The Boycott Israel movement is developing a smart-phone application that will allow followers to avoid Israeli products. The campaign for Palestinian rights continues to gather momentum, despite Israeli accusations of anti-Semitism.
The BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement is working on
the Beta version of an app for its supporters. Drawing on a
comprehensive database of warehousing product names and
descriptions, the app will allow users to scan products to find
out immediately whether they fall within the boycott’s
guidelines.
The founder of PennBDS, Abbas Naqvi, told the Business Insider
that the app will allow “the average Joe” to
"dynamically and quickly identify products that fall within
the BDS boycott guidelines.”
The application is currently in the final stages of development
and the BDS says it will be ready to download in the near future.
BDS is a self-proclaimed movement that aims to “target
products and companies (Israeli and international) that profit
from the violation of Palestinian rights, as well as Israeli
sporting, cultural and academic institutions.”
Last month BDS hit the headlines when it demanded Oxfam drop
Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson as an ambassador for her
endorsement of the Israeli-based company SodaStream. The boycott
movement argues that Scarlett Johansson’s role in Oxfam
undermines the organization’s supposed condemnation of economic
corporation with Israeli settlements.
"A refusal to part ways with Johansson will tarnish the
charity’s credibility among Palestinians and many people of
conscience around the world,” said the BDS in a statement.
Recently the organization has gained popularity and recognition
internationally, prompting the condemnation of Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Last month the Israeli leader
branded the campaign as anti-Semitism in a modern guise.
"I think that it is important that the boycotters be exposed
for what they are, they are classical anti-Semites in modern
garb," Netanyahu said.
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have been on the rocks recently
after a speech by Netanyahu calling on Prime Minister Mahmud
Abbas to “abandon fantasy” and recognize Israel as a
Jewish state. The statement prompted a knee-jerk reaction from
the Palestinian Authority who decried it as tantamount to "an
official announcement of a unilateral end to negotiations."
US President Barack Obama warned Israel that the US may not be
able to protect it if the two-state solution fails.
If Netanyahu “does not believe that a peace deal with the
Palestinians is the right thing to do for Israel, then he needs
to articulate an alternative approach,” Obama told Bloomberg
in an interview on March 3.