The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Campaign May Seem New, But It’s Not

The State of Israel has been the target of an economic warfare campaign since before there even was an Israel.  One might even argue that its roots can be traced back to Kristalnacht. For decades after Israel’s founding, the boycott was driven by the Arab League. In recent decades, however, the campaign has been heavily influenced by the failure of the Oslo peace process and the success of the anti-apartheid campaign in South Africa. Clouding the campaign has been the presence of terrorist groups within the BDS network, as well as warming ties between Israel and Arab states. Jonathan Schanzer, a former terrorism finance analyst with the US Treasury, explains the sordid and complicated history. Jonathan is senior Vice President of Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a nonpartisan think tank in Washington. He is also a congregant at CBT.

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Heather Glick