BDS bigots strike

In almost every respect, Boris Johnson’s visit to Israel and the Palestinian Authority was a triumph. The Mayor of London had the usual photo-opportunities but the trip also had genuine substance to it. It also had an unexpected, if enlightening, end. On Tuesday night, the Palestine Business Women’s Forum informed the Mayor’s office that the reporter who had been accompanying him throughout the visit would not be welcome to their meeting with the Mayor, for no reason other than that she was an Israeli. Mr Johnson was forthright in his condemnation, as he had earlier been of all such boycotts, describing the British BDS movement as “ridiculous, snaggle-toothed, corduroy-wearing, lefty academics”. As a result of his comments, almost all his meetings with Palestinians were cancelled. That, in a nutshell, exposes the reality of BDS. Its proponents peddle the lie that it is about targeting institutions rather than people. But the ban on an individual journalist merely because of her Israeli nationality shows that BDS is based on singling out individual Israelis and discriminating against them. And, as if that was not bad enough, it is also deeply counterproductive. As a result of the BDS campaigners, it was Palestinians who were unable to meet Mr Johnson.