Well the PennBDS conference has come and gone and before looking atwhat it all adds up to, I’d like to start by congratulating the organizers for theimpressive job they accomplished. I know this might seem strange coming from someone who has done so muchto criticize the event, both at the PennBDS-Oy site and in the localPhiladelphia Jewish paper . Read More »

I had planned to give the whole PennBDS thing a rest over the weekend inorder to let that group have their say. But after this story broke yesterday, it seemed negligent to let thegroup’s decision to ban a member of the press from their event go without commentary. Read More »

Well I returned from a brief visit to the University of Pennsylvaniacampus and I’m happy to report that – at least as far as I can tell – the skyis not falling. Signs of the impending big-bad-BDS event were non-existent (although Idid see Alan Dershowitz’s punim staring me in the face on multiplelocations). Read More »

Back in thelate ’80s and early ’90s, when 3.5 inch floppy disks were considered cuttingedge, I attended some of the big computing tradeshows that defined thatpre-Internet era (PC Expo, Mac World and – the big one – Comdex), as both ajournalist and an exhibitor. Read More »

There are a number of approaches one could take when dealing withmedia-related issues regarding Israel and the Middle East. The most obvious is an analysis of the way Israel and the Middle Eastconflict are treated in newspapers, television, radio and other media sources,both in the US and abroad. Read More »

Well it’s a sprint to the finish line to have something to say forevery item on the PennBDS agenda before the conference starts. Fortunately, this morning’s entry will be brief since, for the life ofme, I don’t have the slightest idea what a talk on “BDS and Literacy Expression”(the next item on the Penn hit parade) is supposed to cover. Read More »

The next item on the PennBDS agenda is another discussion of academicboycotts. Given that I’ve saideverything I want to say on that subject here , I thought I’d step off theagenda just this once to talk about something inspired by Nycerbarb’s thoughts last weekend regarding community. Read More »

As with many of the topics being covered at the upcoming PennBDSconference , I’ve written previously on the subject of BDS in the context of the Web 2.0communications revolution.  I’ve alsowritten about some of the unintended consequences of the ability of BDSadvocates to successfully leverage these new technologies to spread theirmessage. Read More »

Today, we’re blessed with a guest article by someone on the BDS frontlines.  Nycerbarb organized successfulopposition to boycott efforts at her Park Slope food coop, and blogs at thesite Stop BDS Park Slope.  She’s also afrequent visitor and commenter at Divest This and an all around coolperson. Read More »

This is part of a series of articles based on the program of the upcoming PennBDS conference . Check out this landing page to find out more. On a couple of previous occasions, I’ve mentioned some name changes toitems in the PennBDS agenda, mostly as by-the-by asides. Read More »

This is part of a series of articles based on the program of the upcoming PennBDS conference . Check out this landing page to find out more. Buildingmomentum from small victories is a time-honored tactic for political activistgroups. Read More »

This is part of a series of articles based on the program of theupcoming PennBDS conference . Check out this landing page to find out more. The PennBDS talk entitled “BDS as a Community-Wide Political Campaign”originally had the word “Winning” or “Victory” in the title (I can’t rememberwhich). Read More »

This is part of a series of articles based on the program of the upcoming PennBDS conference . Check out this landing page to find out more. Regular readers may have picked up on my fondness for words. Read More »

I’ve written a number of times on the subject of consumer boycotts, andanyone interested in more information and case studies can read about them inthe Divest This Guide . Read More »

I’ve been attempting to generate all new material in this month’sseries of postings paralleling the PennBDS conference agenda, rather than fallback on a “clip show” of previous postings.   But the next item up on their program (entitled “BDS On Campus I: Divestment Workshop”) didn’t really provide an issue to which I could hook aresponse. Read More »

This is part of a series of articles based on the program of the upcoming  PennBDS conference . Check out this  landing page  to find out more. In some language (probably Yiddish) there exists a word that combinesthe notions of chutzpah and clownishness. Read More »

When BDS first came on the scene at the beginning of the last decade,it primarily focused on divestment (notably, on five years of failed efforts toget prominent colleges and universities, churches and municipalities to divestform the Jewish state). Later, it added boycotts to the mix and rebranded itself to “BDS. Read More »

While any discussion involving race in America can trigger some heat,debate over subject such as “BDS and the Black Community” (the next item on thePenBDS agenda ), can be particularly problematical given that BDS proponentshave a tendency to accuse their opponents of racism at the slightest (or evennon-existent) provocation. Read More »

This is part of a series of articles based on the program of the upcoming PennBDS conference .  Check out this landing page  to find out more.   With a panel discussion entitled “BDS, Hillel and the Question ofAnti-Semitism,” our old friends at Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) finally takecenter stage on the PennBDS agenda . Read More »

Generally, I like posts (or series of posts) to have self-containedarguments with links providing access to referenced information and sources,and an occasional link to a longer essay or book meant just for thoseinterested learning more. Read More »