Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions

Omar Barghouti is an independent Palestinian commentator and human rights activist. He is a founding member of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) and the Palestinian Civil Society Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel. He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from Columbia University, NY, and a master's degree in philosophy (ethics) from Tel Aviv University.

"There is no more comprehensive and persuasive case than his for boycott, divestment, and sanctions to end the Israeli occupation and establish the ethical claim of Palestinian rights."–Judith Butler, University of California at Berkeley"No one has done more to build the intellectual, legal and moral case for BDS than Omar Barghouti. The global Palestinian solidarity movement has been transformed and is on the cusp of major new breakthroughs."–Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine and No Logo"I commend this excellent book by Omar Barghout. BDS is a call to refuse to be silent in the face of military occupation of the Palestinian people by the Israeli regime, apartheid, and colonialism. BDS is a nonviolent way in which each of us and our governments can follow our conscience and rightful moral and legal responsibility and act now to save Palestinian lives by demanding that the Israeli apartheid regime give justice and equality to all."–Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate (1976)"I have been to Palestine where I’ve witnessed the racially segregated housing and the humiliation of Palestinians at military roadblocks. I can’t help but remember the conditions we experienced in South Africa under apartheid. We could not have achieved our freedom without the help of people around the world using the nonviolent means of boycotts and divestment to compel governments and institutions to withdraw their support for the apartheid regime. Omar Barghouti’s lucid and morally compelling book is perfectly timed to make a major contribution to this urgently needed global campaign for justice, freedom and peace."–Archbishop Desmond Tutu"Barghouti is the future. He is intelligent, empowered, and non-violent. He is completely impressive. It would help Americans to see such a picture of Palestinian political engagement, when they have such a distorted image of who Palestinians are. Some day they will know him."–Phillip Weiss, author of Mondoweiss: The War of Ideas in the Middle East

• Introduction: BDS: What? Why? Why Now?1--Israeli Apartheid: Time for the South African Treatment2--Israel vs. South Africa: Reflecting on the Cultural Boycott3--On the Moral Responsibility of Scholars in Situations of Oppression4--Just Intellectuals? Oppression, Resistance, and the Public Role of Intellectuals5--Freedom vs. “Academic Freedom”: The AUT Boycott6--Israel: So You Think You Can Dance?7--Fighting Apartheid in South Africa, Celebrating Apartheid in Israel: Open letter to Nadine Gordimer8--Between South Africa and Israel: UNESCO’s Double-Standards9--What we really need! A response to anti-boycott arguments10--Derailing Injustice: Palestinian Civil Resistance to the “Jerusalem Light Rail”11--"Boycotts work": An interview with Omar Barghouti by Ali Mustafa12--Never Against! European Collusion in Israel's Slow Genocide13--Boycotting Israeli settlement products: tactic vs. strategy14--Our South Africa Moment has ArrivedConclusion--BDS: If not now, when?