Anti-Israel Boycott Escalates Within Arab League and in Europe

Latest Developments

• Arab League Expands Boycott, Lauds BDS: A meeting of The Arab League in Cairo has resulted in the blacklisting of 20 companies over their alleged investments “in illegal settlements and support for the Israeli economy and military.” The 97th Conference of Liaison Officers of the Regional Offices for the Arab Boycott also praised the so-called “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions” (BDS) campaign, “commending their alignment with international law and their growing impact in confronting Israel’s settler-colonialism, occupation, and apartheid.” Initially launched in 1945 to choke the nascent Jewish state in Mandatory Palestine, the Arab League’s boycott later targeted both Israeli companies and international companies engaged in business with Israel. In 1977, the U.S. Congress passed a law prohibiting American companies from participating in the Arab League boycott.
• Ireland to Present Boycott Plans: Irish Foreign and Trade Minister Simon Harris announced on May 26 that Dublin will soon present plans to ban goods from Israeli businesses in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem. Harris said that the move — the first of its kind by a European Union (EU) member state — was the result of “clear war crimes” being committed by Israel, claiming that “food is being used as a weapon of war” in the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and the Hamas terrorist organization. Harris also clarified that the boycott would apply only to goods produced by Jewish-owned companies, with Palestinian businesses exempted.
• ‘No Space for Those Who Don’t Share Our Values,’ EU Sports Commissioner Says: Asked about how the world of sports should respond to the conflict in Gaza, the European Union’s sports commissioner, Glenn Micallef, suggested that Israel could be the target of a boycott, without mentioning the country by name. “When it comes to sports, I think there should be no space in sporting events for those who do not share our values,” Micallef said. Over the past two decades, the BDS campaign has lobbied — largely unsuccessfully — the authorities of soccer, tennis, judo, basketball, the Olympic games, and other sports and major sporting events to exclude Israeli participation.

FDD Expert Response

“Launching its boycott of the Jewish presence in the Holy Land in 1945, the Arab League sought to pick up where the Nazis left off. Though the Arab League was quite open about its desire to smother the Jewish state in its infancy, activists in recent decades have put a social justice window dressing on the same tactics. Much as the Nazis, in their warped view, thought they were creating a better world by ridding it of Jews, anti-Israel activists hope to erase imagined injustices by erasing the Jewish state.” — David May, Research Manager and Senior Research Analyst

“As these distinct but overlapping developments demonstrate, the slogan ‘Kauft nicht bei Juden!’ — ‘Don’t buy from Jews!’ — didn’t die out with the Nazis. Those countries, like Ireland, that believe boycotting Israel will advance the cause of peace are either unaware or don’t care that this strategy was originally launched as part of the Nazi attempt to annihilate the Jewish people and, shortly after, the Arab attempt to strangle the State of Israel at birth.” — Ben Cohen, Senior Analyst and Rapid Response Director

FDD Background and Analysis

“Hamas Applauds UK, France, and Canada’s Threat of ‘Concrete Actions’ Against Israel,” FDD Flash Brief

“‘Weak Minister’: Dutch Foreign Policy Chief Calls for Review of EU-Israel Trade Agreement,” FDD Flash Brief

“UN Calls to Boycott Israel and Institute Arms Embargo,” FDD Flash Brief