[Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News] Did Omar Barghouti add a clause to BDS rules to except himself?

Ma'an has an article by Anna Kokko that is, of course, very sympathetic to BDS while saying how difficult it is for Palestinian Arabs to adhere to the boycott fully.

One section, though, is notable:

According to [Omar] Barghouti, a full-scale boycott of everything Israeli is not possible under occupation -- much in the same way that Black South Africans were not able to completely boycott the apartheid regime themselves.

“We can still call on the world to fully isolate Israel,” he says.

Barghouti himself studied at Tel Aviv University, where he was also enrolled as a doctoral student.

In 2009, PACBI (Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel) of whom Barghouti is a founding member, stated that Palestinian citizens of Israel or Palestinians carrying Israeli ID cards have no other possibility than to study in Israeli institutions and as such cannot be asked to join the academic boycott.

The activist declined to give further comments on his choice of university, saying that his personal life was “entirely irrelevant” for the interview.

Barghouti, born in Qatar and raised in Egypt, is no Israeli citizen. There are a number of universities in the West Bank (Al Quds, An Najah, Birzeit) that he could have attended. Of course he had a choice. But his desire to attend Tel Aviv University, despite his insistence that others boycott it, apparently made him put in an exception to the BDS rules just for himself!.

So principled!

I have a feeling that even other BDSers are unhappy at their leader's hypocrisy.





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Posted By Elder of Ziyon to Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News at 6/25/2015 05:44:00 AM