Israel: Mustafa Barghouti vs. Rabbi Arthur Waskow on BDS Movement, Palestinian Solidarity

democracynow.org - The Park Slope Food Co-op, one of the oldest and largest in the country, is set to vote Tuesday on whether to hold a referendum on boycotting goods from Israel to protest the Israeli government's policies toward Palestinians. We host a debate on the international advocacy effort called the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign, or BDS for short, which is inspired by the international boycott movement against apartheid South Africa. "We believe this campaign is for the sake of both Palestinians and the Israelis, because it would help us liberate ourselves from the last segregation and occupation system in the world. And it would help liberate the Israelis from the last colonial settlement system in modern history," says Dr Mustafa Barghouti, a member of the Palestinian Parliament who supports the BDS movement. "The result of the way BDS is framed on almost everyone I have talked to who feels attracted to it, is that the society as well as the government of Israel is wrong and must be attacked," says Rabbi Arthur Waskow who is opposed to BDS. He is founder and director of the Shalom Center in Philadelphia. "Even using methods that are not outright violence, is not a nonviolent approach." We also discuss the case of Hana Shalabi, the Palestinian hunger striker protesting the Israeli policy of administrative detention. She has been on hunger strike for 39 days. This past weekend, an Israeli military court rejected her appeal.

To watch the complete daily, independent news hour, read the transcript, download the podcast, and for Democracy Now! reports on Israel and Palestine, please visit

FOLLOW DEMOCRACY NOW! ONLINE:

Twitter: @democracynow

Subscribe on YouTube

Listen on SoundCloud

Daily Email News Digest

Please consider supporting independent media by making a donation to Democracy Now! today, visit