(BLOG) Why A Boycott Of Israel Does Not Help Peace

"Especially since the failure of the peace process and the outbreak of the second intifada in 2000, there are increasing initiatives in the west for boycotting Israel. Several types of boycotts are propagated by different groups. The most important types of boycotts are:

Institutional boycotts (divestment campaigns or freezing of cooperation and contacts). Institutional boycott campaigns are mainly carried by action groups inside churches, universities, unions and other institutes.

Especially in the US several divestment campaigns are conducted, which imply that organizations do not invest in Israel or in companies that do business with Israel.

The Presbyterian church plays an important role in this, and also the Council of Churches supports such initiatives. Furthermore there are so-called intellectual boycotts, such as a proposal in 2005 within the British Association of University Teachers (the AUT) to boycott Israeli universities.

Soon after its initial approval this boycott was revoked again, after it had aroused much controversy.

In 2006 AUT's fusion partner NATFHE, another British teachers' union, endorsed a similar boycott resolution, as did the Canadian Union of Public Employees' Ontario wing, which also calls for divestment. In 2007 several, often British, unions have endorsed boycott resolutions against Israel.

Consumer boycotts of Israeli products. Consumer boycotts are especially propagated by Palestinian solidarity groups and radical political organizations, but also by some third world groups and development organizations. A province in Norway declared a boycott against all goods from Israel in 2006."