New strategy to support Israel oncampus
GILAD ERDAN, the security and strategic affairs minister of Israel, has visited London on a mission to fight the Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) campaign. Before he left Israel he told that “Great Britain is the world centre of the antiIsrael BDS campaign”. Much of this BDS activity takes place on campus. Incidents such as the attempt by demonstrators earlier this year to break up a proIsrael meeting at Kings College, London are the most visible of a series of acts calculated to weaken support for Israel, heighten its isolation and damage the country financially.
The increased efforts of BDS supporters to fan the flames of anti-Israel, antisemitic activism at universities and colleges are no surprise; particularly in light of the setbacks the movement has suffered in other areas in its attempts to damage the Israeli economy.
What can be done about this? While combating anti-Israel activity on campus in all its manifestations may be problematic, standing up to divestment is an entirely different issue.
For instance, in America, Israel Bonds has taken a resolute stand against calls for divestment on college campuses, as can be seen from its campaign, the Alternative BDS — Bonds Donated to Schools. The Alternative BDS encourages Israel’s supporters to fight BDS on campus by making donations of Israel bonds to their university or college of choice — perhaps their alma mater or an institution being attended by a family member. Because the institution must hold the bond(s) until maturity, it encourages it to be invested in Israel for a sustained period of time. Donating Israel bonds to universities counters BDS on two levels: it is a personal means of rejecting anti-Israel activism on campus; and, because proceeds from the bonds help build every sector of Israel’s economy, it is also a direct repudiation of the movement’s stated goal of damaging the country’s economy. With the new academic year starting, we can be sure BDS activists in both America and this country are gearing up to continue exploiting what they perceive as an important target. UK participation in The Alternative BDS campaign would be a pointed means of categorically rejecting their efforts.
Israel Bonds was founded 65 years ago to develop Israel’s economy. Today, we take pride in the fact that it has proven to be among the most resilient in the world. As the Alternative BDS campaign shows, purchasing Israel bonds can help to take action against those who seek to undermine one of Israel’s finest achievements — the building of a strong, durable economy.
Donating bonds is a personal way to reject BDS’
Alan Curtis is director of sales, Israel Bonds, bondsisrael.com, 020 7446 8670, info-uk@bondsisrael.com