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The proposal that
"the US
Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation should endorse the principle of cultural
and academic boycotts" passed by a landslide with one abstention and not a
single objection. The quasi-unanimous vote, and the deep collective breath of
relief that followed, will go down in history as the moment US-based Palestine
solidarity activists overcame tactical differences that had long hindered us,
to finally come together to confront Israeli apartheid.
The history of the Palestinian struggle for self-determination, independence
and human rights is sadly one of missed opportunities. Historically,
Palestinian aspirations have not been achieved due to a corrupt and feckless
leadership and petty internal divisions.
But we have also learned that change will not come from above. It will and must
come from the grassroots, the people, those who have nothing to lose but their
prison walls, the daily humiliation of life as a refugee, a second- or
third-class citizen, or a non-citizen. Representing the broadest coalition of
Palestinian society, from various parts of historic Palestine as well as the
global Diaspora, these Palestinians are the ones who jointly issued the call
for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS), modeled off of the same call that
helped bring apartheid in South Africa to an end, giving direction to a global
movement in support of this boycott call.
Mirroring the limits of the Palestinian leadership, the history of solidarity
activism is blemished by opportunities missed because of fragmentation and
discord, where there should have been a shared vision for the good of the
Palestinian people. However, as the participants of this weekend's conference
voted in favor of heeding the Palestinian call to join the global BDS movement,
they finally set this country on the path to justice. Citizens, organizations
and even government officials the world over, from Bangladesh
to South Africa to Norway, have
already responded to this Palestinian-led movement.
After resistance to comprehensive BDS measures at previous meetings these
organizers with the US
Campaign have now responded with an overwhelming "yes," indicating
that the tide has shifted in the US. This time around, these
activists are not returning to their communities to tell them that the moment
to heed the Palestinian boycott call is not yet right. The complicity of
silence, of unwarranted self-censorship, has finally ended, and the US can
join the global chorus clamoring: "no more!"
Nada Elia is an organizer with the US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (http://www.usacbi.org)
Grassroots Organization
The Palestinian call for boycott, divestment and sanctions on Israel came from those who have nothing left to lose. (Anne Paq/Activestills.org)
