They Called Me a Lioness: A Palestinian Girl's Fight for Freedom

by Ahed Tamimi

The rise of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement was another huge factor behind the internationalization of the Palestinian cause. The BDS movement, which was inspired by South Africa’s anti-apartheid movement, was formally launched in 2005 by 170 Palestinian grassroots and civil society groups. The aim is to put political and economic pressure on Israel to respect Palestinian rights and comply with international law. The three goals of the BDS movement are to end Israel’s military rule over the Palestinian land it occupied in 1967, full equality for the Palestinian citizens of Israel, and the right of return for Palestinian refugees who were driven out of their homes in 1948. Over recent years, the movement has gained momentum internationally and seen some significant victories, like college campuses divesting their endowments of Israeli companies, corporations ending their business dealings with the illegal settlements, and prominent public figures pulling out of events taking place in Israel. This has been one of Israel’s worst fears, so much so that the state launched a vigorous campaign to criminalize BDS through legislation. Its top ally, the United States, has also attacked and criminalized the movement. Since 2014, state and local legislatures and even the U.S. Congress have enacted more than one hundred measures penalizing groups and businesses that boycott Israel. Thirty-two U.S. states have passed anti-boycott laws—this in a country that claims to upho...