Yesterday (Tuesday 10 November) two Jewish-American women displayed a controversial "Boycott Israel" banner at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. For Jews, the Wailing Wall, otherwise known as the Kotel or Western Wall, is one of the most sacred holy sites in the world.

The banner declared: "American Jews Support BDS”. Additional placards read "#‎BoycottIsrael” and "Praying for an end to the [Israeli] Occupation”. (Click here for photos)

 

The Jewish women, Ariel Gold (of New York) and Ariel Vegosen (of California) both belong to the human rights organziation, CODEPINK. According to a statement released by CODEPINK, the purpose of the action "was to express Jewish opposition to the Israeli occupation of Palestine and endorse the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement as a nonviolent strategy to bring about a just peace in Palestine and Israel”. (Click here for the full Code Pink statement.)

Following the action, one of the Jewish-American activists, Ariel Gold, explained that:

 

"We know that the root cause of the [Israeli-Palestinian] violence is Israel’s occupation, dispossession, and violence against the Palestinian people and that America’s financial and political support is instrumental in allowing this to continue. We support of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) as a nonviolent strategy to bring about a just peace and full equality for all people in Palestine and Israel. We call on all people to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people and boycott Israel until Palestinians have equal rights and occupied lands are returned by Israel.” 

 

There is a growing number of Jewish-Americans, Jewish South Africa as well as Jewish Israelis who are increasingly critical of Israel's oppressive policies against the indigenous Palestinians and who support the non-violent Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel campaign. They follow in the footsteps of Beyers Naude, Joe Slovo, Ruth First and other white South Africans who opposed Apartheid South Africa's oppressive policies during the 1980s.