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Just Journalism Update 12 August 2010

VIEWPOINT: True colours of the BDS movement Chris Dyszyński 'Rooted in a century of Palestinian civil resistance, and inspired by the anti-apartheid struggle, the campaign crowned earlier, partial boycotts to present a comprehensive approach to realising Palestinian self-determination' This is how Omar Barghouti characterises the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, which seeks to isolate Israel in every conceivable way, from banning Israeli-made goods for sale abroad to preventing Israeli-written books or academic papers to be made available to foreign universities. Writing in The Guardian, Barghouti's 'Beseiging Israel's seige' today celebrated the fifth birthday of the BDS campaign he founded and raises a number of questions about both the movement as a whole and Barghouti as an individual. The most obvious question is this: Why does the BDS movement support Palestinian self-determination but deny the right to Jewish self-determination? There are many who believe that the Palestinians deserve an independent state, and oppose the continued occupation of the West Bank. Reading between the lines of his article, however, one notes that Barghouti is more interested with the eradication of an independent Jewish presence in the Middle East than he is with creating a sovereign Palestinian one. As he points out, the campaign to isolate Israel, and only Israel, will continue indefinitely until the state recognises 'the right of Palestinians refugees to return to their homes, as stipulated in UN resolution 194.' What he doesn't say is that the majority of these Palestinians are the descendants of those expelled in the wars of 1948 and 1967 but who have uniquely managed to retain the status of refugees. One large refugee camp is maintained by the United Nations in Balata, within the West Bank city of Nablus. Despite being on Palestinian soil, the 20,000 or so descendants of Arabs who mostly fled Jaffa in 1948 have not been granted Palestinian citizenship. Nor can they vote in municipal elections. Does this mean that the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah deserves to be boycotted, too? To continue reading, click here. Media ignores failed Mitchell meeting On Tuesday the US envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, met with the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, in order to discuss the peace-process. The Obama administration is currently putting pressure on the Palestinians to enter into direct negotiations with Israel, a policy supported by the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. However, despite the meeting reportedly lasting three hours, Mitchell was unable to make any progress, and so diplomatic relations between Israel and the Palestinians remain in limbo. This setback received virtually no coverage in the British media, with only The Independent mentioning it in as a 'News in brief' article. Just Journalism has previously reported on how the British media gives prominent attention to Israeli settlements as a stumbling block to peace negotiations, but ignores the role that Palestinian intransigence plays. To read 'Barriers to peace: Israeli settlements, Palestinian demands and the one-sided media narrative', click here. Donating to Just Journalism Just Journalism is a not-for-profit organization and relies entirely upon the generosity of our supporters. If you wish to make a donation, please contact donate@justjournalism.com for more information. For more information about Just Journalism, or to contact us, please visit www.justjournalism.com