Except for Palestine: The Limits of Progressive Politics

by Marc Lamont Hill

The rhetorical purpose of equating BDS with the Arab League boycott fails on its face on several levels. The Arab League was a conglomeration of states issuing a boycott for the explicit purpose of attacking Israel’s economy to thwart “Zionist aims.” BDS is a call of conscience to supporters in civil society around the world to use economic leverage, including lobbying their governments, in order to bring about specific changes in Israeli policies that violate human rights.

All it did was give away a potential bargaining chip that future U.S. administrations might have been able to use to leverage an agreement between Syria and Israel when conditions allowed for it. This was a key factor in why no previous president had considered unilateral recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan.