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sraeli operation, of which 85% are civilians, according to UN estimates. The Israeli military has confirmed the deaths of 64 IDF soldiers and three civilians.RelatedGaza Strip: Hamas and Hezbollah May Look to North Korea for Arms StockpilesGaza Strip Crisis: War Costs Total $6bn For Palestine and $2bn for IsraelGaza Strip: 'Nuremberg Trials' against Israel Demanded by Italian AcademicsGaza Strip Crisis: Israeli and Hamas Delegations in Cairo for Peace TalksGaza Strip: Pogrom in 'Little Jerusalem' Trashes Jewish-Muslim Harmony in Paris Suburb of Sarcelles <div
Gaza Strip Crisis: Boycotting Israel is a Stupendous FailureBy Shane CroucherAugust 5, 2014 17:14 BSTPalestinians sit in the rubble of destroyed homes after returning to the Shejaia neighbourhood in the east of Gaza City(Reuters)If you believe in getting a decent outcome, then you should adjust your methods of achieving it to those that are most likely to find success.And it's on that basis that the various campaigns to boycott all things Israeli – from products, to businesses, to culture – have been a stupendous failure.There's even a strong argument that the notion of boycotting Israel has become such a cause celebre that for many narcissistic supporters (though not all) it's little more than a self-congratulatory throat clearance, another lapel badge to show off your right-on credentials.A handful of companies have stopped buying certain products from Israel, a few investors have withdrawn finance for Israeli projects, some universities don't collaborate with the country's universities, a number of bands won't play concerts there, etc etc.But the de facto occupation of Gaza continues. It's still blockaded, Gazans have little freedom to move, they are still bombarded by the whistles and growls of Israel's hi-tech military machine. Life in Gaza is,Nike Air Max Flyknit 2014 Shoes For Men Royal Blue Orange, as many have said, like living in an open-air prison. The boycott is at best largely ineffective, at worst a distracting waste of time.And there are several problems with it.Why just Israel, which appears to be the sole target of many campaigners? Yes the movement has a clear goal of ending the Palestinian struggle,Nike Air Max 90 Men UK Blue Green, but the calls to boycott Israel are unique.RelatedActivist Group London Palestine Action Shuts Down Israeli Drone FactoryTesco to Stop Selling Products Sourced from Conflict-Hit West BankNo other state seems to have its own version. There is an obvious inconsistency here. Where's the boycott Russia campaign? Where's the boycott Saudi Arabia campaign?Take U2, a band supporting the Israel boycott,Air Max 90 Men Shoes White Jade, as an example. U2 coins it in large tours across America, playing to hundreds of thousands of fans.Yet the US is a country that uses drones in unilateral attacks that kill civilians as well as combatants and detains and tortures people without trial in Guantanamo Bay, among other clear breaches of international law.Following the logic behind the boycott of Israel, U2 shouldn't set foot on American soil, let alone twang a guitar string even once while they're there.If the premise for a wholesale boycott of a state is that it is in breach of international law, then you could make a case for boycotting almost every single country on the planet.The truth is it would be logically absurd to boycott all nations, but that doesn't mean targeting Israel is therefore justified on the basis that one is better than none. Why not all the others?SomethingmustbedoneismIt all comes back to Palestine being a popular cause that people love to latch on to. This is possibly a legacy of the radical generation of students from 1968,Nike Air Max 90 Men All Blue, who took part in worldwide protests often called a "failed revolution" and went on to shape left-wing discourse in the years after.Their upsurge was timed alongside the controversial and defining Six Day War in 1967, which saw Israel violently seize the Gaza Strip, Golan Heights and the West Bank and begin its occupation.Now to be part of the in-group of certain radicals, leftists,Air Max 2014 Woman White Orange Green, revolutionaries and so on, you must first earn your anti-Israel badge and advocating a boycott is one easy way to do that. It also helps others to feel like they're doing something worthwhile in the face of terrible suffering.It's a comforting stroke to the ego that is untroubled by the obvious problem that it doesn't actually work. Somethingmustbedoneism is tempting, but most often that something helps you more than it does anyone else.Collective PunishmentOne of the justifications for the boycott is that Israel is committing a violent form of collective punishment on the Palestinians living in Gaza because of the actions of Hamas militants.While it is nonviolent by nature, the blanket boycott of Israel's academic and cultural institutions is its own form of collective punishment on ordinary Israelis. It seeks to remove academic freedom and cultural opportunities from the Israeli people because of the actions of their government.It may lack the brutality of Israel's collective punishment of Gaza, but the fundamental principle that underpins it – penalising everyone for the actions of a powerful minority – is the same and so should |
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