BDS applies an unfair double standard to Israel

It can be argued that there are no boycott, divestment and sanctions movements against countries that commit atrocities against their own citizens that are comparable to the intensity of the boycotts against Israel, despite Israel being the only functioning democracy in the Middle East. The “3-Ds of Anti-Semitism” is a set of criteria created by Israeli politician, Natan Sharansky, that is recognized by the United States Department of State and is meant to help us distinguish between legitimate criticisms of Israel and actual anti-semitic statements. According to this criteria, anti-semitic arguments include those that delegitimize Israel, demonize Israel, or apply double standards to Israel that are not applied to other nations. BDS is argued to fall into the third category of anti-semitism. The state-sponsored genocide of Uyghurs Muslims in China is one example of human rights violations being committed in a country that is not Israel, and so is “Syria's government dropping ‘barrel bombs’ filled with nails, shrapnel and other instruments of terror on its own cities. Where is the boycott of Syria? And of Iran, which hangs political, religious and even sexual dissidents and has no academic freedom at all? Or Egypt, where Christians are being openly persecuted? Or Turkey, Saudi Arabia or, for that matter, massively repressive Russia?” ^[1] Israel is the world's only Jewish state, and “is the leading stable democracy in the Middle East, with all of the institutions – a free press, a multitude of political parties, an independent judiciary and religious freedom — that are at the heart of true liberal democracies. The Middle East, and indeed the world, has many states that do not come close to living up toIsrael's standards. Criticism of Israel, like criticism of any other sovereign country in the world, can be reasonable and legitimate. But BDS campaigns, which single out Israel for pariah status, are unfair and disproportionate.” ^[2] In some cases, the motivation behind the intense criticisms of Israel could be a desire to see the world's sole Jewish state be destabilized and undermined.

[P1] Israel is heavily scrutinized for its human rights violations, even though other nations have committed worse atrocities by comparison. [P2] The reason Israel is disproportionally criticized for their actions against Palestine is because anti-semites are looking for excuses to criticize and undermine the world's sole Jewish state.