German Intelligence Agency Classifies BDS as Anti-Semitism

The State Office for the Protection of the Constitution in the German state of Baden-Württemberg has recently labeled the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement as anti-Semitic. As reported by The Jerusalem Postthe German domestic intelligence agency released a report on May 24th which stated that the neo-Nazi party Der Dritte Weg’s (The Third Way) calls to boycott Israeli products are a “new variation of anti-semitism: anti-Zionist anti-semitism.”

Der Dritte Weg was established in 2013 and is a minor neo-Nazi political party in Germany. According to The Jerusalem Post, the party has previously called Israel a “terror state” and the “Zionist abscess.” In 2017, Der Dritte Weg called on people to “avoid Israeli products when shopping in local supermarkets and all products manufactured by foreign companies that invest in Israel.”

The State Office for the Protection of the Constitution is believed to be the first German domestic intelligence agency to classify BDS as anti-Semitism. However, German politicians have previously been vocal about condemning BDS and declaring the movement anti-Semitic. German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party passed a resolution in 2016 equating BDS to anti-Semitism. At the time, the CDU compared BDS to actions of Nazis and stated that BDS is simply a new form of anti-Semitism. In 2017, Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) passed a resolution declaring their opposition to the “anti-Semitic BDS campaign.”

The intelligence report could have important consequences by calling into question German organizations that are involved in BDS activity. The German Bank for Social Economy, for example, allegedly supports BDS accounts. The Central Welfare Board of Jews in Germany (ZWST), which is a partial owner of the German bank, has already called on the bank “to end its business relations with BDS organizations.” Other German Jewish leaders and Jewish human rights groups have also urged the bank to close accounts associated with the BDS movement.

These steps come amidst concerns of rising anti-Semitism in Germany. In 2004, the University of Bielefeld found that 27% of people fully agreed and 24% were inclined to agree that “what Israel is doing with the Palestinians is, in principle, no different than what the Nazis in the Third Reich did with the Jews.” A report published by the Research and Information Office on Anti-Semitism in Berlin indicated that in 2017, two to three anti-Semitic incidents occurred per day in the capital city. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has condemned the increase in anti-Semitism.