Our Goal In BDS Is Actually To Put Washed-Up Artists Back In The News

By Omar Barghouti

Critics of the Boycott, Divest, Sanctions movement against Israel miss the point when they accuse us of hypocrisy or inconsistency by challenging us over our peculiar choice of Israel when far worse abuses of human rights take place in many other places. The point is not to confront immoral regimes with a grass-roots movement that symbolically hits them in the pocketbook or laboratory. The point is to provide has-beens in the entertainment world with a way to make headlines without their having to get arrested for drunk driving or slapping a cop.

Realizing that we are not a political movement, but a loosely affiliated group of music aficionados dedicated to reasserting the talents and demand for washed-up acts from decades ago casts a whole new light on our modus operandi. One of our leading activists, after all, is Roger Waters, who knows more than almost anyone what it’s like to be a musical has-been. His is truly a humanitarian effort, aimed at sparing other artists the pain of perpetual obscurity after a brief moment in the sun. The political side of things is just a convenient tool.

When you understand what our real motives are, the hypocrisy of some BDS advocates – myself included – becomes a mere footnote. Yeah, I got my degree in Political Science from Tel Aviv University while campaigning to have Israeli institutions subject to academic boycott. But so what? It’s not really about the politics at all. It’s about giving over-the-hill musicians from the 1970’s and 80’s a new lease on fame. Elvis Costello, for example.

No one really cares about Palestinians, after all. There’s no outcry over the thousands of them killed in Syria over the course of the ongoing civil war. We don’t hear a whisper of condemnation from the international Left over Hamas brutalizing and exploiting the lives of Gaza residents for political or PR gain. But the political hot-button that Israel can be serves as a lightning rod for desperately needed attention for celebrities who once commanded headlines, but must now do voice-overs for ads on local radio or perform in nursing homes to make a living.

Imagine what could have been if we were as active back in 2004 when Janet Jackson, who jumped the shark in the eighties, had Justin Timberlake expose her nipple at the Super Bowl halftime show. Such a controversial “wardrobe malfunction” could have been avoided entirely – just have Ms. Jackson announce a planned concert in Tel Aviv, and boom! Instant BDS storm, pushing her back onto the pages of news publications that forgot her long ago. Our movement exists to provide just that sort of nudity-free “controversy” that conveniently gives media exposure to artists desperately seeking to assert cultural relevance.

We could have done the same for George Michael. Phil Spector. Tommy Lee. Randy Travis. And those are just the musicians; we could have given a non-violent, non-lewd outlet for capturing another few moments of fame to actors, as well. What a positive force BDS can be! We should be on the contact list of every publicist for aging, irrelevant, or otherwise forgotten stars.

So cut us some slack on the hypocrisy front. We perform a valuable public service.