The international BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement against Israel is alive and well.
In the last few weeks, Iceland’s capital city of Reykjavik made headlines around the world when the city council voted to boycott ALL Israeli products. The largely symbolic gesture lacked the legal power to enforce the ban, and would have had little impact even if implemented. Iceland only does about $4 million in business with Israel, so the impact to Israel’s economy would have been minimal. Yet the disturbing display of animosity towards the Jewish State prompted immediate outrage. Iceland’s own national government harshly condemned the action, and severe backlash forced the city council to drop the boycott attempt after only a few days.
Almost simultaneously, the European Union approved legislation requiring the labeling of products made in Israeli “settlements” of the West Bank. This is a much more significant move, and while not a direct boycott of Israel it will likely have some economic effect.
