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on bds from denmark
We have been aware of the BDS movement for many years, but it was only in 2017 that the “Friends of Bethlehem” association in Denmark formally discussed its relationship to Kairos Palestine and requested to become a member of the global Kairos Palestine network. In this connection we discussed the call to support BDS in our own Danish context and decided to approach our members to engage in BDS action in their daily lives and local communities by a) not buying products from Israeli settlements and b) appealing to pension funds and Danish authorities/municipalities to divest from companies involved in creating and maintaining Israeli settlements. We did not find it purposeful in our context to call for a total boycott at this stage as it might have a counterproductive effect politically and in terms of broad public understanding and mobilization. Other political associations have called for full sanctions or, as Action Aid Denmark campaigned for the recognition of a Palestinian State and for lifting the siege on Gaza.
We were not the first group in Denmark to support BDS. We only entered the scene in 2017. We have no way of knowing the impact on consumers in terms of boycotting Israel or settlement products. Danwatch engaged in a study process from 2012-2017 entitled “Business on Stolen Land”, analyzing investments of pension schemes, municipalities, and analyzing the marketing of tourist agencies of Israel/Palestine. These were useful reports in approaching tourist agencies to change their marketing and getting pension funds and municipalities to disinvest. Strong reactions from Israeli authorities, pro-Israeli groups and politicians in Denmark have proven that this is indeed a very sore and sensitive point. Potentially BDS is a strong tool for awareness raising and nonviolent resistance. But a lot of perseverance is required and there is still a long way to go to make the BDS tool effective and adapted to our specific Danish and European context.
The Palestinian BDS initiative has influenced a lot of hearts and minds, but whereas politicians gradually accepted the boycott of South Africa, Israel/Palestine is a much more sensitive issue for historical, religious and political reasons, leading at times to strong polarization of opinions and reluctance by politicians to go beyond political condemnation of Israeli breaches of human rights to concrete action in terms of BDS or elements thereof. However, the EU and Danish government have issued guidelines for responsible investments, and warned business society to take care in their actions not to unlawfully support the violation of human rights. We believe than an effective tool to raise awareness and commitment amongst decision makers has been the continuous organizing of small team visits to the Occupied Territories.
The particular Danish context makes it virtually impossible to get an official response and support for BDS from church authorities. Hence, it is up to solidarity/friendship associations such as “Friends of Bethlehem” to take the lead in creating awareness and calling for action for justice through its membership.
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We believe than an effective tool to raise awareness and commitment amongst decision makers has been the continuous organizing of small team visits to the Occupied Territories.
The particular Danish context makes it virtually impossible to get an official response and support for BDS from church authorities. Hence, it is up to solidarity/friendship associations such as “Friends of Bethlehem” to take the lead in creating awareness and calling for action for justice through its membership.