Another BDS victory: no EL AL flights to Santiago

Santiago de Compostela adopted a motion in favor of BDS

The city of Santiago de Compostela, in the autonomous region of Galicia in Northern Spain, has sealed a significant BDS victory. BDS stands for ‘Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions’, and is a worldwide movement that favors a boycott of ‘Israel’. In November 2015, the city council of Santiago adopted a non-binding motion in support of boycotting ‘Israel’. According to recent reports, the Israeli airline El Al ended its negotiations for establishing direct flights to the city in response.

On Wednesday, the Spanish newspaper La Voz de Galicia  first reported this news. Following this, the Times of Israel published a article on the issue on July 20. Apparently, its report bases itself on the findings of an independent investigation conducted by La Voz de Galicia. According to the findings, Alejandro Sánchez-Brunete, a member of the Santiago City Council for the center-right Popular Party, blamed the left-wing party Compostela Abierta for sabotaging the talks. However, this was denied by Marta Lois, Santiago’s alderwoman for tourism.

Controversy in Santiago over the issue

Reportedly, Lois claimed that no such negotiations had taken place. She added that even if so, a boycott against ‘Israel’ would not sabotage them. Nevertheless, the Galician Association for Friendship with Israel reportedly told La Voz de Galicia that in April, El Al opened a flight to Valencia instead of to Santiago. Walter Wasercier, the director of El Al’s Spain operations, also gave a statement. He told the newspaper that he had personally aimed at opening the Santiago flight this summer.

Impact

Location of Santiago de Compostela on the map

The Times of Israel points out that 350,000 Israeli tourists visit Spain every year. It also mentions how Spain is investing a lot into tourism, in order to help revive a weak and flailing economical situation. Santiago lies on the ‘Way of St James’, a historical Catholic pilgrimage route that attracts 250,000 tourists annually.

Conclusions

There can be no doubt that any form of BDS, under any circumstances, has its own price tag. Clearly, El Al’s decision to refrain from establishing a direct route to Santiago is corroborated by the facts. This does not, however, establish beyond the shadow of a doubt that their decision is a response to the boycott motion. It’s remarkable that the Times of Israel didn’t obtain a comment on the issue from Wasercier. Instead, it only quoted his remarks to La Voz de Galicia. A direct comment on this from the Wasercier could have made things a whole lot clearer. Nevertheless, the circumstantial evidence available still points in the direction of a direct effect of the boycott motion.

The boycott motion in itself, which wasn’t widely publicized outside of Spain, is without doubt a victory for the BDS-movement. It can safely be stated that El Al’s decision to withdraw its plans for a direct route to Santiago after a long spate of negotiations is another notch on the belt of  the movement. It doesn’t require irrefutable proof that El Al’s decision came as a response to its disapproval of the motion. The people of Santiago, through a democratic process, have indicated that they want to boycott ‘Israel’. Let’s at least conclude that it appears to be working.