A pro-Israel bill moving through the Montana Legislature (House Bill 501) would ban Montanans from doing business with companies supporting the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement, which is working to end international support for Israel’s oppression of Palestinians.
House Bill 501’s sponsor, Montana House Speaker Austin Knudsen, incorrectly labels the BDS movment as anti-Semitic – a claim echoed by Laurie Franklin, spiritual director of Missoula’s Har Shalom Synagogue, a personal friend whom I very much admire.
In truth, the BDS movement is neither anti-Semitic nor anti-Israel. Rather, it is a Palestinian-led movement for freedom, justice, and equality that upholds the simple principle that Palestinians are entitled to the same rights as the rest of humanity.
Since its inception in 1948, Israel has occupied and colonized Palestinian land, discriminated against Palestinian citizens of Israel, and denied Palestinian refugees the right to return to their homes. Inspired by the South African anti-apartheid movement, the BDS call urges action that would compel Israel to comply with international law.
As an American Jew, I find alarming the extent to which support for the inherent human rights of Palestinians is often conflated with anti-Semitism. It is quite possible to support Palestinian rights without being anti-Semitic.
It is also possible to be pro-Palestinian AND pro-Israel. In fact, I’d argue that it’s not possible to truly support Israel without championing the equal rights of Palestinians. That’s because the treatment of Palestinians by the Israeli state is a horror, a blot on Israel’s soul. As a Jew fighting for equal rights for everyone – not just Jews and Palestinians, but everyone – I’ve come to understand that the biggest existential threat facing Israel is its inhumane treatment of an entire people, which goes against everything I know and love about Judaism.
I encourage everyone to urge your Montana state representative to vote against House Bill 501. Feeling the effects of the BDS movement might be a bitter pill for the state of Israel to swallow – but it might ultimately prove to be one of the very things necessary for that Jewish state’s survival.
Salim Matt Gras
Hamilton