Jerusalem Post columnist says settlement boycotts have backfired
In Israel, boycotts of goods, companies, academic institutions and settlements in the West Bank have not changed the country’s policy or stopped the settlement movement, according to a columnist for the Jerusalem Post. In his view, boycott campaigns over recent decades have attracted media attention while also stimulating Americans’ interest in economic ties with settlements.
The author writes that over the past 25 years, hundreds of companies and businesses, as well as new industrial zones and factories, have been established in territories he calls Judea and Samaria. He also mentions government sanctions, including those announced by the United Kingdom, but provides no details of these measures.
Examples of Airbnb and Ben & Jerry’s
As an example, the author cites Airbnb’s 2018 decision to remove about 200 accommodation listings in the West Bank from its platform. According to him, the company reversed this decision in less than half a year.
The column also mentions Ben & Jerry’s. In 2021, the company said it would not renew sales of its products in the territory it called the “Occupied Palestinian Territory,” while emphasizing that it was not leaving the Israeli market. The author claims that after a lengthy campaign in which he was involved, parent company Unilever sold its Israeli business to an Israeli licensee. After that, according to him, Ben & Jerry’s products continued to be sold in Israel, including in the West Bank.
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Measures against BDS in the United States
According to the author, boycott campaigns in the United States prompted countermeasures at the state level. He writes that 37 states adopted laws or other measures against the BDS movement, including restrictions on government contracts or investments for companies participating in boycotts of Israel.
The author also notes that on September 3, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act by 237 votes to 169. According to his description, the document provides for restrictions on certain federal funding for academic institutions that participate in boycotts of Israel. The bill still needs Senate approval.
The columnist, a former director general of the Yesha Council and current head of American Friends of Judea and Samaria, also claims that American entrepreneurs approached the organization about investment opportunities in the West Bank. He links this, in particular, to the reaction to British measures and entrepreneurs’ interest in doing business in the region.
