On August 8, 2018 the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS) published a list of what is claimed were the “Top 70 Moments of Solidarity & BDS for Palestine in 2018” and stated that “together, we grow it stronger every day”. The list can be found here – https://bdsmovement.net/news/top-70-moments-solidarity-bds-palestine-2018
North West Friends of Israel has put together a BDS FAIL list of our Top 80 Moments, showing that Israel remains as strong as ever and that right minded people understand the need to support the ONLY democracy in the Middle East. The BDS movement, as can be seen below, is failing economically to hurt Israel. The danger with BDS lies in its inherent antisemitism, which seeks NOT to help the Palestinians but to delegitimise and ultimately destroy the only Jewish state in the world – Israel. That is why they must be opposed and exposed.
By: Raphi Bloom
UPDATED NOVEMBER 30, 2018:
On May 14, 2018, the US Embassy in Israel officially moved to, and opened, its new embassy in Jerusalem, declaring that Jerusalem IS the capital of Israel.
On May 17, 2018 the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign LOST its case against the UK government. The Court of Appeal ruled that it was indeed illegal for local councils & their pension funds to pursue boycott, divestment and sanctions against foreign nations. The PSC was left with £100,000 of costs to pay.
Aug 20, 2018: PepsiCo buys Israeli company Sodastream for $3.2 BILLION in one of the biggest #BDSFAILS ever. The BDS movement had tried for years to close down Sodastream. Pepsi has said Sodastream will remain in Israel and continue operating from its current factory.
On May 16, 2018 Guatemala opened its new embassy in Jerusalem. President Morales said his country, Israel and the United States “share friendship, courage and loyalty”.
On May 23, 2018 the State of Louisiana issued an executive order preventing the state to do business with entities boycotting Israel. They became the 25th state -- 50% of the U.S. – who have now said NO to the antisemitic BDS campaign.
In June 2018 HRH Prince William, the Duke of Cornwall and 2nd in line to the British throne visited Israel for 3 days. This was the first ever official visit by a member of the Royal Family to Israel and a HUGE BDS fail.
In 2018, Israel has been ranked 8th most powerful country in the world. US magazine poll by US News & World Report of 21,000 people lists Jewish state above Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.
On May 30, 2018 UK Science Minister Sam Gyimah announced that the UK has signed two landmark agreements that would take the UK’s partnership with Israel on science and innovation “to the next level”.
June 30, 2018: A federal lawsuit filed by the ACLU in Kansas City arguing that Kansas' anti-BDS law violates the First Amendment was DISMISSED with prejudice. Now that the anti-Israel lawsuit is gone, Kansas anti-BDS legislation is back in full force and effect.
Aug 13, 2018: In a sign of Buenos Aires’ changing attitude toward Israel, the Argentine Foreign Ministry has issued a statement that seems to put the blame for recent clashes between the Israeli military and Hamas squarely on the Palestinians. Referring to the recent escalation in tensions that has seen Hamas fire hundreds of rockets into Israeli territory and the Israelis carry out numerous retaliatory strikes against Hamas outposts and fighters, The statement expressed its “deep concern” over the violence, which it said was “caused by the launch of rockets towards Israel.”
June 5, 2018: The New York Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill that would bar the state from investing in or contracting with any business, individual or organisation engaging in the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel.
June 2018: Frankfurt deputy mayor declares bands that support BDS are not welcome. the city will not provide finances for events for BDS musicians.
June 2018: Governor Andrew M. Cuomo issued Executive Order No. 157 directing state entities to divest all public funds supporting the Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel. The first-in-the-nation action will ensure that no state agency or authority engages in or promotes any investment activity that would further the harmful and discriminatory Palestinian-backed Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign in New York State.
April 2018: Wisconsin State legislature passed an anti-BDS bill aimed to prevent economic warfare against the Jewish state.
May 2018: The Giro d’Italia, one of the world’s premier cycling races, holds three stages in Israel– the first time this has happened. A huge BDS Fail.
June 2018: 21 American police officers from the states of Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee visited Israel as part of the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange (GILEE) which is now into its 26th year.
June 2018: Spanish high court rules anti-Israel boycott by the city council of Castillon is unconstitutional.
April 2018: Boston-area city council turns away BDS resolution. A campaign calling on the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts to not renew its contract with Hewlett Packard because of its business ties with Israel was dealt a setback when a group behind the proposed boycott failed to get its resolution placed on the City Council’s agenda for its next scheduled meeting.
Aug 2018. The Standard & Poor’s credit scoring agency upgraded its credit rating for Israel, citing the Jewish state’s steady economic growth and improved debt outlook. With the raising of its credit score from A+ to AA- with a stable outlook, Israel notched its highest ever rating from S&P and other international credit rating firms.
May 2018: Bahrain backs Israel's right to self-defense. Gulf Arab state voices support for Israel, following Iranian attack and Israeli retaliation, saying 'Israel has right to defend itself.'
May 2018: A British trade delegation visited Israel to explore the possibility of a post-Brexit free trade deal. As well as visiting Israeli companies across a range of sectors, including energy, medical science and FinTech, they spent a day in Beersheba, touring a number of hi-tech and cybersecurity firms.
March 2018: Congress passes Taylor Force Act as part of $1.3 trillion budget bill. A rider to the omnibus spending bill, named for an American killed by a Palestinian terrorist, cuts US aid to Palestinians until PA and PLO stop funding terrorists and their families.
Aug 2018: Tel Aviv named as having the highest number of start ups per capita in the world.
July 2018: Iroquois Nationals lacrosse team rejects concerted BDS campaign to play in Israel.
July 2018. Ziggy Marley lands in Israel and performs two concerts.
Record 2.4 million tourists visit Israel in the first half of 2018 It is the first time the 2 million number has ever been passed.
June 2018: Beatle Ringo Starr performs two concerts in Tel Aviv.
May 2018: British jazz and funk group Jamiroquai play concert in Tel Aviv
May 12, 2018: Israel WINS the Eurovision Song Contest with Netta Barzilai and the song “Toy”. Eurovision voters - men, women and children across the 43 participating countries - picked Barzilai as the winner by a longshot. When the televotes were counted up, Israel received another 317 points, compared to 253 given to Cyprus and 249 given to Italy.
June 2018: Over 250,000 revellers flood Tel Aviv for Israel’s biggest ever Gay Pride parade Israelis and visitors celebrate freedom and tolerance at 20th annual event in self-styled 'most gay-friendly city' in world
April 2018: Andre Rieu in Israel. The charismatic conductor and violinist wowed the crowd together with his magnificent Johann Strauss Orchestra.
Aug 2018. US Marine Corps, Indian Army and Australian Army and other armies from around the world, all participated in an IDF logistics course to strengthen their relationships with Israel.
The France-Israel cross-cultural season held from June to November 2018 in the two countries. Focused on innovation, it involves all aspects of cooperation and is a milestone for France-Israel relations.
August 2018: MyDonate scraps funding platform for Interpal. The Palestinian charity accused of links to terror group Hamas had money-raising facilities removed by the British Telecom owned portal in the UK.
Jan 2018 - Berlin – A Lebanese-based organisation that promotes a boycott of the Jewish state failed to stop performances on Saturday and Sunday in Berlin of Israeli artist Ariel Efraim Ashbel.
June 2018: Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter slammed Roger Waters, co-founder of the British band Pink Floyd, for his stoking of antisemitism against Israel. Reiter said Waters is responsible for “growing, intolerable antisemitic statements.”Waters performed a concert on Wednesday in Munich’s Olympic Hall. Reiter said it was not possible to prevent the hall from being rented to Waters. However, Reiter said the Olympic Hall will not be rented to Waters in the future, due to his advocacy of the boycott, divestment, sanctions (BDS) campaign against the Jewish state. Reiter said it “is important for me to make it unmistakably clear ahead of the concert that antisemitic propaganda of Roger Waters is neither welcome in Munich nor will it remain unanswered.”
August 14, 2018: English song-writer and singer Marc Almond performed in Caesarea, Israel.h. Marc Almond became famous in the ’80 as one of the most prominent musician in the Synth-Pop and New Wave music scene, with his first band Soft Cell, and later on with other projects and his solo career.
July 2018: Empire State Development announced a partnership between Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the Agricultural Research Organization in Israel. Also known as the Volcani Center, it will advance cutting-edge research in the agricultural and environmental sciences, specifically the impact of climate change on crop growth.
July 2018: Grammy Award-winning Colombian musician Carlos Vives held an extremely successful and enjoyable concert in Tel Aviv at the end of last month, despite facing weeks of intense pressure from supporters of the anti-Israel boycott movement, tweeting soon after that it was a “very special night.”
July 2018: PayPal has again closed an account of a major pro-BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) organization in France, The PayPal link on the website of Agence Media Palestine, a BDS organisation that is based in Paris, now says “This recipient is currently unable to receive money.”
September 2018: American singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega will be returning to Israel for two unique shows - both accompanied by a string orchestra from the Ra'anana Symphonette.
Feb 2018: Northeastern University Students Overwhelmingly Reject Anti-Israel Divestment Referendum.
August 2018: After the BDS movement claimed to have forced Adidas to stop sponsoring the Israeli National Football team, Adidas said in a statement: “Adidas can confirm that the existing agreement [with IAF] was not extended beyond the agreed term,” an Adidas spokesperson told i24NEWS. The decision was “not politically motivated,” and Adidas “wishes to thank Israel Football Association for its collaboration and wishes it much success,” according to the statement. PUMA now sponsors the Israeli national team.
Aug 2018. Egypt signs a deal to buy $15 BILLION worth of gas from Israel over 10 years.
March 2018: Elbit Systems, a leading Israeli defence company and often the target of the BDS movement, reported that revenue exceeds $1b in Q4. The company's orders backlog stood at $7.6 billion.
Aug 2, 2018: Soda Stream turns in 82% increase in second-quarter net profit. Soda Stream shares soared after the maker of home carbonated-beverage devices beats analysts’ expectations by a wide margin on Wednesday for second-quarter results. Net profit climbed 82% to $26.1 million, or $1.14 a share, from the same time last year as revenue grew 31% to $171.5 million.
July 29, 2018: The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has invested $2 million in the cybersecurity research centre at Ben-Gurion University (BGU), RBC and BGN Technologies, the technology transfer company of BGU, announced.
Aug 9, 2018: EU in Israel tweeted: “Congratulations to Israeli companies medibrane.com and httpsan.co.il for their successful projects, which will benefit from EU funding! From med-tech to engineering solutions improving the safety of our roads, EU and Israel remain great partners in innovation”.
July 19, 2018: China and Israel expand deepening trade ties. A report on the BBC News website said that in 2016 Chinese investment had tripled to $16 billion and was set to increase further in 2018.
July 31, 2018: UK data security company Mimecast Ltd. (Nasdaq: MIME) announced that it has acquired Israeli cybersecurity company Solebit for $88 million in cash.
Aug 2018: British utility Centrica said on Monday it has made a multi-million pound investment in an Israeli start-up that develops software for electric vehicle charging solutions.
Israeli start ups raised record $3.2 billion in first half of 2018. Israeli start up companies raised $1.61 billion in new capital in the second quarter, a 27% increase from a year earlier that brought the first-half 2018 total to a record $3.2 billion.
May 2018: Mobileye, Intel Corp’s Israel-based autonomous driving unit, has signed a contract to supply eight million cars at a European car manufacturer with its self-driving technologies, a company official told Reuters.
July 2018 - 15 Israeli start ups briefed some 200 British corporates, investors & family offices on their technologies at a UK Israel Biz event.
August 2018 - US approved $500 million for US-Israel missile defence cooperation and up to $50 million for US-Israel counter-tunnel cooperation.
March 2018: The Board of Administration of the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) rejected a motion to endorse the anti-Israel boycott, divestment and sanctions movement. The Board had disapproved an almost identical motion in November and BDS was also defeated at a general meeting of the SFUO earlier in March.
Aug 14, 2018: European debate community voted to ban boycotts after the Qatari delegation refused to debate members of the Israeli delegation.
Aug 2, 2018: Jason Derulo performs in Tel Aviv.
July 2018: British electro-pop group Clean Bandit performs in Israel.
July 2018: Israel Under 20 Basketball Team won the European Championship for the first time.
July 2018: Scientists in Israel have developed a breath test that can detect people with early-stage Parkinson's disease. The team from Technion Israel Institute of Technology had previously shown that the test can detect people with Parkinson's disease who are already receiving treatment.
January 2018. US comedian & Hollywood star Chris Rock performs in Israel.
Aug 2018. Work begins on a new 65km pipeline to sell gas from Israel to Jordan.
Aug 9, 2018: Israel’s Lonah Chemtai Salpeter won the gold in the women’s 10,000-meter run at the 2018 European Athletics Championships in Berlin today, completing the race in 31 minutes, 43.29 seconds.
July 2018: Reps. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) and Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) are urging the Treasury Department to use Executive Order 13224 to blacklist a top Palestinian official Issa Karake, head of the PLO’s commission of prisoners, who responsible for facilitating the payments to terrorists or their families.
Aug 2018: A Squad of American firefighters flies into Israel specifically to lend a hand in combatting the plague of flaming kites that have devastated Israel's south since the "kite terror" phenomenon began in April.
July 24, 2018: Smart probes pinpoint cancer cells for precise surgery. The new technique, developed by Israeli researchers, may improve survival rates and allow surgeons to remove more cancer cells than ever before. It was developed by the department of neurosurgery at Tel Aviv Medical Center.
August 2018: British attorneys have forced Kuwait Airways to agree to compensate an Israeli woman it refused to allow on a flight from London to Bangkok on the grounds of her nationality. Kuwait Airways now legally obliged to either end its anti-Israel policy or its flights to & from the U.K.
July 2018: The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs approved the purchase of 2,000 patented shock-absorbing Acrobat wheels over the next three years from Israel’s Softwheel Ltd for disabled vets’ wheelchairs.
March 2018: Google launches its new accelerator site in Tel Aviv that will assist start-ups that specialize in machine learning, artificial intelligence and data science. It is part of Google’s Launchpad start up program. It’s the first time Google has taken its machine-learning program outside the United States.
International companies acquire 6 Israeli firms in September 2018. Ireland’s Medtronic buys Mazor Robotics, China’s Venus Medtech buys Keystone Heart, India’s Flipkart buys Upstream Commerce, US’s Grubhub grabs Tapingo.
Israel, Cyprus, Greece & Italy agree on a $7 billion underwater gas pipeline - the deepest & longest in the world.
UK Trade Minister Liam Fox visits Israel and announced trade between the UK and Israel totals $9.5 billion with Israel having a surplus of $800 million.
13,800 Norwegian tourists visited Israel in 2017.
Cardiff University Student Union votes down a motion calling for a boycott of Israeli institutions.
The State of Kentucky bars state contractors from involvement in boycotts of Israel. Kentucky is the 26th state to enact anti BDS legislation.
The President of Chad visits Israel. He is the first African Muslim from the country to do so since they severed relations with Israel in 1972.
Psagot Winery wins a court case in France to stop its wines being labelled as made in Judea and Samaria.
Tourism to Israel in 2018 is expected to break the 4 million mark.
The International Digital 9 Forum, made up of the 9 leading digital companies in the world, convened in Israel for the first time ever in November.