Larry Derfner at +972 writes about an 16 minute segment on BDS that appeared on Channel 2 television, which cuts through all the distracting static that arguments about BDS tend to provoke in the United States from both sides of the debate. According to the report on Israel’s mainstream new program, the settlements, not anti-Semitism anti-Zionism are what drives the phenomenon of bds (actual boycotting, divesting and sanctioning in real time), as opposed to BDS as an organized movement, with its own political and ideological agendas that go beyond “the Occupation itself.” One could add that it’s also not Israel Apartheid and settler colonialism.

What strikes me about the report is the focus and keeping focus on a problem or situation. Critics of Israel tend to go for a big picture, and the picture tends as often as not to go fuzzy, perhaps as a result of trying to include too much information. On the other side, apologists in the U.S. for Israel always demand “balance” to debates about Israel and Palestine, which in effect means wanting us to ignore information about the settlements. Derfner writing about Channel 2 seems to get it right and in focus.  Read his article at +972 about Channel 2. It’s the best thing I’ve read on bds and BDS.

An excellent public service, perhaps, the Channel 2 report is itself so-so. You can see it here, although I don’t think it is as good as Derfner’s re-cap. The electronica soundtrack is distracting and over-dramatizes the reportage.