Omar Barghouti appeared on CNN to discuss the shortcomings of the peace process:
An article in today’s Haaretz would seem to indicate that Israelis are taking notice of the growing BDS movement. After describing the recent announcement of Israeli artists and academics to boycott settlement institutions, Nehemia Shtrasler writes, "There’s another boycott, an international one, that’s gaining momentum – an economic boycott. . . The sums involved are not large, but their international significance is huge." He continues:
The anti-Israel tide rose right after Operation Cast Lead, as the world watched Israel pound Gaza with bombs on live television. No public-relations machine in the world could explain the deaths of hundreds of children, the destruction of neighborhoods and the grinding poverty afflicting a people under curfew for years. They weren’t even allowed to bring in screws to build school desks. Then came the flotilla, complete with prominent peace activists, which ended in nine deaths, adding fuel to the fire.
But underlying the anger against Israel lies disappointment. Since the establishment of the state, and before, we demanded special terms of the world. We played on their feelings of guilt, for standing idle while six million Jews were murdered. . .
But then came the occupation, which turned us into the evil Goliath, the cruel oppressor, a darkness on the nations. And now we are paying the price of presenting ourselves as righteous and causing disappointment: boycott.
