Growing Cultural and Academic Isolation for 'Israel' Despite Economic Recovery and Arms Deals

Despite the cessation of the genocide in the Gaza Strip, the repercussions of the war reveal that 'Israel' continues to face growing isolation in cultural and academic fields, where boycotts persist and soft power erodes, while the economy and arms deals have returned to a near-normal path.

In an article by Israeli journalist David Rosenberg, he stated that 'there is no doubt that the announcement by four countries last week of their boycott of the Eurovision Song Contest this year in protest against Israel's war on Gaza came as a shock to many Israelis. A fifth country joined them on Wednesday, and a sixth may join later.'

Rosenberg added that 'for Israelis, the war is over, and no matter how fierce the fighting was, they are ready to move forward. There is ongoing debate about how to investigate the October 7 disaster, and the army has conducted two internal investigations, but almost no one is talking about studying how the army itself waged the war. It is history left for historians to study someday, not something occupying our present.'

He explained that 'but the Gaza war remains strongly present in many places outside Israel. As mentioned by the Irish Broadcasting and Television Authority in its statement announcing its withdrawal from the Eurovision Song Contest: 'Ireland's participation remains unacceptable given the devastating loss of life in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there, which continues to endanger the lives of many civilians. The Irish Broadcasting and Television Authority also remains deeply concerned about the targeted killings of journalists in Gaza during the conflict.'

He noted that 'this is not the only event for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement after the war. At the end of October, more than a week after the ceasefire, over a thousand literary figures, including writers Sally Rooney, Arundhati Roy, and Rachel Kushner, signed a pledge to boycott Israeli cultural institutions. An international initiative to ban Israeli music, called 'No Music for Genocide,' launched in September, continues to attract artists and production companies. Similarly, stars like Emma Stone signed a pledge to boycott Israel in the 'Filmmakers for Palestine' campaign.'

He confirmed that 'the boycott of European higher education institutions against Israel has not receded either, according to a report issued last month by the Association of Israeli University Presidents. Even as the wave of declared boycotts subsides, Israeli academics in many cases still face hidden boycotts manifested in scientific journals rejecting their research and not inviting them to academic conferences.'

He pointed out that 'it is easy to assume that many of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) campaigns that launched amid the war will gradually fade if the ceasefire holds. No organizer will issue a statement announcing that a celebrity has retracted their signature on a pledge, but many of these promises to isolate Israel will be gradually forgotten. Nevertheless, Israel cannot count on a complete break from the stigma of the war.'

He said that 'as shown by the ongoing initiatives of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, Israel remains unwelcome in cultural and academic circles, as opposition to the brutal war over the past two years has often turned into opposition to Israel's existence as a Jewish state.'

He considered that 'hostility towards Israel has become an integral part of the progressive agenda adopted by many artists and academics. The war's impact was so profound that mere ceasefire will not change this reality.'

Rosenberg added that 'but this is not the full story of the boycott movement. Corporations and most governments were, at best, reluctant supporters of efforts to isolate Israel during the war, and since the ceasefire took effect in October, they have been eager to abandon the issue entirely. Notice how Hollywood studios, the commercial arm of Hollywood, publicly rejected the 'Filmmakers for Palestine' boycott shortly after the ceasefire took effect.'

He affirmed that 'the strange thing is that the most prominent example of boycott failure is arms sales. True, Israel lost some major arms deals during the war, but since the ceasefire, Elbit Systems signed a $2.3 billion contract with an unnamed buyer; Rafael Advanced Defense Systems reached a similar deal with Germany; and Israel Aerospace Industries is close to signing an agreement with Greece valued at an estimated 3 billion euros ($3.5 billion). The company is also establishing a joint factory for drone production in Morocco.'

He pointed out that 'one might think that buying Israeli weapons after the war would be the last thing governments would risk. But no matter the ethical doubts surrounding Israeli weapons due to its wartime conduct, they easily fade in the face of the two threats facing Europe: on one hand, the growing threat from Russia; on the other, America's hostility under Trump towards democracies on the continent, leaving it to face its military fate alone.'

He clarified that 'it is not limited to the arms sector where business seems to have returned to normal. The alleged commercial boycott of Israel during the war was not serious enough to show up in foreign investment and trade statistics. In fact, the largest cross-border mergers and acquisitions took place during the height of the fighting, specifically Palo Alto Networks' acquisition of CyberArk for $25 billion, and Alphabet's acquisition of Wiz for $32 billion.'

He noted that 'many have talked about lost contracts and delays in signing them, but it seems this problem has ended too. Since the ceasefire, a series of small deals have been concluded, such as the sale of Israeli-American startup Carbyn to American safety technology company Axon for $625 million. There are no recent statistics on foreign investment in Israel, but statistics related to foreign investment in technology companies showed no decline during the first nine months of this year.'

It confirmed that 'Israel's goods exports declined this year, but strangely, this decline is almost entirely due to a drop in exports to Ireland. Ireland is known for its hostility towards Israel, but it is unlikely to be the reason for this decline: most of Israel's exports to Ireland are advanced technological products and services sold to major multinational technology companies with branches there. Far from being supporters of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, Ireland strongly opposed efforts to impose trade sanctions on Israel.'

Rosenberg said that 'if Israelis had to choose between a business boycott or a boycott of arts and academia, they would likely choose the latter. Economic isolation means losing exports, jobs, and investments, leading to economic slowdown. Israel's economy is open to the world and economically advanced, while the country's market is too small, making it impossible for it to be anything less than fully engaged in the world... But no one should ignore the cost of Israel's declining soft power, that is, its ability to influence other countries through its culture, political values, and foreign policies.'

He said that 'supporters of the boycott movement had a point when they called last month to cancel the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra concert in Paris, claiming it was 'an orchestra in service of Zionist propaganda.' But this claim is exaggerated. The Philharmonic is not an arm of the Israeli government, but its outstanding performance reminds people that Israel is not just a state of war and oppression of Palestinians. Certainly, musical performances improve Israel's image far more than the failed government propaganda.'

He added that 'in any case, culture has a direct impact on the economy. Even if not on the same scale as advanced technology or natural gas, it is an export sector that creates jobs. Academic boycotts also harm the economy because they make it harder for Israeli scientists to collaborate with their counterparts around the world and obtain foreign funding that enables the innovation driving Israel's advanced technology. In fact, cross-border partnerships are extremely important; without them, Israel risks brain drain.'

He concluded by saying that 'do not expect Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to address this problem. It hates cultural institutions and universities alike for belonging to the opposition camp, and will never think of sacrificing its war against them for the national interest. The film 'The Sea,' which tells the story of a Palestinian boy trying to reach the beach despite obstacles placed by the government, is nominated for an Oscar this year, but Culture Minister Miki Zohar wants to punish the film industry for producing it.'