The Biden administration announced Tuesday it will implement visa bans on Israelis viewed as “extremist settlers” in the West Bank. The policy move follows President Biden’s warning last mont…

  • @[email protected]
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    327 months ago

    You would be wrong. Many of the most extreme settlers are Americans or Europeans and they do what they do with total disregard for Israeli peace, safe in the knowledge they can always escape to the US or Europe.

    Admittedly, those people are not affected.

    So you are right, for a different reason.

    But this move does have a huge impact. It is the first time the US has sanctioned Israel for Apartheid crimes and ethnic cleansing. The immediate impact is small, but it opens the door towards BDS.

    And BDS is how we ended Apartheid in South Africa and Rhodesia. It will work even better against Israel, since they are totally dependent on aid from the West.

    • @[email protected]
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      167 months ago

      For anyone else wondering, like me: “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions is a Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel.”

    • @[email protected]
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      -37 months ago

      totally dependent on aid from the West.

      I think you’re wrong about this. Israel is a net-exporter economically and grows its own food. Although admittedly, the majority was being grown in the region around Gaza and there are reports that many crops went unharvested.

      • @[email protected]
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        67 months ago

        And their agricultural sector is fully dependent on cheap Labor, mostly coming from Palestinians and Thai people. They stopped issuing work visas of Palestinians, so their building and agricultural sector is probably contracting and struggling at the moment.

        • @[email protected]
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          -37 months ago

          I wouldn’t say fully dependent - there’s local labor who are willing to step up especially in the face of the economic downturn of a war. More importantly, foreign labor is legally entitled to the same minimum wage as Israelis - this was historically exploited through various loopholes such that many Thai workers are receiving around 80% of minimum wage. Even in the face of a pricing shock, local food markets should reach equilibrium quickly, and Israel has avoided food subsidies outside of a handful of regulated products (basic white bread, milk, eggs, hard cheese). I don’t foresee food security being an issue in Israel to the point they need to import food outside of stabilizing local prices or ensuring seasonal availability.

          Palestinians won’t be going to work inside Israel for a very long time. The US is trying to push that one through, but I think that’s one they’ll push back hard on - if you were Israeli, would you want to work with someone who supported what happened on October 7th?