In fiction, there is no more “wretched hive of scum and villainy” than the Mos Eisley spaceport. In reality, that title is conferred on the United Nations, which once again singled out the Jewish state for economic annihilation. Their latest salvo came in the form of a blacklist of 112 companies that do business out of Judea and Samaria, for the sole purpose of boycotting those companies.
This list is the result of over three years of diligent work by the absurdly named UN Human Rights Council, which stated in a March 2016 resolution that it would “produce a database of all business enterprises” in the “Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.” This resolution defined “Occupied Palestinian Territory” as anything past pre-1967 borders.
Essentially, according to this UN Human Rights Council Resolution, the Six-Day War never happened, the First Intifada never happened, the Oslo Accords never happened, the Second Intifada never happened, offerings of peace in 2000 and 2008 never happened. There is only pre-1967 and now, and Israel is the “occupying Power.”
Human Rights Watch, which is so biased against Israel that it doesn’t even list “Israel” as a country on its website, opting for the fictional “Israel/Palestine” (Palestine not being a country at all), celebrated the announcement of the list. “The long-awaited release of the UN settlement business database should put all companies on notice: To do business with illegal settlements is to aid in the commission of war crimes,” said Bruno Stagno Ugarte, HRW’s deputy executive director for advocacy. The illegality of the settlements is long disputed by the Israeli government, and President Trump recently joined them in that dispute.
The United Nations, and the BDS movement writ large, are so blinded by their hatred for the Jewish People and the Jewish state that they are willing to destroy Palestinian lives if it gives them the opportunity to dent Israel. Since the Palestinian people are being governed by what is tantamount to a terrorist regime, the Palestinian Authority, there are not many companies that are willing to operate there. Israel, being the freest and most prosperous country in the region, provides a welcome home to these businesses. These businesses, in turn, employ Palestinians.
Palestinian Media Watch, a non-profit group that studies Palestinian culture, reported that “Palestinians prefer to work for Israeli employers.” Israelis pay more; they provide better benefits and safer working conditions. There are countless testimonials from Palestinians, who try as often as they can to work for Israeli companies. The UN and the BDS movement jeopardize Palestinian livelihoods with this list.
The list included multiple American and European companies that could receive blowback from the anti-Semitic BDS movement. American companies such as Motorola, Trip Advisor, Airbnb, and General Mills are on the list. These companies have locations throughout the United States, as well; and a boycott will adversely affect their domestic production.
This is something that Representative Ilhan Omar should keep in mind as she continues to promote the BDS movement (despite her opposition on sanctions against every country in the world not named “Israel”). Omar has a General Mills factory in her district. Will her constituents be happy with the fact that she is promoting a cause that could put them out of work?
Motorola’s main office in the United States is located in Chicago, in the Congressional District of Danny K. Davis, who voted “present” on the anti-BDS resolution that passed the House of Representatives 398-17, and is a co-sponsor on Ilhan Omar’s pro-BDS resolution that compares Israel to Nazi Germany and Apartheid South Africa. Trip Advisor is located in Massachusetts, in a district close to Ayanna Pressley, who voted against the anti-BDS resolution. Airbnb is in San Francisco, in Nancy Pelosi’s district. Pelosi, who calls BDS anti-Semitic when standing in front of a crowd at AIPAC, refuses to condemn it when it’s being pushed by members of her own Caucus.
The BDS movement has little to no effect on Israel itself, but it consistently harms innocent bystanders. Palestinians are losing job opportunities that are desperately needed. College students are berated and attacked by BDS fanatics. The United Nations puts US companies at risk.
The United Nations views the partition plan of 1947, which led to the creation of the State of Israel, as their “original sin.” They had a momentary lapse of judgment after the Holocaust and were nice to the Jews. They have been trying to buy back that sin ever since. This list is the latest attempt at that. Like so many attempts before, they will not be successful. The only question that remains is how many innocent people will suffer along the way.
Moshe Hill is a political analyst who has written for The Daily Wire, the Queens Jewish Link, The Jewish Link of New Jersey and JNS.org. He is regularly featured on ‘The Josh M Show’ podcast. Subscribe to aHillwithaview.com for more content from Moshe Hill. Like him on Facebook at facebook.com/ahillwithaview and follow him on Twitter @TheMoHill.
