Interview with Israeli BDS activist Tali Shapiro: The fear of international isolation is shifting the discourse in Israel http://mondoweiss.net/2011/03/interview-with-israeli-bds-activist-tali-shapiro-the-fear-of-international-isolation-is-shifting-the-discourse-in-israel.html

In early March, I attended an Independent Jewish Voices event in London with Israeli journalist, Gideon Levy. Those who follow Levy’s articles in Haaretz – a collection of which have been published in his 2010 book, The Punishment of Gaza – will be familiar with the central theme of his presentation: Israeli society’s indifference to a brutal, military occupation on their doorstep and the ongoing crimes – under international law – against the Palestinian people. After his talk, and a brief intervention by director of JNews, Miri Weingarten, the floor was opened to questions: two out of five questions were about economic sanctions and the academic and cultural boycott.

Levy affirmed that boycotts are legitimate, but questioned whether an Israeli boycott can be effective, concluding that it will push Israelis further to the right, and feed into their paranoia that 'the world is against us'. He said that academic institutions should be the last target of a boycott and it 'should be against the occupation, not all of Israel'.I approached Tali Shapiro, Israeli activist and writer, for her responses to what seems to have become the last line of defense against the Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) amongst progressive circles, in Israel and internationally. I was curious as to why the international community is still being asked to consider the feelings/fears of Israelis who rarely challenge their own government's apartheid policies, and why we are still discussing 'if' the boycott 'will' be effective in Year seven of the campaign.