AT the time that I am writing these lines on 7 October, it is exact one year since the Israeli aggression began on this date a year ago. Euro-Med Monitor, a Geneva based Human Right Organization, has released a report marking one year of Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza. The report, “De-Gaza: A Year of Israel’s Genocide and the Collapse of World Order, documents the tragedies during the year. 50,292 Palestinians killed— of them, one third women and one fifth children; 365 families (one every day) lost more than ten members (just imagine their plight); 100,000 injured, and; 10 % of Gaza’s entire population killed, injured, missing or detained. The report highlights Israel Army’s starvation tactics, deliberate killing of prisoners, targeting humanitarian workers.
On the other hand, inside Israel, Netanyahu’s right wing coalition is commemorating the 7 October Hamas offensive, trying to justify to its own people and the world, its policy of putting ‘weapons above diplomacy’. This policy, they say, is needed to rebuild Israel’s image of its invincibility that had been shattered by the Hamas 7 October attacks. They say, Israel is located in a hostile environment – the colloquial villa in the jungle, and hence its invincibility is sine qua non for its existence. Netanyahu has been struggling to sell the argument to many inside Israel. Imperative of prolonging and expanding the war has been particularly difficult to sell to the families of Israeli prisoners with Hamas. The argument to justify genocide has met with rejection by the publics around the world. Netanyahu’s policy overlooks history which is based on occupation of lands, massive killings and violation of international law and UN resolutions. No matter how hard one tries to brand struggle for self determination as terrorism, genocide cannot be justified or sold as a necessity for one’s own security.
In Pakistan, All Parties Conference has called for a unified stance of the Islamic countries to confront Israel’s aggression. Among the speeches at the Conference, there were two sad and inconvenient truths; One, that the world community had failed to stop Israel’s continuing assaults, and two; an expression of disappointment over the fact that United Nations had failed to implement its own resolutions on Palestine. Sadly, both are factually correct and a reiteration of what we all know. We have gotten ‘used to’ that. Not only that, but we have resigned to accepting widely different definitions of ‘human rights’ and ‘international law’ for different countries. Also, the feeling that Muslim world has not done enough for their Palestinian brothers has been accepted by us, as a fact and a ground reality. With a heavy heart, publics around the globe regret their helplessness and feel there is no option but to continue with their business as usual. In reality this perception of helplessness is false.
I am reminded of the historic words, “We are not asking you, the British people, for anything special. We are just asking you to withdraw your support for apartheid by not buying South African goods”. Words were historic; speaker was the anti-colonialist activist Julius Nyerere, year was 1961, city was London and occasion was launch of Boycott Movement, (later called Anti-Apartheid Movement), against apartheid in South Africa. That was one year after African National Congress (ANC) had called for Boycott against the apartheid regime. Later years showed that this product boycott not only had its own direct impact on South African regime but also had a trickle down effect in terms of boycott in social and other spheres. In hindsight these product boycotts played a big role in bringing down the powerful Apartheid regime without an iota of violence.
Buying power is a big power. In many a ways, in the years between 1961 and now, its effectiveness as a tool of non-violent resistance has massively increased. The importance of international trade, investments and franchises in countries’ economies is far more today than it was in 1960s. Social media has made it easy to pass on the word of mouth and to motivate. Lists of companies to be boycotted are already circulating on the Social Media. History of Boycott movements tells that boycotting a long list of companies doesn’t help. Focusing on some, with direct support to the oppressive regimes proves more effective. Product Boycott as a tool of political pressure on the Apartheid regime was not a new invention of African National Congress. The tool had been effectively used for centuries to pressure governments and institutions. In South Africa, the anti-apartheid movement effectively utilized international boycotts to challenge the firm and strong apartheid regime.
In many parts of the world including South Africa Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, against Israeli policies towards Palestinians, has gained traction in recent years. The principle of boycotting products of companies that benefit the aggressors’ economy or support the oppressive policies is much stronger than it seems. The tool is a totally non-violent resistance strategy and a collective expression and effort. The key to its success of Boycott is the faith in the success of this tried and tested strategy. That is what turns individual actions into a collective movement. While we feel the pain of Palestinians, just feeling their pain doesn’t help their pain. Using our discretion of what to buy does. Playing our role matters and that is what is the need of the hour.
—The writer is former Special Secretary, Pakistan Foreign Ministry and former Ambassador to Nepal and South Africa.
