Letter reveals Hillary Clinton is strongly against the Israel boycott movement

(Image credit: Bertrand Langlois/Getty Images)

published 7 July 2015

A gaining global boycott against Israel has many world leaders worried — including presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton.

The movement, called BDS or "boycotts, divestment, and sanctions" against Israel, was begun by a group of Palestinian activists in 2005, as inspired by peaceful anti-apartheid movements in South Africa. The group has since gained an enormous global following, to the point that Israel has now identified it as a threat akin to Palestinian militant groups or the Iranian nuclear program, The Associated Press reports.

“Israel is a vibrant democracy in a region dominated by autocracy, and it faces existential threats to its survival,” Hillary Clinton recently wrote to donor Haim Saban and other leaders in a letter dated July 2. “Particularly at a time when anti-Semitism is on the rise across the world — especially in Europe — we need to repudiate forceful efforts to malign and undermine Israel and the Jewish people.” She called on both Democrats and Republicans to "make countering B.D.S. a priority."

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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