[Opinion] BDS, Omar Shakir, and Israel Eliminationism
Professor Gerlad M Steinberg discusses the impending case against BDS activist Omar Shakir, Human Rights Watch's Israel and Palestine Country Director.
Professor Gerlad M Steinberg discusses the impending case against BDS activist Omar Shakir, Human Rights Watch's Israel and Palestine Country Director.
On March 13, 2019, Amnesty International posted, “Think Twice: Can companies do business with Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories while respecting human rights?” The Amnesty campaign coincides with the anticipated release of the UN Human Rights Council blacklist of “settlement” businesses and is designed to bolster this UN initiative singling out Israel for attack.
On April 25, 2019, three UN Special Rapporteurs issued a statement supporting HRW Israel/Palestine Director and long-time BDS activist Omar Shakir, who failed to convince an Israeli court to force the Interior Ministry to grant him a new work visa.
Omar Shakir’s background and history of anti-Israel activity exemplifies the organization’s troubling ideological approach to Israel and retreat from the universal principles of human rights.
Omar Shakir tweeted 970 times (including retweets) on issues relating to the Arab-Israeli conflict, ranging from boycotting businesses over the 1949 Armistice line, the violence along the Gaza border, and his lawsuit against the Israeli government.
Daniel Laufer discusses Amnesty's report which denies Jewish connections to historical sites and faults Israel for preserving Jewish historical and cultural heritage, as well as places that are holy to Christians.
In January 2019, Amnesty International published a report on "The Tourism Industry and Israeli Settlements" that denies Jewish connections to historical sites – including in the Old City of Jerusalem – and in essence faults Israel for preserving Jewish historical and cultural heritage, as well as places that are holy to Christians.
On November 20, 2018, Human Rights Watch, in cooperation with Kerem Navot, published a report targeting Airbnb. The report followed a two-year long coordinated and well-financed BDS campaign.
Human Rights Watch’s October 2018 report “Two Authorities, One Way, Zero Dissent: Arbitrary Arrest and Torture Under the Palestinian Authority and Hamas” contains a number of obvious omissions and reflects an absence of serious analysis
In November 2018, Trocaire's Twitter feed demonstrated targeting of Israel through antisemitism and BDS.