The recent Knesset legislation that bans activists affiliated with the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement from entering Israel has sparked condemnations from a variety of corners in the Diaspora, including from the Anti-Defamation League and a number of liberal Zionists. While sympathetic to the rationale for the law, and for other legislative attempts to fight the activities of anti-Israel non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Gerald Steinberg argues that Israeli politicians have the wrong approach. (Free registration required.)
To their critics, [such] restrictions are assaults on democracy [or] worse. But for Israeli politicians on the right and center of the political spectrum, the BDS visa law, like other measures, was a necessary response to the ugly political war being waged against the Jewish state. Such policies provide headlines for the politicians and show determination to defeat the demonization campaigns that libel [Israel] and cavalierly accuse IDF soldiers of war crimes. Similarly, Israeli politicians repeatedly denounce groups like Breaking the Silence and B’tselem, whose leaders travel the world condemning the IDF, annoying large segments of the Israeli public (not only the right). These attacks are largely ineffective, [however,] and they allow the NGOs to portray themselves as victims of a witch-hunt.
Similarly, for many Zionists around the world who are not interested in domestic Israeli politics, the BDS legislation and similar policies are entirely counterproductive. The use of legislation (especially measures that will not pass scrutiny by the courts), regulations, and other [political] approaches causes significant damage to Israel’s international image. The picture that emerges is one of a powerful, aggressive government harassing weak NGOs. . . .
[I]nstead of attempting to use state power against the NGOs that lead BDS and lawfare campaigns [against the Jewish state], Israeli politicians should leave the counter-attacks to the [pro-Israel] NGOs that have proven effective on this front. In this “soft-power” conflict, NGOs have a major advantage over governments: [they] do not have to please voters and are able to build alliances with different actors in Israel and abroad.
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