Well the PennBDS conference has come and gone and before looking at what it all adds up to, I’d like to start by congratulating the organizers for the impressive job they accomplished. I know this might seem strange coming from someone who has done so much to criticize the event, both at the PennBDS-Oy site […]
Tag Archives | University of Pennsylvania BDS
PennBDS – Cowardice
I had planned to give the whole PennBDS thing a rest over the weekend in order to let that group have their say. But after this story broke yesterday, it seemed negligent to let the group’s decision to ban a member of the press from their event go without commentary. As the linked piece above […]
Closing Remarks
February 3, 2012 in Academic Boycott, BDS, Israel Boycotts, Israel Divestment, University Divestment 4
Well I returned from a brief visit to the University of Pennsylvania campus and I’m happy to report that – at least as far as I can tell – the sky is not falling. Signs of the impending big-bad-BDS event were non-existent (although I did see Alan Dershowitz’s punim staring me in the face on multiple […]
PennBDS – Spectacle
February 2, 2012 in Academic Boycott, BDS, Israel Boycotts, Israel Divestment, Strategy and Tactics, University Divestment 1
Back in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, when 3.5 inch floppy disks were considered cutting edge, I attended some of the big computing tradeshows that defined that pre-Internet era (PC Expo, Mac World and – the big one – Comdex), as both a journalist and an exhibitor. It was while acting as a journalist that […]
PennBDS – Palestine and the Media
February 1, 2012 in Academic Boycott, BDS, Israel Boycotts, Israel Divestment, University Divestment 8
There are a number of approaches one could take when dealing with media-related issues regarding Israel and the Middle East. The most obvious is an analysis of the way Israel and the Middle East conflict are treated in newspapers, television, radio and other media sources, both in the US and abroad. Such analyses can be […]
PennBDS: Express Yourself (Literally)
January 31, 2012 in Academic Boycott, BDS, Humor, Israel Boycotts, Israel Divestment, University Divestment 0
Well it’s a sprint to the finish line to have something to say for every item on the PennBDS agenda before the conference starts. Fortunately, this morning’s entry will be brief since, for the life of me, I don’t have the slightest idea what a talk on “BDS and Literacy Expression” (the next item on the […]
PennBDS – Sleds with Wheels
January 31, 2012 in Academic Boycott, BDS, Israel Boycotts, Israel Divestment, Product Boycotts, University Divestment 1
The next item on the PennBDS agenda is another discussion of academic boycotts. Given that I’ve said everything I want to say on that subject here, I thought I’d step off the agenda just this once to talk about something inspired by Nycerbarb’s thoughtslast weekend regarding community. Those thoughts came to mind last weekend during […]
PennBDS: BDS 2.0
January 29, 2012 in Academic Boycott, BDS, Israel Boycotts, Israel Divestment, Strategy and Tactics, University Divestment 15
As with many of the topics being covered at the upcoming PennBDS conference, I’ve written previously on the subject of BDS in the context of the Web 2.0 communications revolution. I’ve also written about some of the unintended consequences of the ability of BDS advocates to successfully leverage these new technologies to spread their message. […]
PennBDS – Community Coalition Building
January 28, 2012 in Academic Boycott, BDS, Israel Boycotts, Israel Divestment, Product Boycotts, University Divestment 4
Today, we’re blessed with a guest article by someone on the BDS front lines. Nycerbarb organized successful opposition to boycott efforts at her Park Slope food coop, and blogs at the site Stop BDS Park Slope. She’s also a frequent visitor and commenter at Divest This and an all around cool person. Today, she provides […]
PennBDS – The Academic Boycott
January 27, 2012 in Academic Boycott, BDS, Israel Boycotts, Israel Divestment, University Divestment 0
This is part of a series of articles based on the program of the upcoming PennBDS conference. Check out this landing page to find out more. On a couple of previous occasions, I’ve mentioned some name changes to items in the PennBDS agenda, mostly as by-the-by asides. But in this instance, it’s worth highlighting the fact […]
PennBDS – The Zionist Response
January 26, 2012 in Academic Boycott, BDS, Israel Boycotts, Israel Divestment, Strategy and Tactics, University Divestment 4
This is part of a series of articles based on the program of the upcoming PennBDS conference. Check out this landing page to find out more. Building momentum from small victories is a time-honored tactic for political activist groups. And BDS proponents have been more effective at this than most, anchoring two years of heavy-duty […]
PennBDS: BDS and Community
January 25, 2012 in Academic Boycott, BDS, Israel Boycotts, Israel Divestment, Product Boycotts, University Divestment 1
This is part of a series of articles based on the program of the upcoming PennBDS conference. Check out this landing page to find out more. The PennBDS talk entitled “BDS as a Community-Wide Political Campaign” originally had the word “Winning” or “Victory” in the title (I can’t remember which). I can only guess why […]