BDS exposed

Hamas’s support for the Sydney Festival boycotters has exposed the rotten core of the BDS movement.

There can be no more pretence – like Hamas, the aim of BDS is the dismantling of the State of Israel. There is no room for coexistence.

This was long ago already confirmed by BDS co-founder Omar Barghouti, who said “definitely, most definitely, we oppose a Jewish state in any part of Palestine”. Anyone who wasn’t listening then needs to pay attention now.

Many well-meaning individuals have been seduced into supporting BDS on the false pretence that it is merely about promoting Palestinian human rights; instead they are playing right into the hands of a genocidal, terrorist organisation.

But sadly, many of them may not even know – there was little mention of Hamas’s endorsement in mainstream media outlets.

Given how much this issue has dominated headlines, one would have thought there might have been more media attention given to the boycott’s endorsement by religious fundamentalists who demean women and throw gay people off buildings.

Even gay comedian Tom Ballard might fail to see the comedy in that, while misleadingly claiming, “standing against a system of apartheid is more important” than telling jokes.

Others supporting the boycott claimed that a small sum from the Israeli Embassy to stage a dance performance created an “unsafe environment”.

Unsafe? Residents of Sderot and other Gaza border towns can provide a more accurate definition of the word. They are the ones who have just 15 seconds to race to bomb shelters every time Sydney Festival boycott endorser Hamas commits war crimes in launching another barrage of rockets at them.

This odious charade has led to renewed calls for action against BDS, including the possibility of legislation to withhold government funding from organisations who boycott Israel.

Any such laws would have to be carefully considered and are unlikely in the short term at the federal level at least with an election looming.

In the meantime – and perhaps more importantly – we must expose this vile campaign for what it is; far from helping Palestinians, it is about eradicating Israel and marginalising mainstream Jews who hold it dear.