Introduction

Abstract

From its modest beginning in the 2000s, the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement has grown into a worldwide phenomenon that changed the discourse on Israel. Commentators pointed out that, at a minimum, the BDS has transformed the Israeli-Palestinian debate. More ominously, the BDS spawned an entire discursive tradition of delegitimizing Israel and played an essential role in increasing antisemitism. Empirical evidence seems to indicate that the dramatic increase in antisemitic rhetoric and attacks is at least partially related to the BDS campaign. Most recently, the BDS activists took credit for the International Criminal Court decision in Hague to try Israel for war crimes. This special issue explores the BDS phenomenon–its impact and implications for Israel and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, as well as the inextricable linkage between its anti-Israeli/anti-Zionist propaganda and antisemitism.