Israel BDS

Israel BDS is a website that presents popular science articles, as well as links to scientific articles and personal stories of cooperation between Israeli scientists and those from other countries. BDS stands for Building Dialogue through Science and the website’s aim is to show that science can bring people together, independent of their political opinions, to achieve a common goal. A map enables visitors to the site to link to stories on collaborations with scientists in various countries around the world.

The name of the site is a witty reference to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (popularly known as BDS), which seeks to pressure Israel to achieve various goals related to its occupation of Palestinian lands and treatment of Palestinians. The website Israel BDS seeks to fight against the BDS movement and the academic boycott against Israeli institutions which the movement calls for.

The Israel BDS site also highlights various areas of research and the history of scientific collaboration, including the example of contacts between Israeli and German researchers that led, a few years later, to the normalization of relations between the two countries. Another example is that of the SESAME project in which Israeli biologists currently work together with others from Egypt to Iran. Scientists in such projects have stated that working side by side in scientific collaboration leads to mutual respect and fellowship.

“The hope, indeed, is that anyone visiting the Israel BDS website will understand what the world stands to lose from [...] off ties to Israel’s researchers and preventing students and labs around the globe from enjoying the fruits of Israeli advances,” says Weizmann Institute of Science President Prof. Daniel Zajfman. “Research thrives on the meeting of different world views, and it is important to preserve that freedom to meet and discuss, even with those with whom we don’t always agree.”

The Israel BDS website is operated by the Weizmann Institute of Science.

Purpose

The stated goal of the Israel BDS website is to promote this sharing, to create the basis – person by person and research group by research group – for peaceful communication, trade and even friendship between countries.