Friday, February 26, 2016

BDS for Idiots: Barry Shaw's excellent new book

Barry Shaw's new book "BDS for idiots" is a must read for anybody who wants to understand the irrationality of the anti-Israel movement - and know how to respond to it.

BDS ("Boycott, Sanctions, Divestment") is the name of the umbrella organisation for all those people who want to shelter their antisemitism under the guise of 'only seeking the destruction of the State of Israel'. As Barry says
"BDS is a three letter metaphor for negativity. In their practice their initials stand for Bias, Deception and Slander. We need to out them, to name them, and shame them. They need to be exposed for the fraudsters they are. It's time to humiliate them. This book does that with facts, anecdotes and humor".
And that is exactly what the book does, with an excellent combination of his own insights and anecdotes, along with those of others who have fought against the anti-Israel tsunami. But this is where I must declare an interest. Alongside true heavyweight contributors (Alan Dershowitz, Caroline Glick, Pat Condell, Matti Friedman, Howard Jacobson, Bassem Eid, Denis Prager and Mitchell Bard) some of my own humble efforts are included (notably Rules and Guidelines for Reporting on the Middle East and Is anti-Zionism the same as antisemitism). I regard this as a real honour.


Barry has done a great job pulling this together. It is an easy, entertaining, and ultimately very useful read. I bought the book  on Amazon. Unfortunately, there is no kindle version yet, but the paperback is a snip at just £7.

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