The West’s War on Israel Alone

The Hypocrisy of the West: Boycotting Israel While Ignoring Real Occupier

The BDS movement, Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions, claims to be a peaceful initiative aiming to pressure Israel into ending its “occupation” and improving Palestinian human rights. On the surface, it may appear to be a noble cause: a grassroots campaign supposedly defending justice, equality, and peace in the Middle East.

But peel back the surface, and a disturbing reality emerges. BDS does not seek peace or equality. It is not a global human rights movement, nor is it a campaign of consistent moral values. Instead, BDS is a highly selective, deeply hypocritical movement, laser-focused on one single state: Israel.

And that raises a critical question: Why is Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East, consistently singled out, while brutal regimes, genuine occupiers, and flagrant violators of international law are completely ignored?

Conflict Zones That BDS Ignores

There are numerous areas around the globe where occupations, invasions, and systemic real human rights abuses are ongoing, yet the international community remains eerily silent. BDS does not campaign against these nations. There are no global protests. No product labeling. No calls for divestment.

Here are just a few examples:

• Western Sahara: Occupied by Morocco since 1975 after Spain withdrew. The Sahrawi people remain in refugee camps and under repression. Yet there is no boycott of Moroccan goods.

• Northern Cyprus: Invaded and occupied by Turkey in 1974. Turkey has created a puppet regime that no country (except Turkey) recognizes. Still, there is no international campaign to boycott Turkey.

• Tibet: Occupied by China since 1950. Tibetan identity, religion, and language are systematically suppressed. But the world still welcomes Chinese products, partnerships, and athletes.

• Falkland Islands (Malvinas): Still contested between the UK and Argentina. No one is labeling UK goods from the islands.

• Crimea: Illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. While some minor sanctions exist, Russia continues to trade with much of the world, and no BDS-style movement dominates public discourse.

• Nagorno-Karabakh: Fierce conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, with ethnic cleansing and displacement on both sides. Still, no global boycott campaigns.

• Dutch Colonial Legacy: Let’s not forget the Netherlands itself. The Dutch Antilles are still under Dutch control, and Suriname and Indonesia suffered from violent colonial rule and war crimes during the so-called “police actions.” No one is labeling Dutch cheese, beer, or tulips.

Israel’s Defensive Wars and the Double Standard

Unlike many of these regions, Israel did not expand through offensive wars. It was attacked upon its founding in 1948 and again in 1967 and 1973. The territories it controls were taken defensively, in wars launched by neighboring states aiming to wipe Israel off the map.

Even so, Israel has repeatedly offered land for peace, returning the Sinai to Egypt and withdrawing from Gaza entirely in 2005. But in return, it has received rockets, terrorism, and international condemnation.

BDS ignores these realities. Its target is not injustice. Its target is Israel and, by extension, Jews.

What BDS Boycotts vs. What It Doesn’t

Boycotted:

• Agricultural products from Judea & Samaria, Golan Heights, and East Jerusalem.

• Israeli athletes, regularly harassed or barred from competitions.

• Artists and musicians, most recently during the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest in Basel, where Israel faced intense protests and political pressure, despite participating entirely within the rules.

• Academic speakers from Israeli institutions, even when their work has no political connection.

Not Boycotted:

• Israeli medical innovations: Treatments for Parkinson’s, cancer, heart disease, and more.

• Israeli disaster relief teams, among the first to arrive in Haiti, Nepal, and Turkey.

• Israeli technology: Mobile phone components, cybersecurity tools, AI software, medical devices.

• Shared security intelligence that helps prevent terrorist attacks in Europe and beyond.

How can one claim to oppose Israel’s existence and policies, yet gladly benefit from its innovations and life-saving technologies? This is not ethics, it is pure, calculated hypocrisy.

Sodastream: The Tragic Example of BDS in Action

Take the case of Sodastream, an Israeli company that operated a factory in Judea & Samaria. It employed hundreds of Palestinians alongside Israeli Jews. Wages were fair. Conditions were good. Coexistence was real.

But BDS targeted the company until it relocated, under pressure. The result? Palestinians lost their jobs. Israel, unfazed, moved operations elsewhere. The only losers? The very people BDS claims to protect.

The Dutch Government: Leading the Hypocrisy in Europe

In 2025, the Netherlands remains among the EU’s most zealous supporters of labeling Israeli products, those from “disputed” territories. But let’s not forget Dutch history.

This is the same Netherlands that:

• Had the highest deportation rate of Jews during WWII, aided by local police.

• Taxed Holocaust survivors on reclaimed property.

• Refused Jewish children in royal schools, under Queen Juliana.

• Committed war crimes during colonial wars in Indonesia.

And yet, today, the Dutch government chooses to “label the Jews” again, figuratively speaking, through product labeling. On May 26, 2016, during EU debates, the Netherlands enthusiastically supported BDS logic, waving the flag of morality, blind to its own shameful history.

This is not justice. This is virtue signaling built on historical amnesia.

Conclusion: Never Again Means Something

If human rights are truly the concern, then the world must be consistent. BDS targets the only democratic, pluralistic, multi-faith society in the Middle East. While gay people are hanged in Iran, dissidents disappear in Egypt, and journalists vanish in Turkey—BDS says nothing.

Israel is not above criticism. But when it is the only nation systematically targeted while others get a pass, we are no longer talking about justice. We’re talking about bias, hate, and dangerous historical patterns repeating themselves.

To the West, to the EU, and especially to the Netherlands: Shame on you.
Never Again must mean Never Again—for everyone.