Arab League Asks Germany to Rescind ‘Anti-Semitic’ Label of BDS Movement

The Arab League on Sunday called on Germany’s Bundestag to rescind a non-binding resolution, passed on Friday, declaring the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement “anti-Semitic.” The Arab League’s assistant secretary-general for Palestinian affairs, Saeed Abu Ali, called the motion “regrettable,” “unjustified” and “biased” in favor of Israel and urged Germany’s parliament to “reverse this erroneous step and support the Palestinian people’s right for liberation.” The resolution states that the efforts of BDS are reminiscent of the Nazis’ campaign against the Jews and urges the government not to support, financially or otherwise, those groups or activities that question the Jewish state’s right to exist and defend itself. The declaration says the BDS movement’s “Don’t Buy” stickers on Israeli products are evocative of the Nazi slogan “Don’t buy from Jews.” The multi-party motion was backed by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right CDU-CSU bloc, the Social Democratic Party, the liberal FDP and the Greens. The BDS campaign, founded in 2005, calls for the boycott of Israeli goods, services and culture to pressure Israel to meet its obligations under international law vis a vis the West Bank and Gaza Strip.