Sanctions against Israel are really beginning to bite

JVL Introduction

The drip-drip attempts of the BDS movement to hold Israel to account over the years has begun to pay off. From small, generally symbolic, economic and cultural boycott intervention more serious financial sanctions are now being added into the mix as Israel has become a pariah in global public opinion.

Ireland followed by Luxemburg have both ended financial cooperation with Israel, neither being willing to approve Israel Bonds issues in the EU.

As Meirav Arlosoroff says in this overview published in Haaretz, the reputational damage can’t be underestimated: Israel has become a financially boycotted country.

What starts with Israel Bonds must not be allowed to stop there.

Even Ed Miliband, while desperate to distinguish between a good Israel, which we support, and the illegal occupation has contributed to opening the floodgates.

UK sanctions against the settlements were not confined to the import of goods but extend explicitly “against specific companies and individuals who provide services such as construction, infrastructure, financing, or real estate for settlement expansion”.

As Miliband emphasised: “So to those who finance or facilitate illegal settlements, let me say this, you will face the full force of UK sanctions.”

These sanctions are not in place yet. It is the job of the solidarity movement to hold Miliband’s feet to the fire and ensure that such sanctions too become a reality.

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PS: The Case for Sanctions Against Israel is available from Verso books.

This article was originally published by Haaretz on Sun 11 Oct 2026. Read the original here.