Boycotts of Israel are the refusal and calls to refusal of having commercial or social dealings with Israel in order to influence Israel's practices and policies by means of using economic pressure. The specific objective of Israel boycotts varies; the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement calls for boycotts of Israel "until it meets its obligations under international law", and the purpose of the Arab League's boycott of Israel was to prevent Arab states and others to contribute to Israel's economy. Israel believes that boycotts against it are antisemitic.
Graffiti supporting the boycott of Israel
Paul McCartney is one of many artists who oppose boycotting Israel.
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a nonviolent Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. Its objective is to pressure Israel to meet what the BDS movement describes as Israel's obligations under international law, defined as withdrawal from the occupied territories, removal of the separation barrier in the West Bank, full equality for Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel, and "respecting, protecting, and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties". The movement is organized and coordinated by the Palestinian BDS National Committee.
A BDS demonstration outside the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, April 2017
Area C (blue), the part of the West Bank under full Israeli control, in 2011
Norman Finkelstein has criticized BDS's position on the Palestinian refugees.
BDS protest in Melbourne, Australia, against Israel's 2007–present Gaza blockade and 2010 attack on a humanitarian flotilla, June 2010