BDS Linked to Anti-Semitism

Stand for Israel  |  September 24, 2019

While the United Nations all too often stands against Israel, those of us who stand with the Jewish state have got to give the U.N. props. JNS reports that a new and “unprecedented” report by the U.N. not only ties anti-Semitism to the anti-Israel BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement, but calls on its member nations to combat anti-Jewish hatred:

Israeli, Jewish and pro-Israel groups all applauded the publication of an ‘unprecedented’ United Nations report on anti-Semitism, that, among other issues, links anti-Semitism to criticism of Israel and the BDS movement…

The report, “Combatting Antisemitism to Eliminate Discrimination and Intolerance Based on Religion or Belief,” that was released by the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Ahmed Shaheed, defines anti-Semitism as a global phenomenon—not one largely confined to the United States and Europe—as has been the case in many previous U.N. reports. The Special Rapporteur recognizes that the sources of anti-Semitism are varied, coming from the far right, from members of radical Islamist groups and from the political left…

The report identifies violence, discrimination and expressions of hostility motivated by Jew-hatred as a serious obstacle to the enjoyment of the right to freedom of religion or belief. It expresses “serious concern that the frequency of anti-Semitic incidents appears to be increasing in magnitude and that the prevalence of anti-Semitic attitudes and the risk of violence against Jewish individuals and sites appears to be significant, including in countries with little or no Jewish population.”

Additionally, the report “notes claims that the objectives, activities and effects of the Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) movement are fundamentally anti-Semitic.”

The report recommends that all U.N. member states adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of anti-Semitism. So far, 18 of them have done so…