JVP’s Rebecca Vilkomerson debates for BDS at J Street’s annual
convention  JVP executive director Rebecca Vilkomerson debated
in favor of BDS yesterday at J Street's annual convention
Today at J Street’s annual convention, my friend and one-time
debate partner Rebecca Vilkomerson, who is the executive
director of Jewish Voice for Peace, made the case for BDS
against liberal Zionist opponents Ken Bob of Ameinu and writer
Bernard Avishai. I was not at the conference, in part because I
am speaking at Rutgers’ Palestine Awareness Week later today.
But I have heard that the session was packed; according to
Vilkomerson, a sizable portion of the room was with her.
Because it wasn’t videotaped, I have reproduced the full text of
Rebecca’s opening remarks below. Note that she identified BDS as
a Palestinian-led movement that forms the international backbone
of the Palestinian non-violent strategy and is “part and parcel
of the Arab Spring sweeping the region.” Building on these
points, Vilkomerson questioned why th