Around the world, special interest groups are campaigning for a boycott of Israeli products. They do not want universities to engage with Israeli academics. Companies doing business in Israel are pilloried, and campaigners are trying to persuade institutions and companies to divest from firms doing business with Israel. read more »

Around the world, special interest groups are campaigning for a boycott of Israeli products. They also want universities not to engage with Israeli academics. Companies doing business in Israel are put into the stock, and campaigners are trying to persuade institutions and companies to divest from firms doing business with Israel.

Hypocritical double standards are applied when it comes to Israel, and no other country in the Middle East is as often criticized unfairly and vilified by non-governmental organizations and interest groups as Israel.

read less »

In 2009, the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, headed by South African Judge Richard Goldstone, published its controversial report which equally accuses the Israel Defense Forces and Palestinian terrorists of having committed war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity.  read more »

In 2009, the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, headed by South African Judge Richard Goldstone, published its controversial report which equally accuses the Israel Defense Forces and Palestinian terrorists of having committed war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity. The Goldstone report, which many regard as one-sided and unfair against Israel, calls for independent investigations and possibly the referral of Israel to the International Criminal Court. 

With the support of some Western governments, countries in the Arab world are pushing for the full endorsement of the Goldstone Report by the United Nations in order to point fingers at Israel. 

In November 2009, the US House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a resolution denouncing the report as "irredeemably biased and unworthy of further consideration or legitimacy".

read less »

Israeli sportsmen and women are regularly faced with political protests when they take part in international sports competitions. They are disturbed by protestors, shunned by their opponents, or even denied entry visas.  read more »

Israeli sportsmen and women are regularly faced with political protests when they take part in international sports competitions. They are disturbed by protestors, shunned by their opponents, or even denied entry visas.  

In February 2009, the Israeli player Shahar Peer had to forfeit her place in the women's tournament of the Dubai Tennis Championship after her visa application was blocked by authorities. Her compatriot Andy Ram was only allowed to compete in the subsequent men's tournament when given "special permission" to take part. Several international tennis organisations had threatened to withdraw from the tournament if he was excluded. 

In March 2009 local authorities in Malmö, Sweden, ordered that a three-day Davis Cup tennis match between Sweden and Israel be played behind closed doors, due to security fears. A demonstration organised by a group calling itself "Stop the Match" attracted up to 10,000 protestors and several people were arrested when the demonstration turned violent and the police were attacked.  

In January 2010, police in Auckland, New Zealand, arrested eight pro-Palestinian protestors after they repeatedly disturbed Peer's matches for the second year in succession.  

read less »

In an open letter to US President Barack Obama, WJC President Ronald S. Lauder writes that Jews around the world are concerned about “the dramatic deterioration of diplomatic relations between the United States and Israel” in recent months.  read more »

In an open letter to US President Barack Obama, WJC President Ronald S. Lauder  writes that Jews around the world are concerned about “the dramatic deterioration of diplomatic relations between the United States and Israel” in recent months. Ronald S. Lauder emphasized that Israel had made unprecedented concessions, including the most far-reaching settlement moratorium in its history, and had declared support for a two-state solution. The WJC president asked: “Why does the thrust of this Administration's Middle East rhetoric seem to blame Israel for the lack of movement on peace talks? After all, it is the Palestinians, not Israel, who refuse to negotiate.”

Lauder also queried Obama on America’s wider strategy for the Middle East: “The Administration's desire to improve relations with the Muslim world is well known. But is friction with Israel part of this new strategy? Is it assumed worsening relations with Israel can improve relations with Muslims? History is clear on the matter: appeasement does not work. It can achieve the opposite of what is intended.” 

He asked: “What is the Administration's position on Israel's borders in any final status agreement? Ambiguity on this matter has provoked a wave of rumors and anxiety. Can it be true that America is no longer committed to a final status agreement that provides defensible borders for Israel? Is a new course being charted that would leave Israel with the indefensible borders that invited invasion prior to 1967?”

In his letter, Ronald S. Lauder also urged the US president to stay focused on Iran, which he called “the single biggest threat that confronts the world today.” Lauder went on to write: “Israel is not only America's closest ally in the Middle East, it is the one most committed to this Administration's declared aim of ensuring Iran does not get nuclear weapons.” Ending his letter, the WJC president stressed: “Our great country and the tiny State of Israel have long shared the core values of western democracy. It is a bond much treasured by the Jewish people…It is time to end our public feud with Israel and to confront the real challenges that we face together.”

read less »