Palestinian human rights activist condemns BDS

Palestinian human rights activist condemns BDS

In an op-ed published by The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, the Palestinian human rights activist and political commentator Bassem Eid outlines “The Palestinian Case Against BDS.”  Eid emphasizes that “[as] a Palestinian dedicated to working for peace and reconciliation between my people and our Israeli neighbors, I do not believe that the BDS advocates are helping our cause. On the contrary, they are just creating more hatred, enmity, and polarization.”

 

Eid argues that Palestinians want “jobs, secure education, and health” and that neither the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank nor Hamas in Gaza is working to improve the daily lives of Palestinians. In his view, BDS campaigners likewise ignore what is important for Palestinians:

 

“BDS spokespeople justify calling for boycotts that will result in increased economic hardships for the Palestinians by asserting that Palestinians are willing to suffer such deprivations in order to achieve their freedom. It goes without saying that they themselves live in comfortable circumstances elsewhere in the world and will not suffer any such hardship. It would seem, in fact, that the BDS movement in its determination to oppose Israel is prepared to fight to the last drop of Palestinian blood. As a Palestinian who actually lives in east Jerusalem and hopes to build a better life for his family and his community, this is the kind of ‘pro-Palestinian activism’ we could well do without. For our own sake, we need to reconcile with our Israeli neighbors, not reject and revile them.”

 

For more on Eid’s views, see this recent interview with him.