BDS Affiliations with Terror Organizations
The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement masquerades as a grassroots social campaign, but in reality, it is intimately intertwined with the world’s most dangerous terror organizations. Far from being an organic uprising, BDS is an instrument of Iran’s terror axis—a tactical extension of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). These groups, whose sole objective is Israel’s annihilation, infiltrate BDS’s leadership and bankroll its activities, exploiting Western institutions to undermine Israel from within. This is not a peace campaign—it is psychological warfare and logistical support for genocidal terror.
Examples
Extensive official records and international sanctions prove that BDS is part and parcel of the same terror network responsible for the October 7 massacre and ongoing attacks against Jewish civilians:
- 2005: The foundational BDS call to action originated from the Council of National and Islamic Forces in Palestine—an organization directly listing Hamas, PIJ, and PFLP as core members. The world’s worst terror groups wrote the BDS playbook.
- 2011–Present: The BDS National Committee (BNC), BDS’s global leadership, publicly maintains the same terror-linked council on its decision-making board. Hamas strategists don’t just endorse BDS—they run it.
- 2018–2024: Financial platforms and major governments, including the U.S. Treasury and Canada, have frozen and sanctioned BDS fundraising operations time and again after tracing direct money flows between BDS “charities” and terror commanders. Violent extremists are using BDS not just for PR, but as a revenue stream to bankroll attacks on Israelis.
- 2019: Israel’s “Terrorists in Suits” report exposes over 30 high-level Hamas/PFLP operatives (including convicted murderers) directing or working at BDS-promoting NGOs. The mask of “activism” covers an army of professional terrorists embedded in civil society organizations.
- August 2019: PFLP terrorists employed by BDS NGOs murdered Israeli teenager Rina Shnerb. This wasn’t an abstract connection; BDS payroll funded the bullets and bombs.
- 2021–2025: International authorities have repeatedly designated BDS-linked NGOs as terror fronts, including Samidoun—a sham charity channeling Western donations straight to PFLP terror operatives, and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP)—the main BDS arm on U.S. campuses, which has copied Hamas propaganda, celebrated atrocities, and hosted sanctioned terrorists at leading institutions.
Case Studies: BDS as Terror Infrastructure
- Samidoun: Once presented as a “prisoner solidarity” group, Samidoun has now been formally sanctioned as a PFLP affiliate; it orchestrates BDS campaigns while serving as a laundering operation for terror funding. Its leaders openly celebrate terror attacks on Israelis.
- Addameer, UAWC, HWC: These “NGOs,” integral to BDS networks, were exposed for employing terrorists directly responsible for lethal attacks on Jewish civilians. EU taxpayer money was funneled through BDS fronts into the hands of murderers.
- University Infiltration: BDS campus leaders and events have repeatedly featured notorious PFLP operatives such as Khaled Barakat—direct evidence that BDS acts as a safe haven for active terror propagandists.
Strategic Conclusions
- Terror by Proxy: The BDS network is an extension of Iran’s global terror war against the Jewish state. Where rockets and drones cannot reach, BDS deploys boycotts, delegitimization, and lawfare—soft power in service of hard terror.
- Financial Conduits: BDS “charities” and NGOs are proven financial arteries for terror paymasters, necessitating U.S., Canadian, and EU sanctions and global vigilance.
- Weaponized Activism: BDS is not civil society—it is a psychological operations and recruitment platform for terrorist movements determined to erase Israel. Its continued overlap with groups responsible for October 7 underscores the existential danger Israel faces.
Limitations and Moral Clarity
While courts and governments focus on entities where direct terror ties are proven, it is undeniable that BDS functions as an integral part of the infrastructure that enables, celebrates, and funds terrorism against the Jewish people.
References
| # | Citation marker | Source title / description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | (BDS Movement) | “Palestinian Civil Society Call for BDS” – BDS Movement official website (2005 founding call) |
| 2 | (AMCHA Initiative) | “Background of BDS” – AMCHA Initiative (notes the Council of National & Islamic Forces as first signatory) |
| 3 | (BDS Movement) | “The Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC)” – BDS Movement page (lists steering members) |
| 4 | (Palestine Legal) | “Donorbox Suspends BDS National Committee’s Account” – Palestine Legal news release (Dec 21 2018) |
| 5 | (jpost.com) | “BDS International donation accounts frozen for suspected ties to terrorism” – Jerusalem Post (Dec 2018) |
| 6 | (Government of Israel) | Terrorists in Suits – 80-page report, Israel Ministry of Strategic Affairs (Feb 2019) |
| 7 | (Wikipedia) | “Murder of Rina Shnerb” – Wikipedia entry (links bombing cell to UAWC/Addameer salaries) |
| 8 | (ngomonitor - Making NGOs Accountable) | “PFLP Ties of the Six Designated Terror NGOs” – NGO Monitor backgrounder (Oct 2021) |
| 9 | (ngomonitor - Making NGOs Accountable) | “Israel Designates 6 PFLP-linked NGOs as Terrorist Organizations” – NGO Monitor analysis (Oct 2021) |
| 10 | (ajc.org) | “What Is Samidoun, the ‘Charity’ …” – American Jewish Committee explainer (Feb 2021 designation) |
| 11 | (U.S. Department of the Treasury) | U.S. Treasury press release “United States and Canada Target Key International Fundraiser for Terror” (Oct 2024 – Samidoun sanctions) |
| 12 | (ofac.treasury.gov) | OFAC SDN-list notice: Khaled Barakat & Samidoun (Oct 15 2024) |
| 13 | (extremism.gwu.edu) | Program on Extremism (GWU) report “What is Samidoun?” (Oct 2024) |
| 14 | (adl.org) | ADL backgrounder “Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP)” (ongoing Hamas/PFLP alignment) |
| 15 | (ISGAP) | ISGAP report “National SJP: Antisemitism, Violent Extremism & the Threat to Universities” (May 2024) |
| 16 | (extremism.gwu.edu) | GWU Extremism brief “Hamas’s Influence on U.S. Campuses” (Nov 2024) |
| 17 | (New York Post) | New York Post (May 30 2025) – amended lawsuit linking Columbia SJP to Hamas propaganda effort |