If the Israeli Knesset wants to win the important, global battle against those who want to delegitimize the Jewish state, the last thing it should do is provide rhetorical weapons to Israel’s most vicious critics. (“Boycott Bill Generates Controversy,” July 15)
Yet, in voting to outlaw calls for a boycott against Israel and its West Bank settlements, the Knesset has aided and abetted those outside of Israel who are demonizing the Jewish state and turning it into an international pariah.
As American Jewish Zionists, we are often critical of Israeli settlement expansion and other policies. But we oppose the increasingly popular international boycott of Israel and have argued against it in both public and private settings. The Knesset bill will make it more difficult for us to counter BDS advocates. In the U.S., one important argument for maintaining the support of the American people for Israel is that it is a democracy that shares America’s core values. That argument is severely undercut by legislation that is reminiscent of regulations imposed by police states.
The writers are, respectively, president and a board member of Ameinu, a progressive Zionist membership organization in the U.S.
