American Jewish magazine the… Forward asks a number of prominent Jews to assess the decade’s news. Most contributors talk about the wonders of the Gaza war and related delights, but this entry is a notable exception:
After years of building slowly, the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement has gained real traction. The BDS conference at Hampshire College in November — which drew students from 40 campuses — marked a watershed in anti-occupation activism in the United States. BDS proponents — many of them Jewish — are picking up a time-honored, non-violent protest tool as they seek meaningful action against the 42-year-old occupation. Charges that these are “antisemitic” efforts to “delegitimize Israel” mischaracterize a multifaceted movement for human and civil rights. As BDS keeps growing, the Jewish community is going to have to grapple seriously with the issues this movement raises.
Alisa Solomon is an associate professor at Columbia University’s Journalism School and a contributing editor to WBAI’s weekly radio program “Beyond the Pale.”