Palestinian author and co-founder of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement Omar Barghouti dismissed anti-semitic allegations on Sunday saying that the movement does not target the Jewish identity.

Launched by Palestinian civil society organisations in 2005, BDS advocates political and economic action against Israel over its treatment of Palestinians. The movement is regularly accused of anti-Semitism by Israel and its key backer the United States.

Barghouti has previously said that the movement “categorically opposes all forms of racism, including Islamophobia and anti-Semitism”.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Omar talked about the history of Palestinian non-violent resistance, its legacy, and its effectiveness in defending Palestinian rights.

Speaking on the origin of the BDS movement, he highlighted the movement’s calls for: self-determination, ending occupation, and the right of refugees to return.

He said, “By focusing on those three rights BDS addresses the basic rights stipulated under international law.”

Amid Israel’s ongoing assault in Gaza, the movement gained momentum across all corners of the world but it was also under increased scrutiny and threats from Israel’s allies.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused BDS supporters of practising antisemitism in 2014 stating that the movement was intended to lead to “the end of the Jewish state”, according to The Guardian.

When asked about the criticism, Barghouti responded, “Look who is talking.”

“Israel’s leaders are nourishing antisemitism like never before. They’re in bed with the fascists of the world,” he stated, adding that Israeli leaders have close ties to fascists like “crazy Christian Zionist zealots in the US” who were “anti-semitic, but they love Israel.”

Barghouti further said, “BDS targets Israel’s regime of oppression. It does not target an identity as such.”

He stated: “Saying that attacking Israel or Zionism is anti-semitic, is an anti-Semitic statement [in itself] because it equates Israel and Zionism with all Jews.”

Referring to what was happening in Gaza, he said “It is an Israeli policy, far-right fascist government in Israel. It has nothing to do with Jewishness or Judaism.”

On facing intimidation and threats, Barghouti said, “I’m louder than ever, so it’s not working. Yes, they’ve tried everything.

“My response to every phase of intimidation is, do more.”

He also highlighted the support for the movement by the Jewish community stating, “They understand that there is nothing Jewish about Israel’s occupation, settler colonialism, ethnic cleansing, apartheid or genocide, and therefore, there’s nothing anti-Jewish in supporting BDS to dismantle those systems, those structures of oppression and those crimes.”

People power

The BDS co-founder said that the movement “connects the Palestinian liberation struggle with ending complicity internationally, which means we cannot end the occupation … without ending the complicity of states, corporations and institutions. So in a nutshell, the theory of change of the BDS movement is from the grassroots to the grass tops.”

He added, “We need to build people power, which has many forms: intersectional coalitions, media power, strategic litigation power, the ability to peacefully disrupt the powers that be, and so on.”

He also discusses the role of Western countries such as the US, UK, and Germany in aiding Israel, saying, “Without those links of complicity, Israel cannot maintain its entire system of oppression.”

Ending those “links of complicity” can strengthen the Palestinian resistance more effectively against the system of oppression and eventually dismantle it, he added.

He cited the examples of India, Algeria and South Africa where people were able to defeat powerful regimes of oppression. He said, “And it took a lot of international solidarity. It wasn’t just the internal resistance. External solidarity is also very integral to this resistance.”

On the success of the movement, he said, “We are successfully challenging powers that be.”

He highlighted the Norwegian sovereign fund which recently divested its $500 million worth of Israeli bonds under pressure from the largest trade union in Norway, which is a BDS supporter.

Barghouti also mentioned Intel which canceled a project of investing $25 billion near Tel Aviv, 15 miles from Gaza.

PUMA, another international company, ended sponsorship with the Israel Football Association in Dec last year after it was named in the global boycott campaign in 2018.