Israel muted on Green party boycott stance
for May’s opposition to the contentious policy, saying she understands “that by demonizing one side and advocating against Jewish sovereignty, one can’t build bridges for peace.”
Barak’s diplomatic response contrasted sharply with that of B’nai Brith Canada, which vilified the Greens with a torrent of invective.
By “unfairly singling out the world’s only Jewish state for contempt, it has firmly entrenched itself beyond the fringe of mainstream Canadian politics,” Michael Mostyn, its chief executive, said in a statement.
“Greens have chosen to embrace the policy position of shills for 9/11 conspiracy theories and terror apologists rather than side with the democratic and environmentally friendly state of Israel,” Mostyn said. “This clearly reflects how out of touch the Green party has become with Canadian culture and values and it has made itself less relevant after its convention this weekend by voting for the politics of division and demonization.”
Writing on Facebook, Paul Estrin, the party’s former president, said: “A vote for BDS is a vote by those who seek for the de-legitimization of Israel, and ultimately seek to have it, and its population, wiped off the map, preying on Israel’s ability to defend itself.”
Estrin, a Jew, has said he was “drummed out” of his party job in 2014 after posting a blog to the party’s website defending Israeli actions in Gaza.
While the BDS movement appears to be gaining ground internationally, its impact is difficult to measure. Foreign direct investment in Israel dropped 46 per cent between 2013 and 2014, according a United Nations report. The 25th World Investment Report attributed the decline to the fragile global economy, “political uncertainty for investors and elevated geopolitical risks.”
Yet a more recent Bloomberg examination of foreign capital flow into the country, published in June, shows the opposite trend. Foreign investments in Israeli assets hit a record high last year of $285.12 billion, a near-tripling from 2005 when the BDS campaign was launched by Palestinians, according to Bloomberg.