Benjamin Pogrund was a South African journalist and anti-Apartheid campaigner, and is now an Israeli peace campaigner. His piece on the Guardian’s Comment is Free,  “Boycotts only harden Israeli opinion“, rebuts Neve Gordan’s pro-boycott piece from last week.

The piece opens with a criticism of the ‘apartheid’ analogy as applied to Israel:

For some, the apartheid accusation is the way to destroy Israel. If Israel can be linked with apartheid then it can be denounced as illegitimate as was white-ruled South Africa and hence be wide open to international sanctions.

Those who pursue this couldn’t care less about facts. They have an agenda and are unscrupulous about distortion, lying and exaggeration. Their ultimate purpose is exposed by how they answer a basic question: whether or not they accept the fact of Israel’s existence.

And it ends with what supporters of peace should be doing instead of calling for boycotts:

In the case of Israel, resorting to mass boycotts is an admission of failure. It’s a cathartic response to despair and floundering. Israelis have turned their backs on Gordon so he blindly lashes out.

Yet there is an alternative. It’s old-fashioned: educate and persuade. There is already a head start: opinion polls consistently show a majority of Israelis – and Palestinians too – accept a two-state solution as the means to peace. That must be built on: convince Israelis that they are not going to be murdered and thrown into the sea, and that their children – not only Gordon’s two sons – can look forward to a secure future. Convince them that the world – or at least much of it – does not view them as more evil than any other people but wishes them well. Encourage and help maximum contact and co-operation between Israelis and Palestinians.

It’s often boring, tedious work, with results that are not always immediately apparent. But it’s an affirmation of hope about what can be achieved.

Pogrund’s piece is a masterful and compelling argument against boycotts and in favour of engagement. We really have nothing to add. Read it all.