The United Nations and BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions): Modern Antisemitism

"Apartheid in southern Africa was brought to an end, in part, by the cumulative impact of a variety of measures, including economic sanctions and sports boycotts, undertaken with the blessing of United Nations bodies and many Member States, and with grassroots support in States with strong strategic and economic ties with South Africa. The effectiveness of the anti-apartheid campaign was in large part due to the transnational activism of civil society, which reinforced the intergovernmental consensus that took shape in the United Nations.
...
Recommendations for the United Nations
...
4. The General Assembly should, taking inspiration from resolution 1761(XVII) of 6 November 1962, revive the Special Committee against Apartheid, and the United Nations Centre against Apartheid (1976-1991), which would report authoritatively on Israeli practices and policies relating to the crime of apartheid, including the legal and administrative instrumentalities used to carry out the underlying criminal enterprise. Those bodies gathered and disseminated vital legal analysis and information with respect to South African apartheid. Those resources benefited not only jurists and scholars, but also civil society activists around the world, helping them to shape media presentations and public opinion, legitimating calls for boycotts, divestments and sanctions, and contributing overall to the formation of a transnational movement against apartheid in South Africa.
...
Recommendations for national Governments of Member States
...
4. National Governments should support boycott, divestment and sanctions activities and respond positively to calls for such initiatives.
...
Recommendations for civil society and private sector actors
...
2. Efforts should be made to broaden support for boycott, divestment and sanctions initiatives among civil society actors.

3. Private sector actors should be made aware of the findings of this report and requested to act accordingly, including by informing the public about the criminality of the apartheid regime, and urging Governments to fulfil their obligations under the Apartheid Convention and to propose initiatives that could be undertaken by civil society. Private sector actors should also be reminded of their legal, moral and political responsibility to sever ties with commercial ventures and projects that directly or indirectly aid and abet the apartheid regime imposed."

Editor's Note: The report was withdrawn on March 17, 2017

"States have a duty not to recognize as legitimate the unlawful situation created by Israel’s policies and measures in occupied Palestine, including East Jerusalem, including as a result of its settlement activities, not to render aid or assistance in maintaining this unlawful situation, and to distinguish in all of their relevant dealings between the territory of the occupied power and the territory occupied since 1967, including with regard to Jerusalem, as called for by Security Council Resolutions 2334 in 2016. One very basic yet crucial step in this regard is to ban the entry to markets of settlement products produced in illegal settlements and with natural resources illegally exploited from our land. This is a minimal task, as is the obligation to ensure that agreements signed between any state and the State of Israel are not applied to the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem."

"As Israel continues to defy the law and will of the international community, even loudly boasting that it will, all legitimate political and legal measures available including sanctions and prosecution in courts must be pursued to ensure accountability... In this regard, and also as called for in Resolution 2334, states have a duty to distinguish in their relevant dealings between the territory of Israel and the territories it has occupied since 1967 according to Operative Paragraph 5 of Resolution 2334. Moreover, as per Security Council Resolution 465 and relevant General Assembly resolutions, states must not render aid or assistance to illegal settlement activities."

"Should Israel continue to defy the international community, it must be held accountable. All legitimate political and legal tools and measures available must be pursued, including sanctions and prosecution of war crimes in courts."

"The Israeli act of occupying territories is an undeniable threat to the world peace and security in view of its criminal nature and, therefore, should be discussed at the UN Security Council to become the legal subject of sanctions without fail."

"The Special Committee is strongly advised to recommend the UN Security Council to thoroughly investigate all kinds of illegal acts including the occupation of territories by Israel and to impose sanctions under relevant international legal instruments."

"Mr. Chairman, General Assembly Resolution 71/247, which is entitled Permanent Sovereignty of the Palestinian People on the oOccupied-on their resources in the occupied-on their natural resources including East Jerusalem, and occupied Syrian Golan, encouraged all states and organizations to adopt policies that ensure respect for their international obligations regarding the Israeli practices and measures in the occupied Palestinian territory, especially settlement activities and exploitation of natural resources. In the same vein, the most recent General-Security Council Resolution 2334 in its fifth operative paragraph called on all states to distinguish in their transactions between the territories of the State of Israel and the occupied territories since 1967. In addition, the Human Rights Council adopted its Resolution 36/31, which called for drawing up a list of Israeli companies operating in the occupied territories and in the Israeli settlements. And these Israeli settlements are the major source for plundering natural resources of the Palestinians. And this requires from all of you to cease forthwith dealing with the Israeli settlements in line with the international norms and the rules of international law."

"Mr. Chairman, Resolution 2334 of the Security Council has called on all Member States to distinguish while dealing with Israel between the areas of the State of Israel and the occupied territories 1967 and call-the Arab Group calls on all nations to take the necessary measures to secure the implementation of these paragraphs. We're not to allow any of commercial dealings between their national companies and the Israeli illegal settlements. And importing goods manufactured in these settlements encourages further settlement activities and increases the poverty of the Palestinian people."

"The Syrian Arab Republic condemns the funding by the European Union of a survey on "alternative tourism" to promote tourism in Israeli settlements in the occupied Syrian Golan. The funding was announced at conference held at the so-called Marom Golan settlement, near the two destroyed Syrian villages of Bab al-Hawa and Muwaysah. More than 100 tourism experts and advisers took part in an exchange of ideas and views on how to promote tourism in the occupied Syrian Golan. These developments are a clear and flagrant violation of the relevant Security Council and General Assembly resolutions. The Government of the Syrian Arab Republic once again calls upon the States members of the European Union and the States Members of the United Nations to refuse, in accordance with their obligations under international law, to import natural or manufactured products from the occupied territories."

"This draft resolution urged all states to distinguish between the territory of the State of Israel and the territories occupied since 1967. We call upon all states here present to, pursuant to international law and their commitments thereunder to review their relationships with Israeli settlements built on occupied Palestinian territories."

"I call on all states to end all forms of direct and indirect involvement with and support to the illegal Israeli colonial settlement regime on the land of the occupied State of Palestine, in accordance with UN resolutions and with the affirmed positions of the states in this regard. And similar to the international community's approach towards the apartheid regime in South Africa, we should not deal with settlements, we should not condone settlements. The blacklist of countries who are dealing illegally with Israeli settlements should be exposed and revealed...[T]here are efforts to obstruct the issuance of the list of companies operating in Israeli settlements. This is a black list. Why should we hide this list? It is similar to terrorism. Everybody should see this list to know who violates international law and who respects such law. So again, the black list of companies operating in Israeli settlements in the territory of the occupied State of Palestine."

"Settlement activity and Israeli occupation is a war crime which goes against the grain of the fourth Geneva Convention. That is why the settlers and those who incite settlement activity are accomplices in this crime. Since this is the case, you must take sanction measures within the framework of international law and the – to bring Israel to account before international justice. We must also prevent or stop any support for settlement activity. Here again, we call on the international community to boycott Israeli settlements and to boycott those settlements, to boycott the products and the goods from Israel, to not accept their situation. Do not accept the Israeli diplomatic representations, and prevent your companies from establishing connections with these settlements. This is the only peaceful and legal means that will enable us to uphold justice and to implement the principles of international law and the United Nations Charter."

"The Brazilian legislative decree by which the Free Trade Agreement between Brazil and Israel was approved determined that the Government shall negotiate the 'exclusion, from the Agreement's coverage, of goods whose certificates of origin attest as their origin sites under Israeli administration since 1967', which includes not only the Occupied Palestinian Territories but also the occupied Syrian Golan. This issue is currently on the agenda of the Joint Committee established under the Agreement. The manual for Brazilian exporters to Israel published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil discourages financial transactions, investments, or any other business activities related to Israeli settlements in the Occupied Arab Territories. The document recalls Security Council resolution 242 (1967), which determined the withdrawal of Israel from those territories."

"Palestine's just cause has been once again confirmed at a global scale by the General Assembly's decision, which paved the way to the raising of the Palestinian flag at the UN. The EU's decision regarding the labeling of settlement products is also an important step, as it reaffirms the settlements are illegal under international law."

"The European Union and its member states reaffirm their commitment to ensure continued full and effective implementation of existing EU legislation and bilateral arrangements applicable to settlement products. We are also committed to ensure that in line with international law, all agreements between the state of Israel and the European Union must unequivocally and explicitly indicate their inapplicability to the territories occupied by Israel in 1967."

From UN summary record: "Some days prior, the European Union had taken a step to consolidate peace in the Near East by deciding to label products produced in Israeli settlements. That was a legitimate step in the right direction that would bring Palestinians and Israelis closer to peace. The international community should now take the further step of boycotting products coming from the settlements and boycotting the settlers themselves, all of whom were terrorists, by prohibiting them from entering their countries, refusing to grant them citizenship, and refusing to grant them credentials as members of the Israeli diplomatic corps."

From UN summary record: "The Group expressed its appreciation to Governments that had banned their citizens from doing business with Israeli settlers and called on other States to follow suit. The decision of the European Union to introduce specific labelling for goods that originated from occupied territories also represented a positive step towards ensuring legal and moral accountability in that regard."

From UN summary record: "While Israel...continued its rapid expansion of Israeli settlements, which were universally recognized - even by its most loyal supporter - to be illegal and constitute an obstacle to peace, the United Nations had turned a blind eye to the situation and failed to impose sanctions of any kind on Israel. The Organization's continued failure to act would undermine its credibility and lead to catastrophic consequences in the region.
...
He expressed support for the recommendations contained in the report of the Special Committee (A/70/406), in particular regarding the need for the adoption of appropriate measures to prevent, investigate, punish and provide redress for corporate exploitation of resources in the occupied territories and the Committee's call to Member States to refrain from dealing with organizations and bodies involved in settlements or exploitation of natural resources in the occupied territories"

From UN summary record: "The European Union was committed to ensuring full implementation of European Union legislation and bilateral arrangements applicable to settlement products and to ensuring that all agreements between the State of Israel and the European Union explicitly indicated their inapplicability to the territories occupied by Israel since 1967."

From UN summary record: "He called on Member States to boycott goods produced by the settlers, to prohibit companies from doing business with settlers, to refuse to extend citizenship to settlers, and to withhold credentials from members of the Israeli diplomatic corps who were settlers."

"In this context, we call upon the international community to continue to bring pressure to bear on Israel so that it would end its aggression against Al Aqsa mosque and would end all acts and actions of building settlements and Judaization of Al Quds Al Sharif."

"If peace in the Middle East is to be achieved, we must exert collective pressure on Israel to stop expansion of illegal settlements and dismantle the existing ones in line with its obligations under article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention."

"We are deeply concerned over the occupying power's construction of new settlements, new housing in Jerusalem and other occupied territory. We must call on the international community to bring pressure to bear on the occupying power to end such practices and to respect the Fourth Geneva Convention."

From UN summary record: "Anyone who imported products from Israeli settlements was an accessory to those crimes...The time had come for Israel to be called to account. The international community should take practical deterrent measures, such as boycotts and economic sanctions, to compel Israel to put an end to the criminal occupation."

"It is universally accepted that the settlements violate international humanitarian and human rights law. In this regard and in the spirit of the latest report of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human rights in the Palestinian Territories. An initiative calls on all states to avoid involvement in settlement activities and to prohibit the people, including business groups from participation in such activities."

From UN summary record: "Some multinational corporations were profiting from Israeli settlement enterprises. Businesses had a responsibility not to be complicit in Israeli policies and practices that openly violated the rights of Palestinians. It was inconceivable that a business might be unaware of the illegal nature of Israeli settlement activities in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Scrupulous due diligence and a clear awareness of potential legal consequences for businesses associated with the Israeli settlement enterprise were imperative."

From UN summary record: "The international community should therefore take effective measures to prevail on Israel to bring a definitive end to its colonial occupation. The State of Palestine welcomed the decisions taken by certain States to send a clear message to the occupying Power, for instance by imposing a specific label on products from illegal Israeli settlements. It also welcomed the guidelines recently adopted by the European Commission concerning the eligibility of Israeli entities and their activities in the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967 for grants, prizes and financial instruments funded by the European Union from 2014 onwards. The guidelines represented a step in the right direction and should be developed further."

From UN summary record: "The Syrian delegation fully supported the recommendations of the Special Committee and urged the Organization to impose sanctions on Israel until it complied with its international obligations, including Security Council resolution 497 (1981)."

From UN summary record: "South Africa had decided that imported products manufactured in illegal Israeli settlements should be labelled as such, so that consumers could choose not to support the occupation. He hoped that other countries would adopt similar measures."

From UN summary record: "The South African Government continued to engage in various forms of cooperation with and support for the Palestinian people and had been proactive in ensuring policy coherence in that regard, inter alia by banning, since May 2012, the mislabelling of products originating in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as having originated in Israel, thereby enabling consumers to make informed choices. All Member States should, to the extent of their capacities, implement measures to support the Palestinian people."

"Countries also needed to raise awareness among their citizens of the reasons why they should refrain from buying products manufactured in illegal Israeli settlements."

"Israel's persistence in its settlement activities, especially in East Jerusalem, its blockade of Gaza, its confiscation of land and demolition of homes, its detainment of Palestinians and restrictions on the movement of people and goods demonstrates its sense of itself as above the law or any accountability and enjoying impunity from any sanctions."

"Moreover, the NAM remains deeply concerned about Israel's practice of certifying and labelling products originating from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory as "Made in Israel", in direct violation of international law, international trade law and other regulations on the rules of origin of various commodities. The Movement therefore calls upon the international community and Member States to take necessary measures to verify the origin of Israeli products, including enabling customs officials to travel to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory to ensure that the entry of settlement products into their markets is brought to a swift and resolute end, thus halting subsidization of that illegal colonization enterprise."

From UN summary record: "Israel's unlawful policies and practices that violated the human rights of Palestinians and other Arabs in the occupied territories must stop and the Israeli authorities must be made accountable. The international community, through the Security Council in particular, must sanction Israel for its non-compliance with the relevant resolutions."

"Furthermore, we call on the Security Council to consider imposing sanctions on Israel if it continues to ignore its international legal commitments."

"I spoke this morning about apartheid and how Israeli policies in the occupied Palestinian territories appear so similar to the apartheid of an earlier era a continent away. I believe it is very important that we in the United Nations use that term. We must not be afraid to call something what it is. It is the United Nations, after all, that adopted the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid, making clear to the entire world that such practices of official discrimination must be outlawed wherever they occur. We heard today from a representative of South African civil society. We know that civil society organizations all around the world are working to defend Palestinian rights and are trying to protect the Palestinian population, which we, the United Nations, are failing to protect. More than 20 years ago, we in the United Nations took the lead from civil society when we agreed that sanctions were required to provide a non-violent means of pressuring South Africa to end its violations. Today, perhaps we in the United Nations should consider following the lead of a new generation of civil society, who are calling for a similar non-violent campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions to pressure Israel to end its violations."

From UN summary record: "It also supported the recommendation of the Special Committee urging the Security Council to consider sanctions against Israel if it persisted in ignoring its international legal obligations."

From UN summary record: "The United Nations also needed to change its approach to the question of Palestine and find a way to compel Israel to comply with international law. Her delegation therefore strongly supported the recommendations of the Special Committee, including the call for the Security Council to consider sanctions against Israel if it persisted in ignoring its international legal obligations."

From UN summary record: "The international community had failed to address the Palestinian issue adequately. In particular, the Security Council's lack of action had diminished its credibility in that regard, and he endorsed the Special Committee's call for the Council to consider sanctions against Israel if the latter persisted in disregarding its international legal obligations. International public opinion had the power to exert pressure on the wrongdoer."

From UN summary record: "His delegation supported the Special Committee's recommendations, including the call for the Security Council to consider sanctions against Israel if it persisted in paying no attention to its international legal obligations. It also called on the community of nations to take concrete measures to compel Israel to return the Arab lands it occupied, as required by international law."

From UN summary record: "Finally, his delegation supported the Special Committee's recommendations, including its call for the Security Council to ensure the implementation of the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice and General Assembly resolution ES-10/15 and to consider sanctions against Israel if it persisted in paying no attention to its international legal obligations."

"Successive Israeli Governments would not have been successful in their delaying tactics and their defiance of the will of the international community were it not for the negativism of certain parties, which refuse to impose deterring sanctions against Israel, and the complicity of others in encouraging Israel not to abide by its obligations under the Charter and the relevant Security Council resolutions."

From UN summary record: "His delegation supported the recommendations of the Special Committee, including the call for the Security Council to consider sanctions against Israel if it persisted in paying no attention to its international legal obligations, and called for the renewal of its mandate."

From UN summary record: "The international community's inaction in the face of Israel's illegal actions was tantamount to condoning them. The Security Council should consider sanctions against Israel, as recommended by the Special Committee."

From UN summary record: "Saudi Arabia strongly condemned the excavations being carried out at the Al-Aqsa Mosque as well as all efforts to Judaize the city of Jerusalem and strip it of its Islamic identity. It also condemned Israeli practices in the occupied Syrian Golan and supported the recommendation of the Special Committee urging the Security Council to consider sanctions against Israel if it persisted in paying no attention to its international legal obligations."

From UN summary record: "His delegation supported the recommendations of the Special Committee (A/62/360, para. 87), including the call for the Security Council to consider sanctions against Israel if it persisted in paying no attention to its international legal obligations..."

From UN summary record: "Yemen supported the Special Committee's recommendations regarding the dispatch of an urgent fact-finding mission headed by the Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights Council, the payment of compensation by Israel for the damage it had inflicted in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and the consideration of sanctions against Israel by the Security Council if it persisted in disregarding its international obligations."

From UN summary record: "His Government also supported the recommendations of the Special Committee regarding an urgent fact-finding mission headed by the Special Rapporteur and the consideration of sanctions against Israel by the Security Council."

From UN summary record: "His delegation supported the recommendations of the Special Committee, particularly the one regarding the imposition of possible sanctions against Israel if it persisted in ignoring its international obligations..."

From UN summary record: "His delegation fully supported the recommendations contained in the Special Committee's report, including the recommendations requesting the Security Council to ensure that Israel complied with the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice and General Assembly resolution ES-10/15, and requested the Council to consider sanctions against Israel if it persisted in paying no attention to its international obligations; and to ensure that other States were not directly or indirectly assisting in the construction of the wall and that bilateral agreements between Israel and other States did not violate their obligations under international law."

From UN summary record: "Kuwait supported the Special Committee recommendation that the General Assembly should request the Security Council to consider sanctions against Israel if it persisted in paying no attention to its international obligations."

From UN summary record: "Israel could not be allowed to go on with such practices with impunity. The international community must act urgently on the recommendations in the Special Committee's report, which should include the imposition of sanctions, the sending of an international commission of inquiry and the payment of appropriate compensation."