Israeli minister: slain American settler was part of my anti-BDS team

A slain American-Israeli settler was part of a team convened by the Israeli government to fight the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) campaign, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Ari Fuld, who was stabbed to death by a Palestinian in an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, was singled out for praise by Public Security and Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan as a “true hero of Israel”, in remarks made to the paper.

On Twitter, meanwhile, Erdan revealed that Fuld “was part of a team the minister formed to spread the truth about Israel online and reveal the lies of the campaign to boycott, divest and sanction the Jewish state”, stated The Jerusalem Post.

Erdan is responsible for overseeing the Israeli government’s efforts to undermine international Palestine solidarity activism, and the BDS campaign in particular.

Read: Slain Israel settler was well-known far-right activist

Addressing his ministry’s work, Erdan told the paper: “Like terrorism, BDS isn’t something you can win against. But you can minimize the damages”.

“There are two billion Muslims criticizing and attacking Israel, and every few years they change the way they attack Israel, so we have to prepare, just like with the fight against terrorism”, he added.

According to Erdan, the government has “a professional department that is cooperating with pro-Israel organizations and campuses, and getting pro-Israel legislation passed” around the world.

“I can show decisions, quotes of world leaders, legislation in 25 states punishing those who boycott Israel”, he boasted. “Today the BDS organizations are fighting for their right to do BDS. In many countries it’s so limited. We are cooperating with closing their bank accounts”.

Asked why his ministry did not act “more transparently” in its fight against BDS, Erdan replied: “Only things that will help the enemy are not open. It’s like a war. They don’t tell us when and how they will attack Israel, and we won’t tell them what we will do to protect Israel from them”.

Read: Citing BDS US professor declines reference letter for student to study in Israel