Despite wreaking much mayhem and garnering much attention, the movement to boycott, divest from, and sanction Israel has so far failed both at economic warfare and at influencing perceptions of the Jewish state—at least according to survey data. In fact, writes Jonathan Marks, a recent Gallup poll notes that, if anything, Americans’ sympathy for Israel has increased:
[T]he young have been special targets of the BDS movement, treated every year to “Israel apartheid week,” struggles against Zionist hummus, and divestment campaigns. Indeed, young people have been less sympathetic than older people to Israel in the recent past. Nonetheless, this year, 54 percent [of young respondents] reported sympathizing more with Israel [than with the Palestinians]; 23 percent sympathized more with the Palestinians. In 2005, 51 percent reported sympathizing more with Israel. . . . In short, the BDSers have not been able to budge opinion among the young so far. . . .
That does not mean one need not be concerned about the boycott movement, both because there may be subtle effects that the polls are missing and because it seems likely that the failure of BDS to take hold has something to do with determined opposition to it. It does mean, however, that there is no reason to despair about reports of BDS “momentum” which, at least so far, seems to be a myth.
Read more on Commentary: https://www.commentarymagazine.com/anti-semitism/bds-movement-isnt-working/