In recent years, Palestine solidarity activists have pressured corporations to end their complicity in the Israeli regime’s violations of Palestinians’ rights. As a result, companies like Ben & Jerry’s, Veolia, and Pillsbury, among others, have pulled their products and services from Israeli markets, albeit to varying extents. How, exactly, have these successes been achieved? What are some of their limitations, and how hopeful should we be for a proliferation in corporate boycotts of Israel?

To answer these questions and more, join host Nadim Bawalsa in conversation with Sandra Tamari and Omar Barghouti for Al-Shabaka’s first policy lab of 2023.

Sandra Tamari is a Palestinian organizer and the Executive Director of Adalah Justice Project (AJP). She is a co-founder of the St. Louis Palestine Solidarity Committee and was co-chair of the Steering Committee for the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights from 2015-2018.  She was a lead organizer of the Palestinian contingent to Ferguson, Missouri, in October 2014. 

Omar Barghouti is a Palestinian human rights defender and co-founder of the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement for Palestinian rights. He is a co-recipient of the 2017 Gandhi Peace Award. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University, and is pursuing a PhD in Philosophy (Ethics) at the University of Amsterdam. He is the author of BDS: The Global Struggle for Palestinian Rights.

Nadim Bawalsa is Al-Shabaka’s Commissioning Editor. He is a historian of modern Palestine and author of Transnational Palestine: Migration and the Right of Return before 1948 (Stanford University Press, 2022). 

About the Policy Lab Program: Al-Shabaka's Policy Lab Program is an online live-stream space where audiences can engage directly with expert analysts from our nearly 200-member network as they craft policies and strategies related to Palestine. The labs are free and open for public participation, inviting viewers to join in on policy discussions. 

Note: This discussion will take place in English. Our policy labs are supported through the generosity of donors. They are free to attend, though we accept contributions on a sliding scale upon registration to help sustain the program.