The pro-Israel community in the UK is at a pivotal crossroads. We can either be complacent about the challenges to Israel’s fundamental right to exist, or put our efforts into fighting back against the tide of delegitimisation we face from groups such as the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) or Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

The PSC’s aims state that it is “in opposition to Israel’s occupation and its aggression against neighbouring states” and being “in opposition to racism, including anti-Jewish prejudice and Islamophobia, and the apartheid and Zionist nature of the Israeli state”.

Let’s note here its basic assertion of opposition to Israel being able to defend itself against hostile neighbouring states.

Also, its deliberate avoidance of the term “anti-Semitism”, as well as it being fundamentally anti-Zionist; i.e. against the right of Jews to self-determination as a nation.

The BDS’s aims include “respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN Resolution 194.”

Let’s note that this would essentially mean an end to Israel as it currently exists.

Last summer, the PSC sent more than 58,000 letters to MPs about Israel’s actions in Gaza.

When MPs are contacted by thousands of their constituents, it naturally changes their stance.

MPs don’t want to be out of tune with “public opinion”.

By contrast, pro-Israel voices managed to send only about a tenth as many letters to their MPs.

While the BDS movement hasn’t got mass support, it has made inroads into our universities, trade unions, shops, occasionally into our cultural events, and has encouraged protests outside stores and institutions with Israeli affiliations across the country.

Pro-Israel voices often fail to prevent these spaces from bowing to the pressure BDS movement activists place on them. It would be wrong to underestimate the campaigning ability of the people in these groups.

Read the article in full at Jewish News.

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