Israel arrested and
detained Mohammad Othman, a prominent Palestinian human rights activist. They are holding him without charge. All indications are that this is just another exercise in Israel’s barbarous futility.
The real reason must be his prominent role in the international
movements in the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign, one
of the only fronts of Palestinian strategy Israel actually fears.
Israel runs circles around Palestinian negotiators who think they
are the most clever bargainers in the souk, so ingenious they think
they will end the Israeli occupation by the sheer force of their
combination of guile and strategic butt-kissing. Israel also swats
violent resistance down with flies (using grenades of course).
But this BDS movement is most definitely their biggest challenge, it
is a powerful idea with a powerful precedent (South Africa) and being
forwarded by no central group with a headquarters it can bomb. It is a
plan of action being enacted by students, cultural workers, unionists,
churches, progressive governments and sports fans around the world. And
there is no amount of hasbara, or Israeli propaganda, that can stop
this. The obviousness of Israeli transgressions against the norms of
decency and fairness are too grave. This is a campaign they cannot bomb
away, or smoke away in back rooms.
In detaining Mr Othman on his return from Norway, where he was
promoting a BDS campaign, Israel has resorted to its usual brand of
thuggery. Too many around the world are now being invested in BDS to
let Israel’s brutishness have effect. This will only elevate Othman’s
visibility and further demonstrate the validity of the BDS campaign,
not only as efficacious, but also based on an accurate and telling
reading of the nature of Israeli domination over Palestinian life.
While I am sure they will try every means to silence Othman,
including threatening his family, bribery, cooked up charges or other
corrupt modes of oppressive management, Palestinians, and their
supporters, will more quickly realize this call for BDS the only path forward. The harder Israel pushes, the harder we will push back.
