The BDS Movement Calls to Boycott Arab Institutes Only When it is Convenient

The BDS Movement Calls to Boycott Arab Institutes Only When it is Convenient
February 8, 2021, 8:22 am

Al-Khawaja and Mansour in a BDS Movement protest, May 2019

On January 31, 2021 Alghad TV channel broadcasted an interview with the Israeli Minister of Defense Benny Gantz. This is not the first time that Alghad is conducting interviews with high-ranking Israeli officials. In February 2020 Alghad broadcasted an interview with Israel’s former Prime Minister Ehud Olemert.

Following the interview with Benny Gantz, the BDS Movement issued a statement calling all Palestinians to boycott the channel, stating both interviews are a practice of normalization: “this is not the first time that this dangerous normalization is taking place on this channel – which is financed by the UAE. Alghad also hosted Ehud Olmert, the war criminal, what reflects on the ongoing involvement of the channel and its managers in conveying normalization agenda”.

(BDS activist Khalid Mansour speaking to Alghad, June 2020)

Since its inception, the BDS Movement has been standing in the forefront of the battle against normalization with the State of Israel, policing engagements between Arabs and Israelis. Recently, and particularly following the peace agreement between Israel, UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco – the BDS Movement anti-normalization campaign has escalated. Few examples include calls to boycott Arab companies, and hardening their stances.

BDS Activist Salah Al-Khawaja speaking to Alghad, November 2020

However, the BDS Movement have failed to police its own members and supporters from violating normalization guidelines. Between the period of February 2020 (Olmert’s interview) and January 2021 (Gantz interview) – Salah Al-Khawja, a prominent BDS activist in the West Bank and coordinator of Stop the Wall (a founding member of the BDS Movement) gladly interviewed for the channel. Khaled Mansour, another Ramallah-based prominent BDS activist and Stop the Wall coordinator also spoke freely to the channel.

Important to note that Al-Khawaja and Mansour are not “simply” local activist that promotes BDS on their spare time. They are both a crucial part and partners of the BDS Movement.