UNdermining women’s Rights
Hillary Clinton, at the time First Lady of the United States, famously proclaimed at the 1995 United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women that “women’s rights are human rights.” Despite this declaration 23 years ago, the United Nations has a long way to go towards ensuring women’s rights are upheld across the world. Unfortunately, the current structure of the United Nations often obstructs women’s rights by favoring self-interested, geopolitical partisanship.
The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women is the body responsible for investigating and promoting gender equality. This organization focuses on issues of peace, violence against women, female political participation, and economic opportunity for women, among other areas. Member states can introduce and vote on resolutions, and are elected from different continents to ensure representation among distinct geographical regions.
In 2017, the United Nations Economic and Social Council, which oversees the Commission, elected Saudi Arabia to serve as a full member. Saudi Arabia’s place in the Commission on the Status of Women is notable because of its reputation as a country that regularly disregards women’s rights. The World Economic Forum’s 2017 Global Gender Gap Report ranked Saudi Arabia 138 out of 144 countries in terms of gender parity, highlighting the difference in opportunities afforded to men and women in the country. Saudi Arabian women are greatly underrepresented in political life, as there are no women serving on the High Court or Supreme Judicial Court. Furthermore, women’s testimonies are worth only half of a man’s in Saudi Arabian courts, posing legal challenges for women trying to defend their interests. The kingdom withheld the right to drive automobiles from its female citizens until 2018. Prior to this change in laws, it was the only country in the world with such a restriction. Given this context, Saudi Arabia’s membership in a commission meant to help women is not only ironic, but morally reprehensible.
The presence of Saudi Arabia in this committee serves a political purpose. Through its membership in the Commission on the Status of Women, Saudi Arabia affects public opinion and condemns its geopolitical enemies, thus directing international attention and criticism away from its own anti-women agenda. In 2018, Saudi Arabia supported a resolution on supporting and aiding Palestinian women, which largely criticized Israel’s occupational role in Gaza and the West Bank. While there is merit to these conclusions, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is far from the only instance of oppression against women in the Middle East region. However, this resolution was the only one focused on that region passed by the Commission on the Status of Women in 2018. In this manner, Saudi Arabia and partnering member states distract from the many other women’s rights abuses in the Middle East that they are responsible for.
Furthermore, the presence of member states in this body with such egregious women’s rights violations calls into question its legitimacy. If Saudi Arabia does not treat its female citizens with the equal rights and protections of its male citizens, what authority does it have to recognize and condemn similar abuses committed by other nations? How can such a council be trusted to resolve the very inequities that its members promote?
No country may have a perfect track record on women’s rights, but enabling a country that so clearly disregards its women to create policy on the topic is an affront towards the promotion of global gender equality. Of course, the gender imparities that women face globally, and the inherent flaws in the United Nations, are not resolved solely through the removal of Saudi Arabia from this commission. However, Saudi Arabia’s presence in this commission clearly does not advance the cause of women’s rights. Calling the United Nations’ methodology and authority into question is a necessary democratic means to ensure that all nations not protecting their female citizens are held accountable by this organization.
The United Nations serves a noble purpose in its mission statement to “work for the protection of all human rights for all people.” Such a commitment, however, is an empty promise given the United Nations’ support for noted women’s rights abusing nations, such as Saudi Arabia. Rather than empowering women, this institution often empowers women’s rights abusers. Criticism of the United Nations, and calling for greater accountability within the organization, protects the interests of women globally.
Letter to Nikki Haley
The Honorable Nikki Haley
U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
United States Mission to the United Nations
799 United Nations Plaza
New York, NY 10017
Dear Ambassador Nikki Haley,
The Jerusalem Institute of Justice (JIJ) is a non-government organization located in the heart of Jerusalem, Israel. Our sole focus is the cultivation and defense of human rights, the rule of law, and true democracy for all people, both in Israel, and the Middle East as a whole. We regard ourselves as a bridge for the indomitable ambitions of the United States and Israel; for the values that both our countries have always shared.
Ambassador Haley, the entire JIJ team sincerely applauds your staunch support of Israel and human rights worldwide. The bias shown against Israel by the UN has long been at the forefront of our minds, but we are happy to see that your presence in the United Nations is developing a new narrative with a more balanced perspective on human rights. Your most recent proposal to condemn Hamas for the violence perpetuated at the Gaza border has reassured us that an unbiased voice of reason can, and will prevail at the UN General Assembly. The UN approves resolution after resolution to unjustly condemn Israel while Hamas's crimes fall on the deaf ears of the General Assembly. Your courage to stand up for justice by advocating for a narrative of symmetry, wherein Hamas’s atrocities can finally be denounced, inspired 62 countries to vote for justice. It is a triumph to see other countries beginning to stand up and recognize the truth, and your part in this cannot be overstated. Throughout the world, your denunciation of terrorism and your support for Israel is ringing true.
We would also like to point out, and praise, your recent courageous decision to leave the United Nations Human Rights Council. This action speaks volumes about true commitment to the global support of human rights. We stand behind you in the conviction that your departure may draw attention to the hypocrisy of Human Rights Council. We agree, wholeheartedly, with you that the council has developed a disquieting history of attacking Israel, while monumental human rights violations by countries including Saudi Arabia, Cuba, and Qatar have gone unaddressed. Your decision affirms the unbreakable bond between the United States and Israel. Hopefully, your actions will provoke the reorganization of the crucial Human Rights Council into a more effective and unbiased assembly.
The JIJ stands ready to aid you, Ambassador Haley, in whatever capacity we are able to. Our staff is constantly hard at work researching issues of human rights in the Middle East. We are currently focused on a UN project aiming to expose anti-Israel bias by deconstructing each resolution made against Israel, and responding with instances of the same injustice in other parts of the world that the UN conveniently ignores. Our research demonstrates the tremendous bias existing in past General Assembly resolutions against Israel. Last year alone, 21 resolutions were passed against Israel, while only 6 were passed towards the rest of the world combined. This is nothing short of a deep-seated prejudice that we cannot afford to ignore.
Once again, we here at the JIJ thank you for all that you do. If there is anything that the JIJ can do to support you and the excellent work you are accomplishing, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
The JIJ Team
Palestinian Women Group against Arab Women Rights
The Culture and Free Thought Association (CFTA) is a Palestinian NGO situated in Khan Younis, a city in the southern Gaza Strip. Their vision statement reads: “CFTA aspires to be a leading organizational contributor to civil society efforts to build a Palestinian society in which all citizens enjoy freedom, equality, and human rights.” They have received, along with other organizations, €481,773 from the European Union (EU) to support women's rights in the Middle East. At face value, CFTA sounds like an organization that should be supported and that deserves the money they received from the EU. But what has CFTA decided to do with all that money? They decided to support anti-Israel policies, calling for women around the world to boycott Israel because of the “awful” way Israel treats women. This position is ironic to the highest degree taking into consideration that Israel is, by far, the most feminist country in the Middle East.
Rape is one of the most egregious crimes being perpetuated against women. Being so, the punishment for rape should be proportionate to how devastating the offense is. In Israel you can expect 16 years to life in prison for the crime of rape. In Jordan, rape is only punishable by 7 years. That is less than the amount of time in prison you would receive for armed robbery in some states in the United States. Has The Culture and Free Thought Assoc. called out to boycott Jordan for their “slap on the wrist" attitude towards rape sentencing? Another crime that affects specifically women is marital abuse. 51% of the women in the Gaza Strip have been subjected to a form of violence within the household (PCBS, Violence Survey in Palestinian Society, 2011). Has CFTA made a call to boycott their own government for allowing a terrifying rate of marital abuse?
If rape and abuse are not so important for the CFTA, what about Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)? The destruction of a woman’s genitalia is a heinous crime that should be outlawed everywhere. Unfortunately, this practice is still prevalent in many places. In Egypt, FGM is a common practice that hurts, and even kills, thousands of little girls due to unclean medical procedures and the infections that followed. Fortunately, in 2007, the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population banned all forms of FGM, but this has not stopped the practice. In 2014, UNICEF reported that 91% of women in Egypt had undergone some form of FGM. FGM has never been an accepted practice and is illegal in Israel. Why does an NGO, specifically designed to protect and stand up for women's rights, condemn Israel, when countless young girls are being butchered in neighboring Arab countries?
How is a woman’s testimony in court weighed against a man’s? In Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and all areas governed by the Palestinian Authority, a woman’s testimony is worth half that of a man’s. This means that if a women accuses a man of committing a crime against her, whether it be assault, robbery, rape, etc., she will need another female witness just to have the same amount of credibility as the man. What country in the Middle East does treat both genders’ testimonies equally? You’d be right to assume, yet again, Israel.
Is Israel a misogynist country? Is Israel a patriarchal society? In Israel, a child is granted citizenship automatically if the father or the mother is a citizen. Not all countries in the Middle East follow the example Israel lays out. In Jordan and Lebanon, the child’s father must be a citizen. Even if a mother is a Jordanian or a Lebanese citizen, if she marries a foreigner, the child does not receive her citizenship.
Forced child marriage is an abhorrent practice and a violation of children's rights. As of 2017, in Gaza, 15% of girls under the age of 18 are married as well as 1% of girls under the age of 15. To clarify, almost 4,000 girls under the age of 15 in Gaza are married. In Egypt, it’s 17% under the age of 18 and 2% under 15. Iran? 17% and 3%. What does 3% look like? 526,854 little girls that are sold into marriage before the age of 15. In Israel it is illegal for a person to marry someone under the age of 18.
One of the strongest indicators of gender equality is women in positions of political authority. As of 2018, 28% of the Israeli Parliament is women. That beats even the United States, where only 20% of Congress is women. And where does the Middle East stand on female empowerment? The average percentage of women in positions of political power across the Middle East is a whopping…6%.
If the Culture and Free Thought Association wanted to actually talk about gender inequality and women’s empowerment, they could target any number of the issues addressed in this article. They could call for their neighboring countries to reform. Unfortunately, they are more interested in forwarding their political agenda by ignoring women's rights violations in the Middle East and attacking the only feminist country in the area, Israel.
Water Crisis in Gaza: the Real Enemy
Gaza water crisis: “BREAKING NEWS: Gaza unlivable in 3 years, some experts say”, “NEWS FLASH: 97% of drinking water polluted in Gaza.”
The water crisis in Gaza is center stage for the Agricultural Development Association (PARC), a Non-Governmental Organization headquartered in the Palestinian territories. PARC’s mission statement is to “develop the agricultural sector, strengthen the resilience of farmers, reach out to the poor and marginalized groups and their CBO’s and to to contribute to the establishment of a free and democratic Palestinian society with the values of social justice.” PARC received €1,497,567 from the European Union (in 2016 alone) to fulfill its goals. What did they do with this money? PARC invested that money on a campaign to boycott Mekorot, Israel's National Water Co.
Water is one of the basic necessities for life. Humans can only live without water for 3-4 days. Israel receives an average of 22 inches of rain annually. This may sound like the average amount for most temperate climates of the world, but virtually all of that rain falls during the winter months, and it mostly falls in the northern part of the country. If you are in Jerusalem, the West Bank, or Gaza during the summer months, there is no direct access to natural drinking water. What are people supposed to do if there are only unreliable natural sources of drinkable water?
When the modern Jewish State formed, millions of Jewish immigrants flooded the country. Israel needed to create some way to collect large amounts of drinking water for its growing population. Through incredible feats of technological innovation, Israel has been able to thrive in a harsh natural environment. One of the major ways Israel acquires drinking water is through desalination: treating sea water and turning it into drinking water. Desalination accounts for 42% of all drinking water provided in Israel. Another large source of drinking water comes from piping in water from the Sea of Galilee (the only freshwater lake in Israel). The Sea of Galilee is on the northern end of Israel and requires hundreds of miles of piping in order to reach Southern Israel. Israel also saves water by recycling sewage water, treating it, and reusing it for agricultural purposes. Mekorot owns and operates most of the plants that desalinate, transport, and treat these sources of water, supplying Israel with 90% of its water.
The Gaza Strip receives a great majority of its water supply from its Coastal Aquifer Basin. Overtime, the coastal aquifer has become an inadequate source of water for Gaza. While normally aquifers are self sustainable, sustainability only works if water is taken out at a rate equal to the replenishment rate. The annual quantity of water that can be pumped without compromising the aquifer’s ability to renew itself is approximately 50-60 million cubic meters. Unfortunately, between a rapidly growing population, and outdated infrastructure and agricultural techniques, about 200 million cubic meters of water are pumped every year. This excessive use creates a vacuum in the aquifer that allows sea water from the Mediterranean Sea to seep in and contaminate the aquifer, polluting the drinking water. The rest of the water consumed in Gaza is imported from Israel. Mekorot sells about 10 million cubic meters of water to Gaza every year.
With 97% of drinkable water from the aquifer being polluted, the World Health Organization reports that in five to ten years, Gaza will be unlivable. This clearly marks an urgency in correcting the water crisis that Gaza is facing. Unfortunately, whereas PARC wants to blame Israel for the water crisis in Gaza, the real perpetrator is the Palestinian government of Gaza. The European Union and the United States have collectively given millions of dollars to the Palestinian Authority to fix their water crisis. This money could have been used to repair their water treatment plants, to build desalination facilities on the coast, or to rebuild infrastructure to minimize the amount of wasted water.
International Aid is clearly not being used to help the residents of Gaza who are suffering. Where does that money go? Since Hamas (a terrorist organization) took control of the Gaza Strip, fights between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas leaders make the exchange of that money impossible. Furthermore, Hamas uses the money it does receive to fund terrorist activity: buying weapons and military equipment, and launching rockets at Israel, instead of investing in life saving infrastructure. Since the Palestinian authorities are compromised, the only reliable source of water going into Gaza is water imported from Mekorot. By campaigning to boycott Mekorot, PARC puts in danger the Palestinian people that it is vowing to protect and support.
Do your Job! Nikolay
An open letter to Nickolay Mladenov, supposed promoter of peace in the Middle East
The Honorable Nikolay Mladenov
UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process
Dear Mr. Mladenov,
Your latest comments regarding the Israel/Gaza conflict leave me feeling confused. You are quoted saying, “If [the UN] stopped talking to Israelis and Palestinians about peace, Israel would come off as a lot worse in world media” (https://hamodia.com/2018/06/13/un-envoy-helping-gazans-comes-return-israeli-soldiers-remains/). From that comment, I can infer that you mean that the UN is helping Israel’s image improve with the rest of the world. I would very much like to hear you elaborate just how the UN is helping present a positive image of Israel on the world stage?
Was the UN attempting to support Israel and present a positive image when passing a resolution against Israel for its response to the Gaza border fence riots? It was admitted by a Hamas official, prior to the voting of the resolution, that 50 of the 62 rioters killed at the Gaza border riot were Hamas terrorists. Knowing this, the UN still voted 120-8 that Israel used excessive force. How can you say that Israel protecting its border from actual terrorists was unjustified? Resolutions like this, that unfairly target Israel and tell half-truths, make it appear, Mr. Nikolay Mladenov, that the UN is not preventing the worsening of Israel’s world image, but advocating for it.
Supporting Israel doesn’t have to mean saying positive things about the Jewish state. You could show support simply by being unbiased, and by disavowing countries or groups when they attempt to harm Israel. You don’t have to look hard to find an instance of Hamas doing something worth condemning. Hamas fires rockets from heavily populated areas into Israel which puts Gazan civilians at risk. Hamas places military compounds in the basements of schools and hospitals thereby endangering children and the sick. Most recently, Hamas sent terrorists to the Gaza border fence in an attempt to use a riot as a smokescreen to sneak into Israel and cause harm however possible. If the UN really cared about representing the Israel/Gaza conflict fairly, and not just trying to negatively paint Israel as the bad guy, wouldn’t the UN condemn some of these actions by Hamas?
Just recently, Nikki Haley, the United States’ ambassador to the UN proposed a resolution to condemn Hamas's violent border riots. What happened? The proposal didn’t even receive a 2/3 majority. Why couldn’t the UN condemn such an obvious wrongdoing by Hamas. Mr. Mladenov, this complete unwillingness to condemn even the most obvious violations gives the appearance that the UN does not want to “support both sides” as you say, but instead only criticize Israel.
Mr. Mladenov, your job as the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process is to, “lead the UN system in all political and diplomatic efforts related to the peace process in the Middle East and to coordinate the humanitarian and development work of UN agencies and programs in the occupied Palestinian territory, in support of the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian people.” How does your agency support a terrorist organization that has complete control over the Gaza Strip? Does your agency support legitimizing a terrorist group by giving them a country to control? How does supporting a group, whose mission is to destroy Israel, show Israelis that the UN is trying to protect Israel’s world image?
The United Nations is designed to prevent conflict. Instead of preparing for battle, countries should be able to come before the UN in agreement to prevent bloodshed. But when the UN consistently attacks only one side, it makes a State believe that their voice doesn’t matter, or even worse, that the UN is against them. Israel has time and time again shown restraint against its enemies while Hamas shows no such restraint in its plans to destroy Israel, kill Jews, and do so while killing its own citizens. You say that the UN helps support Israel’s image on the world stage, but your actions show otherwise.
Constantly waiting,
A concerned intern of the Jerusalem Institute of Justice
Article by Jared White
Terrorism Deserves a Red Card
How Terror Plays its Game
On June 5th the BDS movement (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) celebrated a supposed victory through threats and manipulation by the PACBI, the cultural boycott branch of the BDS movement. In early June, the PACBI launched a campaign to pressure the Argentina National Team to cancel their friendly match in Israel, which was to take place on June 9th in Jerusalem. The PACBI posted a photo on twitter of an Argentine player celebrating a win, and stated that the team cancelled the friendly match with Israel due to “creative campaigning from fans around the world.” This “creative campaigning” that the PACBI refers to, in actuality, consisted of violent, targeted threats directed at Argentine players and their family members.[1]
The Argentina National Football Team cancelled their preparatory game, not as a political rejection of the State of Israel, but rather in response to horrific threats placed upon the lives of Argentine players and their families. News sources framed the team saying that the cancelled game was “the Argentina National Soccer Team saying no to the Israeli state,” but this is simply not true.[2]
Along with an “extensive public relations campaign led by senior Palestinian Authority official Jibril Rajoub,” which placed pressure on the Argentina team, several terrorist organizations sent “death threats to the Argentine players and their families,” targeting the world-renowned player Messi and his family members as well. Additionally, throughout the PACBI campaign, fans were encouraged to threaten Messi by burning posters of the player if he participated in the match, and to threaten the Argentina National Team members by covering their jerseys with red paint, resembling blood.[3] Gonzalo Higuain, striker for Argentina, told ESPN, “health and common sense come[s] first. We felt that it wasn’t right to go.”[4]
Miri Regev, the Israeli culture and sports minister, stated that the cancelled game was due to Palestinian terrorism,[5] describing that the alarming Palestinian threats directed at the Argentina National Football Team included “video clips of dead children.”[6] Regev stated, "This is the same terrorism that led to the murder of eleven slain athletes in Munich. This is not BDS, but a terrorist incident that intimidates the athletes themselves."[7]
Jorge Faurie, Argentina’s foreign minister, confirmed this report by saying that the threats that the Argentine players were bombarded with were worse than ISIS’s terrorist threats.[8] He also said that there were alarming protests outside the team’s practice facility in Barcelona on Tuesday, with protestors holding Argentine jerseys stained with red paint depicting blood.[9] The head of the Argentine Football Association, Chichi Tapia also confirmed that the players “faced serious threats, which forced them to cancel,” and the team would plan to “play in Israel at another time.”[10]
The Israeli Embassy in Argentina tweeted about the event: “The threats and provocations directed at Lionel Messi, which logically aroused the solidarity of his colleagues and fear of playing the friendly [game] are no strangers to the daily life of Israel's civilian population whose sporting stars, to put it simply, have been on numerous occasions the targets of violence and attacks.”[11]
By celebrating the cancelled game as a win for their agenda, the BDS showed its true colors—the BDS plays an unfair match, and only wins with manipulation and terrorism.
Article by Hannah Fruh
[1] https://www.timesofisrael.com/soccer-friendly-nixed-after-argentina-players-threatened-officials-confirm/
[2] www.thenation.com/article/victory-boycott-movement-argentinas-national-soccer-team-cancels-game-israel/.
[3] https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/argentina-cancels-soccer-game-against-israel-amid-bds-campaign-n880431
[4] https://www.timesofisrael.com/soccer-friendly-nixed-after-argentina-players-threatened-officials-confirm/
[5] https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/it-s-not-bds-it-s-terrorism-israel-says-death-threats-against-argentina-s-messi-led-to-game-s-cancellation-israel-news-1.6155447
[6] http://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/2018/june/pa-elated-at-soccer-match-cancellation-in-israel
[7] https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/it-s-not-bds-it-s-terrorism-israel-says-death-threats-against-argentina-s-messi-led-to-game-s-cancellation-israel-news-1.6155447
[8] https://marcelolongobardi.cienradios.com/faurie-aseguro-habian-advertido-afa-sobre-jugar-jerusalen/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=nota&utm_campaign=twitter-marcelolongobardi
[9] https://www.timesofisrael.com/soccer-friendly-nixed-after-argentina-players-threatened-officials-confirm/
[10] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/06/06/in-win-for-boycott-movement-argentine-soccer-team-cancels-match-in-israel/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.de7a0ff959b8
[11] http://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/2018/june/pa-elated-at-soccer-match-cancellation-in-israel
ISRAEL REVEALS BDS "NETWORK OF HATE"
Research Highlights Prominent Role of the PA and Hamas in Leading BDS, Certain BDS Organizations’ Ties to Terror Groups
Minister of Strategic Affairs Gilad Erdan:
"The relationship between terrorist organizations and the BDS movement has never been closer, ideologically or operationally. I will continue to go after the perpetrators of this anti-Semitic hate campaign stemming from Gaza and Ramallah."
Jerusalem, Israel ― June 19, 2018 ― Minister of Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy Gilad Erdan revealed for the first time the “Network of Hate”. This map showcases the network of ties between 42 of the most prominent BDS organizations― ten of which have ties with the internationally recognized terrorist organizations Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Minister Erdan presented the information at this year’s Global Coalition 4 Israel Forum (GC4I), an event focused on strategies for countering BDS and anti-Israel delegitimization.
Additional data presented:
• The Ministry of Strategic Affairs asserts boycott organizations are relying heavily on falsified propaganda disseminated by Hamas and the PA, with a quarter of them shown to have ties to the terrorist organizations PFLP and Hamas.
• BDS organizations are interconnected and operate together as an integral network directed from Ramallah and the BDS National Committee (BNC).
• The next boycott target: Israel's military arms trade.
• There are currently an estimated 300 organizations calling for a boycott of Israel.
In his speech on the opening night of the conference, Minister Erdan said that as a result of his ministry going on the offensive over the last two years, the boycott movement is now on the defensive. "Just recently, we have revealed to the European Union that part of the money that it supposedly transfers to ‘human rights organizations’ is in fact transferred to groups that maintain ties with terrorist organizations."
"The perpetrators of this hate-filled campaign, who derive their ideology from the PA and Hamas, are united in their goal of attacking Israel, and are leaving no stone unturned in their efforts. Under the guise of ‘civil activities’, a coordinated and financed network of organizations is led from Ramallah and Gaza, a quarter of which have links to terrorist organizations, including Hamas and the PFLP.”
The minister went on to note that Hamas and the PFLP openly support and embrace the BDS movement. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh stated, "We support the BDS movement" in July 2017, and his movement repeated it only last month. Other examples include: Senior members of Palestinian organizations Al-Haq, DCI-P and Addameer having either had or have active roles in the PFLP, whereas Ramallah-based Shawan Jabarin, the General Director of Al-Haq and a leader in multiple legal campaigns against Israel, served 13 years in prison in Israel for his involvement in the military wing of PFLP. Lila Khaled participated in the fundraising campaign for BDS South Africa, and ties between the American boycott organization "Semidoun" and the PFLP were also found. Additionally, the BDS organization PRC promotes Hamas's interests in Europe and members of the British PSC and FOA held meetings with senior Hamas figures in the Gaza Strip and recently held a demonstration in Downing 10 in support of Hamas’s recent “March of Return” campaign.
Minister Erdan also blamed the Palestinian Authority, which has been a long-time advocate for boycotting Israel, for officially adopting the principles of thr boycott movement in its Palestinian National Council last May. "We saw attempts by senior PA officials to suspend Israel from FIFA and to promote the ‘black lists’ formulated by the UN Human Rights Council. All of these campaigns, exposed by the Ministry of Strategic Affairs, were extensively promoted by the BDS organizations.
Minister Erdan also observed the political environment is decidedly against the boycott movement, noting anti-boycott legislation has already been passed in 25 US states, and boycott activity in Europe has been thwarted thanks to the exposure of its discriminatory elements against both Jews and the State of Israel.
Recently, the Ministry of Strategic Affairs has identified a rise in the content and audiences to which BDS groups directing their activities. Boycott organizations have recently called for a halt to trade agreements with Israel and to business cooperation with Israel's defense industries.
Minister Erdan noted that this campaign is no longer held only among civil society organizations, but recently the boycott organizations have begun to lobby MPs in various parts of the world. The opening of the first branch of the BNC this year in India may be part of the strategic goal of the boycott movement against Israel’s arms trade.
Minister Erdan concluded, "The relationship between terrorist organizations and the BDS movement has never been closer, ideologically or operationally. I will continue to go after the leaders of this hate-filled campaign emanating from Gaza and Ramallah."
Unlikely End, Unjustified Means
Unemployment, poverty and the meaning of sanctions in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
There are those who say that the end justifies the means, and there are those who oppose that notion. But when the declared end is not even achieved, any justification of the means falls flat.
In the previous article we dealt with the outcomes of sanctions policy on poor areas in general, with particular attention to sanctions in the disputed territories in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We looked at the probable economic and social harm to the individuals affected by this policy as well as their society in general. In this article we show the impact of the sanctions on daily life, in both the short run and the long run.
It is well known that unemployment causes massive harm to affected populations. This damage begins with the individual but spreads to the surrounding society. The individual experiences loss of his ability to pay for housing, food, bills, medical care, etc. as a result of lack of income. This situation has a variety of implications, even in developed countries. Tent cities in the USA are an example of this principle. Individuals who suffer unemployment also report feelings of stress, anxiety, and depression, made worse when the unemployed person is responsible for a family. This was shown by research done during the time of the US sub-prime breakdown, when banks offered easy access to money that later triggered the mortgage crisis.
Unemployment also affects the afflicted society by preventing it from reaching its economic potential. In the short run, the workers are not creating economic gains that would fulfill their potential contribution to that society. In the long run,* the unemployed look for any job that will feed themselves and their families, which makes them accept jobs not fitted to their skills and creates a loss of human capital in those skills. This problem intensifies during long terms of unemployment, as the quality of work within their original skills and abilities deteriorates.
In search of income, people in economic distress often fall into criminal activity in order to make a living. This dependency has been encouraged and exploited by terrorist organizations in the West Bank and Gaza, who offer money to those in need, thereby recruiting them for the advancement of terrorism.
Thus, in addition to unemployment, sanctions cause poverty, widen inequality, and increase crime in the affected societies; all of which causes more tension that can lead to more violence. A definite connection was found in research regarding these effects of sanctions imposed upon multi-ethnic societies.
This research should serve as an alarm bell concerning sanctions implemented against the disputed territories: it points to potentially catastrophic results that can easily lead to increased violence. It is important to note that the territories are already experiencing a complex reality of political tension between ethnic groups, increasing the likelihood that sanctions would only make that tension worse.
There are two more reasons why these sanctions are not likely to achieve their declared goals. Firstly, 65-95% of the sanctions imposed worldwide to date have failed. Secondly, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not primarily an economic dispute. It is based on many years of political, religious and historical disputes, which sanctions would not resolve.
In short, sanctions as a means will not only cause harm; they will also fail to achieve the end which supposedly justifies that means.
* Anderton, Alain (2006). Economics (Fourth ed.). Ormskirk: Causeway.
When Sanctions Fail
The United Nations Human Rights Council announced its intention to publish a blacklist of 150 private companies, including those who do business in the disputed territories beyond the Green Line in Israel. In doing so, the Council plans to condemn the companies for acting against international law. This condemnation is supposed to tarnish the companies’ reputations politically in order to force them out of these territories. This move is said to help the Palestinians in the area; but according to numerous studies on the effects of sanctions, it is more likely to harm them economically.
A recent study of 68 cases where sanctions were imposed shows that in the end there is an expansion of inequality with a damaging impact on the sanctioned economies. For example, Yemen, which was sanctioned for ten years, experienced an increase both in poverty and in polarization due to inequality. The results can still be seen today in the sewage that runs through its streets.
Another case study of sanctions, done between the years 1982-2011, also reveals their negative effects on poverty. The research shows that the poverty gap widened from 5.89% before sanctions to 13.26% afterwards – an increase of 7.37%! Furthermore, there was a 22.39% increase in death rates. Poverty spreads as sanctions intensify.
This data clearly shows the potential for devastating economic damage to Palestinians as the result of applying sanctions to Israeli companies in the disputed territories, and the effects of sanctions are long-term.
Over the years, the economy of the Palestinian Authority (PA) has developed a high dependency on international aid. Prior to the first Intifada (1987) there was a level of only 5% unemployment, with many Palestinians able to find work. Today, that percentage has dramatically risen to approximately 43%, with 58% unemployment among the young people of Gaza. Even amongst the employed there is a high percentage living under the poverty line. The political conflict has caused a worsening of economic conditions, which has led to increased dependency of the PA on foreign aid.
The World Bank recommends the development of the private sector in order to boost Palestinian economic growth. However, this strategy contradicts the interests of the PA, which receives most of its funding from international aid. The funding is given to the leaders of the PA, who use it for terrorism, anti-Zionist propaganda and for fattening the stomachs of the elite (there is a wide gap between rich and poor). In contrast, Palestinians who work for Israeli private-sector companies are able to make a comfortable living without dependency on foreign aid. Clearly, sanctions on Israeli companies prevent this by leading to an increase in Palestinian unemployment.
The consequence of all this is unnecessary human suffering. Sanctions cause a deepening of inequality, a widening of the poverty gap, an increase of social polarity, and more. Furthermore, these effects are long-term. Considering the political reality for individuals in these areas, it is reasonable to believe that massive harm has already been caused. It may well be that the economic reality of poverty and unemployment in everyday life has been contributing to the worsening of the conflict. Considering this perspective, it becomes apparent that the sanctions are targeted not at stabilizing the area, but rather at delegitimizing Israel.