peace. Israel has repeatedly offered peace deals to the Palestinians in which land swaps would account for any territory in the West Bank in which Israelis live.
CONTEXT
• Legislators, have limited time, and a virtually unlimited agenda. So, they will often ask: Why pass this legislation now?
o The answer is simple: One does not wait to lock their doors until after they’ve being robbed. The anti-Semitic BDS movement is seeking to infect the American economy. As a leader among the states, Texas should lead on this issue of both local and national importance.
• BDS activists like to blame the entire Arab-Israeli conflict on so-called Israeli settlements. As the facts above indicate, this is demonstrably false. Moreover:
o This legislation does seek to comment or pass judgement on Israeli communities in the disputed territories. Rather it is an acknowledgement of the reality on the ground: namely that Israeli businesses in the West Bank hire and pay a strong wage to both Israelis and Palestinians.
o In addition, what better way for Palestinians and Israelis to understand each other than for them to work together, make products together and spend time with one another? Only someone who is anti-peace would be pro-BDS.
MORALITY
• BDS activists argue that they should have the freedom to boycott Israel – and we agree, but…
o This legislation does not outlaw boycotting Israel, it merely states that the government will not engage with entities that do so.
o The people have the right to choose with which companies their government will associate. Entities that participate in the BDS movement are supporting a movement to destroy the world’s only Jewish state. The people have the right to ensure their tax dollars are not complicit in that immoral effort.
• Sometimes good and decent people, miss the forest for the trees; we need to help them see the light : Investment managers, accountants, and other state employees and contractors that are associated with retirement funds or who secure contracts on behalf of the state may argue that the people are best served by placing no restrictions on investments and/or with whom the state contracts – we disagree.
o Ours is not an amoral society, nor should our government behave with no moral compass to guide it.
o Just as we encourage the hiring of veterans and contracting with minority owned businesses, so too must we allow our better angels to guide the state’s investments and contracts. In this context, doing so means refusing to give our taxpayer dollars to entities that seek to end the existence of a free and democratic American ally.