An op-ed by columnist Chris Wedeman recently appeared in the Orient in support of the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement aimed at boycotting Israeli goods and services. Even as innocents are being indiscriminately killed in Syria, ethnic cleansing continues to take its toll in the Congo, and democratic rights and political freedoms are being denied around the world, it is Israel—a democratic nation with a strong human rights record—that is the focus of this initiative. 

The BDS movement rests on mischaracterizations and half-truths and should be firmly opposed, especially at a place like Bowdoin.

Consider the four major complaints Wedeman levels against Israel in the op-ed: Israel is guilty of “cultural theft;” Israel is “notorious for its violations of human rights”; Israel is a racist state; and Israel exists on land “stolen from Palestinians.” Of these four, the charge of cultural theft is particularly insulting. Israel exists in the Middle East, surrounded by Arab neighbors. According to the online Jewish Virtual Library, there are over 1.5 million Israeli-Arab citizens living within its borders. A process of cultural diffusion is bound to take place under these circumstances. Moreover, millions of Jews lived in Arab countries for over two millennia until they left or were forcibly evicted from their homes after the Arab-Israeli war. This all raises an important question: why is it that when other groups borrow cultual elements it is rightly termed “diffusion,” but when Jews do so it becomes “theft”?

Next, Israel has a strong human rights record, especially considering past and present threats. The state’s very existence began with a war against its Arab neighbors. 

In his book “Politics and Society in Modern Israel,” Adam Garfinkle estimates that one percent of Israel’s population—roughly six thousand individuals—perished in its war for independence. Today, Iran, a state with a record of state-sponsored terrorism and vehement animosity toward Israel, seeks a nuclear weapon. 

Israel deals with the constant threat of terrorism. Hamas, the democratically elected ruling party in Gaza, is recognized by many countries, including the U.S. and the European Union, as a terrorist organization. Its charter calls for the destruction of Israel and the extermination of Israelis and Jews. Considering the enormity of the threats Israel faces, it has acted with outstanding moral integrity to protect the lives of civilians and to uphold human rights. 

 The Jerusalem Post and Haaretz both reported that in 2008, the ratio of civilian deaths to enemy military combatant deaths stood at around 1:30. Israel continues to engage in a military occupation of the West Bank not out of a desire to oppress the Palestinian people, but rather to maintain its security.

​Moreover, far from being a racist state as the BDS movement claims, Israel is a predominately secular democratic state that affords freedom to its citizens. Its religious minorities, including all 1.5 million Arab-Israelis, are granted equal protection under the law. Muslims serve as justices in Israeli courts. A 2007 study from the Arab Center for Alternative Planning indicates that Arab-Israelis enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the Middle East, and Arab life expectancy in Israel is higher than that of the next best Middle Eastern country, Jordan. 

Under these circumstances it is hardly surprising that a 2011 poll conducted by the Index of Arab-Jewish Relations stated that, should a Palestinian state be created, the majority of Arab-Israelis would chose to remain in Israel rather than emigrate to Palestine or another Arab state.

Lastly, the suggestion that Israel exists on land “stolen from Palestinians” is simply untrue. There has been a constant presence of Jews in the area since biblical times. An influx of Jewish immigration to Palestine began in the late 1800s to escape persecution in Europe, not to aid in imperial conquests. By the time the United Nations passed Resolution 181 partitioning the former British Palestinian mandate into two states (a proposal accepted by Israel but rejected with a war of aggression by its Arab neighbors), Jews constituted a majority of the population in the land they were granted.

The BDS movement seeks to demonize and delegitimize Israel in the same way it sought to expose apartheid South Africa as illegitimate. However, in the case of Israel these claims are baseless.

 As someone deeply concerned about both Israeli security and the creation of a sovereign state of Palestine, I believe this is a major reason for the impasse in peace negotiations. The Palestinian people unquestionably have a right to create a viable and sovereign state in their homeland—but denying the Jewish people their legitimate right to claim statehood as well is unacceptable. 

And it is this fundamental disagreement over a Jewish state that has led to the continuation of the conflict. Peace negotiations in 1937, 1947, 1948, 1967, 2000 and 2001 were accepted by Israelis but rejected by the Palestinians because it would result in the continuation of a Jewish state. 

When the day comes that the Palestinian people desire a homeland more than they want to see the destruction of Israel, there will be peace. So long as libelous and hateful claims continue to be launched against Israel, this day will only take longer to arrive.

Michael Levine is a member of the  Class of 2014.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly said that the number of Arab-Israelis living in the state of Israel was 1.2 million, when in fact it is estimated at around 1.5 million. The sentence that stated “Israelis enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the Arab world” was modified to “Arab-Israelis enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the Middle East.”  The online version of the article has been updated to correct these inaccuracies.

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An op-ed by columnist Chris Wedeman recently appeared in the Orient in support of the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement aimed at boycotting Israeli goods and services. Even as innocents are being indiscriminately killed in Syria, ethnic cleansing continues to take its toll in the Congo, and democratic rights and political freedoms are being denied around the world, it is Israel—a democratic nation with a strong human rights record—that is the focus of this initiative. 
The BDS movement rests on mischaracterizations and half-truths and should be firmly opposed, especially at a place like Bowdoin.
Consider the four major complaints Wedeman levels against Israel in the op-ed: Israel is guilty of “cultural theft;” Israel is “notorious for its violations of human rights”; Israel is a racist state; and Israel exists on land “stolen from Palestinians.” Of these four, the charge of cultural theft is particularly insulting. Israel exists in the Middle East, surrounded by Arab neighbors. According to the online Jewish Virtual Library, there are over 1.5 million Israeli-Arab citizens living within its borders. A process of cultural diffusion is bound to take place under these circumstances. Moreover, millions of Jews lived in Arab countries for over two millennia until they left or were forcibly evicted from their homes after the Arab-Israeli war. This all raises an important question: why is it that when other groups borrow cultual elements it is rightly termed “diffusion,” but when Jews do so it becomes “theft”?
Next, Israel has a strong human rights record, especially considering past and present threats. The state’s very existence began with a war against its Arab neighbors. 
In his book “Politics and Society in Modern Israel,” Adam Garfinkle estimates that one percent of Israel’s population—roughly six thousand individuals—perished in its war for independence. Today, Iran, a state with a record of state-sponsored terrorism and vehement animosity toward Israel, seeks a nuclear weapon. 
Israel deals with the constant threat of terrorism. Hamas, the democratically elected ruling party in Gaza, is recognized by many countries, including the U.S. and the European Union, as a terrorist organization. Its charter calls for the destruction of Israel and the extermination of Israelis and Jews. Considering the enormity of the threats Israel faces, it has acted with outstanding moral integrity to protect the lives of civilians and to uphold human rights. 
Moreover, far from being a racist state as the BDS movement claims, Israel is a predominately secular democratic state that affords freedom to its citizens. Its religious minorities, including all 1.2 million Arab-Israelis, are granted equal protection under the law. Muslims serve as justices in Israeli courts. A 2007 study from the Arab Center for Alternative Planning indicates that Israelis enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the Arab world, and Arab life expectancy in Israel is higher than that of the next best Middle Eastern country, Jordan. 
Under these circumstances it is hardly surprising that a 2011 poll conducted by the Index of Arab-Jewish Relations stated that, should a Palestinian state be created, the majority of Arab-Israelis would chose to remain in Israel rather than emigrate to Palestine or another Arab state.
Lastly, the suggestion that Israel exists on land “stolen from Palestinians” is simply untrue. There has been a constant presence of Jews in the area since biblical times. An influx of Jewish immigration to Palestine began in the late 1800s to escape persecution in Europe, not to aid in imperial conquests. By the time the United Nations passed Resolution 181 partitioning the former British Palestinian mandate into two states (a proposal accepted by Israel but rejected with a war of aggression by its Arab neighbors), Jews constituted a majority of the population in the land they were granted.
The BDS movement seeks to demonize and delegitimize Israel in the same way it sought to expose apartheid South Africa as illegitimate. However, in the case of Israel these claims are baseless.
 As someone deeply concerned about both Israeli security and the creation of a sovereign state of Palestine, I believe this is a major reason for the impasse in peace negotiations. The Palestinian people unquestionably have a right to create a viable and sovereign state in their homeland—but denying the Jewish people their legitimate right to claim statehood as well is unacceptable. 
And it is this fundamental disagreement over a Jewish state that has led to the continuation of the conflict. Peace negotiations in 1937, 1947, 1948, 1967, 2000 and 2001 were accepted by Israelis but rejected by the Palestinians because it would result in the continuation of a Jewish state. 
When the day comes that the Palestinian people desire a homeland more than they want to see the destruction of Israel, there will be peace. So long as libelous and hateful claims continue to be launched against Israel, this day will only take longer to arrive.
Michael Levine is a member of the  Class of 2014.