NICOLA MILTZ
In spite of claiming to be a peaceful, human-rights organisation, BDS-SA has unashamedly associated itself with members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). This organisation has been classified as an illegal terrorist organisation In the United States (US), Canada, and the European Union (EU).
The South African branch of the organisation has hosted prominent members of the PFLP, most notably terrorist and plane hijacker Leila Khaled, whom BDS-SA regards as an iconic freedom fighter. Calls by the movement to rename a major Sandton, Johannesburg, road after Khaled have also reached local municipal structures, with political parties voting in favour of the motion.
A controversial tweet by the organisation’s director, Muhammed Desai, on 31 July got international tongues wagging, sparking widespread curiosity over just how close BDS-SA was to the PFLP. Desai, tweeted a photograph of himself shaking hands with a member of the PFLP during his visit to Venezuela, where he met pro-Palestinian activists.
His tweet, sent at 11:23, said, “A representative of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine with BDS South Africa’s Muhammed Desai. The PFLP works closely with BDS-SA in the global campaign against apartheid Israel.”
The tweet was picked up by Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor, a globally recognised research institute, raising questions. Both the BDS-SA tweet and the same Facebook post were then quickly taken down, creating even more of a stir. However, NGO Monitor retained a screenshot of the tweet, which has since been shared several times on various social-media platforms.
A later tweet sent on 5 August at 03:35 shows a smiling Desai with members of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP). It said, “BDS South Africa’s @MuhammedDesai engaging Palestinian activists in Venezuela. Here with a member of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Collective efforts from all sectors of Palestine are vital in the global campaign to isolate apartheid Israel.”
NGO Monitor responded to this tweet by saying, “More #BDS& #terror; how long until BDS South Africa deletes their post with DFLP? This terror group is responsible for 1974 Maalot massacre of 25 school children & teachers as well as shooting, rocket & bombing attacks.”
On Monday, following the tweets, the Jerusalem Post reported that BDS-SA’s PayPal account wasn’t accepting donations. It said it was unclear if the online payment service had closed the account due to the organisation’s support of the PFLP.
When the Jerusalem Post clicked on the electronic donation section of BDS-SA, the entry by PayPal stated, “Things don’t appear to be working at the moment. Please try again later.”
The SA Jewish Report tried to do the same, and received the same response.
PayPal acknowledged questions from the SA Jewish Report, saying that it would respond to the questions “shortly”. At the time of going to press on Wednesday evening, PayPal said in an email, “The team is still looking into the request. Once I have more information that I can share, I’ll be sure to let you know.”
BDS-SA has consistently said it advocates a non-violent approach to seeking an end to the conflict in the Middle East, and claims to call for peaceful co-existence for all people in that region. However its ties to the PFLP have raised eyebrows.
BDS-SA had not responded to a list of questions put to it by the SA Jewish Report by the paper’s print deadline. Questions relating to the PayPal account were sent to Desai, board chairperson Professor Farid Esack, and board member Bram Hanekom.
PayPal has been known to close the accounts of organisations that closely associate with groups sympathising with terror organisations. In September last year, PayPal closed the account of Germany-based nongovernmental organisation (NGO) International Alliance, an organisation that sympathises with the PFLP.
In May, PayPal joined other major online payment systems in shutting down services to Samidoun, an NGO and proponent of the BDS movement with close ties to Palestinian terror groups. The International Legal Forum, along with the Zionist Advocacy Centre, petitioned PayPal, Donorbox, and Plaid, to shut down financial services to Samidoun, according to NGO Monitor.
In June last year, Visa, Mastercard, and American Express shut down online credit-card donations to a number of terror-linked NGOs active in the Arab Israeli conflict, NGO Monitor said.
Shaun Sacks, senior researcher at NGO Monitor, told the SA Jewish Report that the Israeli ministry of strategic affairs, NGO Monitor, and other groups had been saying for a while that the global BDS organisation, in particular BDS-SA, has been in close contact with internationally designated terror organisations, particularly the PFLP. “Leila Khaled assists BDS-SA with fundraising. She is one of the most infamous PFLP members,” he said.
“The tweet shows BDS-SA openly acknowledging that it works with the PFLP, and that global BDS campaigns are being conducted with the PFLP, a known terrorist group. Very soon after these questions were raised, BDS-SA removed the tweet and the Facebook post. It appears that its PayPal account is no longer active,” said Sacks.
“It could be illegal for PayPal to assist BDS-SA in fundraising if it is working in co-operation with a US and EU-designated terrorist organisation, which very much appears to be the case.
“Many other organisations claiming to be human-rights organisations have had their credit-card processing information withdrawn because of their association with terrorist groups,” he said.
“This is one of many cases of organisations claiming to promote human rights but working hand in glove with terrorist organisations having their financial abilities curtailed because they’re acting illegally.”
