Supporters of the campaign to boycott, divest from, and sanction the Jewish state (BDS) claim to be motivated by concern for the well-being of Palestinians. In fact, writes Abed Almaala, a leader of Jordan’s parliamentary opposition, BDS’s success would be disastrous for them as well as for Israel’s Arab neighbors.
Israel is at the forefront of the war against terror in [the Levant], and if Israel is hurt, [the region] will suffer, and Jordan will suffer the most. Therefore, BDS is a threat to us all—a threat to America as much as it is a threat to Israel, Jordan, and [my] Palestinian brothers.
BDS claims to target Israel because Israel oppresses the Palestinians. If so, why does BDS never target Jordan, [whose government] oppresses and destroys the lives of . . . Jordanians of Palestinian origins, and where many of my own people, the Bedouin Jordanians, go hungry?
Why does BDS never boycott Lebanon, where Palestinians are banned from working as taxi drivers? Why does it not boycott Syria, where President Bashar Assad has killed thousands of Palestinians in the Yarmouk [refugee] camp? Admit it, BDS: you are racists and anti-Semites. . . .
We Arabs have boycotted Israel for 70 years. Where has it gotten us? We are light-years behind Israel in technology and the economy. We in Jordan must put an end to this situation and begin learning from our Israeli friends.
Read more on Israel Hayom: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=17109