BDS: Nonviolent, Globalized Palestinian Resistance to Israel’s Settler Colonialism and Apartheid
Keywords: 
BDS
Israel
Palestinian
settler colonialism
apartheid
occupation
human rights
complicity
Abstract: 

Despite its military, diplomatic, and economic power, Israel’s regime of military occupation, settler colonialism, and apartheid still views the non-violent, Palestinian-led global Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) move-ment as a “strategic threat” to its system of injustice, waging a protracted war against the movement accordingly. This essay aims to contextualize Israel’s war on BDS by examining the movement’s origins, principles, impact, and theory of change. It analyzes the most critical challenges BDS is facing and its most promising strengths, especially its balancing of ethical principles with strategic effectiveness and its intersectional approach to the struggle for Palestinian freedom, justice, and equality.

Author biography: 

Omar Barghouti is a Palestinian human rights defender, cofounder of the BDS movement for Palestinian rights, and corecipient of the Gandhi Peace Award in 2017.