The German parliament voted in favor of an unprecedented resolution that officially condemned the anti-Israeli Boycott, Divest and Sanctions (BDS) movement as “anti-Semitic.” The resolution was adopted by a large bi-partisan majority. It identified operational similarities between BDS and the Nazi regime, including echoes of the Nazi edict “Don’t buy from Jews” with the BDS call “Don’t buy from Israel.”
The motion also refuted the BDS charge that Israel is an apartheid state; declaring that allegation to be ‘morally and legally unfounded.’ Green Party M.P. Omid Nouripour also dismissed any similarity between Israel’s policy regarding the Palestinians and the Nazi persecution of Jews and other minorities. During a debate on the Bundestag floor, Nouripour said “This is kind of equating Israeli policy to the crimes that happened under the Nazis to Jews, Roma, homosexuals and many others. A kind of equalization that no longer has anything to do with criticism of the Israeli government. That is cynical and inhuman. We must altogether reject this with all that we have.”
It is important to note that the condemnatory resolution against the BDS movement is non-binding, and that Germany continues to fund numerous Israeli and Palestinian organizations that either support or serve the BDS campaign. Unless Berlin halts financial support for such groups the resolution will remain purely symbolic. The Israeli Foreign Ministry nevertheless released a statement welcoming the move, saying “The German parliament recognized the anti-Semitic nature of BDS and its illegitimate boycott activities. This is an important step which we hope will be adopted by other European legislative bodies.”