The Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies will organize a three-day academic conference on the boycott of Israel. “Boycott as a Strategy to Counter Israel’s Occupation and Apartheid: Present-day Realities and Aspirations” will be held between August 4-6, 2016 in Tunis, Tunisia and will build on a series of previous events hosted by the ACRPS and focused on the Palestinian question (see here and here). The meeting comes at a time when a global, grassroots effort to bring pressure to bear on Israel through the use of boycott of Israeli products, services and institutions has proven its effectiveness. Yet, these successes have also resulted in a forceful, orchestrated retaliation by the Israeli government and pro-Israel advocates the world over.

Beyond academic interest, participants at the meeting will discuss the way in which the movement to boycott Israel fits into a wider Palestinian struggle for national liberation and the lessons which can be learned from previous successes around the world—in particular the movement to boycott Apartheid South Africa.

 Read the background paper for the conference here.