Boycott efforts against Israel do not hurt economy

According to Knesset commissioned study, as of 2014, the attempts, largely in Europe, to boycott products produced beyond the Green Line have failed and the overall exports to Europe have not only not suffered -- they have risen.

Zeev Klein

Recent Knesset sanctioned study shows that despite boycott efforts, Israel's exports have only risen   |  Photo credit: Dudu Grunshpan

The boycott, divestment and sanctions movement has not harmed the Israeli economy, and in some cases Israel's exports have only grown in the regions in which the movement has the most traction, according to a recent report commissioned by the Knesset Finance Committee.

"So far, the attempts to boycott Israel have not hurt the Israeli economy on the macro scale. ... The boycotts are able to hurt largely the end products of certain Israeli brands. However, since the majority of Israeli exports are intermediate goods, there has not been significant harm done to them," the report concluded.

The study analyzed the economic effects of the BDS movement from 2000 to 2013. The study showed that throughout those years, despite the BDS movement, Israel's gross domestic product rose by 54 percent, its exports rose by 80 percent and in Europe, where the majority of the BDS efforts are, surged by 99 percent.

According to the study, as of 2014, the attempts, largely in Europe, to boycott products produced beyond the Green Line have failed and the overall exports to Europe have not only not suffered -- they have risen; which shows that the European Union boycott and tariff placement on products from beyond the Green Line have not had a significant impact.

Direct investment in Israel has also risen over the past decade, and its portion as part of Israel's GDP is higher compared to most developed nations. The most surprising statistic is that the share of exported goods originating in Judea and Samaria and the Golan Heights has grown from 0.5 percent to 3.1 percent, and that an overwhelming majority of that growth (2.5 percent) is from exports to the European Union.

The BDS movement also prompted Israel to diversify its export destinations and enter new markets in Asia (China, India, Japan and southeast Asian countries) and South America.

With regards to isolated attempts to boycott Israel, the report said, "The Foreign Ministry is working judiciously to deal with those events, to mitigate their effects or prevent serious harm. In general, the Israeli economy is not affected by the various calls for boycott. Certain fields, however, have been hurt by these boycotts, such as the date palms grown in the Jordan Valley, and the pepper farms in the central Arava region."