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Healthy Institutions Don't Boycott Israel

(The Federalist) Alex Joffe - In terms of convincing institutions to boycott, divest from, or legally sanction Israel, successes are meager. Global industries are uninterested in excluding Israel. Investment in Israel is rising, especially from Asia. Even trade with Europe is unimpeded. No university or corporation has sold its stock in companies like Intel or Caterpillar for doing business in Israel. Moreover, backlash against boycotts is growing, particularly at the state level. Legislators in Florida, California, Ohio, Illinois, and South Carolina have proposed laws to prohibit anti-Israel discrimination by state agencies, including pension funds. In Britain, the Conservative Party has proposed to restrict the ability of local councils and pension funds to discriminate against Israel on political grounds. Even at universities, where pro-boycott activists have occasionally managed to manipulate or coerce student governments into passing boycott and divestment resolutions, in no case have university administrations, much less boards of trustees or investment managers, followed suit. To the contrary: Israel boycott and divestment resolutions are regularly denounced. The writer is editor of BDS Monitor for Scholars for Peace in the Middle East.
2016-02-12 00:00:00
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