Comments on Divest This!: Running the Numbers

Whenever I see the letters BDS, I feel like asking...

2011-12-21T08:02:01.758-05:00

Whenever I see the letters BDS, I feel like asking them why they are so into Bondage Sadomasochism and Domination - or is it Beating, Spanking and Discipline?

But seriously (if one can take such people seriously), they are out of touch if they think that a boycott will work. Israel is an advanced country - so advanced that even Arab countries buy from Israel, albeit through intermediaries. That they cannot even comply with their own boycott, should be a clue to the absurdity of their position.

Perhaps they should instead engage with Israel instead of engaging in feeble boycotts that merely make them look ridiculous.

It's great to hear that the BDS campaign has b...

2010-03-14T13:32:37.251-04:00

It's great to hear that the BDS campaign has been an economic failure!

I think we are doing quite a poor PR job at the mo...

2010-03-12T06:59:31.849-05:00

I think we are doing quite a poor PR job at the moment, but thanks!

Meanwhile you use thuggery, lies and libel as you march lock step with genocidal terrorist networks sworn to the destruction of the Jews.

No rug is capable of hiding that; you have to hope that people choose to be wilfully blind as they wade through the mass of sewage.

ISRAEL HAS GREAT PUBLIC RELATIONS, BUT YOU CAN ONL...

2010-03-11T16:45:14.397-05:00

ISRAEL HAS GREAT PUBLIC RELATIONS, BUT YOU CAN ONLY SWEEP THE DIRT UNDER THE RUG FOR SO LONG. The shit's piling up...

GO BDS!!!

2010-03-11T16:41:54.390-05:00

GO BDS!!!

Jon: Thanks for the data. Only time will tell if ...

2010-03-09T12:22:02.364-05:00

Jon:

Thanks for the data. Only time will tell if the BDS gang manage to do anything much beyond staining Israel's reputation and keeping the Palestinians hostage to the agendas of Iran, Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the former Soviet Union.

In response to the last two comments, this origina...

2010-03-09T11:06:46.831-05:00

In response to the last two comments, this original piece simply views three specific trends (economic growth, exports and popularity) during the ten year period when BDS has been working tirelessly to get all three trends to go down. The fact that they've gone up during this period could be significant, or could simply be what is called a "naive corollary." But, as I noted in the original piece, the criteria I choose to measure against was the BDSer's own premises of economic activity = political support, so if they have a problem with these assumptions they will have to debate it with themselves, not me.

As for similar trends affecting South Africa, this question makes the assumption that Israel and South Africa are in any way comparable which – outside of those involved with the Israel Apartheid Week project – most people reject. The last commenter dissects why this is a false comparison on a political level, and I think you’ll find it equally fallacious when comparing the two economies (one built upon mineral wealth, one based on intellectual capital).

But if the BDSers want to stick with this strategy for another 40 years to see if it will finally pay off, they are of course free to do so.

Corky, as you know, the claim of "Israeli apa...

2010-03-08T15:08:55.564-05:00

Corky, as you know, the claim of "Israeli apartheid" is another Big Lie of the 20th century.
http://ziontruth.blogspot.com/2010/03/europe-promotes-apartheid-in-jerusalem.html

http://ziontruth.blogspot.com/2009/09/arabs-refute-big-lie-of-israeli.html

http://ziontruth.blogspot.com/2010/01/more-on-arabs-refuting-big-lie-of.html

One of the big differences between Israel and South Africa is that Jews are the majority in Israel whereas the whites were a minority in South Africa. Further, the racial differences between Jews and Arabs are not readily obvious as in black and white. There is a wide range of skin colors, hues and shades among both peoples, and many Jews are darker than many Arabs, despite the commonly held, conventional misconceptions.

I also wanted to point out to Jon that we are doing better than he wrote. The chart shows that our GNP increased from $110 B to $199.5 B from 2000 to 2009, and not as written in the body of the text above.

Jon, you've got a great site. But it bothers me that the "apartheid" Big Lie gets any credibility at all.

Do you have any comparative work looking at South ...

2010-03-08T14:19:28.017-05:00

Do you have any comparative work looking at South Africa? was the anti-apartheid movement succesfull in decreasing the GNP of the county? My understanding is that the anti-apartheid movement was started in Britain in the late 50's and didint end until the early 90's. so, less than a decade of date is not super duper pursuasive (unless you can indicate that the South African apartheid movement was successful by the late 60's in reducing South Africans gnp)

Really nice to know. Just playing the adversary...

2010-03-07T04:47:43.401-05:00

Really nice to know. Just playing the adversary's advocate for a moment, the BDSers could also point to the last graph and find eroding public support for Israel outside the US, principally in Europe. They could uphold that measure as an indicator that eventually they will have success as was the case with South Africa.

Jon, I love you! Thanks for your insight! When I t...

2010-03-05T14:04:33.998-05:00

Jon, I love you! Thanks for your insight! When I think about the BDS movement what pops into my mind are two pictures: The first is of a spoiled little boy about 5 years old, stamping his feet in a hissy fit (I've never used this phrase before, but it fits here) because he wants a lollipop and is just told he can't have one; the second is an image of a truly unfortunate autistic child who can't function in the real world and sits on the floor all day self-destructively banging his head against the wall.

We should definitely continue to battle the BDS mo...

2010-03-05T10:42:36.681-05:00

We should definitely continue to battle the BDS movement, and we shouldn't be so comfortable to assume that we are completely safe - but privately we can snigger at their failures. :-)

As for the "conundrum" -- it's no fu...

2010-03-05T09:14:04.851-05:00

As for the "conundrum" -- it's no fun handing out free passes.

Why deprive ourselves of the opportunity to pass out Kleenex and Band-Aids when we hear the bangs and see the toenails go flying?!

This needs to be taught in every classroom, in eve...

2010-03-05T08:46:44.118-05:00

This needs to be taught in every classroom, in every conference room, and in every boardroom.