The Palestinian Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel Deception Unmasked

Key Findings:

Western academic, artistic, cultural, and student organizations have been led to believe that PACBI is a global grassroots organization. This report refutes that assumption. PACBI has been unmasked as a Palestinian Authority-based organization that serves as the de-facto operational arm of the terror-linked BDS National Committee (BNC) in Ramallah. PACBI directs, mobilizes, and coordinates global BDS political warfare campaigns with the goal of isolating, delegitimizing, and ultimately dismantling the State of Israel. 

PACBI calls on the International community to “comprehensively and consistently boycott all Israeli academic and cultural institutions as a contribution to the struggle to end Israel’s occupation, colonization, and system of Apartheid by:”

1. Refraining “from participation in any form of academic and cultural cooperation, collaboration, or joint projects with Israeli institutions.” 

2. Advocating for “a comprehensive boycott of Israeli institutions at the national and international levels, including suspension of all forms of funding and subsidies to these institutions.” 

3. Promoting “divestment and disinvestment from Israel by international academic institutions.” 

4. Working “toward the condemnation of Israeli policies by pressing for resolutions to be adopted by academic, professional, and cultural associations and organizations.” 

Supporting “Palestinian academic and cultural institutions directly without requiring them to partner with Israeli counterparts as an explicit or implicit condition for such support.” 

PACBI’s Links to Terror Groups on the BNC

It is little known in the West that Arab and Islamic terror groups sit and strategize together with PACBI as equal members of the BNC. For example, one of the other founding members of the BNC is the Council of National and Islamic Forces in Palestine, known outside of the Palestinian-controlled territories as the “Palestinian National and Islamic Forces” (PNIF). PNIF was founded by Yasser Arafat, forrmer Chairman of the PLO and Palestinian Authority, and Marwan Barghouti, former commander of Fatah’s Tanzim terror wing and leader of the Islamist Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade. Barghouti is currently serving five consecutive life sentences for the murder of Israelis in terror assaults. 

PNIF is comprised of five U.S.-designated terrorist organizations including: Hamas, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the Popular Front – General Command (PFLP-GC), the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF), and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). Furthermore, Haidar Eid, a BNC representative and PACBI steering committee member, has confirmed that Hamas and other Islamic movements are constituent members of the BNC.

PACBI’s Role in the Anti-Eurovision Assault on Israel

Since Israel’s victory in the 2018 Eurovision song competition, PACBI has conceived, conducted, and coordinated a global boycott campaign to derail the 2019 Eurovision contest scheduled to be held in Tel Aviv, Israel in May 2019. PACBI’s campaign seeks to pressure Eurovision finalists and broadcasting companies into withdrawing their participation, and to compel Eurovision into canceling the event in Israel altogether. \

PACBI as the Global Engine of BDS

PACBI is a founding member of the BDS National Committee (BNC), a coalition that includes the umbrella terror group “PNIF” (Palestinian National and Islamic Forces), which is comprised of EU-and U.S.- designated terror groups Islamic Jihad, Hamas, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), amongst others. 

PACBI and the terror-linked BNC are operationally the same organization: PACBI serves as the “face” of the BNC. PACBI and the BNC share the same website, mailing list, and staff members, indicating a strong overlap in the BDS Movement’s leadership roles. \

“Terrorists in Suits” Sitting with PACBI on the BNC

Haidar Eid —a senior member of the BNC based in Gaza — has been an active member of the BNC steering committee and served as a cultural consultant to PACBI since its establishment. Eid is a lecturer at Gaza’s Al-Aqsa University, where he writes, grants public interviews, conducts workshops, and publishes articles discussing the history and goals of the BDS Movement. He has also declared his commitment to “bury Zionism, sooner or later.”

Furthermore, Eid has played a significant role in the Hamas-sanctioned Great March of Return (GMR), a weekly violent protest on the Gaza-Israel border, which has included participation by Hamas’ top leaders including Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh. Eid maintains a close relationship with the Hamas’ GMR organizers, and has also participated in its “marches,” which have camouflaged frequent attempts by Hamas terror operatives to penetrate the Gaza-Israel border fence in order to kill and kidnap Israelis. 

Zaid Shuaibi, Salah Khawaja, Fadi Barghouti, Khitam Saafin, and Wasel Abu Yousef are also named and discussed.

PACBI’s Global Impact from PA-Controlled Ramallah

The U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (USACBI) was founded in 2009 following the IDF’s launching of Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip in 2008 - 2009. It was formed in response to the PACBI call from 2004. USACBI adopted PACBI’s principles, including championing the Palestinian “Right of Return.” To date, close to 2,000 individuals and more than a dozen national academic organizations have endorsed USACBI’s call to boycott Israel. 

The British Committee for the Universities of Palestine (BRICUP) is an organization comprised of UK-based academics. It was founded in response to PACBI’s 2004 call and has a self-declared mission of applying pressure in Europe and on the UK government to support the academic boycott of Israel. In recent years, PACBI and BRICUP have collaborated closely including on a campaign calling on British artists to refrain from performing in Israel.