German parliament to denounce boycott movement as ‘anti-Semitic’

Amid growing controversy, the German parliament is set to pass a resolution on Friday condemning the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. The text condemns BDS as anti-Semitic and urges the government not to fund or support groups or activities that question Israel’s right to exist and to defend itself.

This non-binding resolution is sponsored jointly by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian-Democratic Union and the Social Democrats — the Bundestag’s two largest parties, which make up the governing coalition — as well as two opposition parties: the Greens and the pro-business Free Democratic Party.

In addition, lawmakers will also vote on two other resolutions against BDS, proposed by two opposition parties: the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), and the far-left Die Linke, respectively.

The AfD draft, the only one that calls on the government to outlaw the boycott movement, has little chance of garnering a majority. The Die Linke text is the softest of the three, sufficing with urging Berlin to condemn “anti-Semitism within” the BDS movement. It, too, has virtually no chance of passing.

The issue of how Germany should tackle calls for boycott of the Jewish state has stirred some controversy. Various critics — including a group of Israeli and Jewish academics — worry that equating calls for a boycott with anti-Semitism could stifle freedom of speech, and lament that it makes no distinctions between Israel proper and the settlements, which much of the international community consider illegal.

‘BDS methods are anti-Semitic’
“There is no legitimate justification for anti-Semitic sentiments. The decisive ‘no’ to hatred on Jews, regardless of their nationality, is part of Germany’s raison d’etat,” the coalition-backed resolution [German] reads. “It is intolerable that anti-Semitism has increased in recent years and continues to worry the Jewish community.”

The bill pledges that Germany will “strongly oppose” efforts to defame Jews or to question “the Jewish and democratic State of Israel’s right to exist, or right to self-defense.”

Citing a “special historical responsibility,” the resolution reiterated Chancellor Merkel’s statement that Israel’s security is part of Germany’s raison d’etat.

Germany continues to support a two-state solution in accordance with several United Nations resolutions, leading to a “Jewish, democratic State of Israel and an independent, democratic and viable Palestinian state,” the resolution reads.

Specifically tackling BDS, the text declares that “all-encompassing calls for boycotts in their radical nature lead to the stigmatization of Israeli citizens and citizens of Jewish faith as a whole. This is unacceptable and worthy of the sharpest condemnation.”

“The arguments and methods of the BDS movement are anti-Semitic” and reminiscent of Germany’s Nazi past, the resolution states.

“The German Bundestag condemns all anti-Semitic statements and attacks that are disguised as criticism of policies of the State of Israel, but in reality express hatred for Jewish persons and their religion, and will forcefully oppose them.”

The resolution concludes with a detailed call on federal and local government institutions not to give any funding or logistical support to groups that promote boycotts of Israel or question its right to exist.