The recent much-publicized rejection of a $300,000 prize funded by an Israeli foundation underscored a growing movement orchestrated by Muslims and globalists. The anti-Israel “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions” (BDS) movement has been carefully crafted to employ slick propaganda to encourage punitive sanctions intended to bash the nation of Israel into submission. The stated goal is the creation of a Palestinian state in the alleged “Occupied Territories”, but the real goal is the destruction of the nation of Israel. In the short term, they want to reduce Israel’s reputation to veritable pariah status. The war of words against Israel is in some ways more damaging than all of the bus bombings, cafe bombings, bus stop knifings, and the rocket attacks combined. By delegitimizing and demonizing Israel, the various BDS anti-Israel and anti-Semitic haters seek to permanently destroy the sovereignty of the nation.
Some Background
When the modern state of Israel was created by a majority vote in the UN General Assembly in 1948, its approved territorial map included Jerusalem, the West Bank region and the Gaza strip, since those were all part of historic Israel–what the locals call Eretz Israel – “Land of Israel”, or Haaretz: “The Land”). But not all of those lands were physically secured by the Israeli government until the conclusion of the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. This was because immediately after Israel was granted independence, the 1948 War broke out, and Israel was invaded from several directions and very nearly destroyed in its infancy. The 1948 ceasefire line left the Golan Heights and West Bank under Syrian and Jordanian control. Sensing the opportunity for a land rush, between 1948 and 1967, thousands of lower-class landless Arabs poured into the West Bank during those years.
(To gain an understanding of just how desperate Israel’s situation was during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, I recommend watching the 2015 documentary Above and Beyond. It is available on Netflix and Amazon Prime, or on DVD.)
Following the 1948 war, a low level war of terror followed. This was punctuated by the 1967 war and the 1973 War. Both of those were tremendous victories for Israel, but terrorist infiltration continued.
The BDS campaign was launched in 2005 by Palestinians with the help of western pro-Palestinian leftists in academia. Going far beyond simple criticism, the BDS campaign challenges the very existence and legitimacy of the nation of Israel. They want to see Israel collapse by means of choking off their supply of arms, undermining the moral legitimacy of Israel as a nation state, wrecking Israel’s economy, and destroying Israel’s image–reducing it to a pariah state as seen in every segment of the mass media.
On May 31st, the Israeli delegation to the UN hosted an “Ambassadors Against BDS” international conference, with the theme “Build Bridges, Not Boycotts.” Video of that event is now available online.
Echoes of BTK
An odd parallel to the BDS campaign recently occurred to me: Coincidentally in 2005, the elusive American serial killer Dennis Rader was arrested and brought to justice. Before his arrest, he had written taunting letters to newspapers and police departments, signing them “BTK”–an acronym of his own creation, which stood for “Bind, Torture, and Kill”. Those were the hallmarks of his campaign of terror, which took 10 human lives in the Wichita, Kansas region. He later plead guilty and is now serving 10 life sentences in prison. As with Rader’s BTK campaign, the globalist BDS campaign against Israel is designed to instill sheer terror. And like Rader, the backers of BDS movement seek publicity with a catchy acronym. In this case, the acronym is being used to help demonize both Israel and the Jewish people.
Supporters of BDS have tried to compare the movement with the Anti-Apartheid Movement and often try to compare the situation in Israel to the apartheid policies in South Africa. But that is hardly a comparison. The territory in dispute has legally and morally belonged to Israel since the re-establishment of the nation in 1948. Furthermore, this land is also historically Israel, since the entire region is dotted with proto-Hebraic Israelite archeological sites that date back to between the the 5th Century and 8th Century, BC. The so-called “Palestinians” are the descendants of a mix of Arabs primarily from Jordan who did not enter into Eretz Israel until during and after World War II. By the convoluted logic of the UN, any non-Jew who has an ancestor who claims to have been living in the British Mandate territory of Palestine for two years before 1948 is considered “Palestinian.”
The Palestinians, under Fatah/PLO/Hamas/Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership, did not stop their campaign of terror after Israel foolishly granted them the Gaza strip in 2007. That treaty was immediately violated by the PA. Hamas is now using Gaza as a base of operations from which they launch mortar shells and 122mm Katyusha (BM-21 Grad) rockets. They are also building numerous tunnels under the border, through which they are inserting terrorist teams.
Meanwhile, the organizers of the BDS campaign fully intend to starve Israel into submission. Their campaign of terror by boycotts and sanctions is just getting started. In my estimation they won’t stop, even if Israel gives up the West Bank hilltop settlements. Countless Arab leaders have said that they want Israel wiped off the map. Their less radical fellow-travellers in the international BDS movement are playing right into their hands.
The Myth of the Two State Solution
The so-called “two state solution” is just an interim step for the anti-Israel haters. Their long term goal is one state, namely a Sunni Arab Palestinian state. And their desired end result for those who practice Judaism is the destruction of Israel and a diaspora –or perhaps even another holocaust–of the nation’s populace.
The “two state solution” cannot and will not ever succeed. Either a nation is sovereign, or it is not. Either it has defined borders and territorial integrity, or it does not. Failure to maintain both of those is suicidal. It is often said that nature abhors a vacuum. Attempting an artificial bilateral construct for the West Bank would create such a vacuum. Israel must stand firm on its borders. To allow a repeat of the Gaza debacle in the West Bank would be a huge mistake.
The ongoing BDS campaign is a campaign of lies that is part and parcel of a “two state solution”. It must be countered, and at the moral level it can only be countered with the truth. At the physical level, it must be countered by lining up the right logistics, as I will explain.
Delegitimization
Making a person seem less than human is an age old tactic to get those who would not normally participate in atrocities against the person actually join in. The most visible case of this process of deligitimization comes from Germany right before World War II. Germany was the seat of Protestant Christianity and had a thriving missionary outreach. How then could such a religious people create and participate in the Holocaust where 13 million people died in concentration camps? A careful study of the times will show a concerted propaganda effort to make those targeted seem not so human. Half truths, twisting of facts, and outright lies were repeated so often that the general population began to believe them. In the end, even the majority who wouldn’t support the atrocities did nothing to stop it. We are seeing the same thing play out again in our time. The Palestinians and those that support them are masters at propaganda and we are seeing the effects of this propaganda even in our churches. People who have not looked at the facts and have no connection to the region have strong feelings against Israel based upon the propaganda that they listen to. This is nothing more than a thinly veiled anti-Semitism.
Preparing to Survive Sanctions
The Israeli government needs to take heed of the history and lessons learned by other nations that have endured sanctions, embargoes, and boycotts in modern history. Most notably these include Cuba, Rhodesia, South Africa, and Iran. These nations quickly learned how to bypass the sanctions with “blockade busting” procurement, alternative banking, and alternative transportation networks. They also quickly developed domestic weapons and ammunition factories. In the case of South Africa, the impact of trade sanctions and boycotts was so severe that it forced them to develop a domestic synthetic fuel program, spearheaded by a company called Sasol. It is noteworthy that Israel is similarly rich in natural gas and poor in liquid oil. So they need to take the same steps toward fuel and lubricants self-sufficiency.
Encouragements at the National Level
The editors of SurvivalBlog encourage Israel’s leaders to do everything that they can to position their nation to be able to survive a protracted period of intifadas, boycotts, sanctions, and embargoes, to wit: Become fully energy independent. Compressed natural gas (GNC) will be the key enabler.
- Become truly food independent. Even though Israel is a net exporter of many crops, it is still a net importer of grain and some vegetable oil products. Domestic grain production should be encouraged. Start more irrigation projects to make the Negev bloom! Also encourage more large scale beef cattle production in the Golan Heights, and the Northern Negev.
- Revitalize your domestic arms industry. (Arms embargoes are coming!)
- Loosen the restrictions on private ownership of guns.
- Develop a domestic car and truck manufacturing industry. It should preferably be based on GNC and multifuel engines.
- Establish a stable and fully redeemable precious metals-backed currency that can be entirely independent of the supranational electronic currencies that are likely to be launched in Europe and the Americas in the next few years.
- Develop a robust natural gas-based domestic synthetic fuel program.
- Encourage the immigration of people with key technical skills, even if they are not Jewish. There are many Notzrim in places like the United States and South Africa who have hearts for Israel and her survival as a Jewish homeland nation. Please open your doors to them!
- In as many ways as possible, encourage large families. Without maintaining a demographic advantage, Israel will be doomed.
- Continue to encourage immigration (aliyah) of Jews to Israel from around the world.
Specific Recommendations at the Family Level
SurvivalBlog readers in Israel are advised to make personal and family preparations to survive the expected latter stages of the ongoing BDS campaign. With trade embargoes looming, it would be wise to do all of the following, if your budget and home storage space are sufficient:
- If possible, move to a moshav (a farming community).
- Install an independent photovoltaic (solar) power system for your house.
- Install the largest underground fuel tanks that you can afford (and that are allowable by law).
- Maintain some foreign currency at home, such as Swiss Francs.
- Set up a Bitcoin account.
- Stock up heavily on nonperishable foods. Your pantry room should be stacked from floor to ceiling, and your miklat (shelter space) should be so packed with long-term storage food that adding your family members during an attack will be a tight squeeze.
- Establish arrangements with foreign relatives or friends who are willing to purchase and mail small but crucial items during a crisis.
- Open an offshore bank account.
- Convert any available yard space into home garden plots. Look into container growing. Even people in apartments can container garden on the little porches and can grow sprouts.
- Buy and store a spare set of tires for your car. (Once the trade embargoes go into force, tires will likely be one of the acute shortages.)
- In anticipation of greater civil unrest, buy a firearm and store the maximum amount of ammunition allowed by law, which sadly is not much: 50 loaded cartridges per handgun. (Perhaps home handloaders will have greater flexibility on aggregate numbers, if they are storing only ammunition reloading components, i.e. brass, bullets, primers, and powder.)
- Establish a second passport for each family member. (With the ongoing BDS campaign, travel restrictions for the holders of Israeli passports may be coming. A second passport will give you many more options.)
In closing, I ask that all SurvivalBlog readers pray for Israel and Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6). I warn our nation’s leaders that America must not lose sight of the importance of maintaining our strategic alliance with Israel. We cannot turn our backs on Israel! Read and contemplate the full implications of the Old Testament scripture, which states, regarding the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob:
“And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” – Genesis 12:3
Again, please pray for Israel! – JWR
Note: Permission is granted for re-posting of this entire article, but only if done so in full, with proper attribution to James Wesley, Rawles and SurvivalBlog, and only if the included links are preserved.)