Meanwhile, nearly half of young Germans say they are tired of hearing about the Holocaust, and during last summer’s Gaza war there were attacks on synagogues and demonstrations calling for death to Israelis and Jews – reminiscent of what occurred in Germany just prior to World War II.
And just recently the Danish foreign minister threatened trade sanctions against Israel by the European Union unless the Israeli government agreed to significant concessions vis-à-vis Hamas.
Evidently the nations of the world cannot understand Israel’s unwillingness to rely on them for its security, despite the fact that within living memory six million Jews were turned to ashes while those very same nations turned a blind eye.
In view of the lessons of history, and in light of the increasing levels of hostility directed at Israel by the World Health Organization, FIFA, the Swedish prime minister, the British Parliament, the Vatican, and numerous other individuals, institutions, and governments, Israel and the Jewish people have to be on increased alert, recognizing that the world has eyes only for Israel’s alleged – often invented – weaknesses, failings, and shortcomings.
By startling contrast, the international community reacts with unrestrained sympathy and financial support for the PA and Hamas, even as they insolently break their agreements with the UN and the West.
UN schools in Gaza meant to be teaching institutions become storehouses for rockets and ammunition, entrances to weapons-smuggling and terror tunnels, and propagators of anti-Israel and anti-Jewish calumny. Against all agreements, funds transferred to the PA are used to support convicted terrorists and their families.
Though these facts are known to all, the PA and Hamas continue to receive financial and moral support from Western nations and the UN.
With all that, the greatest existential threat to Israel stems not from terror gangs in Gaza or world leaders bloviating at international forums, but rather from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, the objective of which, as described by Congressman Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) “is to isolate Israel politically, undermine it economically, and stigmatize and delegitimize it.”
Some states, notably Roksam’s own state of Illinois, are taking steps against BDS, recognizing that it also harms American trade interests. Some U.S. companies, such as Google, Apple, and Microsoft, are invested in Israel, and Arab states working closely with the BDS movement can apply punitive measures against them.
Close to a hundred firms are on the BDS blacklist, among them the European companies Volvo and Heidelberg Cement. A company called Vevlie was recently
blacklisted because it contributed materials to Jerusalem’s Light Rail project.
The viability, profitability, and survival of international companies like Caterpillar, Intel, Apple, and Google are barely affected by BDS actions. But academic institutions, charitable organizations, and companies rooted in Israel that form the backbone of the country’s economy and progress can be exposed to severe losses as a result of the gullibility of a public that swallows many of the BDS movement’s exaggerations and lies.
Indeed, even many Jewish students at American universities are unable or unwilling to respond to the BDS challenge. They are apathetic and far from grounded in Middle East history and thus highly susceptible to anti-Israel propaganda produced and financed by Arab oil interests and their lackeys, who include among their number not a few Jewish academics.
Israel and the Jewish people are left on their own to cope with the dangers facing them. We must help ourselves by courageously confronting a difficult situation. We need to understand that just as BDS aims at discouraging the public from supporting companies linked to Israel, we must do everything we can to boost those companies.
On the other hand, we should blackist and boycott any companies, retail outlets, performing artists, and social or academic institutions that have succumbed to the destructive influence of BDS.