The BDS movement claims to have originated in 2005 following a historic 2004 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declaring an Israeli-built barrier in the West Bank to be illegal.
However, while the ICJ opinion is built on the premise of the right of Israel to exist and the right for the country to defend itself, the BDS movement does not support either of these positions. BDS portrays itself as a social justice movement, but it is built on a foundation of intolerance. It is also one of the first foreign influence campaigns to seriously impact Canadian politics and social cohesion.
Over the last two decades, the BDS movement has crept into many areas of civic life. From Pride parades to union meetings to school board elections, BDS began showing up at progressive gatherings despite these events and groups having no connection to the Middle East. It uses misleading words like “colonialism” or “apartheid” alongside calls to boycott Jewish businesses or to sanction Israel to make it sound like a social justice movement when it is not.
Sadly, the lack of critical analysis by many of the progressive groups involved has led many of them to be captured by foreign influence without even realizing it. Most do not know that BDS opposes a peaceful, two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine question. This progressive capture explains how, after two decades of activity, the BDS movement has normalized racist taunts and terms like “intifada” on university campuses.
The new Countering Foreign Interference Act offers an antidote to BDS-related intolerance
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