INSS Insight No. 731
by Zipi Israeli and Michal Hatuel-Radoshitzky, INSS
The Israeli establishment has described the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) movement as a strategic threat.
Until recently, however, the BDS campaign to boycott Israel for the most part failed to attract the attention of the
Israeli media (with the exception of coverage by the dailyHaaretz).
This changed in June 2015 when central importance and large scale coverage was repeatedly dedicated to the issue. The
advantages of the broad coverage of BDS-related activities appear to outweigh the shortcomings, as demarcating the issue
clarifies the challenge facing Israel and underscores the need to deal with it professionally and institutionally.
This, in turn, enables the harnessing of the much-needed resources in order to appropriately address the threat. The
lack of a comprehensive time-sensitive counter effort to the BDS campaign can have far-reaching repercussions for the
State of Israel, its citizens, and Jewish communities worldwide.